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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
Roberta Kelley has commented on (5) products
The Princess Diarist
by
Carrie Fisher
Roberta Kelley
, February 07, 2017
On December, 27 2016, the world lost an amazing woman. Not just because of her role as Princess Leia, but also for her work as a screenwriter, novelist, and mental health advocate. Carrie Fisher meant a lot to a lot of us for various reasons. To me, she played the first character that I truly looked up to. Princess Leia taught me not to take crap from anyone, and that a woman can be whatever she wants to be, including but not limited to a leader of a rebellion. Something that, given the current state of things, is inspiring. After someone like Carrie Fisher passes away, someone who has left us with a body of work to remember them by, I find that the best way to honor them is to read, watch, or listen to their work. In this case, I watched Star Wars and read The Princess Diarist. At times, it was difficult to read as there are moments when she talks about a future that she will sadly never see, but overall, The Princes Diarist was well worth the read. Fisher, as always, is unapologetic and honest about her time as Princess Leia. Throughout this book, Fisher talks in depth but her affair with Harrison Ford as well her constant struggle to be who everyone wanted her to be, or at least what she believed everyone wanted from her. Through her journal, we are given a glimpse into her life during filming while also getting her insights on that time of her life. To many young women, Fisher’s feelings about herself and the world around her are rather familiar. The desire to appear more mature and worldly than we really are, to appear cool and confident despite the crippling self-doubt, is something that many of us have been through. In Fisher’s examination of her younger self, we at times see ourselves. However, in this case we have the advantage to hearing the wisdom of a woman who has experienced it all, and she certainly leaves us with some solid advice. Fisher’s signature self-deprecating humor balances out the bleak tone of her diary entries and leaves us with an insightful and rather memorable memoir about a woman that we will sorely miss.
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An Ember in the Ashes
by
Tahir, Sabaa
Roberta Kelley
, September 13, 2015
Overall Impression: A great debut novel! Could not put it down. Recommended for: Anyone into the YA fantasy and wants to read an exciting book by a talented new author. This book was pretty great. I ended up reading the majority of it one day. I was seriously up until 6:00 a.m. reading this book. It's well-written and the characters are interesting and fleshed out. I couldn't help but immediately like Laia, a girl who has more courage than she believes she does and is immensely loyal to the ones she loves. She constantly sells herself short despite the fact that she is going through some horrible things in order to try and save her brother. Courage takes many forms, and it was great to see Laia learn this as the book went on. Her resourcefulness makes is possible for her to survive in an environment that would beat most anyone else, and rather than cave under the pressure, she perseveres, consistently reminding herself that her brother needs her. In the beginning, she seems a bit helpless and lost, yet by the end, Laia becomes the hero that she never thought she could be. Laia's struggle to rescue her brother as well as save those that have helped her along the way is admirable and compulsively readable. Elais's struggle to pretend that he is something he is not is often painful to read (in a good way). He is under the constant scrutiny of those around him, many of whom would turn him in as a traitor if they at all suspected his hatred for the Empire and who it has forced him to become. Elais carries the burden of compassion, one that often becomes an almost unbearable load as his fellow comrades, including his best friend, begin to question his loyalty. Add on top of that his conflicting romantic feelings, and Elias is a just a bundle of confusion and pain. And you really can't help but love him. On top of having characters that you love, this book has moments where you almost feel physically ill. There are scenes that are incredibly violent and psychologically disturbing. Not only do these characters go through physical trauma, but they are often subjected to emotional trauma as well. There was one scene that was so messed up that I about cried. So, that is my warning to you. If you are faint of heart and don't handle violence very well, then I would steer clear of this one. There are parts that are hard read, and while I have read worse, I thought that this was pretty intense for YA. In the end, this is a solid book that is nearly impossible to put down. So read when you have lots of time to spare. I highly recommend this book, and I don't know if I can express how happy I am that there is going to be sequel! So excited!
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Are You Seeing Me
by
Darren Groth
Roberta Kelley
, August 20, 2015
This book made me smile, cry, and sometimes both at the same time. There were quite a few things that this book did really well and there were times when I couldn't help but admire the skill Groth has with making these characters really relatable. The relationship between these siblings is very touching and makes me think about the close relationship I have with my brother. Even if your sibling doesn't have the disability that Perry has in this book, I believe that many older siblings can relate to the desire to protect and take care of their younger sibling. There were times that their relationship felt so realistic that it brought me to tears. However, the most impressive thing about this book was how skillfully Groth wrote in Perry's point of view. Perry is autistic, a view point that can be incredibly difficult to write in, but I believe Groth handled it really well. Perry had his own distinct voice that really helped the reader to kind of understand how Perry sees the world. There were times when Perry would imagine these dramatic things happening, and at first you think that they are actually happening until you realize that nobody is reacting to it and that Perry is imagining these things. He is such an unreliable narrator that you have to work to distinguish between what is really happening and what Perry is imagining. The best part is that these moments don't happen abruptly and instead occur gradually so you are halfway through the imagined scenario before you realize that it's not actually happening. This puts us in the uncomfortable position of having to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Something that Perry has to go through everyday of his life. It acts as a way of putting the reader in Perry's shoes and showing us how Perry sees the world. It's highly effective and well done. I highly recommend this book. Darren Groth has written a very emotional and relatable story. He's brought a very important narrative to the forefront. One that paints mental disability not as a handicap that a family must endure, but rather a further reason to love and adore those with these disabilities. As something that actually brings them closer as a family rather than pulling them apart. It's amazing to finally read a narrative with this message. I'm planning on reading more from this author and look forward to seeing what he does next.
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Waterborne Exile
by
Susan Murray
Roberta Kelley
, August 20, 2015
It took a little while for this one to get going, but once it did, it moved pretty quickly. I saw this book as more of a setup for the next one since there wasn't quite as much action in this one like there was in the first book. At first, this was a little frustrating. "Why isn't Alwenna doing anything! She was so awesome in the first one and now she does nothing!" But then you realize, "Oh, wait. Alwenna is super pregnant by now. It would be weird if she were wandering about saving people while like seven months pregnant." So it actually makes sense that Murray pays more attention to other characters in this book than she does with Alwenna. Having a character that is pregnant often means that the other characters end up having to do the heavy-lifting��"both literally and figuratively��"so once I realized this, the pacing didn't bother me as much. However, there we a lot of characters being balanced in this book which made it difficult for some characters to get the page time that they needed. By this, I mainly mean Lady Delena and Bleaklow. I wanted to get to know them a little more, that way later events felt more meaningful. In the end, I kind of saw them more as devices rather than characters. Good devices, but devices none the less. I am also still confused about Alwenna's powers. They are coming a little more into focus since she begins to figure out how to control aspects of her powers, but the events at the end of the last book are still a little confusing to me. Granted, I think they are still confusing to everyone else in the book, so I guess we really aren't supposed to understand them yet anyway. Also, the stuff with the Grey Brethren confuses me a little too, but that also seems to have everyone else confused except for the priests. And they aren't going to divulge their secrets anytime soon. Maybe this will all be answered in the third book. Other than that��"and a couple nit-picky things I won't mention here��"it's a solid second book in a series that sets up for the third one rather nicely. It kept me reading and made me want more after I was done. It accomplished what it needed to in an entertaining way. What more could you ask for? Looking forward to the next one! Wait. There's going to be a next one right? Tell me there's a next one!
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The Waterborne Blade
by
Murray, Susan
Roberta Kelley
, June 16, 2015
Overall Impression: An exciting new fantasy series with an awesome female protagonist that is compulsively readable. Recommended for: Fantasy fans. Fans of strong female protagonists. I knew I was going to like this book from the very beginning. It's well written, and the characters are developed quite nicely. It starts with action rather than a bunch of exposition about the events leading up to what is currently happening and world development. Instead, the book begins with Alwenna being sent away by her husband with his trusted King's Man, Weaver, who is an immediately intriguing character. Weaver is obviously less than thrilled about being assigned to this task as he wants to stay behind and fight in the oncoming battle. However, his dissatisfaction in his king's decision seems to stem from more personal reasons, and Susan Murray does a good job of keeping his reasons a mystery until the opportune moment. When we meet Alwenna, she is a woman who has been pampered for her entire life who suddenly has to rough it through the wilderness (against her wishes) in order to escape the clutches of the usurper, Vasic, whom her husband fears will take over the kingdom. However, despite Alwenna's cushy upbringing, she rises to the occasion, and time and again proves herself to be more than capable of taking care of herself when push comes to shove. Alwenna never shies away from a challenge, and never expects someone to save her. She insists that she be taught how to build a fire and properly de-feather, gut, and cook a chicken in case she ends up not having any servants to take care of her. (Which happens at various times throughout the book.) Not only does she insist on learning these things, but a couple of the things she learns become important later. This was refreshing since some books tend to have their heroes spontaneously gain skills when they are needed. Not the case here. It was well thought out, which made it that much more fun to read. The plot moves at just the right pace, keeping it exciting while also allowing some time to develop Alwenna and Weaver as characters. This makes it really easy to become invested in the outcome since you actually know them well. I never felt like it was dragging and it was difficult for me to put it down. I almost missed my MAX stop on my way home because of this book. It's totally engrossing, which makes this book go by pretty quickly, and leaves you wanting more. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out, and will be anxiously awaiting the day! I need to know things! Also, the cover is pretty cool. Just saying.
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