As the first review of the book bunnies blog this new year, we present to you Marshmallow’s review of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. First published in 1958, Achebe’s novel is a modern classic, and Marshmallow has read it in school.
Marshmallow reviews Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.
Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like historical fiction books about colonialism in Africa or books that make you think or feel, then this is the book for you!
Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Set in the Nigerian Ibo society during the 1890s, this book starts with the introduction of Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a highly-respected man in his village Umuofia. Through his victories in battle and his defeat of the Cat (a famous wrestler), Okonkwo is a powerful man. As a result (as is Ibo culture), he has three wives, many children, a successful farm, and on occasion drinks palm wine out of his first human skull. He is what is called a “strong man.” However, his success and strength is a result of fear. His drive to succeed is fueled by a fear of being similar to his father, who was a efulefu (or worthless man). Okonkwo’s father was lazy and debt-ridden; thus, Okonkwo compensates for his father’s failures by working obsessively. Luckily for Okonkwo, in Ibo society, a man is not judged by his father, but by his own merit. Eventually, his success seems cemented. Yet, he is still controlled by anxiety, fear, anger, and violence. His household, though it reflects the traditional Ibo setup of its time, is a model case of domestic abuse.
Meanwhile, a woman from Umuofia is killed in a neighboring village. To avoid war with the fear-inspiring Umuofia, this village sends a virgin girl and a young boy to compensate. For the purposes of the plot, the boy (named Ikemefuna) is most important. Umuofia doesn’t immediately decide what to do with the boy, taking several years to do so. During this, he is placed in Okonkwo’s household and soon becomes fast friends with Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye. Over time, Okonkwo starts to view Ikemefuna as a son.
But when tragedy strikes, Okonkwo finds himself in a situation that pits his “strong man” facade against his heart. And as the book progresses, Okonkwo continually finds himself at odds with the changing village. The question is, how much more can he take before he falls apart?
Marshmallow is reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.
Marshmallow’s Review: I think reading this book is an extremely important experience that all people and bunnies should have. Chinua Achebe–the author–wrote it in simple, easy to read English specifically so it would be accessible to all; this makes it a good book for all ages and levels of reading ability. But ultimately, this book is remarkably subtle and nuanced. The author’s tone is simple and unique, while startlingly complex at the same time. The plot evolves elegantly and the author creates compelling characters that make you need to see the storyline though. Additionally, Achebe successfully grapples with and portrays issues like colonialism, racism, and toxic masculinity. This book is incredible because of the insights it gives on such topics. It also shows the reader what (some) life and culture was like in Nigeria before colonialism.
Additionally, this book’s themes are philosophically, historically, psychologically, and culturally intriguing. Throughout, Achebe weaves in the concept of facades: facades of strength, of stability, of security, of trustworthiness, of happiness, of truth. Achebe’s work is remarkable, and the astute reader will recognize and appreciate the importance of such work.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to all because it’s imperative to understand what others in the world experience and experienced, especially in a world of such divided opinions and narrow perspectives.
Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.
Marshmallow rates Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 100%.
For the last couple years, at the end of the year, we have been doing a New-Year-ish thing of talking about all the books we have read through that year. (You can find our recap of 2022 here, and here is our recap of 2023.) This year, we continue this new tradition and take a look at our reviews for 2024.
[2024 saw the bunnies read and review many books, both new and classic. You can find a full list here.]
The book bunnies review the books of 2024.
Sprinkles: So maybe this year, we can start with Marshmallow.
Marshmallow: Sure. I have reviewed many, many books this year. I liked all of them, but there are a couple that I really, really, really liked. But maybe we can begin with the series I read and enjoyed.
S: Makes sense to me.
M: The first series I started this year was the famous Hunger Games series. Here are my reviews of the three main books: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. And here is my review of The Hunger Games: The Illustrated Edition. I had never read these books before and quickly learned exactly why they are so revered. I was also shocked by how deep some of the themes were (family and friendship of course, but also lessons about the impacts of war, greed, violence, trauma, and poverty). This is an amazing series (I love it!) I would recommend to all reasonably mature bunnies (maybe like 12 and up?)
S: Yes, I remember how much you were affected by those books.
Marshmallow enjoyed reading the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins as well as Powerless and Reckless by Lauren Roberts.
S: What about the other series you started this year?
M: Another series I began to read this year was the Powerless series. Here is my review of the first book: Powerless. And here is my review of the second one: Reckless. Unfortunately, not all of the books are out yet, so I am looking forward to reading and reviewing the last (?) book of this series next year. This is hands-down my favorite YA fantasy-romance series. I generally find this genre to lean too much into romance, but this series maintains the perfect balance. I would 100% recommend this book to all interested readers (YA probably), especially those who have been wronged by the ridiculous amount of romance infiltrating the YA fantasy section.
S: I still have not gotten around to reading those books, but I know you have really enjoyed them. So maybe they should go on my 2025 reading list.
M: Maybe they should! The third series I have begun this year is the Enola Holmes series. I originally presumed these books to be easy and basic because the cover was not what I would characterize as a serious, intriguing mystery would look like. However, these books really take you to an entirely new time period, and the adventures of Enola Holmes never fail to excite, delight, and inspire.
S: You have only read and reviewed three of the books though, right?
S: Because they put together a few things you like. History, graphic novel format, humor-
C: Yes, what is there not to like? But there are many more books in the series, and I really hope to continue with those in 2025. And of course you know that my all-time favorite series is still Tui T. Sutherland’s Wings of Fire?
S: Yes, that is true. and you loved that one, too!
C: Yep.
This year, Caramel read two more Wings of Fire books by Tui Sutherland, one more Narwhal and Jelly book by Ben Clanton, and three books from the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series.
Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, you have read many other books this year. Maybe you can tell us about the highlights. Maybe we can begin with the fiction?
This year Marshmallow’s fiction reads ranged from Maus to One of Us is Lying to A Tale of Two Cities.
Sprinkles: So Caramel how about you? Which books of fiction did you enjoy reading most this year, other than those that belong to the series we talked about already?
Caramel: Well, we forgot to talk about The One and Only Ruby and The One and Only Family, both by Katherine Applegate. Those are good books I read and they belong to a series but maybe we can mention them now?
Caramel also read several fun books this year, including One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate, Watership Down by Richard Adams, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
Sprinkles: You have also read many nonfiction books this year, right, Caramel?
The bunnies also read a lot of nonfiction this year. Here they are posing with their favorites: Warhammer 40000 Core Book, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Core Rulebook, Slow Productivity, Guinness World Records 2024, We Should All Be Feminists, and How to Speak Emoji.
Sprinkles: We also all read many books of, or about poetry. Right?
Sprinkles: I also read and reviewed several children’s books about puberty. There were so many and those were all split between girl books and boy books, that I needed to have two reviews for them.
Marshmallow: We read most of those books, too, but I am glad you were the one who ended up reviewing them.
Caramel: I did peek into some of them, but I agree with Marshmallow, that it was good that you were the one who had to review them.
S: But all in all, we all read quite a lot of good, fun, and informative books this year, right?
M: And thought-provoking!
C: Yep. And I think we will be reading a lot more books next year!
M: But first, we have our month off!
S: Yes, we will take the month of January off.
C: And we are all really happy about that!
S: Well, we will continue to read, and we will get back to reviewing them in a month. And till then we just take a short break.
C: We deserve it!
M: Everyone deserves a break. And we are lucky to get one!
S: True. Okay, so what do you want to tell our readers Marshmallow?
M: I want to say: Happy new year everyone! We wish you a happy hoppy new year in 2025!
S: With lots of good books and many friends, old and new!
C: Yes! And stay tuned for more book bunny reviews, coming to you in February 2025!
The book bunnies, and new friend Moose, wish all bunnies around the world a happy hoppy new year in 2025, with lots of good books and many friends, old and new!
Today Caramel reviews Impossible Creatures, a 2024 book by Katherine Rundell. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Caramel reviews Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, this is your last review for the year!
Caramel: Yep, and I am very happy about that!
S: Hmm, I thought you liked reading books.
C: I do! And I even like talking about them. But when the year is over, we always take a month-long break, and who doesn’t like breaks?
S: Okay, I totally get that! So let us do our review and wrap up the year then.
C: Actually we won’t be done completely, because on Saturday we will do a joint review with Marshmallow and go over all the books we talked about this year.
S: True. But you will be done with talking about new books. So tell us, what is this book about?
C: It is about this one girl named Mal and an archipelago where mythical creatures are real. The girl finds a baby griffin, and then meets a boy named Christopher and asks him to help her save all of the creatures in the archipelago from a great danger.
S: So is the girl a keeper of these magical creatures?
C: Yes and no, the griffin is her friend, not her pet.
S: Okay, so is this like, there is this magical world of magical animals that us mere mortals do not know about, kind of like in The Menagerie?
C: Yeah, kind of.
S: I see. So I am assuming the impossible creatures in the title of the book are these magical creatures?
C: Yep, definitely. However they are not as kind as the ones in The Menagerie.
S: Oh, are they more like wild animals?
C: No, they are more intelligent creatures, but still kind of angry.
S: I read that somehow the magic is running out?
C: Yep, some evil thing is stealing the magic from the source.
S: Oh, and so Mal and Christopher have to figure out what is going on and save the magic?
C: Yep, and they will have to kill the evil one.
S: That sounds like it could be an exciting read!
C: Yep. It was.
S: And does it all end up nice and tidy? I heard there might be a sequel.
C: Yeah, I would like to read it if there is a sequel. This one ended a little sad.
S: Oh no! I don’t want to ask.
C: Okay, don’t ask then.
Caramel is reading Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell.
S: Alright. I will change the topic. Though we could not call this book a graphic novel or a picture book, there are still quite a lot of images here and there, right?
C: Yep. Maybe sixty or more!
S: They were apparently the work of the artist named Ashley MacKenzie. What did you think of them?
C: I liked them! But I felt like the book could have used even more images. I mean, there were some things that I felt could need some images.
S: That is interesting! You do know quite a few different kinds of magical creatures already, so I am guessing this book had some that you had not heard of before?
C: No, but I want to see them just the same. But you know, the map at the beginning, that was pretty cool! It showed the archipelago where the magical creatures live. And then there is an illustrated Bestiary, which was also neat.
S: Hmm, so I think you liked the illustrations, just wanted a lot more, because they were pretty good!
C: Yep, having more would have been really good.
S: Okay, I think it is clear that you enjoyed this book. So we can wrap this up now. What would you like to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell and recommends it to other little bunnies who enjoy reading about magical creatures.
Marshmallow reviews Enola Holmes: The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets by Nancy Springer.
Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan or if you like mysteries with female protagonist detectives, then this is the book for you!
Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Enola Holmes has been living on her own in nineteenth century London for a couple months now. Given the fact that she is fourteen years old, one might ask why. The reason for her self-inflicted solitude is the fact that, during this period, women have no autonomy in the social status quo. Enola’s mother ran away from this set-up in a previous book and left Enola the means to do the same. Enola (whose name spells “alone” backwards) examined her surroundings and the expectations she was going to be forced to fulfill (finishing school, marriage, childbirth, etc.) and followed her mother’s suit. In doing so, Enola escaped the control of her older brothers: Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes (the famous detective). But even the famous detective Sherlock Holmes cannot locate her and she (while lying low) becomes adept at disguising herself by altering her appearance through various methods. Drawn to mysteries and puzzles, she solves several cases on her own (see for example The Case of the Missing Marquess and The Case of the Left-Handed Lady) and decides to found her own business as the world’s first and only professional “perditorian” (see The Case of the Missing Marquess: “From the Latin perditus, meaning “lost.” Perditorian: one who divines that which is lost”.)
Unfortunately, because women have no autonomy, she creates the business under the name of a male doctor while she disguises herself as his “assistant” Ivy Meshle. However, if her brothers find her, she will be forced to return to them and begin training to be a perfect “ornament to genteel society.” After several close brushes of being discovered by Sherlock and / or Mycroft, Enola once again finds herself drawn to the case of a certain Dr. John Watson. The reticent Arthur Conan Doyle reader may notice that this is the same Dr. Watson who is Sherlock’s loyal companion on his cases. For the few times she met him, Enola felt a fatherly affection towards Dr. Watson, so she (after some introspection and inspection of the situation) decides to search for Dr. Watson, too.
Normal mysteries are dangerous on their own. But her brother’s close proximity to this case makes it also a gamble with the freedom and autonomy she has had so far. Will Enola be able to find the doctor before her brother finds her?
Marshmallow is reading Enola Holmes: The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets by Nancy Springer.
Marshmallow’s Review: I would really recommend reading the first couple books in this series before this one to get context. But on its own, the world-building is enough to immerse the reader entirely in this Victorian-era mystery. The author consistently writes fascinating mysteries that never fail to disappoint in intrigue and complexity; yet the reader is never left confused at the end.
These Enola Holmes books stand out among all other mysteries I’ve read so far because the setting is so wonderfully set up. People often say reading is like a passport to other worlds and times. I was pretty sure they were lying, until now. Once I started reading this book, I couldn’t put it down because I didn’t want to stop learning about the mystery and the fascinating world it is in. The descriptions of London (I am pretty sure) are all factually correct for that time and all the details create an immersive experience that I would fully recommend.
This book series is also unique because it depicts a girl who is fully independent. Enola is perhaps the only female protagonist I have ever read about who isn’t in love, interested in, dating, or married to a guy. She is truly alone (in that sense) and is perfectly fine with it. It is good for girls to see that they have the choice to be so and that it is fine to be fine with that. This book also has strong themes of feminism; Enola’s strength, competence, and wit are rebelliously scandalous for the time. She stands up to the patriarchical system and doesn’t care what it thinks of her. She games the system to use it to her advantage when she disguises herself. But she never forgets to help the less fortunate with her fortunes.
But Enola is also more distinctive among other female protagonists because, as the author explicitly makes sure to state, Enola is not traditionally beautiful. She has a large nose, no delicate, feminine features of particular value, and a body like a “beanpole.” It is Enola’s virtue, brains, and bravery that makes her such a compelling character and I, for one, am expectantly looking forward to reading the next book!
Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.
Marshmallow rates Enola Holmes: The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets by Nancy Springer 100%.
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