The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Review

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.5/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Adorable dogs

➮ Found family

➮ Thriller

Synopsis

Kira is a teenager who trains dogs for search and rescue missions. One day a mission ends up getting her whole found family involved. It didn't help that the case hit rather close to home. Kira has to prove herself as a trainer and that her dog Saskia can handle the role. Kira and her family then embark on a dark and twisted adventure full of adorable dogs and confounding discoveries. 

Best Quote From the Book

“'Now would be a good time for you to say something,... propose a theory, and I will do my Sherlockian duty and tell you why you are wrong.'"

My Thoughts

Jennifer Lynn Barnes just proved again why she is my favorite author. Her timing for dropping hints and truth bombs keeps me on the edge of my seat desperate to turn to the next page the entire time. Perhaps I am especially tempted by fast-paced books because they avoid dragging on too much. Her carefully crafted level of detail combined with her fantastic plot created a story that defines what it means to be a page-turner. 

The Lovely and The Lost excels at portraying familial bonds. I will never fail to be a sucker for a well-written found family. While Kira's found family is mostly a result of a foster relationship, it felt like Kira, her foster brother Jude, and their boundaryless neighbor Free felt like an inevitable trio. Watching their bond strengthen and their trust in one another keep them alive, literally, brought a fuzzy feeling. 

For those who have read this book, I think we would all be honored to have Cady as a mother figure. She was the strong-willed yet understanding counter to Kira's rougher persona. Watching them interact demonstrated how familial love trumps all. I hope to see more role models like Cady in literature. 

If you thought I was going to get through this review without a paragraph dedicated to doggy cuteness, you are sorely mistaken. The dog-centered moments of the story pulled at the heartstrings and showed how a dog and human bond isn't something to scoff at. One of my favorite doggy moments was when Free's dog Duchess was continually referred to as Her Ladyship. This kept me laughing for a while. The dog team is also another excellent example of how much search-and-rescue efforts rely on unwavering trust. Seeing the different personalities and approaches of the dog and trainer duos shed light on an often under-appreciated element of rescue missions. 

I was honestly surprised to see that this book was written relatively recently in Barnes's career because it has a much different feel regarding the found family aspect than her other series. Perhaps that is because the found family is well-established so nothing has to be said outright like in her other series. The love and unconditional trust is already there. Despite being thrown into the middle of their lives, it feels as if as a reader you've known the Bennett family's dynamic for years. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book with its unique balance of wholesome, dark, and funny moments. The found family aspect is probably my favorite part of the book that doesn't involve massive spoilers. I wish I could've talked about my thoughts about the case but I want to keep that experience a secret for anyone who may want to read it. I recommend this book for dog lovers and those looking for a book to pull at their heartstrings while we all shelter inside from the chilly weather. 

Another Day by David Leviathan Review

* This review is spoiler-free *

3.25/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ LGBTQ+ rep

➮ Body switching

➮ Strangers to lovers

➮ Magical realism

Synopsis

Another Day by David Levithan is a spinoff of his book Every Day. This story follows Rhiannon's perspective. Rhiannon is a high school student who meets A. A is a person who switches bodies every single day. Rhiannon has to learn to come to terms with navigating a relationship with someone who lacks consistency while also trying to balance her own life. 

Best Quote From the Book

“How much of my body is really me? My face is me, for sure. Anyone who looked at my face would know it was me. Even with my hair wet and drawn back, it's me. But after that? If I showed myself a picture of myself from the shoulders down, would I be sure it was me? Could I identify myself that way? I close my eyes and ask myself what my feet look like. I only kind of know. Same with my hands. I have no idea what my back looks like. I let it define me, but I can't even define it.”

LGBTQ+ Representation

2.5/5 🌈

For every book with LGBTQ+ representation, I want to have a section reviewing what the representation is, how well it is done, and how impactful it is to the story as a whole. In the case of Another Day, there is LGBTQ+ representation in three places. The people that A takes over for a day are sometimes trans, lesbian, gay, etc. For A, this is portrayed as completely normal. Rhiannon seems completely fine with different sexualities but has a much more difficult time with varying gender identities. One of Rhiannon's best friends is a gay guy who thankfully is not overly stereotyped. The final and most prominent form of LGBTQ+ representation is A's inherent gender fluidity. Never having a solid identity of their own, A sees themself as agender, or genderfluid. Taking on the pronouns and identities of whoever they inhabit. This concept is one of the biggest things that Rhiannon must approach, as she has moments of questioning her own straight identity.  

My Thoughts

As you can see, I did not rate this book particularly highly. I was honestly surprised and disappointed that I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as other books by David Levithan. In fact, he is on my favorite author list after all. Sadly, this book just wasn't it for me.

I initially read the original perspective for a class I was in. The concept of the story about living a very inconsistent and at times unfulfilling life made for a lot of incredibly insightful discussion. We particularly focused on how the concept of tomorrow shifted throughout the story. It taught me to remember to be thankful for all of the tomorrows I get. Even if I have a not-so-great day, I at least have the privilege of getting to create lasting and meaningful relationships with others. A does not have the privilege. Seeing how they navigate a life with no tomorrows makes that book a worthwhile read.

My main complaint about Another Day was that Rhiannon became very intolerable in the last fifth of the book. A once morally grey character suddenly shifts to be transphobic, fatphobic, etc. I cannot tolerate sitting and watching a character become so awful for absolutely no reason. I would've appreciated if there was a greater push for Rhiannon to shift her thinking as such or to not include that dynamic at all. That said, I would highly recommend the original perspective in Every Day. It is much more insightful for the concept of switching bodies each day because it is from A's perspective. It also answers a few more of the questions raised about how A gets by living a life (or many lives) like that.

The part of the book that I enjoy the most is Levithan's thoughtful words that convey teenage human emotion almost perfectly. There were many moments when I thought how real the writing felt. I truly felt as though we were in Rhiannon's head experiencing the world as she sees it. During these sections, I was reminded why I like Levithan's writing so much. Nobody else has the ability to make you think while not accidentally aging the characters too much or droning on for a bit too long. 

Overall I would highly recommend reading Every Day much more than Another Day. If you are a particular fan of Levithan, this book could be worth reading but otherwise, I consider it to be skippable. I look forward to diving into more of his books that have even more LGBTQ+ representation than this book.