How I Met Your Father Review: 2x02 "Midwife Crisis"

 A lot of this episode centers around Meredith. Sophie meets her for the first time, and there's a lot of tension between her and Sid.

During season one, I talked about having complicated feelings towards Meredith. She gets a lot of flak for rejecting Jesse's proposal that I don't think is warranted. That scenario is the exact reason why you shouldn't propose publicly unless it's something that you've already discussed. I hate the idea that she should have said yes just to spare Jesse's feelings or something.

Now, in season two, we're continuing to learn about more legitimate reasons not to like her, and I just wish that the proposal wasn't presented as the first sign that Meredith wasn't a great person when that one really wasn't her fault.

Sid is refusing to get along with Meredith, and he makes a big deal about her eating his burrito once. At the end of the episode, we find out that the real problem is actually that he heard she faked being sick to avoid going to Jesse's recital, which seemed rather obvious from the beginning.

I'm actually a little frustrated that Sid doesn't mention it. That absolutely feels like something you should tell your best friend. I get not wanting to hurt Jesse's feelings, but him not knowing the full story will only make things worse in the long run.

Ellen's love life seems to be going a little better than Jesse's. She and Charlie throw a party to try to get Rachel to talk to Ellen. It seems like it's been a disaster, but then it turns out that they've both just been nervous about talking to the other. I thought they were cute this episode, and I thought it was hilarous that Charlie and everyone at the party was listening in on them agreeing to a date.

While all of that is happening, Sophie is meant to take pictures of a home birth. When the midwife gets stuck on a tram, Sophie and Valentina end up having to deliver the baby. It seems to get Sophie and Valentina on a high, and Sophie is even more excited when, at the very end of the episode, she learns that her photo sold.

I'm curious to see what happens now that the photo has sold and what it means for Sophie's story.

How I Met Your Father Review: 2x01 "Cool and Chill"

I'll be honest with you, I almost didn't realize that How I Met Your Father's season two started this week. It was by chance that I saw (or heard) and ad for it while listening to Spotify. I definitely would have realized eventually though.

While I did enjoy season one well enough, I wasn't eagerly awaiting season two, but I am invested enough that I'm going to keep watching until the end, whenever that may be.

The episode starts off with Sophie agreeing to go on a date with Ian, but she lies to him that she has nothing going on romantically, which goes disastrously wrong. By the end of the episode, Ian has left, and it seems like he might not be coming back. At least not any time soon. I am curious about that. It feels like a let down to have him show up at the end of the last season as a cliffhanger and then immediately have him gone after the first episode. But I guess we'll see.

Drew also shows up at the bar, and he is by far the funniest character in this episode I think. I'm curious how much he'll be around this season.

Most of the episode takes place at Sid's bar where they're throwing a wedding party for Sid and Hannah. The newlyweds are absolutely adorable in this episode. I'm scared of potential drama coming up for them later, but I've started hoping that they're the series Lily and Marshall and will be fine.

At the end of the episode, we get a flash forward to later in the season. Sophie is frantically calling her mom saying that she thinks she was on a date with her dad, and she winds up hitting Barney's car. We got a Robin cameo last season, but I really wasn't expecting that. I've seen speculation of Barney being Sophie's dad, and I could see it. (Though it means she wasn't actually on a date with her dad, which would be a good thing.)

I'm really curious to see how that will play out. That's probably what I'm most interested in seeing at this point.

Book Review: This Winter by Alice Oseman

Published: November 5, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollin's Children's Books
Received: purchased
Read on January 15, 2023
Synopsis from Goodreads:

A short story, based on characters from Solitaire – praised as ‘The Catcher in the Rye for the digital age’ The Times

I used to think that difficult was better than boring, but I know better now…

I’m not going to think about the past few months, about Charlie and me, and all of the sad. I’m going to block it all out. Just for today.

"Happy Christmas, " I say.

The festive season isn't always happy for Tori and her brother Charlie. And this year's going to be harder than most.

Review:

This Winter is the second novella set within the same world as Solitaire and Heartstopper. It takes place over the Christmas before the Solitaire novel and during the timeline of the Heartstopper comics/graphic novels.

The story is told in three points of view: Tori's, Charlie's, and Oliver's. It was nice getting to see all three of the Spring siblings' view of the day. While we get Tori's point of view in Solitaire and Charlie's in Heartstopper and Nick and Charlie, it's the only book I'm aware of where Oliver gets his own part, which is completely understandable considering how young he is. It was somehow both heartwarming and sad how Oliver managed to both be oblivious to a lot of what was going on and also very perceptive at the same time.

Honestly, both Tori and Charlie talk a lot about how they can't believe they're related to Oliver because he's so much more cheerful than them, but a lot of that does seem to be his age. Not that I'm wishing depression on Oliver when he's older or anything, but he does have a pretty typical outlook on life for a kid his age.

Oliver's POV was a good place to end the story because, despite when it takes place, This Winter does not have the overly cheerful tone you typically expect with Christmas stories. Neither Tori or Charlie are in particularly good places, something that's not remotely shocking to anyone who reads Solitaire or Heartstopper before picking This Winter up.

Despite that, This Winter does manage to have that hopeful tone that Alice Oseman is really good at even when bad things are happening in a story. While things aren't easy, you know they will be okay.

I really enjoyed getting a look at the Spring siblings' relationship with each other. We do get that to a certain extent in Solitaire and Heartstopper, but it was a particularly big focus in This Winter, and it was nice to see. I also really loved Nick's family's reaction to meeting Charlie.

This was a quick read that I loved.

Book Review: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells (Murderbot Diaries #4)

Published: October 18, 2018
Publisher: Tor.com
Received: Christmas present
Read from December 30, 2022 to January 11, 2023
Synopsis from Goodreads:

Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right?

Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.

But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue?

And what will become of it when it’s caught?

Review:

Exit Strategy is the fourth book in the Murderbot Diaries series and possibly my favorite one yet.

After getting a new set of characters in each book, we finally get to see some of the characters from the first book again! It was really great seeing them and finding out a bit about what's been happening with them, especially Dr. Mensah. Aside from Murderbot, Mensah is probably my favorite character.

This book also seemed particularly focused on Murderbot's character development. That's something that's been part of every book, but it was up front and center in this one. Murderbot's perspective on humans is definitely evolving, and that's very apparent in this one.

Exit Strategy has left me eager to dive into the fifth book. The next one is also a novel instead of a novella, so I'm excited to see how much Murderbot can get up to in a longer book.

Book Review: The Dawn of Yangchen by F.C. Yee

Published: July 19, 2022
Publisher: Amulet Books
Received: purchased
Read from August 29, 2022 to January 10, 2023

Synopsis from Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Avatar, the Last Airbender: The Rise of Kyoshi and Avatar, the Last Airbender: The Shadow of Kyoshi comes a thrilling new chapter in the Chronicles of the Avatar series

Yangchen’s inexperience may prove to be her greatest asset . . .

Plagued by the voices of Avatars before her for as long as she can remember, Yangchen has not yet earned the respect felt for Avatar Szeto, her predecessor. In an era where loyalty is bought rather than earned, she has little reason to trust her counsel. When Yangchen travels to Bin-Er in the Earth Kingdom on political business, a chance encounter with an informant named Kavik leads to a wary partnership. Bin-Er is a city ruled by corrupt shang merchants who have become resentful of the mercurial Earth King and his whims. To extract themselves from his influence, the shangs have one solution in mind: a mysterious weapon of mass destruction that would place power squarely in their hands. As Yangchen and Kavik seek to thwart the shangs’ plan, their unlikely friendship deepens. But for Yangchen to chart her course as a singularly powerful Avatar, she must learn to rely on her own wisdom above all else.

This propulsive third installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series illuminates Avatar Yangchen’s journey from uncertain young woman to revered leader.

Review:

The Dawn of Yangchen is the third Avatar Chronicles book but the first to follow Yangchen instead of Kyoshi. I was curious how this one would be different and how similar it would feel to the other books.

Like the Kyoshi novels, The Dawn of Yangchen had an eclectic cast of characters. I was expecting the book to be mostly in Yangchen's point of view, just like the Kyoshi novels were mostly in Kyoshi's. Instead, quite a bit of the book is in Kavik's. Having finished the book, I feel like I learned more about Kavik than Yangchen, which isn't to say that I didn't learn anything about Yangchen at all, but Kavik felt more like the main character in many ways.

That might be part of the reason why I don't feel as drawn to Yangchen as I did Kyoshi. I do like her, but I'm not invested in her story quite as much. That could also have to do with other aspects of her characterization. At the beginning, you learn that Yangchen has memories from past Avatars even as a young child, while most Avatars don't develop the ability to communicate with their past lives until they're older. The fact that Yangchen had all of this knowledge at her disposal from the beginning of the story made her feel larger than life in a way that Kyoshi or even Aang or Korra didn't, and that also might be part of the reason I didn't connect with her in the same way. She felt more like a fully realized Avatar than the other young Avatars we've followed.

Having Kavik be a point of view character does help counteract that in some ways, since he has had a very different life from Yangchen, but his choices at various points in the book left me so frustrated that I'm honestly not sure how I feel about him at this point.

In the Kyoshi novels, Yangchen was built up as a great figure, so it was nice to have that image complicated a bit in this book. Despite everything I said about finding it hard to connect with her, Yangchen does have flaws, and I appreciated getting to see them.

Avatar Szeto does continue to be built up as an impressive Avatar in this book though, just like he was in the Kyoshi novels. I'm wondering if we'll be getting books about him after Yangchen, so then we can then see him become more humanized as well.

One thing I appreciate about the Avatar Chronicles books (and the Avatar franchise in general) is that each Avatar's story feels like it's taking place in a world that really is changing over time. Yangchen's world is extremely different from Kyoshi's to an extent that a lot of it is unrecognizable. It gives a sense of realism as you feel like you really are going back in time from Kyoshi's story, from Aangi's story, etc. It was like I was learning a whole new set of rules about how the world worked. It was similar to how it feels when reading historical fiction about our world. Some thing may be the same, but so many things are different.

With the way things left off in this book, I am curious about how things will go next. I don't think I'm quite as invested as I was in Kyoshi's story yet, but I could see myself getting more into the story in a second book. We'll see.

Book Review: Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman

Publisher: July 16, 2015

Publisher: HarperCollin's Children's Books
Received: purchased
Read from December 23, 2022 to January 8, 2023
Synopsis from Goodreads:

CHARLIE: “I have been going out with Nick Nelson for two years. He likes rugby, Formula 1, dogs, the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain and drawing on shoes. He also likes me.”

NICK: “Things me and Charlie Spring do together include: Watch films. Sit in the same room on different laptops. Text each other from different rooms. Make out. Make food. Make drinks. Get drunk. Talk. Argue. Laugh. Maybe we're kind of boring. But that’s fine with us.”

Everyone knows that Nick and Charlie are the perfect couple – that they’re inseparable. But now Nick is leaving for university, and Charlie will be left behind at Sixth Form. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question – they’re ‘Nick and Charlie’, for God’s sake!

But as the time to say goodbye gets inevitably closer, both Nick and Charlie question whether their love is strong enough to survive being apart. Or are they delaying the inevitable? Because everyone knows that first loves rarely last forever…

Review:

Originally written as a novella that follows Solitaire, Nick and Charlie is set within the Osemanverse, the world Alice Oseman has created that includes Heartstopper. It takes place one year after Solitaire and two years after the first volume of Heartstopper. Nick is about to leave for university, and it deals with Charlie's and Nick's feelings over becoming long distance while he's away.

 At only six chapters, this is a short book that's very easy to read. While it's emotional, since Nick and Charlie are dealing with a lot, I highly enjoyed the story. It was nice getting a glimpse of their relationship at this point in time, and it was especially fun that Alice Oseman posted a mini-comic of when they're both in university while I was reading the novella.

I truly do love this world so much, and I love how many different stories we have from it. When I start reading the novels that completely focus on other characters, it will be a little bittersweet, but I'm sure I'll enjoy them all the same. I just really love the characters that Oseman creates.

Before I get to those books with those other characters though, I have one more novella to read that follows Tori, Charlie, and Oliver. I've heard this one is potentially sadder in tone than Nick and Charlie, but I'm still looking forward to reading it.

Strange World Review

I knew I wanted to watch Strange World because it was a Disney movie, but I knew nothing about it going in. I hadn't even seen a trailer. Other than some promotional materials, I had no idea what I was getting into, but I'm really glad I watched it because it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Strange World takes place in a fantasy world where people live surrounded by tall mountains that they can't get past. Twenty-five years before the story starts, Searcher discovers a plant called Pando, which ultimately gives them electricity and powers all of their technology. In the present, the Pando starts dying, and the characters are forced to go find the heart of Pando in order to save it, which ends up leading them underground.

The story definitely reminded me of Journey to the Center of the Earth except more fun. (I'm not a big fan of Journey to the Center of the Earth.) Aside from a group of people travelling underground and discovering a new world there, though, the stories are actually quite different.

Both worlds in the movie were intriguing. It's a shame that we don't spend more time above ground in the movie because I would have enjoyed seeing more of what things are like.

But, of course, the underground world was also incredible. I loved the aesthetics of everything and all the different creatures that managed to be strange yet adorable at the same time.

The human characters were also wonderful. There was a diverse set of characters, including Ethan who is the first queer main character in a Disney movie. I loved how unique everyone was and their relationships with each other. While the universe of the movie was fun, it was definitely the characters that made the movie for me.

The rest of what I have to say will deal with spoilers, so proceed with caution!

First, I have to talk about the line Ethan has when playing his game with his dad and grandfather. He says that the game doesn't have any bad guys, and his dad and grandfather mock it.

As soon as that exchange happened, I knew it was about the movie and that there wasn't a villain, which meant I was waiting to find out why the reapers weren't actually doing anything bad. The exchange did feel a little heavy handed, I have to admit.

Also, it turns out that the whole world is on top of/inside a giant turtle thing, and I couldn't help but think of the Lion Turtle from Avatar. In Legend of Korra, there are even people living on the Lion Turtles like there are in Strange World, though I think the Avatar versions are actually smaller than this one.

Of course, the idea of a turtle with a world on its back isn't unique to Avatar. It exists in stories from several different cultures. But I couldn't help but be reminded of it.

Overall, I really enjoyed Strange World. It was probably my favorite Disney movie in a while. It's one that I'm sure I'll rewatch.

Book Review: Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Published: June 1, 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury Circus
Received: purchased
Read from November 28, 2022 to January 7, 2023

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren't affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' that led to this book.

Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.

Review:

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race is one of those books that I'd been hearing about for years. I even remember when Eddo-Lodge's initial blog post when viral and the discussion that surrounded that. So I was excited to actually read the book.

One thing I appreciated about the book is that it was written from a British perspective. Most of the books I've read about race were written by an American. There are a few exceptions to that, such as Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. (Saad was born in the UK and now lives in the Middle East.) But it was really great to get a perspective that was very focused on the UK. While I did know some of the historical perspective that was talked about, I definitely knew far less than I do about racism in American history.

Eddo-Lodge mentions in the book that many British people see racism as an American problem, not a British one, so I feel like this book plays an especially important role in breaking down that misconception.

It's also written in a style that's very easy to read. While it's dealing with difficult topics, it's very accessible and easy to understand, even if it may include things that certain people don't want to hear.

This is a book that I would highly recommend to anyone. I think it's especially great for people who want a British perspective on racism.

Book Review: The Yield by Tara June Winch

Published: July 2, 2019
Publisher: HarperVia
Received: purchased
Read from August 13, 2022 to January 4, 2023
Synopsis from Goodreads:

Knowing that he will soon die, Albert ‘Poppy’ Gondiwindi takes pen to paper. His life has been spent on the banks of the Murrumby River at Prosperous House, on Massacre Plains. Albert is determined to pass on the language of his people and everything that was ever remembered. He finds the words on the wind.

August Gondiwindi has been living on the other side of the world for ten years when she learns of her grandfather’s death. She returns home for his burial, wracked with grief and burdened with all she tried to leave behind. Her homecoming is bittersweet as she confronts the love of her kin and news that Prosperous is to be repossessed by a mining company. Determined to make amends she endeavours to save their land – a quest that leads her to the voice of her grandfather and into the past, the stories of her people, the secrets of the river.

Profoundly moving and exquisitely written, Tara June Winch’s The Yield is the story of a people and a culture dispossessed. But it is as much a celebration of what was and what endures, and a powerful reclaiming of Indigenous language, storytelling and identity.

Review:

The Yield was one of the picks for the Branching Out Book Club, but I didn't manage to finish the book until long after the reading period had ended. The story is about August, who moved to France to escape her hometown in Australia. When she was a child, August's sister went missing, and memories of her sister haunt August when she returns to her hometown for her grandfather's funeral. She also learns that a mine is going to be opened, which means that they'll tear down her childhood home.

My favorite part of the story was the setting. I've read very few books set in Australia. Actually, it's possible that I've never read a book set in Australia. August grew up in a house that was formerly a mission set up by a Lutheran priest, and there's a lot of discussion about the colonization of Australia, particularly through a letter written by said priest, which is interspersed throughout the story. I found the letter more interesting that August's story itself.

For me, August's story felt slow, and I wasn't very motivated to pick up the book, which is part of what took me so long to finish it. The story is also quite dark because of the subject matter, so it was far from a light and cheerful read.

Still, I appreciated getting to read a story from a different perspective than I ever had before.