Tag: read

Battlecry of Freedom by James M. McPherson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Favorites, Personal, Politics, Reading, Uncategorized

Read 1/31/20 – 2/4/20

The Battle Cry of Freedom is a nonfiction book by James M. McPherson. Coming in at just under 900 pages, it is a massive, one volume outline of the Civil War. The book was fascinating, engaging, and unbelievably informative. I recognize how easy it is to approach this book with a little bit of trepidation. Even ignoring the size, this Pulitzer Prize winner is the 6th in the Oxford History of the United States, and it isn’t hard to imagine all the ways this kind of story could be told in a dull and disengaged manner. McPherson earns the praise, however, as this is amazingly structured and written book.

For me, the biggest flaw was focus on the finer battles throughout the war, but this is a narrative of the Civil War. It is only reasonable that as a piece of the story. I still loved the book because so much time is taken to explore the societal and political changes that lead to the war. Then, he kept the narrative grounded by tying the battles to the greater picture at large. The result is a complete picture of the United States at that time and an depth analysis of the time.

I talk about the details in my Vlog (see above), but I do want to summarize it here. I choose read this book after buying it maybe five years ago when the confederate flag (and monuments) was such a major issue (at least in the south) in the news. As a Georgian, I have always felt I have an obligation to truly understand, remember, and appreciate the past for how it is. It is a common argument from many southerners that honoring the confederacy, its soldiers, and its flag is about heritage and states rights, not slavery.

One doesn’t have to be a historian to figure out that is revisionist history. Nevertheless, I wanted to able to speak on the subject with a more complete background on the topic. The size and content has kept me from reading it, until now, and I am really glad I did because it makes so very clear how the confederacy was entirely about slavery and white supremacy. Hence, we have sects of white supremacy that has pushed to survive since, like a bacteria trying to fight against the antibiotics.

I read this, and made the blog, as a way of reaching out to fellow southerners in hopes of communicating the harm they do when honoring the confederacy. The ways in which racism persists can be subtle, and it requires conscious effort by us to overcome. I read a fascinating article by Toni Morrison briefly after the election of Donald Trump about how white supremacy fueled his election that really illustrates how past racial biases can persist so strongly still today.

I can’t stress enough how impact this book was on me or how important it is that you read it as well. We have to remember history and learn from it. I can’t wait to check out the other books in the Oxford History Series, and I hope you consider checking this one out too (the audiobook was great!).

Rating Break Down
Writing Style (7%): 8/10
Content (15%): 10/10
Structure (15%): 9/10
Summary (1%): 8/10
Engagement (5%): 9/10
Enjoyment (25%): 8/10
Comprehension (20%): 8/10
Pacing (2%): 9/10
Desire to Reread (5%): 8/10
Special (5%): 10/10
Calculated Rating: 4.31/5
Final Rating: 4.50/5
Note, each rating is weighted based on personal importance to calculate a final score that is rounded to the nearest half.

In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire ★★★★½

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Favorites, Reading, Uncategorized

Read 1/26/20 – 1/27/20

Let’s be clear, Seanan McGuire is perfect in all ways; she can do no wrong. I think anything and everything I’ve said about the Wayward Children’s series (Books 1, 2, and 3) pretty much apply here. Not since Harry Potter have I felt such a strong connection to a world. I said something similar about Scythe by Neal Shusterman, which will almost certainly be in my top books of the year (I should do that for 2019…). However, McGuire’s Wayward Children series is something different. It connects to me and my my fantastical imagination in a way that Scythe just can’t. That is why I will forever love this series and lament the day we have to see it end.

Seanan McGuire continues the series by taking us on yet another fantastical tell of longing to belong. In this tale, we follow a young girl who travels to a goblin market where fair trade is everything. There, she befriends a young girl. What follows is her attempt to learn the rules of the road. All the while, it seems there is a tug-a-war between the goblin market and earth. This is a story about fairness, and when we think about that, we have to think about what traveling does to our family. Children are young and impressionable; we don’t know what we want. When faced with the facts of reality we come to realize sometimes life isn’t fair. Sometimes life means making hard choices that don’t end well either way.

I am now one away from being caught up with this series. Book five has only just come out, and I will probably read it in March (February is black history month; spoilers for February TBR post). Once I do that, I’ll probably start the series over again. Ever since I started reading one of these a month, the highlight of my month has always the Wayward Children series. I want to be forever lost in this world. Except, I don’t really, because as great as it sounds, it is still so full of sad endings. Nevertheless, I read this, and I feel like I am a part of the story. I write about what these characters do, and my instinct is to talk as if I was a part of the journey with “we”, “us”, and “our.” I realized that and was amazed that I was talking as if this was my story too. That speaks to how engaging these stories are. I feel like I am a part of this story; every action they make is my own.

Do I need to say it? I highly recommend this book and series. 4.5/5 stars

Rating Break Down
Writing Style: 10/10
Plot: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Engagement: 9/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Comprehension: 10/10
Pacing: 8/10
Desire to Reread: 10/10
Special: 7/10
Final Rating: 4.65/5
Note, each rating is weighted based on personal importance.

Strange Exit by Parker Peevyhouse ★★½

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in ARC Review, Books, Reading, Uncategorized

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing me with an electronic advanced copy (e-ARC) to provide a fair and honest review.

Published: 1/14/20

Started 12/22/19

I’m about 75% through Strange Exit, and I am not loving it. I’m going to finish it because I don’t absolutely hate it, and I want to push through it to provide the best review possible. I will say it’s an interesting idea; essentially earth has been destroyed, and there are a ship of humans who had to take it to survive. However, they had to be put in homeostasis which seemed to involve this virtual reality system to help them cope with the trip. It seems like they only took kids, for whatever reason, and, honestly, I don’t quite understand why we had this setup. I guess it’s something to do with re-population and an innate “right” to be saved over adults who’ve had a chance to live their life. Unfortunately, it just feels like a convenient way to write a YA novel.

On that note, I don’t love the writing of this book. It reads very YA but not just in style of substance as well. I don’t mind a YA perspective, but I want depth in my story and characterization. I am mildly interested in what is going on , but to me it just all seems bland. Obviously, I wish I was more excited by the book. Something seems to be going on with the ship, and they have to wake up all of the people in the virtual reality to avoid a major catastrophe. The novel, it seems, revolves around this task, so naturally it’s not an easy task to wake them up. I’m not entirely sure how it all fits together because it seems very convoluted, and what I do understand feels like plot convenience.

I understand the nature of writing is creating, but I a good story should sell the idea and plot naturally (particularly the plot given a specific idea). I feel bad because I am very happy to have been granted this arc. However, it just isn’t a book for me. I think YA readers are probably more likely to enjoy it.

Finished 1/23/20

I finished the book, and while I enjoyed the ending, overall my opinion isn’t very high. I’ll admit I don’t read that much YA, but it’s a genre that personally I’ve been trying to explore more to figure out what type of way works for me. I couldn’t connect with the characters, and the most exciting thing about the plot was the idea. Of course, an idea doesn’t write a book. There were some things that seemed convenient for the sake of the plot, the sake of action, and for the sake of emotion. Obviously these are all necessary to develop a new story. However, it just didn’t work for me.

By the end, the plot drove everything. It wasn’t a special accomplishment of the characters. The ending was near, so the characters arbitrarily make progress where they couldn’t before. I will probably read another book by Parker Peevyhouse, specifically because I know one Books and Lala gave a decent rating to one of them. I recognize her name for a reason, so I don’t want to give up on Peevyhouse just yet. It may just be at this novel isn’t that great, or maybe she isn’t right for me. Thanks to the publisher Internet galley forgive me that we reviewed this book. 2.5/5 stars

Rating Break Down
Writing Style (7%): 5/10
Plot (15%): 5/10
Characters (15%): 4/10
Ending (1%): 7/10
Engagement (5%): 5/10
Enjoyment (25%): 4/10
Comprehension (20%): 8/10
Pacing (2%): 7/10
Desire to Reread (5%): 0/10
Special (5%): 0/10
Final Rating: 2.38/5
Note, each rating is weighted based on personal importance.

The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen J. Gould ★★★

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Reading, Science, Science and Skepticism, Uncategorized

Read 1/18/20 to 1/19/20

The Mismeasure of Man was a poignant book about the use of racism, sexism, and xenophobia to fuel misinformation and bad science to support the bigoted views of scientists throughout history. Gould tells a story about how bigotry can drive us to believe things that aren’t true, even in science. I read this novel right after How We Know What Isn’t So where it talked all about human bias and how it can lead us to believe in untrue things because of our, or someone else, preconceived beliefs.

A key point in that book is how science is probably our best tool to try in avoid said deception. Of course, that makes this book all the more discouraging considering how rampant bias has allowed racist and sexist bias to exists throughout scientific history. In this way, it is clear that science is not immune from such biases. It highlights how even scientists need to be acutely aware of these biases not only in our everyday life but also in the science that we do. If our goal is to reach the truth, then there is a clear path forward to do so.

Gould uses this book to discuss a series of cases where scientists use bad judgement, lies, and bad methodology to reach what are clearly preconceived conclusions based on their personal bigotry. They do so by manipulating their approach, manipulating the data, or outright misrepresenting what they find to get to their conclusion. This is a necessary book, and I implore every scientist to read it. It doesn’t matter if this is your field. Don’t assume you are a immune to this type of fallibility (in your science and in how you treat people).

My biggest problem with this book is it overall structure. The way Gould presents the book is very in-cohesive. As I said, it covers a series of examples where bias has produced bad science. He does not shy away from this shameful side of science, but he fails to create an overarching narrative. Each example felt separate. Moving from one example to the next meant I had trouble retaining the details of most of them. I don’t expect to memorize everything he tells me, but I would have liked a more succinct conclusion to each example that tied it to the next one so we have a better overall picture. The book doesn’t flow well. Sure, I leave the book with the point across, but I think each example could have been tied together more effectively.

All together, I do not regret reading this. I’ve already said I think other people should read this too,especially scientists. Not all works of science are the easiest to read. Some people would rather ignore history rather than acknowledge the fallibility or the harm that the that their history has caused. As I am a part of this institution. Therefore, I am have to be able to defend science against these actions that abuse the institution of science. It is the job of scientists to demonstrate how science is still the best tool to avoid misinformation, misdirection and bigotry. Still, I am not rating this on principle but on its merit as a book. 3/5 stars

Stephen J. Gould discusses the use of IQ tests to suggest black people are less intelligent.

Rating Break Down
Writing Style (7%): 7/10
Content (15%): 10/10
Structure (15%): 5/10
Summary (1%): 7/10
Engagement (5%): 5/10
Enjoyment (25%): 5/10
Comprehension (20%): 6/10
Pacing (2%): 5/10
Desire to Reread (5%): 2/10
Special (5%): 10/10
Final Rating: 3.11/5
Note, each rating is weighted based on personal importance.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman ★★★★★

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Favorites, Reading, Uncategorized

Read 1/16/20

I’ll admit I did not have high hopes for this book. I have this irrational fear of YA novels where I always assume I won’t like them. To be fair, I often don’t, but it is hard not to hear so much praise for this series and not give it a try. What’s more, the premise is pretty cool. I made a last second decision to include this book in my January AYEARATHON because I was reading so many nonfiction novels and wanted an easy read. Obviously, I am glad I did. I have not been so excited about a book in so long. It is so refreshing to be this excited over a new series, so excited that I have to resist the urge not to drop everything and finish the series.

Let’s start with the premise. In a twisted utopia free from death, population control requires that Scythe’s be tasked with deciding who should die, albeit at a much lower rate than was once natural. Admittedly, it feels like a stretch. One could argue population is already running out of control even with the natural levels of death. One might say the better approach is to have stricter rules on certain types of care. For instance, one kid rebels by making his parents pay to have him revived after several near deaths experiences. I find it hard to believe that type of abuse of resources would be allowed. Nevertheless, this is fiction, and I am perfectly capable of accepting the premise necessary to set up the story.

The story itself is fantastic. I thought Shusterman did a great job exploring the morality of this world and the morality that Scythes have (or don’t have). What’s more, I was surprised multiple times in this novel. Every-time I thought, “I’m loving this but it is clearly going this direction”, Shusterman would prove me wrong. To me, that is part of the reason I can so readily let go of the stretched premise. It also speaks to an expert level of writing that I need more of. I am eager to read more of his books, even beyond the Scythe trilogy.

It is written in a way that is engaging and exciting. It was indeed easy to read as I had hoped, but I don’t think Shusterman had to sacrifice the substance to make that happen. To me, that is the making of a great book. Lastly, I could so easily reread this book. I rated it 8/10 on re-readability but really, it may be more. I loved it. Highly recommend. 5/5 stars

Rating Break Down
Writing Style (7%): 10/10
Plot (15%): 10/10
Characters (15%): 8/10
Ending (1%): 9/10
Engagement (5%): 10/10
Enjoyment (25%): 10/10
Comprehension (20%): 10/10
Pacing (2%): 10/10
Desire to Reread (5%): 8/10
Special (5%): 10/10
Final Rating: 4.80/5
Note, each rating is weighted based on personal importance.

Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman ★★★★

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Reading

Read 1/14/20 – 1/15/20

I started reading this fresh away from Robin, which I did not want to end (his life or the story ☹). I was thrilled when I quickly became engrossed by the narrative of these girls. The novel is a very slow build because for much of it, it isn’t clear where it is going. However, I don’t think a lack of predictability is necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I think the fact that the story worked so well without giving it away along the way is a fantastic feat.

The story begins following two main girls. A good girl and a bad one (for all intents and purposes). I found the characterization to be more complex than that, but it is a good surmise of how it appears to start. The bad girl begins to have a large influence on the girl until something happens that causes things to change. What unfolds is a complex web of teenage drama that was surprisingly entertaining. It was dark, twisted, and a pleasure to follow.

I loved how wild things got in what was a shockingly short amount of time. By the end, it builds to a dramatic and fairly satisfying conclusion. I definitely recommend this book. 4/5 stars.

Rating Break Down
Writing Style (7%): 8/10
Plot (15%): 8/10
Characters (15%): 10/10
Ending (1%): 7/10
Engagement (5%): 10/10
Enjoyment (25%): 9/10
Comprehension (20%): 9/10
Pacing (2%): 8/10
Desire to Reread (5%): 0/10
Special (5%): 5/10
Final Rating: 4.15/5
Note, each rating is weighted based on personal importance.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant ★★★★

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Reading, Uncategorized

Read 1/13/20

The Red Tent is a well written story that gives insight to the lives of women that are largely treated as props in the Bible. It follows Dinah the daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph (not the husband of Mary mother of Jesus). At the core, this is a story about women and their relationships as mothers and daughters. It spans the length of Dinah’s mother’s birth to Dinah’s death, and we gain a look at what it is like to be a woman during this time. The story starts strong in an intriguing and engrossing manner. By the end, I lost some of my initial excitement, but I leave it with an overall positive outlook.

Diamant gives Dinah new depth, expending on a story but also redefining it. I loved that the women of this story had more strength than I ever imagined during Biblical times. Don’t get me wrong, the patriarchy was strong in this time, and that is ever present. Nevertheless, Diamant writes these women with strength and resilience. The Red Tent is representative of that. The tent is for the period of mensuration and birthing because there is a strong stigma against men observing such things. This was a key part of their custom.

The custom was another thing that I really appreciated. I went into this expecting it to be a much more christian story, but instead, the customs Diamant describes feels completely alien to my expectations of religious custom, even during that time. What’s more, the story never mentions Jehovah explicitly. There are times where the god of one man or another is referred to, but it is treated as no different or better than the gods of Dinah’s or her parents. This is not a christian story. At the same time, it never feels that detached from christianity either. That is important because the customs feel so archaic and ancient, and it’s easy to forget many of the customs of the old testament are the same way.

In the end, this was a well written story that makes you appreciate your mothers. Perhaps the most effective piece of the story was Dinah’s relationship with her son. A mother’s love is so fundamental, and I think it’s easy to forget what we mean to our mothers. I appreciate the reminder. 4/5 stars.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi ★★★☆☆

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Reading

Reading for A Very Merry Readathon

I first heard about this book on Ariel Bissett’s Youtube channel. It sounded like an obscure book but one right up my alley. It is about a coffee shop where you can travel anywhere in time, but you have to be back before the coffee gets cold. This is the only book I intend to read physically (versus over audio). It is yet another time travel story. That makes 4 books with time-travel related premises. Needless to say, I am psyched for this one; I love me some time travel.

Update 12/22/19

A Very Merry Readathon has not gone as well as I hoped. I think I started this before it ended, but I definitely didn’t finish it. I am working on it though!

Update 12/31/19

This book took me longer than I wanted to finish. I big part of that was simply time management related. However, the book has been a bit of a let down. I did enjoy it. The book was warmhearted, and at times it even got to me on an emotional level. That is usually a very important thing I want from books. Sadly, that wasn’t enough to save this book for me.

I didn’t care for the writing. It may be because it was translated. That said, I found out it was adapted from a play, so maybe the structure and writing problems are that it just wasn’t developed to be a novel. The problem continues with the situations which go from being problematic to staged. That is to say, the situations don’t feel natural. Some of the character motivations were questionable. Again, this may be cultural.

Lastly, I read a lot of time travel stories. The time travel mechanic here was convoluted, convenient and inconsistent. You can’t change the past, but really they mean, you can’t change your memory of the past. First off, going changes things, even if it isn’t to the extent the author wants to pretend is somehow significant. Secondly, the author conveniently has a well known magic shop that is simultaneously mostly ignored because “it’s hard” to actually time travel. The whole concept is so contrived. His rules are often broken or the rules we think exist become conveniently twisted such that he obeys the word of the rule, if not the spirit. That isn’t a twist, its just lazy writing in my opinion.

Clearly, I have a lot of complaints. I love time travel for a reason, so I know what I like. That said, it was still enjoyable and emotional. That’s why I wouldn’t say I dislike the book. 3.5/5 stars.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn ★★★★★

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Favorites, Reading

Read 12/27/19 – 12/30/19

Gone Girl is basically a phenomenon. The book came out in 2014 and the film soon after, yet somehow I never got around to reading or watching the movie. Granted, back then the most thrillers I read were exclusively Stephen King. What is surprising is that I went 5 years (half a decade) without getting this story spoiled. I am glad I am finishing the decade off with this book because it was fantastic. I absolute loved it.

There is a massive twist in the book that, I can’t say I outright predicted, but I definitely recognized it as a possibility. What I loved about the start of this book is that despite my ability to guess what is going on, it is too damn murky to say with certainty what’s actually going on. I loved that. Everything suggested something more was going on, yet I kept returning to this underlying suspicion that I won’t elaborate on to avoid spoilers.

I think the best way to explain is to highlight how well these characters were fleshed out. We are presented with information that is hard to make sense of, and its only confused by how everyone in the story is a pretty bad person. I found myself almost hoping the husband gets locked up even if he was innocent simply because of some of the things he was saying in his inner monologue.

Then, que twist, and it is like we are reading an entirely different book. It is dark and twisted and everything I am here for. I absolutely loved how far Flynn took the story into a truly messed up territory. It is true that the events toward the end begin to become increasingly bizarre which requires some dispense of disbelief, but it is in service of a truly delightful conclusion. 4.5/5 stars

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy ★★★★☆

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Favorites, Reading

Reading for A Very Merry Readathon

I am so excited for this book. It is one of my most anticipated reads of December and of this readathon. It is about a woman who is in an insane asylum because she thinks she sees and can communicate with the future. The trick is, she can. This has hints of dystopian, time travel, and feminism. These are probably among my most favorite sub-genres, time travel certainly. You can find this book in a lot of the lists for the best feminist fiction books even though it isn’t talked about as much as others (The Color Purple, Handmaids Tale, etc.).

Read 12/16/19 – 12/17/19

I enjoyed this book, but I think I am still a little disappointed by it. Let me be clear, it is pretty much everything I wanted it to be. This is a deep analysis of how women have been treated as well as how doctors and asylums have operated. Much more than that, it is a visceral attack on many of the issues that we deal with today (most stemming from capitalism), and it is a dark look at what might be if we are not careful as well as what could be if we push ourselves.

I don’t have a definitive reason why it wasn’t as exciting a read as I had hoped. I just know I found myself getting disinterested at a lot of the futuristic visions our main character is seeing. It is a key, not to mention fascinating, analysis on what the future might be and what would shape it to be so. Nevertheless, I found myself disinterested at times. I also found the pseudo-anarchist utopia a little preachy more than convincing at time. I recognize utopia is subjective, and over all Piercy does a fantastic job thinking about how a lot of these issues we deal with today could be resolved.

I wish more of the novel was spent in the modern day because it’s as a commentary against modern medicine and the treatment of women that this book is most effective. In the intro to this, I presented the premise as if we know she sees the future, but I suppose it is possible we have an unreliable narrator. That is also an intriguing thought. However, I think we are meant to believe her sane. That is because she plays a key role in conveying all the injustices done against women.

Overall, I highly encourage this book. It is not only an informative commentary but a fairly engaging and entertaining read. 4.25/5 stars.

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand ★★★☆☆

by Josh Hedgepeth, posted in Books, Reading

Reading for A Very Merry Readathon

I am a huge fan of a Christmas Carol, so when I found out there was a story that was inspired (perhaps even set in that universe) by it, I knew I had to read it. I don’t know much more about it going in, but I am psyched! I really hope I like this. The concept surely peeked my interest. I’ll admit, what I’ve heard has me worried. It is a YA book and someone mentioned a love story, and I’ll be frank. A Christmas Carol is not a love story. I don’t see that working. So we will see.

Update 12/15/19 (1:30 AM, ~38% progress)

I’m feeling all sorts of ways about this one. I am having a lot of fun; I won’t lie about that. However, I don’t like a lot about this book. Let’s start with what I do like. It begins recounting the tale of a Christmas Carol and replaces Scrooge with a young self absorbed teen. That is a delightful twist on the original tale. I also just love the general Christmas Carol theme of it all. My problem is with the characters, the writing, and perhaps the plot (too soon to say for sure). The premise is Holly is scrooge. She doesn’t listen, so she is forced to work with Project Scrooge to help save souls. Fast forward five years, and Holly hasn’t changed one bit. I get she won’t age. I get she is a scrooge for a reason, but for christ’s sake, she’s five years older and should be five years more mature.

It is little things like that which Hand tries to have to give an artificial weight to Holly’s story, but she fails to take it to the logical extreme. She wants a suffering 17 year old girl. That girl will not stay 17. Now she is falling for some hot guy, mostly just because he is hot. It seems so painfully obvious that this will be her redemption, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. Lets address a few creepy things about all this. Holly is 17 + 5 years of age. That could be a teacher fresh out of college. Now, introduce that 22-23 year old to a 17 year old. It could be worse. Now introduce Holly’s position in project scrooge, which, without giving too much details, gives her a position of power and knowledge over this boy. That makes this little love duo seriously problematic.

Now, I don’t see this getting above a three star simply because of the issues I’ve mentioned. That said, it is still a lot of fun, and sometimes it can even be fun to hate something too. The real trick will be deciding how much that fun is worth when it comes time to rate this. For now, I’m heading back in!

Finished 12/15/19 4:00 AM

That was fun. I can’t say it was great, but I enjoyed it well enough. There is just so much about this that made me cringe. Principle among this is the idea that love plays a pivotal role in redemption. It is true that Scrooge has to gain a love for his fellow humans, but this story takes it to next level and makes romantic love interest central to the story. That is not the crucial component of Scrooges turning point. It is a combination of things. I am also frustrated by our characters. This is a story about first world problems. We are meant to care about these characters are the most shallow and self involved people around. Holly’s redemption stems from her relationship with the scrooge she is trying to save, but the most profound growth we really observe is one of lust.

Hand tries to paint a picture of an improving person, but really, all she was doing was putting her character in a series of ever more selfish scenarios. Finally when she gets to the breaking point, that one action is somehow enough to save her. Honestly, this story makes me question what it is I liked about the original. It lacks the soul of the original story and bends a little too religious for my taste. I cringed so hard when I found out our scrooge was an atheist because he hated god for killing his father. That is so cliche. Sure, there are references to god in the original, but it isn’t a christian story. It is about caring about more than your self. Holly may reach that point, but it isn’t really earned. What’s more, the attempts Hand makes to do so focus on all the wrong reasons.

I’m conflicted on how to rate this. It does so much wrong, but it kept me interested, even at 4 AM. For now, I am going to land on 3/5 stars; I’d only go so low as the high 2’s anyway.

Update: I provide a larger comparison to A Christmas Carol in my post discussing my reread of it.