my rolodex

Sanctum by Madeleine Roux

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


madeleine roux's mystery gang continue to stir shit up in this second volume of the asylum series proving the famous proverb of my heart, "if they shenaned once, they shen again."

dan, abby, and jordan return to brookline after dan is accosted by felix's mother, asking dan to visit felix
spoilers for asylum, the first book of the series, under the following cut (( (view spoiler) )

. when dan visits felix in the mental hospital, felix gives dan a list of coordinates and implores him very psychotically to look into it. dan informs his scooby gang of his conversation with felix, and off they go to another completely unrealistic college tour event that has probably never once happened or existed in the real world, #InvestigatingTheCoordinatesAMentalHospitalPatientGaveThem!

once again, we have a problem of university Not Working Like That, reducing my enjoyment of a book within the asylum series. i don't know why we feel like we have to make up things that happen in college, just because you know that your reader base probably doesn't have enough knowledge on the topic to know better.

however, i found the plot points beyond the setting to be very interesting and it drew me in very well, and it held onto me, which is always a plus.

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Asylum by Madeleine Roux

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Asylum is a young adult horror novel where we follow our protagonist, Daniel, a socially awkward, adopted teenager, who finds refuge in a prestigious summer program until he learns that his dorm was once a notorious asylum for the criminally insane. As he and his newfound friends explore the institution’s dark past, they uncover chilling secrets that begin to seep into their own lives.

I've seen a lot of popular poor reviews of this book and here's my two cents: this is a YA book. This is for people between the ages of 12-17 primarily. Of course the collegiate scenes don't make sense!!! Of course the writing is elementary!!! It is for teenagers!!!

This is a perfect buffer book to reset your brain between heavier books although it's more thriller than horror.

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Mammoth by Eva Baltasar

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

dates read: 3/12/2025 -  3/19/2025

In this book, we follow a young unnamed female protagonist who is driven by frustration with her life in the city and embarks on a journey to reclaim her dignity and find meaning. On this journey she hurtles toward her unusual concept of motherhood, taking her to an abandoned countryside home where her only friend is the neighboring shepherd. There, she faces some hard realities that come along with living well and truly alone for the first time, such as learning exactly who you are, what it means to be free, and seeking out a life lived just how you want it.

I find that this book lacks a certain je ne sais quoi that Boulder did not struggle with. I struggled to name what exactly bothered me until it hit me: this main character is unapologetically violent. The narrator in Boulder was extremely permissive, taking autonomy away from the overseeing eye of her partner. In Mammoth, this narrator takes back her autonomy by screaming, yelling, and cursing in your face, and when you hand it back saying, "Listen man, I don't want any trouble. You can have it back." She describes in detail how she wants to murder stray cats.

This book was very unapologetic. To a fault.

The author stated in an article for the Trabalibros publication, "Knowing that she [the narrator] was going to be the protagonist who closed the triptych, the most austere, the hardest and also the most violent, I wanted the language to accompany her in the same way."* Eva Baltasar was successful in this to a fault.

( spoilers )

?[ On a side note, is it a legal requirement in Catalonia that every time Eva Baltasar opens up a Word document and begins to write a novel, in the last 10 pages she has to include something completely crass and asinine that throws you off before you finish the novel? In Boulder, it was breastfeeding while getting head. In Mammoth, it is smoking not one but two cigarettes at a time whilst knowing she is pregnant. What is going on here? (hide spoiler)]

*link: https://trabalibros.com/noticias/mamu... | I used Google Translate to get this quote. It might be wrong. I don't speak Catalan.



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The Women's Revolution: How We Changed Your Life by Muriel Fox

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

dates read: 4/25/2024 - 4/31/2024

Reading Updates:

March 25, 2024 – 24%: Remembering that the founder of NOW was very homophobic (see: "Lavender Menace") and so I almost worry about how this book will go on.

March 28, 2024 – 33%: i wish this author wld stop misgendering trans people and referring to people switching sexualities

March 31, 2024 –73%: the way this lady talks about lesbians makes me want to crawl out of my skin

Review:

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Women's Revolution by Muriel Fox reminds me of Azealia Banks and Ronnie Radke, in that Muriel Fox writes about feminists and their accomplishments and then BOOM! they think one of the following:
a) black people are bad
b) lesbians are bad
c) transgenders are bad

Nonetheless, this is a good starter book looking to get into one's own journey with feminism, especially since Muriel can't seem to form an opinion on anything that plagues the modern women (see: thinks that TERFs are "complicated"). But I can't deny that NOW, despite their very clear issues, have irrevocably changed how women are viewed in the United States, and thus this book is a good jumping off point for someone wanting to read something basic and accessible with no "complex" political influence.

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