am book reviewing | Ad Librum Aeternam

By Tiffany D. Jackson

Genre: Horror, YA, Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary

Number of pages: 416

ISBN: 9780063029149

Format: paperback, hardover, ebook (Kindle, Kobo, Nook), audiobook

Publication date: September 6^th, 2022

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Type: Book, Novel, Standalone

Trigger warnings: Blood, bullying, racism, death, murder

Introduction

I was at Harper Presents: 2022 Fall Fiction Preview when I spotted this jaw-dropping bloody cover, so reminiscent of Carrie by Stephen King (Come on, Prom night! THAT night!) Not only was it extremely to my tastes (myeah, sorry, I have weird blood and ominous tastes in horror…), it was inspired by Carrie, and it’s by Tiffany D. Jackson no less! Obviously, I requested it at the first opportunity. Miracle! I got it! I was beyond excited to delve deeper into Springville's Maddy mystery… until I came face to face with the fact of how too close to the original (see inspiration here) it is.

*Thank you kindly to Harper Collins Canada and Katherine Tegen Books for granting me a digital ARC of The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson. I offer this review willingly without any compensation.*

The Positive Sides

While her writing has always been gripping and raw, it definitely improved in The Weight of Blood. It is scarier, the tension is paced in a better way as well as heightened. Honestly, her writing skills rock! And I'm a tad bit jealous… Just a tad. #ThisIsALie #IAmExtraJealous

Also, Miss Jackson (*cue Panic! at the Disco's song!*) interspersed names of known literature and movie serial killers and slashers, such as Coach Bates (yep, Motel Bates, THAT guy…), Miss Kruger (ahum! sweet dreams!), and many more. I believe (and I'm 99% sure I'm right!) the author is playing an inside-joke game with her fans on "how many slasher references she can sprinkle in until the fans notice it". And trust me, this was very entertaining and had me laughing a few times.

Lastly, her creepy but spot-on take on racism, what with wishing away something they are for something they are not, concealing their true selves, bullying, and a cringe creepiness with the closet and all those posters of "perfect, submissive white women"… I nearly screamed with rage. I remember reading about said posters and I just stood there, frozen, blinked and put down the book like "no…. no, so sordid. Disgusting. Who could do that to someone?! AND THAT MEANING! OMG!" I sighed and growled, then picked it back up and resumed my reading, fuming within for what POCs have had to endure (and sadly, a lot still do…) But it hit me like a slap in the face but it was right. I had all the feels.

Representation Matters Hair Love GIF - Representation Matters Hair Love Best Animated Short Film - Discover & Share GIFs

The Negative Sides

I don't really wanna say it but… the book? I mean, the book itself? It's way too close to plagiarism. I get it, the author loves Carrie deeply (I do too), but this reads like a fanfiction with a lot of OCs (original characters). The story, its events and situations, the characters’ relationships, and even the structure. Even the closet!!! Instead of mad mother, it's mad dad!

I just… No.

In other words:

N.B.: If you want to pay for a fanfiction, which is at its core free, go ahead and purchase "The Weight of Blood". That's all I'll say.

(Please note I LOOOOOVE fanfiction and I even write it myself, but such a "fanfiction" as a paid product? That's not fair.)

No Just No GIFs | Tenor

In Conclusion

Overall, the writing is excellent–the author clearly improved on her suspense and horror skills– and her take on racism is witty, insightful and creepy (like it should be because… wait for it… IT IS!); however, the story and its events and situations are just way too similar to Carrie's book (even if you can visualize what I'm saying with only the movies…) by Stephen King, and trust me, I read it more than once… So, I give this book a rating of 2 out of 5 stars for its unfairness to other fanfiction writers and Stephen King's already published work. Unfortunately, the author just lost a fan, but her writing skills are excellent though. I wish her the best, nonetheless.

If you want to learn more about Tiffany D. Jackson and her books, please visit her author website, her Goodreads author page, her Twitter and her Instagram. You can also add The Weight of Blood to your bookshelves on Goodreads, LibraryThing, and StoryGraph.

By Erica Ferencik

Scout Press Books

Simon & Schuster Canada

Goodreads (Add it to your TBR!)

LibraryThing

StoryGraph

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Number of pages: 320

ASIN: 9781982143039

Format: paperback, hardover, ebook (Kindle, Kobo, Nook), audiobook

Publication date: March 1st, 2022

Publisher: Scout Press Books

Type: Book, Novel, Standalone

Warnings: violence, suicide, addictions, murder

*I received a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review. No compensation has been given and I write this book review willingly. A big thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada and Scout Press Books!*

Introduction

I’ll be honest, when came the time to choose for physical galleys with Simon & Schuster Canada, I picked Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik thanks to its intriguing but striking cover and the blurb which mentioned two things I love (the Arctic and languages). But did I truly believe I would like it, even more love it? No.

What a mistake!

Thankfully, it proved me wrong. I still feel shame about this doubt, but damn, it’s one of the best suspense/mystery books I ever read, if not my favorite.

I guess you could say me and the book had a bad start, but fell in love hard?

Best Yep GIFs | Gfycat

Wish to go explore the reasons Girl in Ice is so surprising and unique?

I bet you do!

Come on, grab my hand, and let’s thaw the coldness of doubts and warm it into love!

Blurb

Valerie “Val” Chesterfield is a linguist trained in the most esoteric of disciplines: dead Nordic languages. Despite her successful career, she leads a sheltered life and languishes in the shadow of her twin brother Andy, an accomplished climate scientist stationed on a remote island off Greenland’s barren coast. But Andy is gone: a victim of suicide, having willfully ventured unprotected into 50 degree below zero weather. Val is inconsolable—and disbelieving. She suspects foul play.

When Wyatt, Andy’s fellow researcher in the Arctic, discovers a scientific impossibility—a young girl frozen in the ice who thaws out alive, speaking a language no one understands—Val is his first call. Will she travel to the frozen North and meet this girl, try to comprehend what she is so passionately trying to communicate? Under the auspices of helping Wyatt interpret the girl’s speech, Val musters every ounce of her courage and journeys to the Artic to solve the mystery of her brother’s death.

The moment she steps off the plane, her fear threatens to overwhelm her. The landscape is fierce, and Wyatt, brilliant but difficult, is an enigma. But the girl is special, and Val’s connection with her is profound. Only something is terribly wrong; the child is sick, maybe dying, and the key to saving her lies in discovering the truth about Wyatt’s research. Can his data be trusted? And does it have anything to do with how and why Val’s brother died? With time running out, Val embarks on an incredible frozen odyssey—led by the unlikeliest of guides—to rescue the new family she has found in the most unexpected of places.

The Positive Sides

Honestly, I’m sorry but I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did. So that’s a victory for it, the author, and even me who discovered such a great read!

It is so, so rare and unique for the setting to be in the Arctic, and the main character to be a linguist! And to BOTH be in the same story and so intricately intertwined. LOVE IT! As a polyglot, translator, and language teacher, I relate so much to her, I connect deeply with her thoughts and views of language and culture, and it warms my heart to see us being portrayed this faithfully (and for once!) in an amazing story. The linguist, Valerie, is a hero, too! As the author and her character Val demonstrate it cleverly in Girl in Ice :).

Furthermore, the writing and descriptions of Inuktitut words and meanings as well as their culture and perspectives are like poetry to my soul! This books is also a lot about climate change from the ice, glaciers, freezing winds, and science. A great environmental read for sure! But its strongest tie is love, truth, and language.

I love how the surroundings of the characters, their settings, aren’t static. Animals and nature are constantly in movement, the characters actually exist IN a place, not just in a spot with the environment fading in and out for the plot. It’s fun and involving.

As for the characters, Val is lovely, crippled with anxiety (believably too!), low self-esteem, the death of her brother…, yet she is brillant, stronger than she knows, kinder too, and much more compassionate than she deems herself to be. To me, she’s a heroine! A true one. I also love how she isn’t good around children, but ends up risking everything left in her life to save a little girl she came to love. 🙂 Amazing.

The villains are… irky. And I say this with much reverence and admiration. They are dangerous, changeable, both with motives that run deeper than they let on, they keep us shifting from foot to foot, wondering… and they irked me. I love it when it happens. Most “villains” in contemporary stories are… two-dimensional, if not only one-dimensional; but these are much life-like. Scarily so, too. I love to hate them, and despise when I can relate to them here and there. Wonderful job!

In terms of intrigues, the mysteries are so well-woven you catch glimpses of the answers, but never the whole image of the puzzle. And it is so rewarding at the end to see the full image solved. A real thrill to unfurl all of this alongside Val.

Lastly, the ending is beautiful, hopeful in its own way, poignant, raw; not cold at all! But quite warm, indeed. The very last sentence is so true to a linguist. Charming and evocative.

I kept reading through the climax and ending even though I had work to do. I just HAD TO KNOW how it ended. How all those mysteries, rendered believable in this intricate tale, unfolded and resolved. So, yeah, I guess that’s quite a proof it’s a book worth reading, don’t you think? It’s just that unique and great!

The Negative Sides

Sometimes the pace seems frozen (ha!), but this is more of a statement that it will happen than a real negative side. Why? Well, when this happens, the mysteries thicken subtly and the characters and their relationships unfurl even more. In the end, these slow passages are essential to this story. So, just keep wading through it like you would through snow, and you’ll soon find yourself enjoying the wild ride again.

In Conclusion

* stands up and applauds *

Such a unique, bold, and touching story! Finally, a story set in Arctic with language at its core for the plot. A lovable main character, a perfect representation of a linguist (which puts us in a hero’s shoes!!!), an amusing cast of characters, and real suspense. A thrill! Thus, I give Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik a rating of 5 out of 5.

Verohnsaht! Joy!

If you want to learn more about the author, you can visit her Web site, you can also follow her on Facebook author page, her Twitter account, her Instagram, and Goodreads. You can also add Girl in Ice to your bookshelves on Goodreads and LibraryThing.