Ninetails: Nine Tales by Sally Wen Mao - Book Review

Publication Date: 28th May 2024

Genre: Short Stories

3 Stars

One Liner: Interesting but a mixed collection

Ninetails is a collection of short stories re-imagined and based on the fox spirit in Chinese mythology. It is a feminist anthology dealing with misogyny, immigration, racism, and different types of abuse against women, especially Asian women (by fellow Asians and Westerners).

Apart from the individual short stories, there’s an overarching story set on Angel Island where the Chinese people land in the US. The immigration office decides the fate of these people after the men and women are separated and made to stay in different buildings. The conditions are pathetic and deplorable.

As always, I made notes for each story (presented below with only grammatical edits):

• The Haunting Of Angel Island

Arrival: Tye arrives at the island for her new job as an interpreter at the immigration office. We get her past and a glimpse of the mythical fox. The beginning of the overarching story. I’m curious!  

Love Doll: What happens when a love doll (a human-sized s*x toy) starts to have feelings? In the first-person POV of the doll, the story takes us through her life and that of its new owners. Falls flat when it should have hit the high note.  

Beasts of the Chase: What happens when a woman decides to turn back into a fox (vixen)? How does her ethnicity affect her life? Okay!

• The Haunting Of Angel Island

More events at the immigration office. Different women, several stories, and different fates.

Turtle Head Epidemic: Meng Li was an eighteen-year-old student when the turtle head epidemic swept Singapore. Was it because of a dead pig, a woman, or a fox spirit? This should have been better.

The Fig Queen: What happens when a woman with a troubled life becomes tiny and someone else takes her place? A story of metamorphosis in many ways. Kafkaesque almost!

• The Haunting Of Angel Island

The overarching story continues as more women arrive and await the decision of the immigration officers.

A Huxians Guide to Seduction Revenge Immortality: The longest story in the book with a first and second-person narration. Well-written and better than the previous ones.

The Girl with Flies Coming Out of Her Eyes: Started great but I soon lost interest! The title says it all. Won’t reveal anything else.

• The Haunting Of Angel Island

More women, ghosts, spirits, and opposite faiths; believe your God or the White God?

Lotus Stench: The story of a fox spirit and a ghost (woman, obv.), and that ties them together. An interesting read.

The Crush: Another lengthy story about love… or as the title says crush. How do crushed manifest? What to do with them? Feels more mellow than the other stories.  

• The Haunting Of Angel Island

Tye is the focus again as the connecting storyline comes to an end.

Departure: What kind of departure can this be? After all, there are many ways to depart! Surreal… (which is the aim of the collection).

Thanks to a review by Sarah, I went into the book with fewer expectations. This helped since most stories didn’t have much impact and felt they couldn’t reach their potential. A couple of stories were above-average but most were the kind I forgot a day after reading (the notes saved me).

Fortunately, the overarching piece is a lot better. And, I now know some random information about figs, wasps, bees, foxes, etc.

To summarize, Ninetails has its moments with poetic prose and surreal situations. However, the stories have a varied impact, which dilutes the overall enjoyment.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Books, for a copy of the book. 

#NetGalley #Ninetails

Death at the Dinner Party by Ellie Alexander - Book Review

Series: A Secret Bookcase Mystery #3

Publication Date: 30th Sep 2024 

Genre: Small Town Cozy Mystery 

3 Stars 

One Liner: As cozy as it can be! 

Annie Murray plans an elaborate mystery dinner to help her friend Penny (Priya’s girlfriend) raise funds to restore the historic Wentworth farmhouse. Penny already spent all her money on the place and will have to sell it if she doesn’t have more funds. 

The dinner starts with Curtis Wright annoying the actors and soon falling dead at the table. With a storm raging outside and a long list of suspects inside, Annie needs to find out who the killer is. However, she soon realizes that there’s a lot buried in the past. The killer is determined to keep their identity a secret. 

The story comes in Annie’s first-person POV. 

My Thoughts: 

So… it’s settled then. The series will continue to be a super light cozy mystery. Not that I mind since I read this when I wasn’t feeling great but followed the plot and guessed the killer. 

The settings are the highlight of this series. Since the book is themed around Halloween, we get storms, power outages, old buildings, damp basements, etc. Quite atmospheric, I say! 

There’s a list of characters, though some don’t reappear, making it too easy to guess the outcome. Even Dr. Caldwell has a limited role, which I don’t mind. After all, this is Annie’s book. 

Things are better between Annie and Liam now, though methinks she is crushing a little too much. But okay. At least, he is no longer acting like an idiot. 

There’s a slight development in the overarching case (Scarlet). Not enough to make me happy but progress nevertheless. The next book should have something significant (I hope so). 

To summarize, Death at the Dinner Party is a light cozy mystery of less than 250 pages and can be read in a single sitting if you have the time. I will continue with the series and will soon read the next book. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing, for eARC. 

#NetGalley #DeathAtTheDinnerParty

Maisie vs Antarctica by Jack Jackman - Book Review

Publication Date: 10th October 2024

Genre: Middle Grade Adventure

4.2 Stars 

One Liner: A freezing adventure! 

Eleven-year-old Maisie lives with her father who writes boring books like How to Wrestle a Crocodile or How to Diffuse a Bomb. In real life, he is a boring person who makes triangle origami and does basic puzzles. However, with no one to watch Maisie, her father has to take her with him to Antarctica. Soon, Maisie realizes there is a lot she doesn’t know about her father. He has many skills and may be hiding a secret too! 

The story comes in Maisie’s first-person POV. 

My Thoughts: 

Well, how can I resist a book about a young girl and her dad having an adventure in Antarctica? 

Maisie is a sassy and imaginative narrator, which will work great for the target audience. She is a tween who is bad at school, doesn’t pay attention to most things, and thinks too fast for adults to catch up with. 

The story is fast-paced and combines adventure, danger, intrigue, and superpower. The heady combination is perfect for kids, especially since Maisie messes up a lot and often needs to be rescued by adults. Young readers can see how easy it is to get into trouble. The adults are also capable, which is another plus. 

The freezing landscape of Antarctica comes alive on the pages without any extensive detail. We see what the narrator sees, which are loads of ice and other strange stuff. 

Despite the antics and danger, the story manages to deal with topics like the loss of a parent, the loss of a life partner (for the father), being a loner, the hardships of being a single parent, etc. These aspects shape the character arcs, making them integral to the central plot. 

The blurb calls this the first in the series, and I can see why. Though it works as a standalone, we have only scratched the surface and are yet to delve fully into the main characters’ lives. Naturally, there have to be more adventures. I hope Miss Kumari will feature actively in the coming books. 

The chapter titles are quirky and hint at what’s to come though there aren’t any major reveals. They are all titled ‘How to…’ a nod to the books the dad writes. Since this book is being written by Maisie, it is fitting that she follows her father’s footsteps. 

I would have loved it if the book had some illustrations – Maisie’s flaming red hair, the dad, the caterpillar, etc. Even a sample of handwriting, for that matter, would enhance the appeal. 

To summarize, Maisie vs Antarctica is a terrific start to a new series and I hope we get to see more adventures of Maisie and her father. I enjoyed this fast-paced narrative bubbling with an eleven-year-old’s overactive imagination. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Nosy Crow, for eARC. 

#NetGalley #MaisieVsAntarctica