Book Review: 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

Publish Date: February 28, 2017
320 pages [Hardcover edition]
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:
Perfect for fans of Finding Audrey and Everything, Everything, this is the poignant and uplifting story of Maeve, who is dealing with anxiety while falling in love with a girl who is not afraid of anything.

Think positive.
Don’t worry; be happy.
Keep calm and carry on.

Maeve has heard it all before. She’s been struggling with severe anxiety for a long time, and as much as she wishes it was something she could just talk herself out of, it’s not. She constantly imagines the worst, composes obituaries in her head, and is always ready for things to fall apart. To add to her troubles, her mom—the only one who really gets what Maeve goes through—is leaving for six months, so Maeve will be sent to live with her dad in Vancouver.

Vancouver brings a slew of new worries, but Maeve finds brief moments of calm (as well as even more worries) with Salix, a local girl who doesn’t seem to worry about anything. Between her dad’s wavering sobriety, her very pregnant stepmom insisting on a home birth, and her bumbling courtship with Salix, this summer brings more catastrophes than even Maeve could have foreseen. Will she be able to navigate through all the chaos to be there for the people she loves?


My Thoughts:
I was gifted this book via Netgalley and also won a paperback ARC via a Goodreads Giveaway.
I got 60 pages in, roughly right under 20% into the book. I got to the point where I just didn't want to pick it up to continue it. I was very interested in this story because over the last year, I have developed anxiety that has started to interrupt my day-to-day life. I have had 2 panic attacks. I have read one book with a MC that suffered with anxiety and I really connected with that character because I now understand what it feels like. I really expected to connect with Maeve. In fact, she sounds like me to an extent...where she is constantly thinking about things that could go wrong. However, I don't know if it's the "voice" that it is written in, but it's so hard to read and not feel annoyed, if that makes sense. I, by no means, think Maeve is stupid for feeling the way she does or that her anxieties are silly. I have thought the same things as her. But the voice was difficult for me to connect with.

Books I Read in March

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows - 5 stars (finished 3/4)
BOOK 1 IN THE LADY JANIES SERIES
I had heard from so many Booktubers that this book was laugh-out-loud funny. I know that usually, for me, this means that I will find it funny, but not actually LOL. I 100% LOL'd multiple times throughout this read. It was so so funny. I also had heard that there were a lot of interjections from the narrators, however, if there were, they weren't very stand-outish to me. I loved this book so much. I loved the "historic" parts and I loved the fantasy parts. The characters were wonderful and rich. The plot moved. I'm not sure how the writing was split up between the three authors, but it was done very well and was not noticeable whatsoever.

My favorite passages were mostly book-related as Lady Jane was a bookworm. I won't share all of them, but I will share this one. It's not my most favorite, but it's close.

""I've read all the books we have." She wrinkled her nose. "Armies aren't very good about carrying libraries with them. I can't imagine why. We'd fight so much less if everyone would just sit down and read."" - Lady Jane, p.427

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin - 4.5 stars (finished 3/14)
While organizing my Kindle books into a new system (by genre), I reread the synopsis of Symptoms and knew I wanted and needed to read it ASAP. I was not disappointed at all. It was very easy to connect with the characters and story. I've seen a few people say it had no point or plot, but I disagree. I think there was definitely a clear story arc.

Symptoms takes on the story of high schooler, Riley, who identifies as gender fluid, but is not out to anyone except for Dr. Ann, Riley's therapist. Riley is also the child of a congressman who is up for reelection in a conservative county. Riley sees coming out as something that would mess up the Congressman's career and put the family in the public eye for scrutiny. Riley is overwhelming so concerned for how everything will affect those around him/her. Riley doesn't want anyone hurt.

The descriptions of how Riley felt really helped me to understand and connect with the character. It makes me want to learn more about gender fluidity. I loved Solo and Bec a ton and I really felt so happy that Riley's mom seemed more than anything to want to understand her child.

I'm 100% fascinated with everything in the LGBTQIA+ community. I don't know how to put it into words without sounding like a dork or causing offense, but I just want to soak up as much knowledge as possible. I grew up in a nondiverse small town in the midwest and even after moving to a big city, I feel like I haven't really been able to meet as many diverse people as I would like. So books, internet, tv, etc. is how I connect with diversity. I want to hear other people's stories!

The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket - 4 stars (finished 3/20)
BOOK 9 IN THE SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS SERIES
This one isn't one of my favorites in the series. It's okay. I feel like this one dragged on for a great deal of the story and then ends on a very exciting note.

April TBR List + Upcoming Releases

In March, I was able to read 3 books (my goal is 4). The month started off a little slow because we had family in town and Nick had a long drill weekend, plus soccer has started...I'm still trying to dig my toes in and get settled back into a routine. And catch up on sleep - because Mason got sick for like 2 weeks and slept in bed with us and also woke up before 7 each morning...UGH. Motherhood can really put a damper on reading sometimes haha. I'm ahead by 1 book in my Goodreads goal and I would like to get back on track because up to this point, I was 2-3 books ahead! Here are my April reading goals:

1. I need to read some of my Owlcrate books. I did read My Lady Jane last month and loved it. That list is now: Of Fire and Stars, Roseblood, Caraval, and Daughter of a Pirate King.
2. I have other books sitting on my desk now and would like to read those as well: Dead in the Family, This Savage Song, and To All the Boys I've Loved Before.
3. I would also love to finish at least ONE series this month. I need to start working on finishing some if I'm going to meet my goal of 10 this year.

CHALLENGES
Goodreads Challenge: 13/52 books
ABC Challenge: 9/26 books
Travel Gnome Challenge: 4/23 books
Series Challenge: 0/10 series
Movie Adaptation Challenge: 0/3 books
Netgalley Challenge: 2/25 books
Throwback Book Club: 10/12 books
Diversity Bingo 2017: 1/36 books
Overused YA Tropes Bingo 2017: 3/25 books

Books I Read in February

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco - 3.5 stars (finished 2/3)
BOOK 1 IN THE STALKING JACK THE RIPPER SERIES
I am not typically a fan of historical fiction and can find it hard to read at times, however, this novel was NOT one of those kinds of books for me. I flew through it and loved the additions of media related to the story. I know with certainty that I am not interested in continuing the series because I feel like even though I did like this book, I didn't love it. It also ended with some resolve where it could easily be a standalone book. I did like the characters and feel they were very well developed, but the plot was a little on the dry side and there was a lot that didn't really contribute to the plot overall. I wasn't really surprised with who was named as Jack the Ripper or the reasoning behind it. I kind of figured that's who it was about midway through. So overall, not a bad read by any means, but definitely not something that blew me away.

The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket - 4 stars (finished 2/3)
BOOK 7 IN THE SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS SERIES
I like that in this story, the villainous scheme is a little less obvious and the children are beginning to get more worn down by constantly having to be on their toes. I could not remember what happened in this book, so it was like reading it for the first time. I think I remember what the real V.F.D. stands for, but I'm not 100%. It's been too long.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer - 5 stars (finished 2/13)
I love the idea of a villain origin story and Wonderland is one of those incredibly enchanting worlds where anything can happen. It was such a good choice to pick such a world to do an origin story and there are so many characters that could have been selected, but the Queen of Hearts was definitely a perfect choice. I think this may have been my first origin story read, so it was interesting to "know" what would happen to the character in their future, but not really know how they got there. I have only read Cinder by Marissa Meyer, so I can't really speak on good authority as to if all her books are written so well, but Heartless and Cinder were both magnificent. Meyer is great at world building, character growth, and describing scenes without being boring.

Cath (Queen of Hearts) is a girl after my own heart, no pun intended. Her love of food and eating spoke to me. I adored every part that involved her describing food she had seen or had made or was eating. I loved the bits of Cheshire because I have always loved Cheshire as a character -- it's the crazy cat lady in me, I suppose. I especially loved the bits with Hatter...because as much as it was Cath's story, you got to see some of how Hatter became who most of us are familiar with. I honestly would take a whole story just with the Mad Hatter being the main character. I didn't have strong feelings towards Jest really. I thought he was a good character, but I didn't love him. I didn't hate him either. I did despise Cath's parents, Peter Peter, and the King of Hearts. Those are all characters I would love to give a good shaking.

Overall, I was so glad this book lived up to the hype. It was such a wonderful story. Truly.

The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket - 4 stars (finished 2/28)
BOOK 8 IN THE SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS SERIES
This installment of the ASOUE series is much more sinister than the others...even though there have been plenty of horrible things happening. Up until this point, I feel like Count Olaf's troop was toned down and didn't seem as villainous as him. This book really shows how evil they are too. Once again, there is a little more information (literally the smallest of pieces) given to the past that has led to the Baudelaire's unfortunate circumstances.

March TBR List + Upcoming Releases

So February slowed down for me a lot because we had 2 of 3 kids celebrating birthdays, plus our family just came down and we also celebrated my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's birthdays as well. Because our family has all the February birthdays haha. I didn't really accomplish as much of my overall goals as I wanted, but I'm not too upset because I am still ahead in my yearly Goodreads goal and I'm pretty convinced March will be a great reading month for me. So here are my March goals:

1. Series of Unfortunate Events: FINISH. I'm typing this up on the last day of Feb and I'm hoping to finish the 8th book today...then I have 9-13. Just five more. I can do this!
2. I would like to read some of my Owlcrate books. That list is now: Of Fire and Stars, Roseblood, Caraval, and My Lady Jane.
3. I rarely buy books anymore, but picked up To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han and This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab at Target because I have heard really great things about both books. So I hope to read one of them in March to justify buying them LOL

CHALLENGES
Goodreads Challenge: 9/52 books
ABC Challenge: 8/26 books
Travel Gnome Challenge: 3/23 books
Series Challenge: 0/10 series
Movie Adaptation Challenge: 0/3 books
Netgalley Challenge: 2/25 books
Throwback Book Club: 7/12 books
Diversity Bingo 2017: 0/36 books