Welcome to another Paranormal Book Club post! The Paranormal Book Club is a casual book club I do with my friends Rachel, Kristin & DJ, and it came into being because we decided we wanted to revisit (or experience for the first time) a few older YA paranormal/fantasy books together. Rachel, DJ & I picked up Unearthly as our most recent reread. It's been a hot minute (read: almost a decade) since the first and only time I read this series, so I was interested to see how I would like it now.

Summary: After learning about her part angel heritage, Clara Gardner begins to receive visions of her purpose, the thing she was put on earth to do. The clues in her visions lead to a move with her mother and brother to a new town and a new school where she begins to see the elements of her dream in real life. But as Clara hurries to figure out her vision and learns more about her angel heritage, she encounters more than she bargained for and finds herself questioning all she knows about her life and her destiny.

I was looking forward to revisiting Unearthly when we chose it as one of our book club reads for the year, as I hadn't read the series again after the first time I devoured the trilogy back to back. Luckily, the book held up pretty well! It was a bit slower paced than I remembered, but the novel in its entirety - the characters, the setting, the story, the lore - all come together beautifully.

“So often we only do what we think is expected of us, when we are capable of so much more.” When I read this line in the book, I felt a very strong personal resonance to it. It's such a simple statement, but it rings with such honest truth. We all are capable of so much more than we can imagine; it's just that we sometimes lose sight of that in the grand scheme of our lives and busyness.

Clara, primarily because I find her struggle to figure out, understand and fulfill her purpose so relatable. She really experiences the whole spectrum of emotions - joy, fear, doubt, anger, denial, awe - and I feel like I, along with many others, have the same experience at many points in our lives.

Since I know that this one is a series and that we do get more of the things I want (like Christian and the angel lore and Tucker), I'm going to say no, it's great as it is.

I'm so glad that we decided to revisit this book because it was a wonderful story to sink back into. I would definitely continue with the series (especially since I actually don't remember the details of the other two books, save for the romance and how that concludes), and the only reason I didn't was because I have a massive TBR threatening to topple over. I've actually read quite a few books by this author, and would certainly read more!

If you're interested in finding out what the others thought, check out their posts below:

I’ll point you in the direction of Macky’s clever review for the series, but I felt like it would still be appropriate to give you my personal thoughts on Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians too. This middle grade series starter centers around Alcatraz Smedry, who finds out on his thirteenth birthday that everything he knows about himself and the world around him is, in fact, a lie. Because the evil Librarians are out to take over the world by spreading lies and misinformation, and it’s up to Alcatraz and his up-until-this-point unknown family to help stop that from happening. As you might know if you’ve read my blog for a while now, I generally prefer to be able to connect with the characters I read about. That, unfortunately, did not happen when I read this book, simply because the characters felt crossed the line between real person and caricature for me. However, that didn’t stop me from enjoying this read! This is one of those rare instances where I was fully content to be dragged along by the plot (which is shenanigans piled on top of other shenanigans and shoved into a close with, you guessed it, more shenanigans) as it played out. I also enjoyed the humor of this story, which runs the spectrum from really out there zany to being patently sarcastic and witty (which Macky basically embodies). And the narration style, which might not work for everyone with the tongue in cheek remarks and the allusions to future plots, ended up working quite well for this book too! While I’m not really rushing to pick up the next in the series, I do eventually plan to because I so enjoyed my time with this book.

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Pub Info: February 16, 2016 (or. October 2007) by Starscape

Even though I’ve now read quite a few adult fantasy books, I still found the idea of starting The Stormlight Archive series very intimidating. After all, The Way of Kings is just about thousand pages long – and the rest of the books that have been released in the series so far equal or surpass it in length. But I couldn’t help being curious after seeing so many folks I follow on BookTube rave about it (and even more curious after my friend Kristin told me how much she loved it), and so, I finally took the plunge. The Way of Kings introduces us to three narrators: Dalinar, a decorated general in the King’s army beset by unexplained visions; Kaladin, a slave who works as a member of a warlord’s bridge crew despairing over the curse that causes him to fail all those he wants to protect; and Shallan, a young woman who aims to be apprenticed to a master scholar in order to steal the relic that the master possesses in order to save her family. Each of their perspectives is distinct from the others, and the lengthy page count ensured that there was ample time for the formation of a solid character-reader relationship with each of the three. I never once felt lost or bored no matter who I happened to be following at any given moment as well! I also appreciated how each main character (and a couple of other secondary characters too, specifically in the interludes) offered a different view of the world, and that contributed to the world-building right alongside actual descriptions and the insertion of sketches and maps. In terms of plot, while I normally do not gravitate towards war stories, it worked really well here. It’s probably got a lot to do with Sanderson’s writing and the way he gave human faces to people involved in the conflict. I’m glad I finally picked this tome up because I really enjoyed the time I spent reading it, and I’m looking forward to the next installment.

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Pub Info: August 31, 2010 by Tor Books

My original experience with Howl's Moving Castle was, of course, the iconic Studio Ghibli film (which I enjoyed, though it's actually not one of my Ghibli favorites). I'd heard from many folks over the years that the novel that was the source material for this whimsical tale was equally incredible, and I'd been curious about it for ages so I finally took the plunge and read it this year. And friends, this book was so enjoyable! In Howl's Moving Castle, Sophie finds herself cursed by the Witch of the Wastes. She decides to make her way to the moving castle owned by the wizard Howl in order to find a way to break her curse, only to find herself swept up in a series of adventures with Howl, his apprentice Michael and the fire demon Calcifer. It was fun to pinpoint the details that made an appearance in the film, but it was equally entertaining (and a wonderful surprise) to discover that there was more to this story. I really enjoyed being swept up in this adventure with Sophie, Howl and the rest of the cast of characters, though I did feel like I wasn't as connected to it in a personal way as I would've liked. Still, I was entertained, charmed and engaged completely from start to end, and if that's not the sign of a good read, I don't know what is. I'd definitely recommend reading Howl's Moving Castle (and if you haven't yet, you should totally watch the film too)!

Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1) by Diana Wynne Jones

Pub Info: April 22, 2008 (or. April 1946) by Greenwillow Books

In Huaxia, boys and girls are paired to pilot Chrysalises, the giant robots that make up their country's main defensive force against the mecha aliens beyond the Great Wall. Zetian offers herself up as a pilot concubine, not for glory or honor, but for the chance to assassinate the pilot who was responsible for her sister's death -- and she succeeds at her mission of vengeance by killing him through the psychic link while in the Chrysalis and emerging from the cockpit unscathed. Dubbed the Iron Widow for what she's accomplished, Zetian is paired with the strongest, most controversial male pilot in the force, Li Shimin. There are many who would see them both dead despite the unquestionable asset they happen to be in the war. But driven by her determination to understand and overturn the misogynist pilot system and prevent the needless deaths of more girls, Zetian won't go down without a fight.

I had an inkling that I would, at the very least, enjoy Iron Widow. (And I say that as someone who rarely, if ever, reads sci-fi.) As it turns out, it's so, so good, and very much unlike anything I've read previously despite some familiar elements and tropes! I'm rarely able to just sit back, relax (or stress, depending on what the characters are going through) and let the author lead me where she will with her words, so this was a pleasant surprise. With her debut novel, Xiran Jay Zhao has done something really interesting here; she's taken a historical figure (Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history), planted them in unique circumstances and let her imagination run wild with how it all comes together. The plot is the main driving force behind Iron Widow, and while I normally prefer more character-driven tales, I didn't mind it at all in this case.

There are, however, a few elements of Iron Widow that could have used a little bit more development (though I anticipate that happening as the series continues). Like the world, though it's understandably limited considering the position Zetian is in and the heavy focus on the war effort. And the characters, who we only get a limited perspective on and usually through the lens of limitations or trauma. (And yes, this includes Zetian, who readers will mostly identify as an angry young woman who is reckless after losing the person who matters most to her; someone who will do whatever it takes to keep herself and her own safe.) And the character relationships too, especially the romance that blossoms in this story (though I'll definitely give it props for surprising me in a good way).

The thing is, however, that despite my reservations, I really enjoyed Iron Widow. The beginning hooked me immediately, the story was compelling and refreshingly different from anything I've recently read and it totally gave me anime vibes (which is always a good thing in my book). I'm so glad that I ended up reading it and I'm very much looking forward to the sequel!

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Pub Info: September 21, 2021 by Penguin Teen

Source: e-galley received from publisher via NetGalley

Jade Fire Gold was guaranteed a spot on my TBR after I saw the cover, the character art the author commissioned and the mentions of said characters being reminiscent of Zuko and Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. This YA fantasy twines together the stories of two characters: Ahn, a girl with no past or family but in possession of powerful magical abilities; and Altan, a lost heir hellbent on exacting vengeance and reclaiming his throne. Their respective paths start out seemingly straightforward, but soon discover that things might be more complicated than they could ever have foreseen.

I genuinely enjoyed parts of Jade Fire Gold, including the story lore, the characters (they were archetypes I like in general) and the banter that made an occasional appearance. These were the things that kept me turning the pages of this novel, the three elements that kept my interest piqued and my hope that I would eventually really click with the story alive all the way until the end. But the truth is that the novel fell short for me in, coincidentally, three specific ways that affected my overall feelings. First, the plot (plots, really) had one too many different strings to follow. It felt messier and less developed than I would have liked, and there were certainly moments that felt unearned (especially at the conclusion, which felt like it was trying to lead into a potential sequel). This also lead to, second, the pacing being all over the place; there was a rather large lull to me in the middle of the book. And lastly, while I wanted to love the romance (seriously, it should have been precisely my cup of tea), I ended up feeling a little cheated and less invested than I'd hoped. Unfortunately, while there are details of merit to this book and while I'm sure it could potentially appeal to other readers, I did feel a little let down by Jade Fire Gold by the time I reached the end of the book.

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan

Pub Info: October 12, 2021 by HarperTEEN

Source: e-galley received from the publisher through Edelweiss

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You is the young adult adaptation of the original work Stamped from the Beginning, and it's done by Jason Reynolds in conjunction with author Ibram X. Kendi. And it's brilliant. It takes the detailed information provided in its adult counterpart and distills it into something that was, personally, a little easier to comprehend. (This is especially true for me, as I didn’t grow up learning a lot about American history.) Reynolds uses an easy, approachable tone to relay the facts in straightforward manner; this will, in my opinion, really help this nonfiction YA reach the audience it was intended for and hold their attention. It was a clever idea to adapt the original work (which I certainly also feel is worth the read) to broaden its audience. It’s very good, and worth reading for sure. I would definitely recommend picking up this one for the teens and young adults in your life (or for yourself, if you want a starting point that’s less intimidating than the original Kendi tome).

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi

Pub Info: March 10, 2020 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

I’ve been determined to start taking better care of myself this year, and part of that includes taking better habits when it comes to taking care of my skin. Korean skincare has always interested me, and a couple of years ago, one of my college roomies recommended I pick up The Little Book of Skin Care to help me understand the basics. I should’ve listened to her then and there, but instead, I waited years before picking this one up (which I’m regretting now). While I did know the basics about Korean skincare (thanks to the internet and friends who have incorporated it into their own routines), this book provided me with a fresh perspective. I appreciated the way that it delved a little deeper into the aspects of a normal skincare routine, including the reasoning and benefits to be gained from each. I liked the practical, friendly tone Cho uses in this book, as it feels like you’re learning from a relative or a friend. I also liked that this wasn’t just focused on what products you need to acquire (which can often be overwhelming, and I’ll admit that it still is since both you and the product offerings are changing constantly); it talks about better habits that will also contribute to overall better skin. I definitely tabbed a lot of pages, and will be referring to this one as I embark on a journey to figure out my new skincare habits and routine!

The Little Book of Skin Care: Korean Beauty Secrets for Healthy, Glowing Skin by Charlotte Cho

Pub Info: November 10, 2015 by William Morrow

I probably wouldn't have had Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir on my radar were it not for my friend Kristin, who read, enjoyed and recommended this title after she devoured it last year. Ruth Reichl is a well-known American food writer, restaurant critic and former editor-in-chief of the magazine Gourmet. She's released a number of memoirs, but this one in particular centers around the ups and downs of her life when she was in charge of the magazine. I didn't know anything at all about this author before picking up the memoir, so everything revealed within its pages was new to me. It's clear that Reichl loves food in many capacities; she enjoys consuming, creating and writing about it. And it was pretty interesting to see her at various points in her life and career, especially when it came to being a big player in the magazine industry. I liked it overall, but it did take me longer to read than I'd anticipated since there were portions of the story that didn't hold my attention well.

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl

Pub Info: April 2, 2019 by Random House