When it rains it pours, and when I am motivated to write dumb things for this newsletter I do so in batches and then not again for months. (I have set a goal for myself to write things more regularly this year so maybe more regular updates?) (I am bad at holding myself accountable to writing goals which is why I am not a successful writer hehe) (this is to say, keep your expectations low but also stay tuned).
Owing mainly to the fact that I want to get this out of my brain before I forget, I bring to you: a review of my favorite book I read in January. I had been anticipating this one for a while (it just came out at the end of last year) and phew, I was not disappointed. It was the first book I finished in 2023 but I could easily see this one ending up in my 2023 top of the year list, so it has set the reading bar high.
White Horse, by Erika T. Wurth
Plot:
The elevator pitch for this one is, “White Horse is a gritty, vibrant debut from Erika T. Wurth about an Indigenous woman who must face her past when she discovers a bracelet haunted by her mother’s spirit. Some people are haunted in more ways than one.” –normally I don’t copy/paste marketing copy from a publisher but…I’m feeling lazy and some underpaid editorial assistant definitely wrote this specifically so readers like me don’t need to think very hard and honestly this kinda sums it up pretty well, so who am I to try to reinvent the wheel.
Anyway! Our main character, Kari James, is a mid-30’s-ish Indigenous woman living in Colorado. She’s all about heavy metal, snarkiness, horror books (Stephen King in particular), and drowning her sorrows at the White Horse bar.
The story opens with the discovery of an old family bracelet: it belonged to Kari’s mother, who notably mysteriously disappeared (and is presumed dead) when Kari was just a newborn. When Kari touches the bracelet, she starts to have visions–both of her mother’s ghost, and something else–something a lot more terrifying (this is not a spoiler, I promise! It is in the cover description!)
The action of the book is focused around Kari’s mission to unravel what the hell is going on with this haunted bracelet and what happened to her mother-–which means unpacking the uncomfy aspects of her past that Kari would rather ignore.
Thoughts:
Yeah, I was in no way mysterious about my thoughts here, but I’ll say it again: I really liked this one.
Was it a perfect book? Nah, not really. In fact, I spent a lot of time reading other reviews of this book on Goodreads (my favorite hobby), and lots of folks raise critical points that are valid and I can definitely see where they are coming from. But man…something about this story really just scratched a brain-itch for me. I found it really satisfying, idk!
I knew I was going to like this book pretty quickly because I loved Kari as a character. She doesn’t take anybody’s shit, she is super sassy, she thinks dating is for suckers, and she is an all around hard-ass (this is obviously a veneer, as it so often is, covering up for various traumas and difficult life experiences–relatable, tbh). She is imperfect and stubborn and complicated (and a little immature, I’ll admit it) but she is also fierce and strong as hell. This character was just so GOOD, like I wanted to be her best friend–except she would probably think I’m a big dork and would definitely roll her eyes at me gushing about her like this. You know, in the bestie kind of way.
As far as genre goes, I would call it horror, but it also is definitely in mystery/thriller territory. It’s gritty, it’s diverse, it’s a little emo, it’s dark as hell. It obviously delves into the supernatural/paranormal (I mean, yeah, we’re investigating a literal haunted bracelet here), which might not be everyone’s jam, but I dig it. The book also explores grief, generational trauma, Indigenous identity, and addiction–which all can get heavy as topics go, to be sure, but I liked how the author handled it here. Also, there is definitely something to be said about the commentary on missing and murdered Indigenous women (I don’t think I need to spend time explaining to anyone who reads this about how Indigenous women are disproportionately the victims of violent crime/abuse).
The one critical thing I will say that there is…a lot going on in this book. There are many subplots secondary to the “main” plot, and sure, some of them could have probably been cut altogether without being missed. For some people this will might be annoying (again, I’ve seen the reviews haha) but for me this was a really minor gripe. I was really engrossed in the story, I was rooting for Kari, and while some of the various plot-threads could have been woven together more neatly, I still feel like the end result worked for me.
This book gave Stephen Graham Jones/Grady Hendrix vibes, and they are two of my fave horror dudes these days. (If you read My Heart is a Chainsaw, I kind of feel like Kari could be a cool big sister/older cousin to Jade).
Would recommend for fans of: the aforementioned horror bois, Stephen King, heavy metal, Indigenous lore, and badass female protagonists.
Shorter reviews of other recent books, while I’m at it:
The Hunger, by Alma Katsu: This is historical fiction meets supernatural horror, and is a retelling of what happened with the Donner Party (ie, CANNIBALISM). Because of how I am as a person (a nerd) I did a little research on the actual story of the Donner Party (I listened to a podcast lmao) and I would say that the author stays relatively true to the real story except for, you know, the supernatural stuff. It is definitely kind of weird and has way too many characters to keep track of (for me, anyway—my brain can only keep tabs on so many white men at a time, guys) and has a lot of bizarre/unnecessary romantic subplots that creep into “ick” territory (I won’t spoil the details of THAT, but trust me on this one….) but, idk, I enjoyed it still. I gave it 3 outta 5 stars.
Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green: “Amy, why did you read this?” Well, great question. I was bored and I wanted an audiobook to listen to while I ran errands and whatever. In short, I saw this one was available on Libby in the “popular” category, and that was basically as far as the decision-making process went. I truly don’t know how to describe the plot of this book??? Basically there is a fugitive billionaire who disappears, there’s a cash reward for info about his whereabouts, a girl with anxiety/OCD rekindles an old friendship with the billionaire’s son in hopes of uncovering clues and getting the cash, hijinks ensue, we learn about friendship and mental health. Idk man, I liked the anxiety/OCD rep in this book but the story is whack as hell and really not very believable. I gave it 2.5 stars because 2.5 is also the number of brain cells I was required to use to pay attention to this audiobook while I did other stuff, and I appreciated that. shrug!!!!
My Government Means to Kill Me, by Rasheed Newson: Yeah this book wrecked me!!! It is a queer coming-of-age story (YES, ANOTHER ONE, I LIKE WHAT I LIKE OKAY?) about a young gay black man named Trey in 1980s NYC. Yes there is a lot of gay sex, yes there is a lot of AIDs, yes there is a lot of race stuff and activism stuff and homophobia stuff and phewwww. Anyway it was very good but it is also A Lot so proceed with caution if you pick it up (I gave this 4/5 stars).
The Night Shift, by Alex Finlay: The story opens with the employees of a Blockbuster Video working the night shift (heh, the title, get it?) all getting murdered except for one survivor. Fifteen years later, in the same town, the same thing happens again, this time at an ice cream shop—again, with one survivor. The story shifts perspectives between the survivor of the original attack (who befriends the new survivor), the brother of the accused murderer, and an FBI agent trying to solve both cases/see if they are linked. In short, this is a twisty murdery thriller that is action packed. I read it at a moment when I just kinda wanted something fast and juicy as a palate cleanser (lol yeah murder thrillers are a palate cleanser sometimes ok???) and this hit the spot for me. I gave it 3.5/5 stars.
Yay! I did it!!
Mentioned in the other newsletter too but I am gearing up for a February of romance/romance adjacent books so haha I look forward to screaming about that. Hopefully in a good way? My expectations are low based on the things on my TBR, but…we’ll see!
As always please do not hate me if you do not share my opinions of these books lol, I am merely a dummy with dumb thoughts :)
xoxo,
Amy