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Y is for Yesterday (Kinsey Millhone, #25)
Y is for Yesterday (Kinsey Millhone, #25)
Sue Grafton | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
6
7.9 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
The 25th book in Sue Grafton's formidable Kinsey Millhone series actually kicks us back to 1979, where a group of male teens at a private school in Santa Teresa are found responsible for killing a female classmate. Several went to prison and now the one deemed responsible for the murder, Fritz McCabe, has been released. His parents hire Kinsey to assist them with a blackmail case--apparently these juvenile delinquents also made a sex tape before the murder, and it's turned up with Fritz's release. Kinsey quickly finds herself drawn up in their twisted world, but she's also watching her back, as Ned Lowe from [b:X|24940998|X (Kinsey Millhone, #24)|Sue Grafton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429811123s/24940998.jpg|44598633] still has his sights set on Kinsey.

The result is two pronged story--a focus on Kinsey as she tackles the McCabes and their blackmail/extortion plot, delving deeper into the 1979 murder and sexual assault, but also a continuation of the Ned Lowe story and its associated players. <i>There's a lot going on in this book,</i> as Grafton also throws in a plotline involving romantic shenanigans with Kinsey's cousin, Anna, plus Henry's hosting of the homeless Pearl and her pals in his backyard. Grafton is pretty deft at juggling multiple threads, but whew. The one thing I can say, is that both the Ned situation and the teens' videotape allow for some very timely and nuanced thoughts and ruminations on rape, and you sadly realize we haven't made any progress in society on this front since in the 1980s.

Alas, though, for me, <i>this novel gets off to a slow start and never fully recovers.</i> It took a while to keep track of all the teen players from '79 (and present), and the jumps in time in the storytelling don't really help. Even worse, our heroine, Kinsey, is off her game after the attack from Ned. Yes, she is still the Kinsey we know and love, but she's hurting, more cautious, and changed, and well, it's hard to read about sometimes.

The novel just seemed more tedious than usual and bogged down in some unnecessary details. There were definitely moments with Kinsey that made me smile and laugh, but otherwise, we don't have many characters to root for. The entire group originating in 1979 is pretty despicable. Their story picks up a bit at the end, and I was definitely interested in the outcome, but it didn't have the same flair as previous Kinsey novels. Of note, though, despite how different technology was in the late '70s, Grafton did a good job in denoting how teens remain teens, regardless the decade.

Overall, I will always love Kinsey, but the last two in this series have been a bit disappointing. Here's hoping that <i>Z</i> ends on a high note fitting our beloved heroine.

You can read my review of X <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1268956692?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1">here</a>;.

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The Raven Boys
The Raven Boys
Maggie Stiefvater | 2012 | Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.8 (36 Ratings)
Book Rating
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#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3053741934">The Raven Boys</a> - ★★★★
#2 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3255973750">The Dream Thieves</a> - Not Read Yet

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Even if Blue hadn't been told her true love would die if she kissed him, she would stay away from boys. Especially the ones from the local private school. Known as Raven Boys, they only mean trouble.

<b>But this is the year that everything will change for Blue.</b>

This is the year that she will be drawn into the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys. And the year Blue will discover that magic does exist.

<b>This is the year she will fall in love.</b>

<b><i>"Blue, I know you're not an idiot. It's just, sometimes smart people do dumb things."</i></b>

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<b><i>My Thoughts:</i></b>

I enjoyed The Raven Boys. I have been meaning to read this book for such a long time, and I am so happy I finally managed to scratch it off my list. 

I loved the beginning and I loved Blue and her witch family. It gave me vibes of Charmed - a TV Show that was my favourite when I was growing up. 

Her family does readings and Blue has known her prediction her whole life. She knows that if she kisses her true love, he will die. Even though everyone else in her family has powers, Blue doesn’t. Her power is to amplify other people’s superpowers. So when her family does a reading and Blue is present, they can predict the future better. 

When Blue meets The Raven Boys, she knows they’re trouble. But there is an opportunity for her to really see and feel magic, something she hasn’t ever done before, and this temptation will be too much for her to resist. 

<b><i>"Once Arthur knew the grail exited, how could he not look for it?"</i></b>

<b>I loved The Raven Boys gang.</b>

They were awesome, and brutal, and handsome and smart. They all had their own challenges and character development throughout the book and I enjoyed watching them grow.

I was and still am so unsure about that ending and the fact that I was left more confused than when I started reading the book. There is a feeling I have like I need to re-read this book to fully understand everything, and it’s not a very good vibe.

I still enjoyed it and would definitely read the second book, but I was hoping this would be one of my favourite books and it wasn’t. Maybe the next time around, eh?

I highly recommend it if you love fantasy, magic, handsome boys and young-adult books in general. It is a very interesting book, with lots of mysteries and twists, and a very confusing ending (which some may enjoy). 

<b><i>"People shout when they don't have the vocabulary to whisper."</i></b>

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