March 2021 – Page 2 – Down the Rabbit Hole

Sixteen-year-old Ana has just moved to New Jersey from Argentina for her Junior year of high school. She’s a poet and a lover of language—except that now, she can barely understand what’s going on around her, let alone find the words to express how she feels in the language she’s expected to speak.

All Ana wants to do is go home—until she meets Harrison, the very cute, very American boy in her math class. And then there’s her new friend Neo, the Greek boy she’s partnered up with in ESL class, who she bonds with over the 80s teen movies they are assigned to watch for class (but later keep watching together for fun), and Altagracia, her artistic and Instagram-fabulous friend, who thankfully is fluent in Spanish and able to help her settle into American high school.

But is it possible that she’s becoming too American—as her father accuses—and what does it mean when her feelings for Harrison and Neo start to change? Ana will spend her year learning that the rules of English may be confounding, but there are no rules when it comes to love.

With playful and poetic breakouts exploring the idiosyncrasies of the English language, Love in English tells a story that is simultaneously charming and romantic, while articulating a deeper story about what it means to become “American.”

While I am not Latinx or have the direct experience of immigrating to a new country, Love in English tells a wonderful tale about connecting with one another in ways that transcends the language that we speak and the beauty behind the words that we do use.

Ana has just recently moved to America with her mother, joining her father who had gone and settled there a few years before them. Leaving behind everything and everyone that she knew in Argentina, nothing could prepare her for the jolt that is living in a different culture, even all her English lessons back home.

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discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish – Promoting Diversity In the Book Industry

March 26, 2021March 26, 2021 Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

Prompt from Nicole @ THOUGHTS STAINED WITH INK)

How can we, as bloggers, promote diversity of all sorts in the book world? What are some things you think publishers should do to promote diversity? Is there something a publisher or another blogger is doing right now that you think is a step in the right direction? What are some things you do personally?

A similar topic to last week, yet also super important and distinct in its own right. I definitely think that as bloggers, we should try and promote all sorts of diversity using our platforms. After all, beyond just speaking our own thoughts here on our blogs, it is also a chance to reach out to the world and try to make a difference, whether the actual effect be big or small.

I think as bloggers, if there ever is an opportunity, it’s good to give a shout out or a nod to the diversity, in order to promote it whenever possible. But similar to what I said last week, there isn’t really a need to try and shoehorn “diversity” into everything – focusing on diversity where appropriate is already more than enough to do our part.

Something we did here recently at Down The Rabbit Hole was to promote Asian authors, not only because of the recent news, but also because we are Asian, and it is part of our identity. It truly felt nice to have a dedicated post to promoting these authors, as many of them are amazing authors and deserve to have the recognition, despite the current setting around Asians in the news. I feel that taking the time here and there to do appreciative posts or shout-outs are the best way to naturally incorporate and promote diversity, to show that being diverse is the natural way of things, and not something that should be so foreign and “forced”.

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3.5 star, YA

ARC Review: Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price

March 25, 2021March 24, 2021 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Jane Austen Murder Mystery #1

Perfect for fans of the Lady Janies and Stalking Jack the Ripper, the first book in the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series is a clever retelling of Pride and Prejudice that reimagines the iconic settings, characters, and romances in a thrilling and high-stakes whodunit.

When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.

Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the case—and her feelings for Darcy—become more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.

**Pride and Premeditation comes out April 6, 2021**

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pride and Premeditation was a fun and unique twist of a Jane Austen inspired story. I will first have to admit that I like Jane Austen’s works, but that I am by no means a super fan so I cannot speak for those of you who identify as such. What I will speak on is my appreciation of familiar characters in new roles while maintaining the essence of their personalities from the original.

Set in the Regency era (I really love this period, honestly), our Lizzie Bennett works at her father’s law firm which unfortunately is named Longbourn & Sons. Her hopes are set to be a barrister one day, something that is an uphill battle in this day and age for a woman, but Lizzie has the fight and stubbornness in her that many fans have grown to love. Worse yet, her father does not approve of letting her work on cases, though the lazy Mr. Collins takes all the credit for the work she ends up doing for him.

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