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The Cartographers
Title: The Cartographers
Author: Peng Shepherd
Genre: fantasy
Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.
I LOVED The Book of M. I read it in 2019, and it ended up being my favorite book that year. I still think about it from time to time, especially that plot twist. So, when I saw Peng Shepherd had another book out, there was no doubt I was going to read it. I’m so glad I was able to get this from NetGalley. And, as is my preference, I went into this entirely blind. I had no idea what it was about.
From Goodreads: Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell’s personal hero. But she hasn’t seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map.
But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can’t resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable and also exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence… because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one—along with anyone who gets in the way. But why?
To answer that question, Nell embarks on a dangerous journey to reveal a dark family secret and discover the true power that lies in maps…
Perfect for fans of Joe Hill and V.E. Schwab, The Cartographers is an ode to art and science, history, and magic—a spectacularly imaginative, modern story about an ancient craft and places still undiscovered.
This story starts out as just a regular mystery adventure book. Whereas Book of M starts in the fantasy world from the first page. So, I was a little surprised this one was so, well, normal. But as I kept reading, small mysterious things just kept happening. As the story unfolded (much like a map, haha), the magical part of the story became much more evident. As we follow Nell, we also hear other perspectives telling her stories from the past, which fill in many of the backstory gaps. But these stories occur naturally within the plot rather than feeling shoehorned in. I really loved this book, although I did see this plot twist coming about halfway through the book. This one is easily another five-star book. I will definitely be eagerly anticipating her next book.
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The Girl
Title: The Girl
Author: Victory Witherkeigh
Genre: YA Fantasy
Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.
I’m not a huge YA fantasy fan, but I’m all in when a good one comes along. This was not it. I skimmed the last 25% just to get this one over. There is a place for teen drama in books, but this one couldn’t decide if it was about teen drama or fantasy or abuse or one of the other many genres it touches on.
From Goodreads: The parents knew it had been a mistake to have a girl. At birth, the girl’s long, elegant fingers wriggled and grasped forward, motioning to strangle the very air from her mother’s lungs. As she grew older, she grew more like her father, whose ancestors would dream of those soon to die. She walked and talked in her sleep, and her parents warded themselves, telling the girl that she was evil, unlovable, their burden to bear only until her eighteenth birthday released them.
The average person on the streets of Los Angeles would look at the girl and see a young woman with dark chocolate eyes, curly long hair, and tanned skin of her Filipina heritage. Her teachers praised her for her scholarly achievements and extracurricular activities, from academic decathlon to cheer.
The girl knew she was different, especially as she grew to accept that the other children’s parents didn’t despise them. Her parents whispered about their pact as odd and disturbing occurrences continued to happen around her. The girl thought being an evil demon should require the skies to bleed, the ground to tremble, an animal sacrifice to seal the bargain, or at least cause some general mayhem. Did other demons work so hard to find friends, do well on their homework, and protect their spoiled younger brother?
The demon was patient. It could afford to wait, to remind the girl when she was hurt that power was hers to take. She needed only embrace it. It could wait. The girl’s parents were doing much of its work already.
If this were what the book was about, that would be a MUCH better book than it ended up being. But this was maybe 1/3 of the book. The rest was just unwarranted parental abuse and teenage drama. The reader isn’t clued into that abuse until over halfway through the book. And the abuse is a lot. Very verbal, emotional trauma. But the drama, oh my gosh, the drama. Whoooo… cares…..??? Sure, YA books are targeted to teens, but the drama felt so out of place in this book. It had the potential to be so much more. What a disappointment.
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Killers of a Certain Age
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The Tommyknockers
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Ghettoside
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Thistlefoot
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Hell of a Book
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Jackal
Title: Jackal
Author: Erin E. Adams
Genre: Thriller/horror
Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.
When Liz Rocher goes back home for a friend’s wedding, her life gets turned upside down in the craziest of ways. I always love a well-written thriller, but the story also includes some horror elements, which is even better. The story revolves around missing Black girls, who the police basically ignore, but when Liz arrives, she begins to put some pieces together.
From Goodreads: It’s watching. Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward, passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the day of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the couple’s daughter, Caroline, disappears—and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood.
It’s taking. As a frantic search begins, with the police combing the trees for Caroline, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern: A summer night. A missing girl. A party in the woods. She’s seen this before. Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in Liz’s high school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart removed. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it can’t be a coincidence. As Liz starts to dig through the town’s history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls.
It’s your turn. With the evil in the forest creeping closer, Liz knows what she must do: find Caroline or be entirely consumed by the darkness.
I really enjoyed this book, and it definitely left me guessing. And there’s an element to this book that I absolutely won’t reveal because it would ruin so much. That said, I was pleasantly surprised by it, and Adams did an excellent job leading the reader to that reveal. Overall, four stars for this one, and I will be recommending it for sure!
Pleasant Nights 