I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was last week. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about Everyone’s Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni. Thank you to Scholastic for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Within the walls of Wodebury Hall, reputation is everything. But aspiring photographer Iyanu is more comfortable observing things safely from behind her camera. For Iyanu’s estranged cousin Kitan, life seems perfect. She has money, beauty and friends like queen bee Heather.
But as a Nigerian girl in a school as white and insular as Wodebury, Kitan struggles with the personal sacrifices needed to keep her place – and the protection she gets – within the exclusive popular crowd. Then, photos from Iyanu’s camera are stolen and splashed across the school – each with a juicy secret written on it.
With everyone’s dirty laundry suddenly out in the open, the school explodes in chaos, and the whispers accusing Iyanu of being the one behind it all start to feel like deja vu. Each girl is desperate to unravel the mystery of who stole the photos and why. But exposing the truth will change them all forever.
Publication Date: 17th August
TW: anti-Black racism, blackface, blackfishing, colorism, misogynoir, biphobia, queerphobia, sexism, panic attacks
My Thoughts:
Everyone’s Thinking It is an entrancing and enthralling read that I absolutely loved.
This is a dark academia thriller that grapples with racism, class and queerphobia, offering a variety of perspectives and three-dimensional characters that I adored. Iyanu and Kitan were characters that instantly had my heart. Their experience of being ostracised or forced to change to be ‘accepted’ was heart-wrenching and speaks to the romanticised ideas of Dark Academia that fails to address the institutional inequalities academia often upholds. This is a mystery that taps into the dark heart of the genre. I thought this was so well-executed, balancing immaculate plot, pacing and tension with these moments of internal reflection and commentary on the genre as a whole.
The way Omotoni weaves in the Shakespearean retelling is next-level as well. This is a loose retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and I definitely got that through the hazy narrative gloss, with the fairyland here being this unassailable place of immense privilege and status. It serves to heighten those tensions fraught with issues such as racism, classism and queerphobia. As a bit of a Shakespeare nerd, the little nods Omotoni placed in there were amazing for me to spot. I think this particular play has also been chosen as it is often seen as one of the queerest plays, but the racism in it is often disregarded. This epitomises how intersectionality is not seen as a focus in conversations around queerness, ignoring the lived experiences of queer people of colour in favour of neater categorisations. Everyone’s Thinking It defies this entirely, showing how different experiences of queerness and race are across people, with no one clear answer. Instead, it is a unique answer for every person. There is so much nuance and Omotoni sits in that, forcing the reader to sit and reflect as well.
Everyone’s Thinking It proves that YA contemporary and mysteries are not going anywhere, as long as these fierce, fresh and fantastic new stories keep getting told.
Next up, I’d like to talk about I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q Sutanto. Thank you to HQ for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Jane is unhappy. She’s a struggling writer trapped in an underwhelming marriage with husband Ted, scraping by to pay for a mortgage for a house and a life that she’s never really wanted.
There’s only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane’s best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their time together at Oxford. But then the night of the formal which should have bound them together for good, drove them apart. Until now.
Because after years of searching, Thalia is everywhere as she tops the New York Times bestseller list. And now Jane has found Thalia after all these years, she won’t let her go…
Publication Date: 17th August
TW: racism, classism, death, murder, sexual assault, stalking, misogyny, physical assault, blood, prison
My Thoughts:
I’m Not Done With You Yet is a cat and mouse game brought to new heights in a thriller that keeps you breathlessly racing through its pages.
This is another book deeply situated within the Dark Academia genre and Sutanto plays with the expectations of the genre perfectly. They are met, undermined and twisted into new shapes – all to lead the reader down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. As you may be able to tell, I adore this genre, but I love it most of all when an author plays with the genre and challenges the structural inequalities earlier iterations of the genre ignored or romanticised in pursuit of their aesthetic above all else.
Sutanto digs deep into that romantic obsession and depicts it as it truly is, a dark and dangerous path to tread. This is the world of the uber elite and that privilege and power are deadly weapons, especially when wielded by the fractured and deeply flawed characters depicted here.
The twists and turns in this thriller are exceptional. Sutanto has created one fiendish gem of a book here. Every page brings a new element to the overarching tapestry, but how much can you trust what you are reading? That trope of the unreliability of the narrator is so exquisitely played out and Sutanto takes it to new and devilishly tricksy heights here. I adored the pacing as well, feeling like I was in an elaborate and never-ending chase. Every time you think you have it all pinned down, trust me, you do not.
Also I loved how much this book talked about writing. From the razor-sharp insights into the publishing industry, to the creative exploits of the university days, this is a book obsessed with the act of writing. It is an act of creation or reshaping, allowing endless freedoms but also endless restrictions.
I’m Not Done With You Yet proved to me why everyone raves about Sutanto and deservedly so. This is a thriller filled with secrets, suspense and shadows that reach out of the book and cast darkness over the reader.
Finally, I’d like to delve into House of Odysseus by Claire North. Thank you to Orbit for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
On the island of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never returned. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace – but this is shattered with the arrival of Orestes, King of Mycenae.
Orestes, son of Agamemnon, is mad. Wracked with guilt for putting his own mother to death, he grows ever more unhinged. But a king cannot be seen to be weak.
To keep him safe from the ambitious men of Mycenae, his sister Elektra brings him to Ithaca to recover under the protection of Penelope. But no sooner has Orestes arrived then his uncle Menelaus, the blood-soaked king of Sparta, comes looking for him. Menelaus hungers for Orestes’ throne – and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.
Caught between Sparta and Mycenae, Penelope must protect Ithaca from two mad kings on the edge of war. Her only allies are Elektra, desperate to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus’ wife. Each woman has a secret, and their secrets will shape the world…
Publication Date: 24th August
TW: war, death, murder, slavery, violence, blood, gore, sexual assault, rape
My Thoughts:
House of Odysseus continues to tell North’s distinctive take on the epic tale known to us all, but ensures to tell it in a way that stands apart from its peers in dynamic fashion.
I loved reading Ithaca last year, so had to snap up the sequel. It keeps that loom spinning, bringing in multiple strands of various perspectives and crashing Greek myths. You know the inevitable ending (or do you?) but getting there is an awesome, epic journey. North diverges from the tale you may think you know in challenging and awesome ways, shedding new light on different aspects. In particular, House of Odysseus sits with a chapter of the tale that is often forgotten or minimised. I loved getting to see this part fully explored and how North chose to present it in intriguing and fresh new ways.
Yet again, the framing device of the choice of narrator was nothing short of excellent. It just added an extra dimension to the story that I absolutely adored. For me, it epitomised North’s choice to have unexpected voices and perspectives that are often shunned or dismissed in this story. Straight away, this shows the focus on those neglected voices, particularly those of women. Through this and the previous choice, it also explores different aspects of femininity and how these are weaponised with and against the gendered expectations of the period, but also how those same expectations come through into the present. There are still characteristics we associate primarily with femininity and shun, exploit or simply dismiss these because of their association. That societal weight is one explored here in a myriad of fascinating ways. North is exceptional at this subtle social commentary.
House of Odysseus leaves us on the thread of incoming death and destruction and I am eager to see how North decides to conclude this intriguing take on the infamous tale.
A Short Book Lover 
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