This forgotten classic from Germany was a best-selling novel in 1905 and translated into many languages.

It was also widely read for nearly three decades – until the story of a fallen girl from a bourgeois family who sees no other way to survive but prostitution was pushed into the abyss of oblivion because it didn’t fit into the ideal and virtuous image of Germans that Nazi propaganda created. Mute films made of it had the same fate although the 1929 film of G. W. Pabst starring Louise Brooks is much appreciated by enthusiasts like the editor of the again available English edition of the book.

Please click here to read the full review on my main book blog Edith’s Miscellany!

Beastly Bones is a sequel to last year’s Jackaby, which I did enjoy. Abigail Rook, Jackaby, and Charlie return for this one, which features a mystery surrounding a recently discovered skeleton. I think I actually liked this one better than the first, as I felt that Abigail’s talents  and personality were a little more foregrounded. Jackaby certainly dominates the story, but I got more of a sense of who Abigail is and why she finds the work she does with Jackaby rewarding. I also liked the relationship between Abigail and Jenny. While these aren’t books of my heart, they are smart and engaging, and I’ll likely be back for the rest in the series.

Duplicity by N.K. Traver: Sci-fi ish, with a heavy emphasis on the -ish. I struggled with the beginning of this one as Brandon is such a deeply awful person to pretty much everyone around him. (Also calling your creepy mirror double Obran, for Other Brandon, severely tests my suspension of disbelief.) As the story unfolded, I did get drawn in a bit more, although I feel that the narrative lets Brandon off pretty easily and I had issues with one of the big plot points and how it unfolded. If you have a reader who wants a creepy book about hackers, this might be one to hand them.

Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill: I’m still mulling over my exact reaction to this book. It has more than a bit of a Handmaid’s Tale feel to it (I don’t think the fact that the main character’s name is freida is a coincidence), but here’s where I admit to bouncing pretty hard off Handmaid’s Tale. I know. At any rate, I think this is an important book, and that it’s showing very clearly the destructive effects of a certain kind of gendered thinking. At the same time, I struggled with how bleak it is, how little hope it gives its female characters–and I know that’s the point, and yet. And yet. I worry that this narrative reinforces the idea that this societal setup is inevitable, and that girls will always destroy each other. And I’m not sure the degree to which this is personal preference vs. a flaw in the book (I do, more objectively, think the ending is a little too abrupt, diminishing the power of what happens.) As I said, I’m still mulling over my reaction, which I think boils down to: I get it, but I don’t like it. Your thoughts welcome!