50/50 Friday is a meme hosted by Carrie @The Butterfly Reads and I and focuses on the opposite sides of books (best/worst, differing opinions, etc). Every week will have a new topic and several advance topics will be listed in the tab labeled 50/50 Friday!
Today's Topic: Best/Worst Book Read in April
Best:
Standalone to date
Released: 1962
Review to come!
Rating: 5 stars
Blurb:
"Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was first published in three serialized excerpts in the New Yorker in June of 1962. The book appeared in September of that year and the outcry that followed its publication forced the banning of DDT and spurred revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. Carson’s passionate concern for the future of our planet reverberated powerfully throughout the world, and her eloquent book was instrumental in launching the environmental movement. It is without question one of the landmark books of the twentieth century."
I read this for an atmospheric chemistry course that I'm taking and I'm so glad I did. If you haven't had a chance to read it, read it! Rachel Carson wrote this in 1960-61ish and it was published in '62 right at the height of chemical innovation and the extensive use of pesticides. She saw ripple effects that many people in authority were ignoring and with this one book, she started the environmental revolution in the United States. All while she was dying from cancer that was most likely caused by pesticides. It's seriously such an amazing book and I recommend it to everyone. A close second for this category was The Cruel Prince by Holly Black with 4.5 stars!
Worst:
I read three 3-star reads this month but I'm going to list the one that just wasn't for me.
Standalone to date
Released: 2017
Review to come!
Rating: 3 stars
Blurb:
"When Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal) graffiti mural.
Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a “mainstream” school in the suburbs, where she’s treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her to give that up.
Out in the ’burbs, Julia paints anywhere she can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon learns that she might not be the only vandal in town. Someone is adding to her tags, making them better, showing off—and showing Julia up in the process. She expected her art might get painted over by cops. But she never imagined getting dragged into a full-blown graffiti war."
Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a “mainstream” school in the suburbs, where she’s treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her to give that up.
Out in the ’burbs, Julia paints anywhere she can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon learns that she might not be the only vandal in town. Someone is adding to her tags, making them better, showing off—and showing Julia up in the process. She expected her art might get painted over by cops. But she never imagined getting dragged into a full-blown graffiti war."
I just couldn't get into this one. The main problem was that Julia's attitude irritated me to no end. I love, love the diversity in this one (deafness, lesbian parents, Indian (I think...? It's been a while) but the rest of her character was ridiculous and I found myself yelling at her at every turn. Maybe someone else would enjoy this but not me. There is artwork interspersed (because Julia's a graffiti artist) and that was what kept me going.
Have you read either of these? What did you think of them? What were your best and worst reads of April? Make a post and link up down below!
Next Week's Topic: Series On Your TBR You'll Keep/Get Rid Of
Annoying MCs can ruin an entire book, can’t they? So annoying. And I love oldie but goodie books. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYes! And it's almost always subjective! I'm sure someone else loved her spunky attitude but I just couldn't stand it. Thanks for stopping by, Jenny!
DeleteSilent Spring is one I absolutely have to read! I've been aware of it for a while, but must make the effort to actually Get a copy!
ReplyDeleteYes!! I put it off for a long time and then we were conveniently talking about Rachel Carson in class so I took it as a sign and finally read it. It's definitely worth it! Thanks for stopping by, Stephanie!
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