Committed: Startup Survival Tips and Uncommon Sense for First-Time Tech Founders Book Review

Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Sasha Stolz Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

Part of my job as a book reviewer is reading titles that I wouldn’t normally seek out. Some of these are books that appeal to a niche audience. However, I believe that even if a title is not for everyone, there’s still something that people can connect to, especially if it’s good. I’ve looked at books like Caterham Sevens: The Official Story of a Unique British Sportscar from Conception to CSR by Chris Rees in the past. Today, I’ll analyze another niche title, this one being Committed: Startup Survival Tips and Uncommon Sense for First-Time Tech Founders by Eldon Sprickerhoff. While it’s a manual that effectively appeals to a specific audience, general readers can find something in it too.

Committed: Startup Survival Tips and Uncommon Sense for First-Time Tech Founders gives advice for people looking to start a technical business written by a tech founder who has “walked the path.” Great tech simply isn’t enough, and many first-time technical founders don’t know what they don’t know. To them, most business books focused on startup strategies might seem inaccessible, outdated, and off-topic.

To that end, Eldon Sprickerhoff, cofounder of cybersecurity firm eSentire, has assembled a list of everything he didn’t know as a first-time technical startup founder before his firm rocketed to a valuation of over $1 billion, finding product-market fit, raising early- stage capital, competing against bigger and better-funded competitors, building resilience, pushing through failure—and dealing with success. In Committed, Sprickerhoff offers readers “survival strategies” that encourage technical founders to embrace their new title, the one that matters: Chief Survival Officer.

When I started reading Committed, one of my first thoughts was that it reminded me so much of Caterham Sevens: The Official Story of a Unique British Sportscar from Conception to CSR by Chris Rees. Obviously, these books tackle completely different topics, but they have two things in common: their target audiences are very specific, and they use jargon that appeals to those groups. With the former, Sprickerhoff’s readers are inspiring technology founders, while the latter appeals to car enthusiasts, especially of Caterham Sevens.

While I’m not looking to start up a technology company nor am I a car aficionado, that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy books about niche things. After all, I placed That’s Me, Groucho!: The Solo Career of Groucho Marx by Matthew Coniam on my best list back in 2020, and that too has a very specific fanbase. What I’m saying is that even though I didn’t connect to books like Committed, I found things in them to like.

Both Sprickerhoff and Rees try to appeal to a wider audience, yet the latter is the most effective. Sprickerhoff uses analogies quite a lot, and he’s quite good at knowing which ones to use. The most frequent one he utilizes is how a company is like a baby. The founder has to take good care of it in order for it to survive and thrive. They will undoubtedly love the company, yet Sprickerhoff lets his readers know that they can’t expect that everyone, including employees, will adore it in the same way (p. 38). In addition, while the author uses tons of technical and business language, he always makes sure that his audience understands what he’s talking about. For example, in his chapter about funding, he defines the different types like pre-seed, seed, and Series A. While discussing seed funding, Sprickerhoff mentions angels, which are seed funds that might include “accelerator groups, formal family offices, or high-net-worth (HNW) investors, many of whom might have previously trod the very road you’re on” (p. 136).

They are usually the group, in which founders will likely try to seek outside investment money from.

One of the most beneficial parts about the manual is the chapter on mental health. Sprickerhoff is fully aware of how taxing it can be to start up a business. Specifically, he says the following, “You should expect that despite whatever success you achieve at some point, things will fall apart. Most of what I have put together in this book I learned along the path through the various mishaps, bumps, and bruises that come along with nurturing a startup” (p. 176).

To combat this, he offers plenty of coping mechanisms that help to bring people to the surface when they feel that they are drowning. These include spending time with family, exercise, talking to people outside of the startup ecosystem, listening to motivational speakers, listening to music, and therapy. He even reveals his own “Startup Hype List” of songs that get him through the day. They include tunes like “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, “99 Problems” by Jay-Z, and “Started From the Bottom” by Drake (p. 180).

Advice like these make the manual realistic when it comes to starting up a tech business. Sprickerhoff offers a positive view of achieving this goal, while also being blunt about it. Two of the other important tips that he gives is “Everything will take longer than you expect it to, even when you take this statement into account” and “Learn how to sell. Do not abdicate the responsibility for selling” (p. 195).

This and other pieces of advice are iterated throughout the book, but Sprickerhoff also includes them in the “TL;DR” section at the end.

He too gives personal stories about his trials and tribulations when starting a tech business. This adds authenticity to what he says. In case anybody is wondering, he also offers his opinion on reality television shows like Shark Tank. 

Committed: Startup Survival Tips and Uncommon Sense for First-Time Tech Founders by Eldon Sprickerhoff is a great manual for those looking to start-up a technology-related company. It offers great, realistic advice. Even if the author uses jargon that some readers might get confused with, he always takes the time to explain it without being condescending. Also, he sold me on the analogies and the mental health chapter. Although it’s not a title for me, I can see tech/business people committing themselves to reading it. Committed: Startup Survival Tips and Uncommon Sense for First-Time Tech Founders will be out Tuesday, November 12, so go grab it wherever you get your books.

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Adapt Me Podcast – I Was a Teenage Slasher

Hi Everybody!

Pay homage to your favorite slasher movies and try to control your killer instincts because returning guest Mel B of BDA Publishing and I discuss how we would adapt “I Was a Teenage Slasher” by Stephen Graham Jones in the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast! You can check it out at this link.

In the meantime, you can see my review of I Was a Teenage Slasher here.

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

None of This is True Book Review

Content warning: this review mentions alcoholism, domestic and sexual abuse, and grooming.

Ever since I read Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, I have been wanting to read more of her work. I understand that her thrillers focus on families and are edgier than most. An example of this is one of her latest novels, None of This is True. It contains all Jewell’s hallmarks, is on par with Then She Was Gone, and has a fantastic audiobook.

None of This is True is about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own true crime podcast. Popular podcaster Alix Summers celebrates her 45th birthday at her local pub when she crosses paths with Josie Fair – an unassuming woman. She, too, is celebrating her 45th birthday. In fact, they are birthday twins. A few days later, they run into each other again, this time at Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks that she might be an interesting subject for her series. She tells Alix that she is on the cusp of great changes in her life. Alix agrees to interview her. 

As they progress, Alix discovers that Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated. Although she finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Soon, Alix realizes that Josie is hiding some deep, dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie finds a way into Alix’s life and later her home. But as quickly she comes into Alix’s life, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover the terrible and terrifying legacy that Josie left behind and she becomes the subject of her own podcast with her and her family’s life under mortal threat. Alix wants to know who Josie Fair is and what she has done.

None of This is True contains some of Lisas Jewell’s trademarks. It contains a focus on realistic families. While Alix seems to have the perfect life, husband, and kids, it’s not actually that way. Nathan – Alix’s husband – is an alcoholic despite being a loving husband and father. This is why Alix goes back and forth on leaving him even though she loves him. 

As for Josie, her life is messed up to some degree. She is raised by a single, narcissist mother. Then, she marries a man who is a lot older than her and has two daughters, who are not always well behaved. At first, I felt sorry for Josie, for she appeared to be a classic example of a domestic abuse victim. I even cheered for her when she stood up to Walter – her husband – during an argument. I could easily see what Alix saw in Josie and why she would want to record a podcast about her. She even explicitly states that the podcast was a distraction from thinking about her own life by looking at someone else’s. However, it becomes clear that Josie is not as much of a victim as Alix initially thought. The second half of the book made me want to handcuff Josie and haul her off to jail. 

Like with Then She Was Gone, parts of None of This is True were predictable to some degree. I had a good feeling of what had occurred during the second half. However, to quote the review of the former, “two-thirds in, the book fulfilled and defied my expectations.” How so? Jewell has this knack for basically saying, “Yes, it was exactly what you thought happened and worse.”

This is why I don’t mind the predictability of her books. The worst part about fear is when it actually happens and feeling powerless to stop it. Jewell plays onto this quite a lot. In this case, Alix fears that Josie might infiltrate her life in more ways than one. This and much worse occur. It still shocked me and made me want to do a double-take when I heard what finally went down.

It takes a bit to get going with many of the creepy and horrific stuff happening in the second half. Despite this, the exposition effectively paints how Alix and Josie’s lives are and sets up the relationship between the birthday twins. The novel needed time to develop these to show how Josie is not the person she claims to be.

I have only one complaint about the book. It needed to end sooner. It almost veered into Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King territory with how many endings it had. I feel that it should’ve concluded after Alix makes her final warning to Josie on her podcast after the latter disappears. However, I would’ve kept the epilogue with Josie on the bus years later.

The best part of reading this story was listening to the audiobook. It’s narrated by Nicola Walker and Louise Brealey with a full cast. Walker is an actress best known for her roles in British shows like Spooks and Unforgotten. She has a Cate Blanchett-voice, which allows Alix to appear calm and put together. It’s also a great tone for someone working as a podcaster. Walker speaks in this cadence for most of the audiobook, so when Alix’s life falls apart, the narrator lets loose and conveys the emotional breakdown well. 

Brealey is an actress best known for her role as Molly Hooper in the Sherlock BBC series. She has also taken part in recording audiobooks like Julia by Sandra Newman, The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold, and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. She plays Josie with meekness with a notion that there’s more than what she lets on. When Josie goes deranged, Brealey conveys that the character may not have the self-awareness to realize what she has done.

While the performances were extremely good, what set this audiobook apart from others is the production. Since the novel involves a podcast and recorded interviews, the sound design mimics the kind of audio heard in both. As someone who runs a podcast, I can attest that this was done effectively with its clear, crisp sound. I also liked how during the recorded interview segments, the interviewer is barely heard because of how far away the microphone is from them. This puts more of the focus on the interviewees and their truths. The music during the podcast parts was great too as it portrays a sense of foreboding without shoving it hard into people’s ears. This is why I recommend people to listen to the audiobook over the book because of how good the former is.

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell is a wonderful thriller. It paints a realistic picture of the lives of the two main characters, which effectively sets up their relationship. Although it can be predictable, it still does a good job pulling the rug from under readers with its twists and turns. I’m still going to remember how I felt when I read those particular moments. Above all, the audiobook is incredible with its narrators and production. I would recommend this to all readers, especially those who love suspense, particularly books like Gone Girl; stories that involve podcasts and lives being unraveled; and want more from their audiobooks. It was one of the most thrilling novels I’ve read in awhile, and I can’t wait to read more of Jewell’s work.

Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I will be recording another episode of the Adapt Me Podcast next month. The hosts of the Badass Literature Society podcast – Michael, Barabara, and Lauren – and I will discuss how we would adapt this novel. Keep an eye out for the link.

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Serafina and the Black Cloak Book Review

When I was a Children’s Librarian, we prepared Battle of the Books for 5 months. To plan ahead or so to speak, I tried to read all of the titles that we selected. I was able to see why they were chosen, especially Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. It was a good, spooky, and entertaining book even if I didn’t connect to it as much as a younger reader would.

Serafina and the Black Cloak is the first book in the “Serafina” series. Serafina and her pa – the maintenance man – have secretly lived in the basement at the Biltmore estate as long as she can remember. She has explored the mansion, yet she must take great care to never be seen. None of the rich folk including the owners – the Vanderbilts – know that she exists. But when various children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is – a man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore’s grounds at night. After she escapes, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt – the owners’ young nephew. Together, they must uncover the true identity of the Man in the Black Cloak before more children vanish. In the meantime, Serafina’s hunt leads her into the forest that her pa had taught her to fear. There, she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic, one that’s bound to her own identity. To save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek answers that will unlock the puzzle to her past.

Serafina is a very interesting character who wants to know her true identity. For someone who’s been isolated for most of her life, she’s able to read people’s emotions pretty well. To be fair, she’s been observing the rich people all of her life. In addition, when her pa reveals where she actually comes from, her reactions are normal for a 12-year-old who just discovered the truth to something, ranging from relief that she has an answer to anger that her dad didn’t tell her sooner. I rooted for her to discover her true identity and to connect with people beyond the basement. Oh by the way, did I mention she fights a mountain lion at one point?

Another aspect that I liked was the villain. He’s the man in the Black Cloak who snatches various kids. He was actually kind of terrifying to me, and I’m an adult! To be fair, I’ve always been slightly unnerved by stories, in which people snatch others and take them far, far away. On top of all of that, no one knows who it is. The book even plays on various expectations on what readers think villains should be. Throughout, Serafina observes various men at the estate and takes mental notes on who it could be. At one point, she assumes it’s the coach driver because of how nasty he treats her and how he runs away when Serafina and Braeden fight off the Man in the Black Cloak in the forest. The identity of the villain will blow some younger readers’ minds.

I also enjoyed the world building in the novel. The descriptions of the basement that Serafina and her pa give it an isolated, yet comfy environment. For the Biltmore estate, it’s portrayed as a grand, but cold place with most of the rich people being indifferent to others who aren’t like them. This is especially true when Serafina leaves the grounds for the first time and remarks on how spooky it looks from the outside. (On a side note, looking at the actual pictures of the Biltmore estate only proves how accurate Serafina’s observations are of the place). As for the forest, it’s depicted as dark and menacing at first with all of the tree trunks blocking various parts of the walk paths and how Pa forbids Serafina to go there no matter what. However, once she finds herself in the woods, she sees all of the terrifying attributes, yet there’s an openness that allows her to be free before she has to endure various obstacles.

It took me a while to read Serafina and the Black Cloak because it didn’t connect to it as much as I wanted to. As much as I like Serafina, the villain, and the environment, it was another kid-discovers-real-world-and-true-identity story. I rooted for Serafina don’t get me wrong, yet I did that in the same way I would for other characters going through similar things. In other words, no matter how much she stood out, she’s still part of a trope.

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is a good book that I wished I had more emotional investment in. Even though the novel follows the kid exploring a new world and true identity cliche, it stands out with Serafina being a realistic 12-year-old, a villain that challenges readers’ expectations, and the world building. I would recommend this to kids aged 9 and older as well as adults who love fantasy, protagonists discovering their real identities, and books set at historic mansions like the Biltmore estate. If this novel did anything for me, it’s wanting to travel to North Carolina to see that particular home, so I’m going to get me some plane and museum tickets to go there in the future.

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I Was a Teenage Slasher Book Review

It’s October yet again, and that means scary content! For the rest of this month, I will review books that will focus on horror, the spooky, and thrillers. First up is I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones. It’s a great homage to iconic slasher movies despite some issues with the storytelling.

I Was a Teenage Slasher is a classic slasher story with a twist. In 1989 Lamesa, Texas, oil and cotton rule the land, and everybody knows everyone else’s business. Tolly Driver is a good kid with more potential than application, and at age 17, he is about to be cursed to kill for revenge. In his autobiography, Tolly explores the Texas he grew up in and a shared sense of being an outsider to get people to understand why he murdered a handful of people all those years ago.

Stephen Graham Jones has been on my list of authors to read for a long time. I had heard great things about his work, which are usually in horror and fantasy. I’m normally not into those genres, but that title caught my eye. Also, The Only Good Indians has been in my to-be-read pile for a long time. I’m happy to report that I Was a Teenage Slasher didn’t disappoint. 

The book does a good job with the setting. It embodies what it was like growing up in a rural Texas town in the 1980s. I especially enjoyed reading the bit, in which Tolly reveals people will go to great lengths to prove how country they are. It’s Texas after all. In addition, Jones does a great job with exploring how conservative the place is that people had to hide the unique parts of themselves. If they can’t, they will be considered outcasts like Tolly with his peanut allergy and Amber – his indigenous best friend. Although I couldn’t imagine a lot of the farming details like what a pumpjack was, I still got the strong sense of place through Jones’s writing.

In addition, the novel is a wonderful homage to the slasher horror movies that people love. It has all of the elements that make them so special like the slasher murdering people for revenge and moral reasons as well as the final girl, who is usually the last character standing in a flick like that. As much as he loves the genre, he’s willing to critique the tropes associated with it. Throughout the novel, Amber, who watched tons of those films, guides Tolly into remembering what happened during his murderous rampages and what will happen. Tolly too mentions how the movie that was based on those murders got some details wrong and emphasized certain elements over others. He also ponders why the slashers don’t use guns, but he finds out why soon enough. My favorite part was when Amber gets Tolly to put out some knives in his mom’s kitchen, so she could hear the sound they make. The “schting” sound effect is forever etched in my brain. Also, the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat, especially the one towards the end.

The best thing about this novel is Tolly himself. Writing from a serial killer’s perspective can be difficult, yet Jones pulls it off. Tolly had my sympathies from the beginning. His dad dies prior to the start of the book, and what happens to him at the infamous party was absolutely cruel. I’m not surprised that he ended up killing his perpetrators. But, Tolly is more than his suffering. Jones proves this by giving him a distinct personality. He may not have a lot of ambition, yet he enjoys his English classes and hair metal bands. One of the most interesting things about writing is that certain words like band names are underlined. This clearly underscores Tolly’s love for music and the English language. Another thing that works about the main character is how he wrestles with the killings. Even though Tolly barely remembers what occurred when he slashed people, he makes no excuse for his actions and the following consequences. Did he really do it? Has there been a slasher with a bigger guilt complex than Tolly Driver?

I only have one complaint about the novel. The writing can be disjointed, especially at the beginning. I get why it’s written that way, especially with how Tolly tries to articulate his feelings about what had happened. It’s stream-of-consciousness. However, this was off putting since the beginning is supposed to grab readers’ attentions to make them keep going with the story. While I love the concept and the main character, I had a hard time getting into the story due to the way it was written. It got better later on.

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones is a unique novel in the horror genre that pays a loving tribute to slasher movies and that I will never forget. The setting is great, and the main character is memorable. Plus, how many slasher stories have been told by the killer themselves? It’s not for everyone due to the amount of blood and gore as well as its stream-of-consciousness writing style. Nonetheless, I would still recommend it to those who love horror, especially slasher movies. Read I Was a Teenage Slasher while it’s still October.

Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I will be recording the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast soon. Returning guest Mel B – owner of DBA Publishing – and I talk about how we would adapt this novel. Keep an eye out for the link.

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White Book Review

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Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Sasha Stolz Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

Content warning: this review discusses racism, white supremacy, and mental health.

When I finish a book, it may take some time for me to formulate my thoughts on it. This can be hours, days, or even weeks depending on the title. On average, it takes me a day or two to gather my thoughts on a particular novel. In the case of White by Aviva Rubin, this process lasted three weeks. I wanted my review to do it justice while still expressing my opinion. With much thought, I can say that it’s a powerful and layered novel about one woman’s fight against white supremacy.

White is about a woman determined to destroy the white supremacist system in Canada. Sarah Cartell grew up in a white supremacist family, controlled by her grandfather whose values and violence marks them all. But, when she befriends the town librarian, who shows her how those beliefs are full of lies, Sarah begins digging up everything she can about the people her family celebrates and her grandmother and aunt who left a long time ago. Determined to dismantle that system, she infiltrates a Neo-Nazi gang by beginning a tumultuous relationship with a skinhead that excites and confuses her. As Sarah races to stop hate crimes, her new friends are put in danger, and a horrific family secret begins to emerge. This unraveling lands her in the psychiatric ward and begs the question, can anyone escape the love of a hateful family unscathed?

This book is heavy, and I’m not just talking about the amount of pages it has. The content is weighty since it deals with one woman’s goal to destroy white supremacy in Canada and the psychological fallout. The framework is Sarah talking to a therapist at a mental health facility as she unpacks everything that led up to her entering the place. This is not a book for readers seeking out light-hearted stories.

The novel is labeled as “near historical fiction” because it takes place in the 1990s before the Oklahoma City bombing, but it mainly focuses on how Sarah tries to escape her hateful family, which feels timeless. What works about this conflict is how complicated it is. Obviously, many of her male relatives, especially her grandfather Thomas, are terrible, but there are scenes in which she bonds with them. For example, growing up, Thomas wanted Sarah to be a pastor in his Church of Purity despite the naysay from her brothers Keith and Blake. While he was a white supremacist and a controlling human being, Thomas still saw potential in Sarah. In addition, the reasons why Sarah’s grandmother and aunt left as well as why Sarah’s dad and the other aunt stayed are not as clear cut. 

And of course, the strongest element of this story is Sarah herself. She is a wonderful multi-layered character. She grew up in a hateful environment, but she didn’t realize that it was so until the town librarian Mrs. Broder – who’s Jewish –  educates her and opens up her mind. Because of this, she wants to expose the entire white supremacy system in Canada. However, it takes a toll on Sarah physically, mentally, and emotionally. When she’s at the progressive McGill University, she spends most of her time researching Aryan-based/Neo-Nazi groups instead doing work for her classes, and she barely eats. Moreover, she starts a relationship with a skinhead, which she has mixed feelings about. On one hand, he sometimes takes advantage of her. On the other hand, she feels excited to be in a relationship, where she feels important. Additionally, she keeps many of her friendships at an arm’s length not to hurt them. Even though they also want to dismantle the hateful system, her friends recognize how she’s becoming more self-destructive and try to help her out with little to no avail. I wanted to tell Sarah, “You have friends that care about you. Drop your work for now!”

Despite that, Sarah is such a compelling character that one can easily understand where she’s coming from, but still point out her flaws. She is also quite funny with certain observations. This allows the book to be not such a downer. By the end, one is not sure if she is going to be completely alright given how she was raised and what happened prior to her time at the mental health facility. But the novel offers a glimmer of hope that she might find her own happiness.

White by Aviva Rubin is a powerful tale about one woman’s escape from her white supremacist family and destroying the system in Canada. This novel is heavy with how it handles several topics with sensitivity and empathy. Many of Sarah’s male relatives are horrible, but their relationships with Sarah are far more complicated, which makes severing their bond more difficult. Above all, Sarah is a memorable character. She wants to do the right thing and feel important, but she ends up going down a self-destructive path. I recommend it to those who want to read books about white supremacy and social activism as well as coming of age stories about people who lived in messed up environments (ie Educated by Tara Westover). White is out now, so go grab it wherever you get your books.

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Kittentits Book Review

When I finished reading Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder a while back, I wondered if I could ever read something as insane and absurd as that. My question was answered when a dear friend, who works at a library, told me about Kittentits by Holly Wilson, which got published this year. She told me about the bonkers plot and wanted to know why the novel was called Kittentits. We both decided to read it to fulfill our curiosity. I finished first, and reader, we got a lot to unpack with this one because it’s not for everyone. Nonetheless, it was entertaining even though I was trying to figure out what was going on half the time.

Kittentits is about Molly – a rambunctious 10-year-old searching for friendship and ghosts. In 1992, Molly is tired of living in the fire-rotted, nun-haunted House of a Semi-Cooperative Living Community of Peace Faith(s) in Action (a halfway house) with her formerly blind dad and grieving landlady Evelyn. But when 23-year-old Jeanie, a dirt-bike riding ex-con with a questionable past, moves in, Molly quickly attaches herself to her. She might treat Molly terribly, but for the first time in her life, the latter feels seen because they both have dead moms and potty mouths. When Jeanie fakes her own death in a hot-air balloon accident, Molly runs away to Chicago with a stolen credit card and a pair of LA Gear Heatwaves to meet her pen pal Demarcus (who never writes her back for some reason), so she can hunt down Jeanie. Molly and Demarcus plan to perform a seance to reunite with their dead mothers in front of a live audience at the World’s Fair on New Year’s Eve.

Like with Nightbitch, I love the cover of Kittentits. I adore the shade of pink and the image of a cat with its expression all a glow like it just saw a can of tuna that the owner forgot to put away. And, the stars are the cherries on top. It’s a bizarre cover fitting for a book of that nature.

As for the content, it’s not going to be for everybody. If a reader isn’t put off by the title, they might be by some of the things that happen. Molly and other characters like Jeanie do a lot of R-rated swearing, and there are some gross things that occur. In fact, I propose a litmus test. If one can get through the first 12 pages, especially the tampon scene, then they will be able to read the rest of the book. Now, just because someone finishes reading a book doesn’t guarantee that they will like it.

The big problem with Kittentits is that it’s trying too hard. It desperately attempts to get people’s attention and shock them. For example, Molly likes to swear a lot. Given her circumstances, it makes sense for her to curse and say derogatory things, but it feels static after a while. Also, some of the gross out moments (ie the tampon scene) don’t have much pay off, so readers are simply thinking, “What’s the point?”

Also, the plot goes in so many directions that readers are forced to keep up with it if they haven’t been turned off by the vulgar language nor the disturbing imagery. In Kittentits, it’s a coming of age story of a little girl who wants to be seen as her own person, and it also has conjoined twins, hot-air balloons, a World’s Fair that never materialized in real life, and a seance. Granted, it’s not as convoluted as it seems, since most of it comes together at the end. At the same time, it could’ve been a bit more streamlined like Nightbitch. 

Despite the problems with the story and how it’s presented, I’ll admit that it got me intrigued with the main character and how it was going to unfold just like Nightbitch. Molly is not like any other child protagonist I’ve seen in a novel ever. I mean, there have been ones who are abrasive and blunt, but not on the level that she is on. She can come off as insensitive sometimes, especially when she’s writing to her penpal Demarcus. It’s no wonder that Molly gets drawn to Jeanie, who is even more vulgar and unabashed. I hated how Jeanie treats Molly, hoping that the latter will have a realization about the former. Luckily, she does. I simply hoped that Molly would achieve her goal of being seen and respected by the people around her.

Given my issues with how extra the plot is, I admire how bonkers it is. It has a wide range of elements like the ones mentioned above, and I wondered how they were going to play out. Even if it dragged in places, I wanted to see it until the end. That finale is one for the ages.

Kittentits by Holly Wilson is undoubtedly one of the weirdest novels I’ve ever read. The plot packs in so much, and even if it doesn’t always work, I admire Wilson’s gumption for putting all of it on paper. Also, Molly is a one of a kind child character whether readers like it or not. The book is unquestionably not for everybody. The only readers that I would recommend it to are ones who love shock value and coming of age stories. There hasn’t been a book like Kittentits before, nor will there ever be one again, so despite my grievances, I’m glad I read it. I wonder how my friend felt about it…

Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I have recorded the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast recently. Guest Sarah Rick and I talk about how we would adapt this novel. You can check it out here.

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

Adapt Me Podcast – Kittentits

Hi Everybody!

Grab your hot air balloons, travel to the World’s Fair, and conduct a seance because guest Sarah Rick I talk about how we would adapt Kittentits by Holly Wilson on the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast. You can check it out at this link.

My review of Kittentits will be up next week!

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

199 Books* Ranked From Worst to Best

*I know that some are adaptations and original movies, but that’s besides the point.

Holy moley! I’m now approaching my 200th review. I’ve enjoyed posting these reviews for the last six years, and to meet that milestone means so much to me. I’m also glad that I’ve expanded what I evaluate. I plan on continuing to post reviews as long as possible.

Just like before, I will rate each of the 199 books that I have reviewed on this site. These are based on the ratings that I gave them on Goodreads, Letterboxd, and IMDb, but some have changed since their initial postings.

Here is the chart that I used to rate^ them:

* = Bad

** = Meh

*** = Decent

**** = Good

***** = Great

^Note: The books within each rating are only in alphabetical order.

Now, let’s begin!

*

**

***

****

*****

And there you have it! Let me what you think via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or email!

Join me as I post my 200th review next week! It’s of the weirdest book I’ve ever read, and I’ve looked at plenty of strange ones.

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life Book Review

Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Books Forward in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been a long time since I read stories that were written in an informal manner. The ones penned by John Marszalkowski were so good that I wanted to look at some more. Recently, I read some informal tales written by someone not named John Marszalkowski. It’s called Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life by Jenna Tico – a good collection of stories that detail how the author lived through her 20s.

Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life is a series of flash-prose, essay, and poetry that takes a look at one millennial artist’s transition from late bloomer to adult and invites women to embrace their self-worth, sexuality, and weirdness. Growing up in Santa Barbara, California, Jenna yearned for validation from celebrities and spiritual F-boys until she discovered her own value. She shares personal stories in various forms like the ones mentioned above while chronicling her journey from late bloomer to a grownup, which are all grouped following the cycles of the moon. Jenna observes the world of twenty-something relationships from perspectives that range from a bachelorette party to a deathbed and validates the experiences of women who felt abandoned by the generation before. Her stories also encourage healthy lifestyle choices for young women without telling them what to do and how to live their life with a dose of humor on the side.

I had never heard of a cancer moon prior to reading this book. It turns out that a cancer moon is a person who is sensitive and nurturing, feels deeply, and possesses plenty of intuition. This comes from astrology, especially when the moon is in the cancer sign. For more information, click on this link . Tico doesn’t fully explain what a cancer moon is, but she does talk about what it means to be one in the introduction titled “Come Sit in the Palm of My Hand.” 

In addition, I love the framework of the sections being moon phases. The first part is Waning like Jenna’s self-confidence, and the second one is New, where she is shrouded in darkness. Then, sections three and four called Waxing and Full see her slowly regain her self-esteem.

Within the structure, it feels disjointed. The stories bounce all over the place, and I wasn’t really sure at what part in her twenties she was going through during a certain tale. But the more I thought about it, I realized that that decade is supposed to be full of unadulterated chaos. The fact that Tico organized it in story form shows how mature she’s become over time.

Let’s get into the content itself. I find Jenna to be absolutely relatable. Female readers will definitely connect with her story, especially her self-esteem issues and her quest to seek validation from people who didn’t really care. I certainly did when I was in my 20s, and I certainly related hard with the conflict of being used versus being invisible. She embodies humor and sincerity all throughout her work, yet she could be downright serious like in the story “Vital,” where she recounts her thoughts the moment when her Nana dies.

My favorite stories were “Cabo is the New Cabo,” “To the New Girlfriend of the Man I Used to Blame for Everything,” and “Terrible Twos, Or: How a Toddler Taught Me to Stop Regretting and Love Life.” All of them are very funny while they reveal some hard truths about life and how to navigate it. This is especially true in the first one, where she observes other women losing all inhibitions at a bachelorette party. I also enjoyed the connections from the earlier tales to the latter one. For example, the opener “Cabo is the New Cabo” gets referenced in the last official essay “I Was Told I’d Be Glowing.” Moreover, if readers want to see how Jenna evolves throughout the collection, read her one-page essays “Other People I Can Blame” and “Other People I Can Thank.” 

As much as I liked Cancer Moon, I don’t think it will ever top the work of John Marszalkowski, yet it’s not Tico’s fault. I just happened to read his essays first, so I inadvertently set expectations on informal content I would later come across. It’s like if one’s first introduction to sketch comedy was Monty Python’s Flying Circus. One would still like other shows, but they can’t look at that style of comedy the same way after viewing the aforementioned series. That’s essentially what happened. I like Cancer Moon very much, yet I can’t read informal works the same way after consuming Marszalkowski’s books because the latter set the bar high. At the same time, both excel at being funny and honest at the same time.

Like Marszalkowski’s work, Cancer Moon is not going to be for everyone. After all, how many readers can say that they’ve had relations with a celebrity? Even more so, some may be off put by the non-linear structure. But then again, an author will never please everybody when they use non-conventional methods.

Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life by Jenna Tico is a good set of informal stories about how one woman survived her 20s. While not everything is going to connect with the readers, the core elements will, and Tico is funny and sincere about them. She can also be downright serious when she speaks about her life and relationships. I would recommend it to those who want to get into stories that are less formal because of how palatable they are as well as to those who want to read more books about the trials and tribulations of going through one’s 20s and the journeys toward self-love. Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life is out tomorrow, September 17, so go grab it wherever you get your books.

Before I go, I want to let you know that it is my 199th review! Next week, I will rank all of the 199 titles I’ve read and/or watched (including this one) in my Ranking series. This will lead up to my 200th review in two weeks. Stay tuned for the ranking! In the meantime, check out my prior Ranking posts.

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!