Review: Yumiko Kadota – Emotional Female

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Emotional Female
Yumiko Kadota

“Yumiko Kadota was every Asian parent’s dream: model student, top of her class in medical school and on track to becoming a surgeon… She was regularly left to carry out complex procedures without senior surgeons’ oversight; she was called all sorts of things, from ‘emotional’ to ‘too confident’; and she was expected to work a relentless on-call roster – sometimes seventy hours a week or more – to prove herself.”

Yumiko has claimed her title of Emotional Female and taken it to the next level. As a patient, I feel most listened to when the doctor seems to actually be 1) listening and 2) can empathize. Yumiko takes us on a frankly uncomfortable journey into the Australian medical system where things are rancid and wrong to the core.

Yumiko talks about how staff would get her and another woman of Asian descent confused. Thankfully I see this practice actively changing in the university system, where students are encouraged to learn how to pronounce a person’s given name, not just call them by a nickname.

I love that Yumiko has tried to make the most of her burnout time (if that is such a thing) and found passion in a related area of teaching anatomy. She’s also returned to some surgery, and I hope that her way forward is not as painful as the past. Funnily enough I recently worked with someone who went the other way – first an anatomy tutor and now she’s in post-graduate Medicine. I can only hope that the environment has improved since Yumiko’s time as a student, but I fear that the workplaces are much the same.

I requested this book because I work with both post-graduate and first year undergraduate Medicine students. I feel as if I should know more about what it takes to ‘become a doctor’ because there is so much more ahead of them after they have finished university. I want to be able to give good advice, or at least informed advice, to students about what they hope to achieve out of medicine – and whether they have healthy coping mechanisms.

I have previously read Going Under which is a fictional account of another young woman’s training in Medicine. The original blog of that author’s post was in 2017. It doesn’t give me much home that the profession is changing its ways in regards to its attitude towards mental health and chronic overwork here in 2021. I hope that further people feel able to speak up, and perhaps change will eventually happen.

Buy this book and be part of the change we need in the Medical system. Encourage others to read it. You won’t regret it.

Penguin Random House | 2 March 2021 | AU$34.99 | paperback

Interview with Diego Ornelas-Tapia

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An interview with Diego Ornelas-Tapia, author of Tame a Dame

Diego Ornelas Tapia was born in 1994 in Los Angeles. He wrote Tame a Dame, his first book, and he’s currently working on Void. A lover of adventurous and unique stories, he loves to read and write stories that blend multiple genres.

Take it away, Diego!

Where did you get the idea to write To Tame a Dame?

To Tame a Dame stemmed from a subplot part of my other book, Void. In particular, the relationship between two characters. I wanted to explore the beginning of that relationship, so I went from there. The writing process for Tame a Dame was definitely letting it all unfold. I had no plan, unlike Void.

Why did you choose to self-publish?

I didn’t want to deal with the hassle and drama of pitching my story idea to a select few in a traditional publishing house. I prefer and love how much freedom self-publishing gives the author. Is there more to learn? Yes. More responsibility? You bet. But is it worth it? Without a doubt.

Who are your favorite writers?

George R. R Martin. I love how A Song of Ice and Fire is one big ensemble. Each chapter belongs to a character: Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, Eddard Stark. And each character’s chapter has their own story in which nothing is black and white. There are no traditional heroes and villains and the world is brutal and merciless; love does not prevail in Westeros.

What is your writing process like?

I come up with a rough outline of the main plot and have an idea of where the story will go. However, this isn’t set in stone and I prefer letting the story unfold and giving the characters the reigns. At the end of the day, it’s their story, not mine.

An example of this would be a fight scene in my story, Void. For no spoilers and simplicity’s sake, let’s name the characters, the good guy and the bad guy. The bad guy is a natural born killer who’s never lost a fight in his life. The good guy is a bodyguard.

The bad guy was supposed to easily kill the good guy and move on with the story, but as the fight progressed, something surprised me. The good guy was able to hold his own. And the bad guy was getting the challenging fight he’s been waiting for his entire life. So, it’s like the bad guy told me, “this is it, Diego, this is my end. Don’t take that away from me.”

So, I didn’t.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

I have a routine set up. I write weekdays and dedicate five to six hours on these days. I split it into two rounds. One in the morning, followed by a break, and one later in the evening. I strive to hit a goal, not a deadline, of five thousand words in a week.

Usually, this routine keeps me focused and there aren’t any issues.
But that only lasts so long.

So, when I do hit writer’s block and I don’t have the discipline or mindset to move forward, because the attempt is literally draining my health, I take a deep breath, close my laptop, and give myself the day off.

I’ve discovered that I hit writer’s block within four to five months of working on a project. Aware of this, I make sure to give myself a week off and go on a road trip. I have fun and don’t think about my book at all. And when I come back to the fray, I feel refreshed and kick butt.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

The freedom it grants me. And solidarity.

Unlike a scriptwriter, the life of an author means there are no limitations to your creativity. No sacrifices. You don’t have to worry about time limits or budget cuts, you don’t have to ask for permission to shoot at a certain location, you don’t have to worry about anything. You just let your mind roam free and see where it leads you.

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

It’s a cliche answer but keep writing. If you have an idea for a story that you feel great about, follow through with it, and finish the project. Don’t worry about how the final product will look.

Your first draft will not be great. I wish I saved my first draft of Void so I could show the world how horrible it was, but I deleted it out of shame. It had issues with tense: I would switch between present and past; it had issues with POV: I would switch between third person limited and omniscient; and it had issues with dialog: I would rely too much on it to carry the plot forward and delve into a character’s psyche.
The point being, it had issues.

But, with each revision, it got better and better and better. So, never surrender, my dear lads. Be it in writing, editing, or publishing. You’ll get there.

Wait, you want to hear more from this author? You’re keen to learn more about the book? Diego has set up a fabulous one-stop-shop for all the details you could possible want. You can find it here.

Review: Mercedes Lackey – Elite (N)

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Elite
Mercedes Lackey

Hunter Joy has largely settled in Apex. She’s managed to advance to Elite Hunter and now has a new mission from her Uncle, the city’s Prefect. However danger and conspiracy abound as she traverses the sewers beneath the city.

This makes for a nice follow up to Hunter. We get to see more details about life in Apex. Beyond the superstar treatment the previous book gave Joy for generally being a new hunter with impressive skills. There are additional characters we get to know as well as a clearing picture about some of the Othersiders only briefly mentioned before. We also get more information on some previous characters from the first book. They get additional time for us to get to know more than the picture they display the world which gives the world more depth and feeling.

One of the great things is the way different Hunters are portrayed with different skills. It gives a great element of team work between hunters, combining their skills and magic to overcome the odds.

We do see Ace again, after his previous downfall. Towards the end there is a feeling of more at play in the overall story but it doesn’t really eventuate in this book to anything concrete. It could just be a small detail that we will never know since the story is told from Joy’s point of view. Only time will tell.

As with the previous book definitely targeted towards the younger side of young adult. But a good leisure read for adults that don’t want something deep or heavy thought to read. Again sits somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.

Review: Mercedes Lackey – Hunter (N)

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Hunter
Mercedes Lackey

Monsters came forth from the Otherside after the Diseray. The catastrophe destroying human civilisation. But something else came with them, the last hope, the Hounds. Joyeaux Charmand is a hunter for her small community and has been for a long time. Now called to serve Apex City, where the best hunters protect the most important people.

I’ve been a fan of Lackey’s writing since I was much younger so I’m always eager to read a new one of her novels. This one was a different feel to her Valdemar series. I enjoyed reading about the different Hounds that different hunters have and learning about the way the world was in this novel. I enjoyed a large degree of the descriptions – since Joy is essentially a newcomer to Apex she notices things in a lot of detail that provides some excellent fodder for imagining the scene. We learn a lot in the first few chapters in a way that is very sudden. So keeping it in mind through the book is a bit difficult. The writing is geared towards young adult readers but makes for a relaxing read for an adult.

Very post-apocalyptic feel, with a good helping of redevelopment of politics. Though there is only the barest fringe of that holding center stage in the book. I mostly enjoyed the characters, there were some oversimplifications between the main character Joy and the people she interacts with. But nothing that made the book unreadable. The characters that are clearly in Joy’s corner are notable and different. Though there is a degree of one-dimensional-ness to them that gradually begins to fade when joy interacts a bit more.

There was at least one loose end regarding Hunter Ace, a semi antagonist of Joy. Just a throw-away line that just seems to be mentioned and never brought up or explored again. I would have loved to know a little more background beyond him being arrogant for arrogance’s sake. Still it was nice to see how Joy approached and handled the pressure.

This was a re-read for me, as Lackey remains a good comfort read. But to give it a rating I think it was sit somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. It really can’t match with story depth that shows good and bad for all characters. But comfort reads have their place as well.

Review: David Arnold – The Electric Kingdom

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The Electric Kingdom
David Arnold

Nico has been sent on a quest by her father to jump through the waters of Manchester. Kit’s never known life without his mother – or with more than 5 people in it. The Deliverer is an enigmatic unknown face that tries to support a failing human population besieged with Flies. Each has a potential mission to complete, but that seems impossible.

It wasn’t exactly edge-of-your-seat reading, but I did want to know what happened next. I was able to put it down though, because I just wasn’t as invested as I could have been. I’m not really sure that I believed the characters died when they did, and there was a sense that nothing was really real.

Also, what’s the deal with the title? Isn’t the fact that there is no electricity left? Well… except in the super special place where it worked. And the time jump wasn’t even electrical! I was disappointed.

As with all novels with potential time travel, although it is theoretically possible for a circle to be made, it makes the ending sort of pre-thought. Yet I kept reading in the hopes that the finale would redeem the book for me. It didn’t. Why was this particular cycle the one the author chose to write about? It seems like a personal hell.

I liked the characters well enough, and I enjoyed the different perspectives (for a change) but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this novel to everyone. A better time travel novel doesn’t come to mind right now, but if you have to pick a first one to read in the genre, perhaps don’t pick this one. 3 stars from me.

Text Publishing | 16th February 2021 | AU$19.99 | paperback

Review: Future Women – Untold Resilience

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Untold Resilience
Future Women

“A timely and uplifting book of true stories from 19 women whose resilience has seen them survive extraordinary global and personal tragedy. What does it take to find courage in the midst of deprivation and devastation? Why are some people able to continue living with purpose, even when faced with loss and despair? How does our community turn challenge into triumph? And what can we learn from the exceptional women in our midst who have done just that?”

I had trouble with connecting to many of these stories. I am fortunate enough to work in an industry where gender doesn’t matter, and the same is true of my closest girlfriends. In Australia I think we are already very lucky that women tend to be well-protected and well-equipped to look after themselves. There are of course rapes and murders, but that could happen to anyone, not just women (although I admit women tend to be targeted more).

I read this in small hunks because it’s non-fiction and otherwise the resilience stories might have been overwhelming, or equally I could have gotten bored. I did finish the book, but I’m not sure I really gained anything useful from it. I know that times used to be tough for women (and in some places it still is) but I also know and have experienced the better times. COVID-19 really didn’t have an impact on me – but maybe this book will help others who suffered more.

Penguin Random House | 20th October 2020 | AU$32.99 | paperback

Review: Vicki Bennett & Tull Suwannakit – The Flying Angel

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The Flying Angel
Vicki Bennett & Tull Suwannakit

“World War II. 1945. A group of nurses is handpicked to rescue injured soldiers from the frontline in Papua New Guinea, and transport them safely back home to Australia. Known for their courage and compassion, the soldiers call them… the Flying Angels. This is a story inspired by the life of one remarkable nurse, Sister Marie Eileen Craig.”

I personally didn’t know about the Flying Angels, but I am unsurprised that Australian nurses volunteered to do such a dangerous and potentially heart-breaking job. Us Aussies aren’t afraid of danger, and we aren’t short on compassion. I’d be interested to learn more about them, but I don’t think you’ll catch me reading a ‘dull’ old history book any time soon.

I’m not really sure what possessed me to request this picture book. Did I magically miss that it’s for ages 4+? Perhaps the beautiful soft fuzz of the drawing on the cover suckered me in!

I took it to its target audience of a five-year-old prep boy. However, he wasn’t that sold on it. It certainly wasn’t one that he re-requested that he have read to him! I tested it on his younger sister as well, but she’s jut not as good at sitting still for a book. Thus I think that the best audience for this book would be a family who has a closer personal connection to the World Wars or as a teaching aid for primary-school history.

Scholastic | March 2021 | AU$24.99 | hardback

Review: Lawrence McMahon – As Swallows Fly

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As Swallows Fly
Lawrence McMahon

Kate is a plastic surgeon who cares for her patients even as they work her to the bone. Malika is an orphan abandoned after a bus crash, growing up in unforgiving Pakistan. Malika shows promise with her studies, but it seems unclear whether she will be able to bust through the stifling disregard of the village. Kate is volunteered to mentor Malika in Australia, yet Kate isn’t really ready for the child.

The novel opens on Kate’s childhood, but then skips forward to her mother’s funeral. It then swoops back to Malika’s childhood and follows through to present day. The tension builds because we know from the blurb that something terrible will happen to Malika and that Kate will (eventually) need to save her. Unfortunately the blurb basically gave the ending away, because it was of course going to be a happy ending.

The element of tension that tried to be introduced by the Taliban’s invasion of Pakistan seemed at odds to the rest of the characters. Sure, I liked the priests well enough, but I didn’t care enough about them that I wanted words wasted on them. I much would have preferred a critical look at Kate’s surgeries or Malika’s classwork.

This has to be the fourth novel in a row that has a boarding school setting! However, in this situation it is essential that there is a school who can take Malika on. What I didn’t understand was that the teacher wasn’t more understanding. How could someone so sour about people being different survive in a place where it seemed like diversity was supported? Anyway, I thought that it highlighted how judgemental people are without knowing more (anything) about the people that they meet.

For me ultimately this novel fell short. After a slow start and middle (no problems there) the ending seemed rushed and was unsatisfactory. I had so many questions left over. Did Malika recover fully? Did Kate actually move on with her life? While I read the rest compulsively in one sitting, ultimately the ending wasn’t good enough to justify 4 stars.

Ventura Press | March 2021 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Di Walker – Everything We Keep

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Everything We Keep
Di Walker

Agatha has bounced from home to home, never really settling in. That’s until Katherine gives Agatha stability – and a way to get back if she needs to leave her parents again. What follows is the tug between being at home with your parents, or being at home with an adult who can treat her as the child she is.

Initially we don’t know what the circumstances are around the deterioration of Agatha’s home life. We know that something major must have gone wrong, but it’s unclear. Slowly and powerfully it is revealed, as is the level of stress and anxiety in Agatha’s life. I worried for Agatha’s future, even as I was sure her present would turn out ok.

Some of the dialogue is quite stilted in this, and I’m thinking that since it is an ARC it will be fixed in the final proof. If I wanted a comparison of this author’s style, I would guess I can read Unpacking Harper Holt. I’m not sure I’m going to, because there are plenty of other good middle grade reads already demanding my time.

If only this was the lived experience for more children in the foster care system. The ending is near perfect, and sadly, unlikely to occur for many children. What Agatha experiences before meeting Katherine is so typical it hurts. Surely there is a better way? I once again conclude that trying to place children back with their biological parents at all costs is absurd. At the same time, I can’t (yet can) believe that foster parents just hand the child on when they get to be too troublesome.

What I would have liked to see a little more of was a resolution at the end. What are the next steps? How can Agatha really move forward? Is there any hope for her parents? How will the dynamic actually change when Lawson joins the family? Can Agatha keep up going to school? What about her burgeoning OCD?

3 stars from me. It’s not quite as moving a story as Fighting Words, but a little more straight-forward than Watch Over Me. It’s a worthy addition to foster care literature, and it’s certainly perfect for the middle grade audience in a way that these other two novels are for older audiences.

Scholastic | 1st April 2021 | AU$18.99 | paperback

Interview with David White

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An interview with David White, author of YA series ‘The River Exiles’.

David has kindly offered to interview with me to promote the first book in this series – Columbia. You can find its 5 star reviews (and purchase it) on Amazon.com.au Take it away David!

What books did you enjoy reading as a teenager?

I used to love the Willard Price series of books about brothers Hal and Roger, who travel the world trying to capture animals for the world’s zoos. It sounds slightly exploitative when it’s written down like that, but actually the books have a very strong environmental conservation message, especially for a series published mostly in the 60s and 70s. They were ahead of their time, in many ways; but of course a teenager wouldn’t necessarily have cared about that, only whether the brothers would be successful in their latest adventure.

What made you write this particular book?

First and foremost, I wanted to write an adventure book for young adults that could also be enjoyed by adult readers. I think that’s something that is true of the best YA books – the Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent (linked to Rose’s reviews) and so on – but obviously it’s quite a difficult feat to pull off. I made sure that at the heart of my story was a basic tale about a sister and brother who are forced to leave their parents and taken to a new land, because I hope that’s something that readers will want to find out more about. But in imagining the dystopian world in which they live, there are big questions in the book about reproduction, about class, and also about the environment – which I appreciate can be a somewhat dry (no pun intended) subject, but which I think can come to life when an author imagines the reality of how we might live in the future. Hopefully readers of varying ages will take and enjoy different elements from the book.

How do you plan writing a series of books such as this?

I already know what is going to happen in Books Two and Three. I think you have to know this, in order to have a proper narrative structure that works throughout the whole series. I realise that some authors say they just start writing and everything falls into place as they go along, but I couldn’t work like that. And frankly I’m a little sceptical that many authors actually do. For a series to work, there have to be proper hints and clues in the early books; and proper solutions and resolutions in the later ones.

Everyone has a ‘first novel’, even if many of them are a rough draft relegated to the bottom and back of your desk drawer (or your external hard drive!). Have you been able to reshape yours, or have you abandoned it for good?

I’ve abandoned it for good. The back of the drawer is the best place for it. That doesn’t mean it was a waste of time, far from it; it taught me what not to do, apart from anything else. But I don’t think it can be revived, nor should it be!

I walk past bookshops and am drawn in by the smell of the books – ebooks simply don’t have the same attraction for me. Does this happen to you, and do you have a favourite bookshop? Or perhaps you are an e-reader fan… where do you source most of your material from?

I resisted ebooks for quite a long time. I felt that reading a proper book was a more immersive experience, and also I think some of the early e-readers weren’t that user-friendly. But I came round in the end (in much the same way that I did when I eventually gave up on LPs in favour of CDs, a while after friends had made the switch). I still buy physical books, but I’m probably about 50-50 now between physical and ebooks. My bookshelves are full, for one thing. But also ebooks are just a bit more usable in certain situations – notably on holiday, and in bed with a partner who is trying to get to sleep!

I used to find myself buying books in only one genre (fantasy) before I started writing this blog. What is your favourite genre, and have your tastes changed over time?

My tastes are quite broad, and I think they have broadened over time. I used to stick mainly to classics and to what people call, for want of a better term, ‘literary fiction’. I think that covers a huge range of books, really, but people generally understand what it means. Everything from Isabel Allende to Ian McEwan and from Milan Kundera to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, with most things in between. I always end up going back to Hardy and Austen, too. But in recent years I’ve certainly found myself reading a lot more thrillers; Linwood Barclay, Lee Child, Sophie Hannah. There’s as much craft that goes into those books as into any more ‘literary’ works. The only genres I really steer clear of are romance and historical fiction. I tried Wolf Hall and found it pretty much unreadable.

Do you worry about the future of books and reading, given how much screen time the average teenager has every day?

I think it takes more effort to get into reading than it does into other forms of entertainment like music and films, and I do think there’s an issue with young people not making that effort in the way they did previously. Of course, they don’t have to, because so much else is at their fingertips and easily accessible. But I do think that, ultimately, reading is still the most satisfying form of entertainment. So it’s up to authors to write lively, engaging, intelligent books for teenagers to make sure they’re not missing out.

Thanks David for this interview. Folks, I think you’ll enjoy his novel, so go pick up a copy!