Andor 1x03 "Reckoning" Review

Andor has been fun so far. I admit that I'm finding the villains a little bland, so I'm hoping to learn something interesting about Syril, but I really like the other characters and I'm having fun with the story, especially after this episode.

In flashbacks, we see Maarva and another man meet Cassian while he does what he can to destroy the crashed ship. These flashbacks were more or less what I expected to see happen, but I still appreciate them being part of the story.

Luthen also mentions Cassian's father being hanged in this episode, which seems to be true based on Cassian's reaction. I'm curious if the man in the flashbacks is that father. I'd be interested in learning more about him.

Speaking of Luthen, we get more of him in this episode. It turns out that he knows who Cassian is and has learned a lot about him. Because of Rogue One, I suspect that Luthen has something to do with the Rebellion and will get Cassian involved. I'm very curious to learn more about his identity though and what exactly is going on.

Timm dies in this episode, which honestly isn't surprising. I don't think he was interesting enough to stick around for long, and he already served his purpose. Bix is quite upset about his death, and I'm curious about what her feelings for him were exactly. He definitely seemed to like her more than she liked him, but I do get that seeing someone die in front of you is hard regardless of how close you were exactly in life. I'm curious if Timm's death will affect her relationship with Cassian as the show progresses.

While most of the soldiers go after Cassian, a few stay to guard Maarva, and I loved the scene where she psyched them out by implying that something would happen when the sounds stop. I really hope this episode isn't the last we see of her. She's such an interesting character, and I'd love the chance to get to know more about her.

Syril ends this episode in a bad place. I wonder if what he went through in this episode will make him more compelling or just more annoying. I guess we have to wait and see.

Overall, this episode left me excited for what's to come. I'm particularly curious about Luthen. It seems like things are picking up now.

Andor 1x02 "That Would Be Me" Review

This episode gives us a bit more information about Cassian's backstory, including information about his family and childhood. It answers some questions I had after episode one.

When Cassian's mother was first mentioned, I was curious if that was just a lie because the flashbacks made it seem like it was just him and the other kids. It turns out that he does have an adoptive mother, and she's been trying to hide that Cassian is from Kenari. 

I like Maarva so far. She seems to have Cassian's best interests at heart. I get the impression that she doesn't know much about Cassian's search for his sister though. I'm curious to learn how exactly she met him and what role she'll play in the rest of the story. (I'm guessing the explanation for how they met will be addressed in the flashback portions of the story.)

In an unsurprising twist, Bix's boyfriend (if that's even what he is) sees that Cassian is wanted and alerts the company to him. The boyfriend is an annoying character that doesn't have much going for him at the point of the story, and I wouldn't be upset if he disappears into the background. But I also wonder if he's going to play a larger role as the story progresses.

The Syril guy (who's name I had to look up while writing this because I couldn't remember it for the life of me) is still annoying, but at least he's a little (inadvertently) funny in this episode. I particularly enjoyed his "pep talk" to the other officers that falls spectacularly flat.

At the end of the episode, we get a scene with the guy who must be the buyer Cassian wants to meet with. He doesn't say much, but the scene did leave me very intrigued about who he is and what he's after.

This episode definitely left me looking forward to the next. I'm excited to see what we find out.

Andor 1x01 "Kassa" Review

 I've been excited for Andor since it was first announced ages ago, and for a while, it felt like it was never going to be released. It's actually kind of strange that now I've seen episode one, but I'm also really grateful that it's here!

The story starts of on Morlana One. Cassian goes to a brothel and says he's looking for a girl from Kenari. It turns out that it's his sister, who we also see in flashbacks throughout the episode. I wasn't expecting part of the series to be Cassian looking for his sister, but as someone who loves sibling relationships in media, I'm really looking forward to seeing more of their relationship as things play out.

When two guards follow Cassian, he ends up accidentally killing one and then purposefully killing the other. This leads to a company employee being determined to catch Cassian even though his superior wants to sweep it under a rug. As far as villain's go, this guy seems pretty bland so far. I wonder if he'll stay that way or if we'll get backstory that makes him more interesting.

We meet a droid in this episode called B2EMO, and I love them already. Cassian asks the droid to lie for him, and B2EMO responds that they'll need to recharge in order to have the energy for it. That honestly might have been my favorite scene of the episode because it was one of the lighter moments and just very fun. I hope we see more of B2EMO later on.

One of the most interesting characters in this episode is a woman named Bix. She has some sort of relationship with a man she works with, but it also seems obvious that there are some sort of feelings between her and Cassian too. I'm curious how that will play out. She seems to have a very interesting story.

Overall, this episode was an enjoyable introduction to the story, and I'm excited to see what comes next.

Book Review: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Published: September 7, 2010
Publisher: Random House
Received: purchased
Read from April 22 to September 10, 2022

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. 

From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.

With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often threw exuberant parties.

Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work. Both a riveting microcosm and a major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable, and riveting work, a superb account of an “unrecognized immigration” within our own land. Through the breadth of its narrative, the beauty of the writing, the depth of its research, and the fullness of the people and lives portrayed herein, this book is destined to become a classic.

Review:

The Warmth of Other Suns looks at the history of the Great Migration in the United States from the beginning to the end. While I had learned about the Great Migration while I was in school, I'd never had such an in depth look at it as this book provides.

At over 600 pages, this is a thick book, which might be off-putting to some people, but I loved the opportunity to get so much information. The book isn't only about the Great Migration. It's also specifically about the stories of three different people who moved to the North and West from the South. There is so much great information in the book that it never felt like it was dragging despite the length.

The stories made the history of the Great Migration feel more real than a more distant explanation would have, and I loved the way that historical facts were weaved together with the stories of Ida Mae, George, and Robert.

I highly recommend this book for everyone. It covers a part of American history that more people should really know about, and it does it in a way that's incredibly accessible and easy to follow.

Book Review: Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely

Published: January 1, 1992
Publisher: Brash Books
Received from: purchased
Read from June 24 to August 28, 2022

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Barbara Neely’s Smart, Sassy and Groundbreaking Crime Novel

Blanche White is a plump, feisty, middle-aged African-American housekeeper working for the genteel rich in North Carolina. But when an employer stiffs her, and her checks bounce, she goes on the lam, hiding out as a maid for a wealthy family at their summer home. That plan goes awry when there’s a murder and Blanche becomes the prime suspect. So she’s forced to use her savvy, her sharp wit, and her old-girl network of domestic workers to discover the truth and save her own skin. Along the way, she lays bare the quirks of southern society with humor, irony, and a biting commentary that makes her one of the most memorable and original characters ever to appear in mystery fiction.

Review:

I'm back with a review of another book that I read as part of the Branching Out Book Club on Discord.

At the start of Blanche on the Lam, Blanche is told that she's going to be sent to jail after being accused to writing bad checks. She ends up escaping and ends up working with a rich white Southern family as a housekeeper. Her plan is to stay until she has her IRS refund, and then she'll escape to Boston. However, while she's with the family, she slowly realizes that some members of the family have secrets and that her own life is in danger.

Mystery isn't a genre that I read often, but when I do pick them up, I do tend to enjoy them. That being said, I felt a little like this book was lacking the things that I really love about mystery. It didn't feel like there was a trail of clues to follow. There were aspects of the ending that I guessed pretty early on in the story, but other aspects felt like they came out of nowhere with little to know evidence.

And here's where I'm going to start talking about spoilers.

The majority of the book actually felt like exposition. I know I wasn't the only one in the book club who was surprised at how late in the book the murder happened despite the murder being an important part of the synopsis on the back of the book. (The synopsis also mentions Blanche becoming a prime suspect, and unless I missed something, that never happens.)

While there's clearly something up with the family, they mostly just seem like a stuck up family with a lot of money for the bulk of the book. Yes, they seem to be cheating Emmeline out of her money, but if I hadn't known from the synopsis that there was a murder, I wouldn't have suspect anything more from them until extremely late in the game.

Grace was my prime suspect from quite early on in the book. When Blanche noted that Grace's room seemed different than she expected, I was absolutely sure that it was her.

On the flipside, Emmeline being a different person felt like it was out of nowhere. While her behavior seemed strange, I didn't pick up on anything in the story that made me think she was a completely different person. It seemed more like she was Emmeline and just being held captive by her niece and her niece's husband. So when it was revealed that Emmeline had a half-sister that looked exactly like her, I have to admit that I had a hard time believing it.

Blanche on the Lam is actually a start of a series, but I don't think I'll be continuing on with the other books. All in all, I did find it a fun read at times, but I didn't find myself that drawn in by the story.