Tag Archives: Trapped

Review: The Byways by Mary Pascual

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,
The Byways by Mary Pascual cover shows a large keyhole shaped opening with a golden cat walking past, its shadow filling the bottom of the opening.

The Byways
Mary Pascual
Sparkpress
Published June 6, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Byways

Neurodivergent high school student CeeCee Harper has a temper, and a reputation for trouble. Angry at the rumors and afraid she’ll never fit in, she makes a wrong move—and lands in the Byways, a world of alleys, magic, and forgotten people . . . some that aren’t even human. And if she doesn’t escape quickly, CeeCee learns, she’ll be trapped for good.

Searching for a way out, she gets lost among monsters, drug pushers, the homeless, and political upheaval, and soon finds there are those who will stop at nothing to keep her from leaving. But the Byways pull people in for a reason. CeeCee must figure out why she got stuck in the first place—before her loved ones are put in danger and she loses them forever.

A dark retelling of Alice in Wonderland meets Neverwhere, this contemporary fantasy will enchant Neil Gaiman and Christina Henry fans.

My Review

NEVERWHERE is probably my favorite book by Neil Gaiman, so I was really intrigued by the description of this book. I can see the comparison in some ways. THE BYWAYS takes place in a city that has a sort of dark, twisted magical underbelly that CeeCee stumbles into by mistake.

The writing took me a while to get used to. While the content is more mature and intense, the early chapters reminded me a lot more of a middle grade book. The way CeeCee describes her peers and her experiences at school made me think she was maybe 14 or 15, so I kept forgetting that she was supposed to be in high school. Though I guess it’s possible to be 15 in high school, so maybe that makes sense? As the story progressed, I think the tone shifted to more of a YA style of writing.

Some of the imagery in the magical area was pretty disturbing to me. At one point, CeeCee meets a super creepy guy who shows her a screen that she realizes is showing child p*rn and asks her to play a game with him. She’s disgusted and flees, but the other people around her kind of just shrug their shoulders about it and agree that yeah, that guy should probably be avoided. I could have done without that whole thing, honestly.

The whole story feels very much like a bad fever dream– which I suppose makes sense as a retelling of ALICE IN WONDERLAND? It’s definitely dark and twisted.

At the beginning and end of the story, the scenes focus a lot on CeeCee’s neurodivergent experience and what she does to navigate challenges. I think the middle of the story is less focused on that, though.

Conclusion

All in all, THE BYWAYS wasn’t a big hit for me. I really didn’t care for some of the creepy stuff, and the winding, slower pace of the plot made it tough for me to get through. If you like darker, fever-dream-type stories, THE BYWAYS could be just what you’re looking for, though.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 18 up.

Representation
CeeCee is white and neurodivergent. She experiences sensory and impulse issues.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
CeeCee meets a man she describes as very overweight who shows her a screen that she realizes displays child p*rn. She recoils and flees from him. Another man pursues her, and she wonders if he’s a drug dealer or human trafficker.

Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
CeeCee experiences some things that depart from reality: an alley that shrinks down around her, a woman with dirt spilling from her lips when she speaks, and a man who appears to be part slug.

Violent Content
Multiple men try to capture or coerce CeeCee into doing things or staying with them.

One character is described as overweight, and the more he says or does gross things, the larger and more overweight he appears to be. That felt pretty fatphobic to me.

Drug Content
CeeCee meets a man she assumes is homeless, and when he doesn’t appear to be making sense, she wonders if he’s mentally ill or addicted to drugs.

In one alley, mushrooms grow. CeeCee’s told that, basically, only the most desperate addicts end up there. She tastes a mushroom and experiences a kind of high from it.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE BYWAYS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Before Takeoff by Adi Alsaid

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Before Takeoff
Adi Alsaid
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published June 7, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Before Takeoff

The Sun Is Also a Star meets Jumanji when two teens meet and fall in love during a layover-gone-wrong at the Atlanta airport in this thrilling new novel from the author of Let’s Get Lost!

James and Michelle find themselves in the Atlanta airport on a layover. They couldn’t be more different, but seemingly interminable delays draw them both to a mysterious flashing green light–and each other.

Where James is passive, Michelle is anything but. And she quickly discovers that the flashing green light is actually… a button. Which she presses. Which may or may not unwittingly break the rules of the universe–at least as those rules apply to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta.

Before they can figure up from down, strange, impossible things start happening: snowstorms form inside the B terminal; jungles sprout up in the C terminal; and earthquakes split the ground apart in between. And no matter how hard they try, it seems no one can find a way in or out of the airport. James and Michelle team up to find their families and either escape the airport, or put an end to its chaos–before it’s too late.

My Review

The first book by Adi Alsaid that I read is WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS. I loved that book, so I knew as soon as I saw this one that I really wanted to read it. Between that and the comparison to Jumanji, I built pretty high expectations for this story.

And… those expectations were met one hundred percent! I loved the weirdness of the airport and all the bizarre things that kept happening. I loved James and Michelle and the way their relationship developed.

The story is told in an omniscient point-of-view, where the narrator zooms in and out of different characters and situations. Normally I’m not a huge fan of that style, but I feel like Alsaid uses it SO WELL in his writing. That feeling of zooming in and out and following different characters all feels perfectly timed and adds so much depth to the storytelling. I love it.

If you’re looking for a book that takes a sideways look at humanity, or dives into the weird ways people react in a crisis, or simply a sweet, unexpected romance that blooms in the center of chaos, this book is absolutely not to be missed. I love so many things about it. This is definitely one that I’m going to pester my friends to read so I have someone to talk about it with!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
James is Latino. Michelle is Asian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. In one scene they remove their shirts.

Spiritual Content
Strange events take place at the airport. Snow and rain fall. Fissures open. It’s unclear what governs those events.

Violent Content – content warning for racism.
Some people trapped in the airport become violent. A man confronts another man, using slurs and threatening him.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of BEFORE TAKEOFF in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

The Girl in the Well is Me
Karen Rivers
Algonquin Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When tough circumstances force Kammie’s family to relocate, she’s determined to make the most of the change. She approaches the prettiest, most popular girls and attempts to join their group. Only what results is Kammie standing on a board that splits and sends her tumbling into a well. Trapped and slowly sinking further, Kammie begs her new “friends” to help her get out. As she waits for them to bring help (and wonders if they’ve simply abandoned her) she begins to think about the good times lost and the struggles her family currently faces. Then she begins to run out of air. Joined by hallucinations, some less than friendly, Kammie wonders if she’ll be rescued, or if her last view of the world will be the dark interior of the well and the small circle of sky above her.

At first I worried that a story about a girl trapped in a well would be sort of boring. I imagine it’s kind of the way people felt before seeing Rear Window when they learned that the whole movie was filmed on a tiny set about a man in a wheelchair. (Other than the scene in which he breaks his leg, we see the whole movie from his apartment. Crazy.) Anyway – this book was not as suspenseful as the classic Hitchcock film, but it never tried to be. Still, it was far from boring.

I liked Kammie pretty immediately. She’s a spunky narrator. You can feel how hard she’s trying to fit in and have a posse around her and how lonely and isolated she is since all the drama with her family has happened. You know she’s worth ten of each of the silly girls she wanted to be friends with, and she’s smart enough to realize it, too.

I thought her relationship with her brother was especially moving. I can’t think of a lot of stories with good examples of brother/sister relationships during that time of life when sibs sometimes grow apart, each seeking their own identity. I liked that this story captured that process so well, even if it was bittersweet.

Kammie’s memories of her life before falling in the well are definitely what keeps the story moving between rescue-related events. Rivers unwinds bits and pieces of this nameless tragedy that shattered Kammie’s life, and it was easy to chase those hints and flashes down looking for what really happened to this remarkable girl.

I thought the tone and the brief use of profanity made it a heavier read than most other middle grade books. Don’t get me wrong – I thought the story was great. See below for more specifics on content.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One swear word is repeated several times in a sentence as Kammie realizes the dire situation she’s in. There are a few crude references to bodily functions.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Kammie thinks about her grandma, who has died, and wonders briefly if she’s in Heaven.

Violence
Girls play a prank on Kammie which leads to her falling into a well. Kammie sustains serious injuries due to her fall.

Drug Content
Her father drinks alcohol.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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