TBR March 2022

To Be Read for March

Partly because I'm a sadomasochists' with no self control, I bought over 20 books last month. Maybe 35, yikes. However, since I'm super new to the bookish side of the internet, and though I've been a bookworm all my life - I have to still complete university.

1.) Wisdom From The Wild

2.) The Last Days of The Dinosaurs

3.) Hide by Kiersten White

4.) Woman, Watching

5.) The Paradise Notebooks.

All these copies were very generously provided by publisher's on Netgalley, for an honest review! Thank you to Netgalley.

The Only Good Indians

Rating : ★★★☆☆

I have complicated feelings about this book, ones that are not entirely satisfied - but positive. I read this after it was highly recommended by my two favorite booktubers, it’s a book repeatedly promoted over and over again in horror TBR’s - so of course, I had to check it out.

The Only Good Indians is a book from multiple points of view, about four men, of the blackfoot tribe, who must confront a dark part of their past. This past comes in the shape of an antagonist - a woman with an elk-shaped head. This book takes a long while to unravel, but never does it feel tedious. I absolutely loved the cultural significance of the characters, and how they all related differently to tradition. However, this book is likely to not scare you. It isn’t very scary, though it takes influence and elements from horror.

I think, in a self defeating way, it was not scary to me because it made me sympathetic to the antagonist and although all the characters very much feel like real people, they also deserved what they got to an extent. Most of them do not even feel bad about what transpired, and all of them did not learn their lesson or keep their promises. I was propelled forward through the book by my own curiosity to the antagonist, as the author did an amazing job writing them. There are even small chapters where it is from the antagonist’s point of view, which just made me even more sympathetic towards them. The only parts that made me uncomfortable was the animal cruelty, which is a warning if this is a trigger for you - it would be best to avoid this book.

Regardless, I felt like I enjoyed this book for what it was - and am very glad to read something so original in a genre that is oversaturated with cliches. I never predicted anything in the plot, and was surprised often. It’s just not one that will make you think hard or much about it after you finish it.

(Spoilers)

I hate, hate, hate. HATED the level of animal cruelty, but it is done very well. Never does it feel tasteless, it’s just hard to stomach as an animal lover. There is an elk that gets basically tortured because they are all horrible shots, and the main character’s are terribly selfish. They decide to mow down an entire herd, not even checking who they are shooting. They end up cutting a poor baby from the one of the elk’s bellies that is still somewhat alive. It’s horrible. Also, Lewis, when his dog is dying after being suspended from a leash and suffocating - does not even go to comfort the animal, though he explains why. There’s another scene where a bunch of dogs are massacred, and Cassidy is just like ‘oh wow that sucks’ about all his dogs being dead but is somehow PISSED about his money being gone from a container. Basketball plays a lot into the culture of minorities, especially Native Americans - but I did get sick of hearing detailed basketball moves.

It can be a slow burn, a very slow one but once it picks up you cannot stop it. Lewis, and almost all the main characters are unreliable narrators due to the influence of the antagonist. You become horridly paranoid, just like them - and don’t trust anything. You’re forced to watch as all them descend into madness and kill everyone around them. The only part that really got a reaction from me, besides the animal cruelty scenes lol, was when Lewis decided to kill Shaney by breaking her damn neck with a motorcycle belt. I was like - what the fuck, why the hell did you do that with no evidence Lewis? I feel like for as intelligent as Lewis is, even in his paranoia would not have done such a thing so quickly. He would have figured something out, and we should have been playing cat and mouse for a few chapters - which is not what happened. It was disappointing.

The Good Girls

Find this book on ​Amazon.

In a small, poor area of India - two girls who were best friends were found dead. One hangs on the left, in dark green - she looks older even though her face is blurred. The other is in pink/orange, smaller and daintier. Doesn’t look a day older than 12 even though she’s 14. Both their feet are covered in dust, they look as if they are sleeping with heads bowed. If it weren’t for the coiled rope around their necks.

This book focuses on these two girls, who she calls Padma and Lalli. They are normal teenagers girls, interested in boys and makeup, making secret phone calls - but in India, this is a great infraction that can sometimes call for retribution. Girls are meant to stay home, to have no autonomy, or time for themselves. It focuses on the serious topics of abuse, the Caste system, and how along with sexism and perpetual rape culture - makes room for honor killings and abuse of power. The victims are almost always the lower caste/casteless and women or girls. Raising awareness for these great injustices, writing from an analytical approach.

The author does an amazing job painting a clear picture of neglect and inadequacy of the UP, and (unlicensed) Pathologist involved in the case. Even the family themselves were unreliable for witness testimony. Almost everyone involved was more interested in protecting themselves, then finding these girls. Once the bodies of Padma and Lalli are found, the family refuses to allow the police to gather the bodies. Rightfully knowing that once they are brought down, the case will vanish into obscurity as so many have before.

Overall, this is a book that deserved a spot on the Bestseller list. It never handles topics insensitively. It’s respectful, and does not take a side - though the author sometimes delivers clever humor that can be missed. I found this novel beautiful and heartbreaking, and both girls are overshadowed by the corruption and injustice done by the authorities. It’s yet again another tragedy. There is Huffington Post article that posted the image of the girl’s bodies, and was disgusted that they falsley reported as fact that these girls committed suicide. They showed every intention of living, they even had just got 100 rupees to spend. This is an attempt of the bureau to ignore the way India horrifically treats it’s women and girls. When they couldn’t blame anyone else due to them ruining evidence, they tried to blame the girls themselves.

This is an easily digestible read from a Western Point of view, and no less sympathetic. The author’s approach is formal, but not overwhelming. Even with some mentions of foreign concepts, words, or foods - I was not lost, as it is always conveyed or directly communicated as to the meaning. This book also made me look into Documentaries on life in India, especially for lower caste and women. The book does an amazing way of showing this without having to tell you everything. It conveys the aspects of life perfectly, in a shorter time then the documentaries.

Overall, this book is written for fans of nonfiction that handles serious topics. It’s meant to spark conversation, and it does it well. Long after I finished this book, I did not stop thinking of it or pondering the girl’s fate. The evidence and testimony went so many ways, and one witness named Nazru is suspicious in his constant changing of his story. If you do not like serious looks at the system, or dark themes - this book may be one you want to skip. But I will recommend it anyway. It provides an important look on culture and religion, in relation to secularism - and how this affects daily life. It lets you see how Padma and Lalli would have lived, how unfairly they were treated in life and in death.

Thank you sincerely to Netgalley and the Publisher, for giving me a copy of the ARC to read. I loved and appreciated it, and plan on buying.