Bayou Bytes Blog

I stumbled across  The Ghost Bride  quite by accident two years ago  and was immediately taken with it.  It takes place in 1893 ,  in a Malaysia still under British rule .  Li Lan is from a reputable family , but they’ve fallen on hard times  and they’re bankrupt. With such poor fortune, Li Lan will never be able to get married.    But the family receives a sudden and unexpected offer from the richest household in the community. The  powerful Lim family has recently lost their son, and since he was not able to be married before his death, they would like to offer him a ghost bride. And they have chosen Li Lan.    The ancient tradition is designed to placate a restless spirit and ensure they’re not alone in the afterlife. Though the offer is quite generou s, Li Lan has reservations. But she agrees to visit the Lim household and meet the family.    Following her visit to the  Lim s , Li Lan finds he...

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld Since Prep debuted, Curtis Sittenfeld has made quite a name for herself. American Wife stirred up some controversy-- it blurred a few lines between "inspired by a true story" and fiction-- but no matter what, her novels are raw; eager to explore what growing up means, but careful enough to know that growing up can be a painful process. Prep is also inspired by a true story-- her own-- and it's her debut novel. As a character study, Prep shines in a way its main character cannot. Lee Fiora wasn't ever going to shine brighter than her best friends, or compete to win in any major tournaments, or score the hottest boy on campus. As an adult, she recounts her experiences at Ault, an austere boarding school in the northeast, where she can only afford to attend thanks to being on scholarship. At Ault, however, Lee is painfully self-aware, introverted, and she's lonely in almost every sense of the word. She doesn't fit in with her wealt...

All the Stars and Teeth drew me in with its odd title and gorgeous cover. When I looked around, I found nothing but stellar reviews, claiming this would be *the* YA book of 2020. Though All the Stars and Teeth was not bad by any means, I'm afraid it was your average YA fantasy.  Amora is the princess of Visidia, a kingdom comprised of seven islands. Each island corresponds with a different type of magic (elemental, enchantment, and so on). Every citizen may chose ONLY ONE type of magic to specialize in, and they must move to the corresponding island. No one is allowed to practice multiple magics, as legend says too many magics will overwhelm the body and corrupt the soul.  The idea is simple enough, but in all honesty, I never fully grasped the names of the islands or their specializations. They are info dumped in an early paragraph, in a rapid-fire list of names and magics and corresponding gemstones. Yes, like early fanfiction, every color is described by gem...