Expectation: A ripped-from-the-headlines story of monied greed and comeuppance.
Reality: A nuanced and contained story that proved to be my favorite of the author’s even though it’s less beloved than “Station Eleven” and “Sea of Tranquility.”
All tagged series
A Man and His Cat, Volumes One - Six – Umi Sakurai
As a whole, I found the series sweet but slight. At times it was repetitive and boring – especially when the human characters were the focus instead of the cats – but Sakurai completely nails the understated joy and endorphin boost of sharing your life with a quirky cat.
The Winners – Fredrik Backman
Expectation: A crowd-pleasing finish to a beloved series.
Reality: Uneven, but ultimately satisfying, fans of the series shouldn’t skip this one as it is a closer cousin to the first novel than the second.
The Sixth Wedding: A 28 Summers Story – Elin Hilderbrand
Expectation: “28 Summers, Part II,” also known as a quick cash grab by Hilderbrand.
Reality: An effective and rewarding mini sequel that honors the original while giving the reader closure to the rushed ending of “Summers.”
Ready Player Two – Ernest Cline
Expectation: Another trip down memory lane with hefty doses of geek culture.
Reality: Enjoyable and more accessible – from a pop culture perspective – but missing the energy that propelled the first novel.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins
This Hunger Games prequel serves as a decent queue-up to the original series, but the President Snow baggage does make it difficult to connect with him the same way you could with Katniss and crew.