It’s time for my monthly book review post! These are the books that I finished in September. I will be linking up this post with the Show Us Your Books Link Up, and as always, the Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments! I also read three books this month that I reviewed separately: The Brothers of Auschwitz, All This Time and Breathless.
Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin
Author: Sarah J Maas
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s, 5/2/17
Source: Scribd
Why I Read It: Book Challenge By Erin “Odd Book in a Series”
My Rating: 3 Stars
If not for the book challenge, I wouldn’t have finished this series. Everyone I know loves it, but it’s just not for me. It was slow and boring. The more I listened, the more annoyed I was.
“Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s actions and learn what she can about the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit. One slip could bring doom not only for Feyre, but for everything―and everyone―she holds dear. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre endeavors to take her place amongst the High Fae of the land, balancing her struggle to master her powers―both magical and political―and her love for her court and family. Amidst these struggles, Feyre and Rhysand must decide whom to trust amongst the cunning and lethal High Lords, and hunt for allies in unexpected places.”
Not much else to say about this one!
Title: Loathe At First Sight
Author: Suzanne Park
Genre: General Fiction
Publisher: Avon, 8/18/20
Source:Books Forward PR
Why I Read It: Sent to me for review / Buddy Read on Instagram
My Rating: 3 Stars
Although marketed as a romance, there was almost no romance in this book. It was actually about a female gamer dealing with sexism in the industry. Although there were some funny bits, overall I wasn’t a huge fan.
“Melody Joo is thrilled to land her dream job as a video game producer, but her new position comes with challenges: an insufferable CEO; sexist male coworkers; and an infuriating—yet distractingly handsome—intern, Nolan MacKenzie, aka ‘the guy who got hired because his uncle is the boss.’ Just when Melody thinks she’s made the worst career move of her life, her luck changes. While joking with a friend, she creates a mobile game that has male strippers fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Suddenly Melody’s ‘joke’ is her studio’s most high-profile project—and Melody’s running the show. When Nolan is assigned to Melody’s team, she’s sure he’ll be useless. But as they grow closer, she realizes he’s smart and sexy, which makes Melody want to forget he’s her intern. As their attraction deepens, she knows it’s time to pump the brakes, even with her Korean parents breathing down her neck to hurry up and find a man. With her project about to launch, Melody suddenly faces a slew of complications, including a devastating trolling scandal. Could the man she’s falling hard for help her play the game to win—in work and in love?”
This is an own voices book by a Korean author and I appreciated that aspect of it. Otherwise, I can’t say I recommend it.
Title: The Unravelling of Cassidy Holmes
Author: Elissa R. Sloan
Genre: General Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow, 9/1/20
Source: TLC Book Tours
Why I Read It: Sent to me for review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I enjoyed this book about a girl band that seemed like a fictionalized version of The Spice Girls. The four members have their own set of nicknames – Rosy, Tasty, Cherry, and Sassy – Sassy Cassidy who has just been found dead by suicide. The book looks back at Cassidy as a member of the band, leading up to her unexpected departure from the group, as well as at the current lives of the other three band members.
“Cassidy Holmes isn’t just a celebrity. She is ‘Sassy Gloss,’ the fourth member of the hottest pop group America has ever seen. Hotter than Britney dancing with a snake, hotter than Christina getting dirrty, Gloss was the pop act that everyone idolized. Fans couldn’t get enough of them, their music, and the drama that followed them like moths to a flame—until the group’s sudden implosion in 2002. And at the center of it all was Sassy Cassy, the Texan with a signature smirk that had everyone falling for her. But now she’s dead. Suicide. The world is reeling from this unexpected news, but no one is more shocked than the three remaining Glossies. Fifteen years ago, Rose, Merry, and Yumi had been the closest to Cassidy, and this loss is hitting them hard. Before the group split, they each had a special bond with Cassidy—truths they told, secrets they shared. But after years apart, each of them is wondering: what could they have done? Told in multiple perspectives—including Cassidy herself—and different timelines, this is a behind-the-scenes look into the rise and fall of a pop icon, and a penetrating examination of the dark side of celebrity and the industry that profits from it.”
I would have given this book 5 stars, but the ending seemed a little abrupt. I liked the look at the early 2000s and the way the girls each had their own issues and relationships with Cassidy and each other. This book contains disordered eating and violence towards women.
Title: My Eyes Are Up Here
Author: Laura Zimmermann
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Dutton Books For Young Readers, 6/23/20
Source: Library / Publisher
Why I Read It: Had e-book and needed to review, so got from library
My Rating: 5 Stars
Greer is in high school and nothing fits her correctly. She finds herself hiding in oversized sweatshirts and hunching over so people don’t see her size 30H chest. But people do see more than her body when they see her and she joins the volleyball team and becomes friends with Jackson, who may actually like her for her.
“If Greer Walsh could only live inside her head, life would be easier. She’d be able to focus on excelling at math or negotiating peace talks between her best friend and . . . everyone else. She wouldn’t spend any time worrying about being the only Kennedy High student whose breasts are bigger than her head. But you can’t play volleyball inside your head. Or go to the pool. Or have confusingly date-like encounters with the charming new boy. You need an actual body for all of those things. And Greer is entirely uncomfortable in hers.”
I saw a review on Goodreads that said it’s not that hard to find bras and clothing for a 30H chest size but I know for a fact that’s not true. Bras come in a standard set of proportions and if you happen to have a larger cup size and a smaller band size, you need a specialty store. Even a more common 34DD isn’t easy to find. However, I did wish Greer’s mom was more able to help her and she didn’t have to sneak around in order to buy bras that fit. This body positive book was a great novel to go along with Body Talk, which I reviewed last month. Greer was a great character to cheer for and I loved the way she grew to appreciate her body through volleyball and some great supportive friends and teachers.
Title: Felix Ever After
Author: Kacen Callender
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio, 5/5/20
Source: Scribd
Why I Read It: TBR List
My Rating: 5 Stars
Felix Ever After is a lovely story about a trans boy coming to understand his identity and finding love. This book helps the reader to understand things that you should not say to a trans person.
“Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after. When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle….But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.”
I learned a lot about the queer and trans communities from this book. I really liked getting to know Felix and his friends through this book.
Title: The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones
Author: Daven McQueen
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Publisher: Wattpad Books, 6/16/20
Source: Library
Why I Read It: TBR List
My Rating: 5 Stars
This book was highly recommended and for good reason. After I got it from the library, I ended up receiving it in a book swap as well and I’m thrilled to own it now. The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones takes place in 1955 in Alabama. It’s historical – it looks at this town as it exists during a time in American history that we should all learn about, just at the start of the civil rights movement and while discrimination and segregation were rampant.
“It’s the summer of 1955. For Ethan Harper, a biracial kid raised mostly by his white father, race has always been a distant conversation. When he’s sent to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle in small-town Alabama, his blackness is suddenly front and center, and no one is shy about making it known he’s not welcome there. Enter Juniper Jones. The town’s resident oddball and free spirit, she’s everything the townspeople aren’t―open, kind, and accepting. Armed with two bikes and an unlimited supply of root beer floats, Ethan and Juniper set out to find their place in a town that’s bent on rejecting them. As Ethan is confronted for the first time by what it means to be black in America, Juniper tries to help him see the beauty in even the ugliest reality, and that even the darkest days can give rise to an invincible summer . . .”
Ethan is a biracial teen from Washington who experiences racism at home but even more so when he comes to stay with his aunt and uncle in the south. Juniper is a girl with spunk who takes Ethan along on her quest for an invincible summer. They learn from each other and we can all learn from them. As Juniper says, “part of being family is about making each other better people.” We can all be better people and this book is a wonderful way to begin learning about others who may be different from us.
Title: The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett
Author: Annie Lyons
Genre: General Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow, 9/8/20
Source: TLC Book Tours
Why I Read It: Sent to me for review
My Rating: 5 Stars
So for those of you who can’t relate to teens, maybe you can relate to 85 year old Eudora Honeysett. She’s old and tired and she wants to die when she’s ready and on her own terms. However, she finds joy in her new 10 year old neighbor Rose and a new friend Stanley who has recently lost his wife and she finds herself realizing she is needed in this world after all. With flashbacks to her life including losing her father in WWII and her difficult relationship with her younger sister, Eudora remembers her previous life and sees the brilliance of living while she still can.
“Eudora Honeysett is done with this noisy, moronic world—all of it. She has witnessed the indignities and suffering of old age and has lived a full life. At eighty-five, she isn’t going to leave things to chance. Her end will be on her terms. With one call to a clinic in Switzerland, a plan is set in motion. Then she meets ten-year-old Rose Trewidney, a whirling, pint-sized rainbow of color and sparkling cheer. All Eudora wants is to be left alone to set her affairs in order. Instead, she finds herself embarking on a series of adventures with the irrepressible Rose and their affable neighbor, the recently widowed Stanley—afternoon tea, shopping sprees, trips to the beach, birthday celebrations, pizza parties. While the trio of unlikely BFFs grow closer and anxiously await the arrival of Rose’s new baby sister, Eudora is reminded of her own childhood—of losing her father during World War II and the devastating impact it had on her entire family. In reflecting on her past, Eudora realizes she must come to terms with what lies ahead. But now that her joy for life has been rekindled, how can she possibly say goodbye?”
This book has a lot in common with A Man Called Ove and is just as lovely a story!
Title: The Pull of The Stars
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, 7/21/20
Source: libro.fm
Why I Read It: Thought it sounded good
My Rating: 4 Stars
Emma Donoghue is the author of Room, which is a great book. The Pull of The Stars is about the 1918 Flu Pandemic, which I am interested in for obvious reasons. Learning about this historical time period set in Ireland in a maternity ward was interesting in a lot of ways!
“In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Flu are quarantined together. Into Julia’s regimented world step two outsiders — Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumoured Rebel on the run from the police , and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney. In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over three days, these women change each other’s lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work.”
There were a few things that bothered me about the book – it annoyed me that every time a person was mentioned, she was referred to by both first and last name. The romantic subplot seemed to come out of nowhere and it had an upsetting trope involved. On the other hand, the historical issues kept my interest and the main character wondering about how the pandemic would ever end spoke to my own anxieties about our current times. This book contains much about difficulties with labor and birth including pregnancy loss.
Title: Invisible Girl
Author: Lisa Jewell
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Atria Books, 10/13/20
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Why I Read It: Requested from publisher
My Rating: 4 Stars
Invisible Girl brings together a group of seemingly unrelated people – Owen, a lonely teacher who was suspended from his job as a teacher after being accused of sexual misconduct, Cate and Roan, seemingly happy parents of two teenagers, and Saffyre, a former patient of Roan’s psychology practice. As their paths cross, the story unfolds, leading up to and following Saffyre’s disappearance.
“Owen Pick’s life is falling apart. In his thirties and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct—accusations he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel forums, where he meets a charismatic and mysterious figure. Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night. Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.”
This is a fast paced story that does contain references to self harm and sexual assault, so reader beware. It publishes on October 13, so keep your eye out if you love thrillers!
Title: When No One Is Watching
Author: Alyssa Cole
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: HarperAudio, 9/1/20
Source: libro.fm
Why I Read It: Thought it sounded good
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book was a unique thriller that was more of a social commentary than an actual thriller, with a two voiced narration that made the audio fun to listen to.
“Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo. But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised. When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other—or themselves—long enough to find out before they too disappear?”
I wished there was a bit more about what happened to the characters after everything they went through, but otherwise, this was an entertaining listen that makes you question the motives of what happens in communities like Sydney’s.
Title: Transcendent Kingdom
Author: Yaa Gyasi
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Knopf, 9/1/20
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Loved her previous book
My Rating: 4 Stars
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is one of my all time favorite books, so Transcendent Kingdom was on my list of must reads. I am amazed by the talent that Gyasi demonstrates in her writing. While Homegoing was about multiple generations of a family and consisted of what felt to be short stories about each character, Transcendent Kingdom focused only on one character.
“Gifty is a sixth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after an ankle injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her. But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family’s loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive.”
Gifty is a PhD candidate studying mice to learn about depression and addiction – her mother is depressed and her brother died from an overdose. I really liked the parts of the book about Gifty’s childhood but less enjoyed the parts that read like a memoir and lacked a story. I know I don’t love character driven books, but I will reiterate that the writing in this book is beautiful and it touches on so many important topics.
Title: The Poet X
Author: Elizabeth Acevedo
Genre: YA Verse
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont, 3/8/18
Source: EyeSeeMe Bookstore
Why I Read It: TBR List / Buddy Read on Instagram
My Rating: 5 Stars
After finishing The Poet X, I’ve now read all three of Elizabeth Acevedo’s books and they are all wonderful. I marked so many quotes and passages in this book!
“Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems. Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.”
Xiomara’s parents are older and traditional and it is hard for her as someone questioning their religion. Although I wondered if the ending might not be realistic, I enjoyed this book a lot. One of the quotes I wrote down was “when your body takes up more room than your voice, you are always the target of well-aimed rumors.”
Title: Alex Six
Author: Vince Taplin
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Self Published by Author, 3/21/20
Source: Author
Why I Read It: Sent by the author
My Rating: 3 Stars
This book seemed to be well-liked by other Instagrammers, so I went ahead and read it. While it was relatively quick and featured characters that make you curious as to what crazy things they will do next, it was in need of some editing and contained some issues that I wasn’t a fan of.
“Alexa and Francis were wealthy executives who had everything, except for kids. When he tragically passed away, she gave up hope for being a mother… until she met Vick Miller, a simple family man, and a nearly perfect doppelganger of her husband.She pays him handsomely for his donations to produce a child who resembles her beloved husband. The offers grow more enticing and Vick’s marriage begins to strain.Alexa wants his genes… his looks anyway. She is wealthy, attractive, powerful, and utterly obsessed. He has no idea she is watching him.”
The chapters are told by Vick and Alex, and at first it was hard to tell whose voice was featured in each. There are some graphic parts which made me cringe. There are parts that are told in the present tense but suddenly switch to past tense. The main character is basically a jerk and refers to people by their races. And the part that may have bothered me the most – Alex wants to get pregnant and immediately after sleeping with Vick, she runs to take a pregnancy test. That’s not how it works!
Title: Beartown
Author: Fredrik Backman
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Washington Square Press, 2/6/18
Source: Amazon
Why I Read It: Heard it was good, Book Challenge By Erin topic “has town, city, etc, in title.”
My Rating: 4 Stars
Beartown is about a hockey town, but it’s not only about the game of hockey, it’s about the town itself. It seemed that the hockey culture was a huge part of the town though, with violence, bullying, and thinking you should get what you deserve as a huge part of the town resident’s lives.
“People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever-encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys. Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.”
The violent act that takes place was obviously wrong, and yet the book never really circles back to show that the boy realizes this. There were those who sided with the girl, which was appreciated. If this town is a microcosm of society, it doesn’t say much good about society, but it is a good story that will keep you reading to find out what happens to the town residents.
Title: The House In The Cerulean Sea
Author: TJ Klune
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan Audio, 3/16/20
Source: Scribd
Why I Read It: Heard it was good
My Rating: 5 Stars
I listened to this book and the narrator was excellent. Now I really want the print version as well! This was a beautiful story that would be the perfect replacement for Harry Potter as that author has shown she is not pro all people, and that bothers many of us.
“Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He’s tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world. Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light. The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place―and realizing that family is yours.”
While I normally don’t like fantasy, this one was more magical than fantasy and the prejudices of the people against magical youth was full of deeper meaning. The children in the orphanage were so lovable! There was Talia, a gnome, Phee, a sprite, Theodore, a wyvern, Sal, a were-Pomeranian, Chauncey, a green blog who wants to be a bellhop, and Lucy, the antichrist. This book is about home and family, accepting everyone, and finding magic in the ordinary. I loved it!
Title: You Should See Me In A Crown
Author: Leah Johnson
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 6/2/20
Source: Gift
Why I Read It: Heard it was good / Buddy Read on Instagram
My Rating: 4 Stars
This was a sweet YA book that could easily be made into a Netflix movie. The story is about a school that has a competition to become prom king and queen and therefore it is not based on looks or popularity.
“Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down . . . until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington. The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She’s smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?”
I liked that this book contained information about sickle cell anemia as well as about anxiety. Liz was a likeable character and this was a sweet book overall.
Title: I’m Still Here
Author: Austin Channing Brown
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: RandomHouse Audio, 5/15/18
Source: Library Audio App
Why I Read It: Antiracism
My Rating: 4 Stars
Listening to this book made me want to tell my own story, as I kept comparing the writer’s experiences to my own growing up Jewish in a world made for Christianity. A lot of the book focused around the writer’s experience as a Christian.
“Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Austin writes, ‘I had to learn what it means to love blackness,’ a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion. In a time when nearly every institution (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claims to value diversity in its mission statement, Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice. Her stories bear witness to the complexity of America’s social fabric—from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations.”
There was an eye-opening description about what daily life in an office setting is like for the writer. There is much to learn about Black life in America from this book.
Title: Channel Kindness
Author: Born This Way Foundation / Lady Gaga
Genre: Short Stories / Essays
Publisher: Macmillan Audio, 5/15/18
Source: libro.fm
Why I Read It: Sounded interesting
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book is filled with inspiring stories of ways young people have spread kindness by helping others, starting organizations, etc. The stories are written and the audio is read by members of Lady Gaga’s foundation.
“Lady Gaga has always believed in the importance of being yourself, being kind to yourself, and being kind to others, no matter who they are or where they come from. With that sentiment in mind, she and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, founded Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the world a kinder and braver place. Through the years, they’ve collected stories of kindness, bravery and resilience from young people all over the world, proving that kindness truly is the universal language. And now, we invite you to read these stories and follow along as each and every young author finds their voice just as Lady Gaga has found hers. Within these pages, you’ll meet young changemakers who found their inner strength, who prevailed in the face of bullies, who started their own social movements, who decided to break through the mental health stigma and share how they felt, who created safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, and who have embraced kindness with every fiber of their being by helping others without the expectation of anything in return.”
If you want to be inspired by the power of kindness, definitely pick this one up!
Title: The Lies That Bind
Author: Emily Giffin
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books, 6/2/20
Source: Library
Why I Read It: Like her books
My Rating: 4 Stars
As all her books are, this was a quick and light read. It had little impact but was fun enough.
“It’s 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York’s East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she’ll ever make it as a reporter in the big city—and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew. As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the barstool next to her say, ‘Don’t do it—you’ll regret it.’ Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours—and shots of tequila—the two forge an unlikely connection. That should be it, they both decide the next morning, as Cecily reminds herself of the perils of a rebound relationship. Moreover, their timing couldn’t be worse—Grant is preparing to quit his job and move overseas. Yet despite all their obstacles, they can’t seem to say goodbye, and for the first time in her carefully constructed life, Cecily follows her heart instead of her head. Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth. But the questions pile up fast: How well did she really know Grant? Did he ever really love her? And is it possible to love a man who wasn’t who he seemed to be?”
I found the story to be somewhat predictable. I enjoyed the 9/11 story line as well as the cameos from former Giffin characters!
Title: Stamped: Racism, Antiracim, and You
Author: Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi
Genre: Nonfiction, History
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 3/10/20
Source: Eyeseeme Bookstore
Why I Read It: Antiracism
My Rating: 4 Stars
I read this book out loud to my kids to start talking to them about history and how it is taught in America. There were a lot of very interesting parts and parts that left me confused and wanting to know more.
“This is NOT a history book.
This is a book about the here and now.
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.
The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited.”
I liked the voice of Reynolds in this book and it was easy to read aloud. It was especially interesting to read history that I remember and think about how I had seen it just as I was taught to. There were things that were in the news that were problematic and I hadn’t understood why. There is much more work to be done but this book is a good place to start a re-understanding of American history with regards to race.
Title: To Tell You The Truth
Author: Gilly MacMillan
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: William Morrow, 9/22/20
Source: TLC Book Tours
Why I Read It: Sent to me for review
My Rating: 3 Stars
I had seen a lot of not so great reviews on this one and I decided to read it anyway. Sadly, I ended up agreeing on the not so great reviews!
“Lucy Harper’s talent for writing bestselling novels has given her fame, fortune and millions of fans. It’s also given her Dan, her needy, jealous husband whose own writing career has gone precisely nowhere. Now Dan has vanished. But this isn’t the first time that someone has disappeared from Lucy’s life. Three decades ago, her little brother Teddy also went missing and was never found. Lucy, the only witness, helplessly spun fantasy after fantasy about Teddy’s disappearance, to the detectives’ fury and her parents’ despair. That was the start of her ability to tell a story—a talent she has profited from greatly. But now Lucy’s a grown woman who can’t hide behind fiction any longer. The world is watching, and her whole life is under intense scrutiny. A life full of stories, some more believable than others. Could she have hurt Teddy? Did she kill Dan? Finally, now, Lucy Harper’s going to tell the truth. Cross her heart. And hope to die.”
There weren’t a lot of answers in this book and I didn’t love the weirdness of the narrative – Lucy interacts in her head with the main character of her books and I wanted to know more about the reasons for that! If you don’t mind books without full answers, you may still enjoy this one.
Title: Lucky Broken Girl
Author: Ruth Behar
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction
Publisher: Puffin Books, 4/10/18
Source: Scholastic Book Fair
Why I Read It: Book Challenge By Erin “immigrant character”
My Rating: 4 Stars
This semi-autobiographical account of a young immigrant from Cuba to NYC was more literary than I would expect from a middle grade book.
“In this unforgettable multicultural coming-of-age narrative—based on the author’s childhood in the 1960s—a young Cuban-Jewish immigrant girl is adjusting to her new life in New York City when her American dream is suddenly derailed. Ruthie’s plight will intrigue readers, and her powerful story of strength and resilience, full of color, light, and poignancy, will stay with them for a long time. Ruthie Mizrahi and her family recently emigrated from Castro’s Cuba to New York City. Just when she’s finally beginning to gain confidence in her mastery of English—and enjoying her reign as her neighborhood’s hopscotch queen—a horrific car accident leaves her in a body cast and confined her to her bed for a long recovery. As Ruthie’s world shrinks because of her inability to move, her powers of observation and her heart grow larger and she comes to understand how fragile life is, how vulnerable we all are as human beings, and how friends, neighbors, and the power of the arts can sweeten even the worst of times.”
I was so angry for Ruthie that she needed to be in a full body cast for almost a year! The friendships she made and maintained over this time were inspiring. Ruthie is also a Jewish character, which appeals to me as a Jewish reader.
Title: The Talented Miss Farwell
Author: Emily Gray Tedrow
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Custom House Books, 9/29/20
Source: TLC Book Tours
Why I Read It: Sent to me for review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book was unique and someone strange. It was boring in parts and entertaining in others.
“At the end of the 1990s, with the art market finally recovered from its disastrous collapse, Miss Rebecca Farwell has made a killing at Christie’s in New York City, selling a portion of her extraordinary art collection for a rumored 900 percent profit. Dressed in couture YSL, drinking the finest champagne at trendy Balthazar, Reba, as she’s known, is the picture of a wealthy art collector. To some, the elusive Miss Farwell is a shark with outstanding business acumen. To others, she’s a heartless capitalist whose only interest in art is how much she can make. But a thousand miles from the Big Apple, in the small town of Pierson, Illinois, Miss Farwell is someone else entirely—a quiet single woman known as Becky who still lives in her family’s farmhouse, wears sensible shoes, and works tirelessly as the town’s treasurer and controller. No one understands the ins and outs of Pierson’s accounts better than Becky; she’s the last one in the office every night, crunching the numbers. Somehow, her neighbors marvel, she always finds a way to get the struggling town just a little more money. What Pierson doesn’t see—and can never discover—is that much of that money is shifted into a separate account that she controls, ‘borrowed’ funds used to finance her art habit. Though she quietly repays Pierson when she can, the business of art is cutthroat and unpredictable. But as Reba Farwell’s deals get bigger and bigger, Becky Farwell’s debt to Pierson spirals out of control. How long can the talented Miss Farwell continue to pull off her double life?”
Becky is the kind of character that makes you wonder whether you should cheer for her or not. She’s smart, but she’s a thief!
Title: Hood Feminism
Author: Mikki Kendall
Genre: Nonfiction, Political
Publisher: Penguin Audio, 2/25/20
Source: Library Audio App
Why I Read It: Antiracism
My Rating: 4 Stars
The author narrates this audio book in which she makes the argument that main stream feminism needs to address the issues that effect women of color before they can claim any issues as feminist.
“Today’s feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord, and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? In her searing collection of essays, Mikki Kendall takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women. Drawing on her own experiences with hunger, violence, and hypersexualization, along with incisive commentary on politics, pop culture, the stigma of mental health, and more, Hood Feminism delivers an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux. An unforgettable debut, Kendall has written a ferocious clarion call to all would-be feminists to live out the true mandate of the movement in thought and in deed.”
This was an interesting and thought provoking listen, although the audio itself wasn’t wonderful, as you could tell when the reader’s voice was strained and when a new section began in her actual recording of the book. In any case, it is something to add to your list if you are on an antiracist journey.
In conclusion, in September I read 27 books, 24 of which are reviewed in this post. This month I read 17 print books, 2 e-books, and 8 audio books. This is now my most amount of books read and listened to in a month. I know it’s a lot! My favorite books this month were The House In The Cerulean Sea, The Invinsible Summer of Juniper Jones, Felix Ever After, My Eyes Are Up Here, and The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?