Category: General Fiction - JARED R. LOPATIN

ROSIE REVERE AND THE RAUCOUS RIVETEERS by Andrea Beatty and David Roberts (Print)

9/23/2025

#1 - Questioneers

This is a Battle of the Books novel and I really enjoyed it. Lots of strong female characters, a bit of a mystery, a push for young people to become inventive and creative thinkers...I'm on board. It moves pretty quickly but that's to be expected as it's a shorter book. I never felt like I was rushed along. I had fun rooting for Rosie and her friends. I enjoyed seeing how she came up with her invention. I love the message that failures are a necessary part of invention...and of life. I loved her "stop and think" method. I think it's a great book for young folx today. Even for some of us old people - to remember that we should stop to think once in a while and not let failure derail us.

5/5

NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney (Audiobook)

9/1/2025

Read by Aoife MacMahon

I had heard of this novel but knew nothing about it. Once I realized it was a classic Irish story, I knew darkness was coming. I enjoyed it for the most part - it felt like floating through a slice-of-life tale of two young people who cannot seem to reconcile their feelings. It left me with a feeling of "huh." I would read another book by this author if it happens to cross my path.

3.5/5

Quotes:

"It's like something he assumed was just a painted backdrop all his life has revealed itself to be real. Foreign cities are real, and famous artworks, and underground railway systems, and remnants of the Berlin wall. That's money. The substance that makes the world real."
"And now she knew she wasn't at all powerful and she would live and die in a world of extreme violence against the innocent and, at most, she could only help a few people. It was so much harder to reconcile herself to the idea of helping a few. Like, she would rather help no one than do something so small and feeble."

PAPER TOWNS by John Green (Audiobook)

7/31/2025

Read by John Green and Dan John Miller.

This is my second? John Green book and I enjoyed it. I like Green's writing and it's easy to ride along on the adventure. This one, of course, has a rather unusual heroine (if you can call her that). While not the protagonist, she's certainly the catalyst. The protagonist, Quentin, is such a likable, everyman character that I fell into his world with no problems. His friends are interesting and the mystery that unfolds had me eager to see what would happen next. I flew through this novel. It reminded me that there are other Green books I haven't yet read so I'll have to pick one of those up soon.

Quotes:

"If I had a nervous breakdown every time something awful happened in the world, I'd be crazier than a shit-house rat."
"If I am ever told that I have one day to live, I will head straight for the hallowed halls of Winter Park High School where a day has been known to last a thousand years."
"I'm not saying that everything is survivable; just everything except the last thing is."

4.25/5

FRIENDS OF DOROTHY by Sandi Toksvig (Hardback)

7/20/2025

I absolutely loved it. It took longer than I wanted to because I interrupted it with other books and I had to start again (I was only about three chapters in at that point) and it was worth it. It's funny and sweet and poignant and delightful. I actually laughed out loud and teared up a bit. I've read Toksvig before but that was a memoir and while I enjoyed her writing about her own life, this captured me in a different way. The characters are so fun and fleshed and it is a little contrived at times but I was here for it. You want to be a friend of Dorothy in every sense of the word. I had no idea where we were headed at the beginning and, to be fair, I couldn't have predicted the ending at all. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun and delicious read.

Quote:

"'Sorry, Agnes, I don't think I've been very nice to you. I didn't know,' he finished lamely. It was only then that he saw that Agnes had tears in her eyes.
You shouldn't need to,' she said evenly. 'It shouldn't make any difference. You of all people. Be nice anyway.'" (202)

5/5

YELLOWFACE by R. F. Kuang (Audiobook)

5/22/2025

Read by Helen Laser.

Dear gods, can this author write a book! I loved BABEL and I was not disappointed to pick up another R. F. Kuang novel. Kuang is adept at writing such rich characters who are not always likable but there's always a piece of them that's grounded in relatability. Juniper is sympathetic and yet not. It reminded me a little of THE PLOT but it definitely takes a different turn. I found myself eager to know more and isn't that the hallmark of a great author? I am definitely an R. F. Kuang fan. The end was...well, I don't want to give anything away. I feel like I have so much to say about it and no words to actually express my feelings. It's a bizarre situation. I do have some quotes that I really enjoyed:

"Writing is such a solitary activity. You have no assurance that what you're creating has any value."
"Writing is the whole world. How can I explain this to her? Stopping isn't an option. I need to create. There's a physical urge, like breathing, like eating. When it's going well, it's better than sex, and when it's not...I can't take pleasure in anything else."
"Only the dead can be so constantly present."

5/5

CONCRETE ROSE by Angie Thomas (Audiobook)

4/17/2025

Read by Dion Graham.
#0 - The Hate U Give

Having just completed THE HATE U GIVE, I saw that the prequel, CONCRETE ROSE was available so I dove right in. Getting the backstory to Maverick was interesting, especially knowing how it all turns out. I was disappointed that I didn't get more detail on his sacrifice for King, but the development and devolvement of that relationship was fascinating. Also loved seeing more of his relationship with Lisa. Thomas has great ability in making the reader understand the inner turmoil of the characters, especially the protagonists. While the circumstances are different, one can easily see the similar personalities and struggles that present themselves in Maverick and Starr. Perhaps that's the voice of Thomas herself coming through. I really enjoy her work.

5/5

THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas (Audiobook)

4/15/2025

Read by Bahini Turpin.
#1 - The Hate U Give

A student read this last year and did her independent reading project on it. I had heard of it, of course, but I had never read it. Now, I wish I had read it before she did her project. I can understand why this is such a popular book. Thomas's writing is working on many levels. She addresses racism and bigotry with a personal eye, filtering everything through a young Black female narrator who is living among gangs and going to school in a mostly-white establishment. She is wrestling with her identity - a universal condition - and how to be "just Black enough" in each situation, which is not universal. The grief, the heartache, the frustration...it's all on the page and it seeps into the reader. I can't help but be affected by this book, galvanized even, which I think is Thomas' point. It reminds me of DEAR MARTIN by Nic Stone. Both books start with a tragedy involving the police and the fallout that occurs. Both handle it in different ways but the message is relatively similar - drawing the spotlight back to the issue of racism in America. I think more people should be reading Thomas and Stone.

5/5

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SPACE by Emily Austin (Audiobook)

4/12/2025

Read by Natalie Naudus.

Done. I'm an Austin fan. I know I said it before but I just want to make it official. I love her writing, her characters, her character work, her quirky prose...I love it all. Another wonderful novel that has a mystery to it but is really about character and relationship study. Enid doesn't know how to communicate love, so she speaks in facts about space. She has an unusual relationship with her family and struggles with romantic relationships. Of course, she's dealing with some mental health (because that seems to be an Austin staple) and though she seeks traditional help, she's also getting assistance from some unexpected quarters. I don't know if it's primary bias but I think Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead appealed to me more. That doesn't mean I didn't love this novel. Austin can do no wrong in my eyes. I can't wait to read more of her work.

And, of course, quotes:

"I wish watching myself as a teenager required that I fly lightyears away from Earth."
"Sometimes, when thing are broken, I find they fix themselves if you just pretend that things are fine and give them time."
"I managed to overcome aspiring to appear normal, but not really figured out what I should aspire to be."
"You could kill yourself with anything if you try hard enough."

6/5

QUEENIE by Candice Carty-Williams (Audiobook)

4/7/2025

Read by Shvorne Marks.

Maybe I have a thing for spiraling narrators - I really enjoyed this book. I didn't know where I was or where it was going at first but I immediately adored the protagonist, Queenie. Her family, her friends, her journey all became increasingly fascinating as the story wove on. Carty-Williams has a great sense of character and she wields that power with gusto; every voice is distinct and rich. I'm certainly not the clearest match for Queenie's experiences but the beauty of this book is that her desire for love, her self-doubt, her choices made are all relatable. Carty-Williams has created a wonderful blend of universal experience (wanting to be loved, not just romantically) with a singular character (a young Black woman of Jamaican heritage living in Britain). It's heartbreaking and heartwarming.

4.75

FLAMER by Mike Curato (Digital)

3/1/2025

Mike Curato's semi-autobiographical graphic novel tells the story of Aiden, who has to deal with a scouting trip the summer before he heads to a new high school. Just leaving middle school, not being good at sports, not having the "ideal" build, and being of mixed race, he is teased by the other boys, some more cruelly than others. Some try to give him "advice" that is still shaming. Aiden is trying to find his identity and Curato uses the symbolism of fire to help Aiden discover who he is. I related to Aiden for obvious reasons, not the least of which was his struggle to be "normal." I remember my days of feeling different and "othered" and dealing with comments that were maybe meant to be helpful but were actually harmful. I try to watch out for those kinds of comments when it comes to my students as well. I left the book a little teary-eyed and feeling a flicker of Curato's fire inside. I think this book is honest and addresses issues that young people (especially young queer people) tend to deal with. It reminds me a little bit of a queer Then Again, Maybe I Won't and Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.

4.75/5