[REVIEW] One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel @GrantaBooks

I first came across One of the Boys earlier this year on Instagram so when I requested a different book to read and review I got sent this one too which I was so happy about because of seeing a lot of praise for it.

One of the Boys is a story about two boys and their manipulative father. After their parents divorce they move with their father to Albuquerque to start a new life free from all the mess of divorce. Both of the children go to school and begin having friendships and doing some sports which they’re excited about but what soon happens is that their father begins closing himself into his bedroom, they hear some strange noises during the night and see different people coming and going out of their house. What was an idyllic place soon becomes a nightmare for both of the children and they begin questioning the choices they made.

I hope I have summarised this book well and that you get the idea of the same. I’ll talk about the father figure first because he was a very interesting character. From the beginning of the book I knew that something was off with the father [well yes, because of the synopsis but also because from the start you gt a taste of who he is]. I am amazed at how parents can be so manipulative towards their children and have no remorse [in this case the father had ‘remorse’ if you could call it that but it still didn’t stop what he was doing] for their actions. The way he punished his children was very cruel to me what left a huge impact was the way he punished his child towards the end of the book. I don’t want to spoil anything but when you read this book you’ll get a better understanding of what I’m saying here. It amazes me that even though this is a story, a fictional one, this kind of behaviour is common in some families. I could go on about this book and as you can see even though it has 160 pages it can be analyzed in so many different ways.

One of the Boys is a very short book but a very impactful one. At one-hundred-and-sixty pages this book takes you on a rollercoaster ride of abuse, manipulation and hope.

I would like to thank the publisher Granta Books for sending this book my way in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions written here are my own and have not been influenced by anything.

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Daniel Magariel is an author from Kansas City. His work has appeared in Granta, Lit Hub, Salt Hill, Stop Smiling, and Issue Magazine, among others. One of the Boys, his first novel, was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and Amazon Best Book of 2017, and was published in twelve countries. He has a BA from Columbia University, as well as an MFA from Syracuse University, where he was a Cornelia Carhart Fellow. He currently lives in New York with his wife.

Find him on: Website

[REVIEW] The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin @tinderpress

I’m sure everyone has heard of The Immortalists by now because it’s been everywhere on the internet. I added this book last year to my TBR because I loved its synopsis and that it was set in New York. I’m happy to say that this was an excellent read and that I read it fairly quickly because it was so engaging.

The Immortalists begins with four siblings – Simon, Klara, Daniel and Varya –  going to a fortune teller because they heard she knows when people die. They are all very frightened when they get to the fortune teller and hear their dates and what’s interesting is that none of that at that moment share theirs with the others. Their lives will be led with knowledge of their death dates at the back of their heads and some of them will be consumed by that knowledge. The book is divided into four parts each one revolving around one of the siblings – first part is Simon’s and then we have Klara, Daniel and the last part is about Varya. As each of the siblings go on their paths most become estranged from each other. Simon becomes a dancer, Klara a magician, Daniel an army doctor and Varya a research scientist. How will their stories go? Read the book and find out!

What I absolutely adored about this book was the truth behind it – how people can become distanced from one another even though they are siblings plus the effects it has. Simon’s story was the one I loved the most because of its rawness. Each of the stories were told in a great way and kept my attention. I am trying to keep my thoughts on this spoiler-free so I won’t mention certain things. I loved the magicam realism in this book because it gave it a different dimension. The references Benjamin used were precise and I loved how certain things correlated and how each story had a connection with the previous one.  I wouldn’t mind hearing more about Varya’s work because I liked that she was a scientist. What this book does is make you questions relationships with people close to you and it makes you wonder what would happen if they were to disappear from your life.

The Immortalists is a novel well-worth reading because it offers a great and heart-wrenching look at sibling dynamics, it makes you wonder and question things in your life. Should you read? The answer is very easy: YES.

I would like to thank the publisher Tinder Press for sending a copy of this book my way in exchange for an honest review. The opinions written are my own and weren’t influenced by anything.

My rating: 

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*Purchase ‘The Immortalists‘ here: 

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**I am in no way compensated by these sites. I am simply sharing it so people can find this book easier.

Chloe Benjamin is the author of THE IMMORTALISTS, a New York Times Bestseller, #1 Indie Next Pick for January 2018, Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, #1 Library Reads pick, and Amazon Best Book of the Month.

Her first novel, THE ANATOMY OF DREAMS (Atria, 2014), received the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and was longlisted for the 2014 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize.

Her novels have been translated into over twenty-three languages. A graduate of Vassar College and the M.F.A. in fiction at the University of Wisconsin, Chloe lives with her husband in Madison, WI.

Find her on: Website,  Twitter,  Instagram and GoodReads.