In November I had a nice balance of different fiction books as well as two nonfiction books and two audiobooks. This month I read:

• The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok – This is a family drama narrated by two different women. Jasmine is a woman who has escaped a bad marriage in China and come to America to find the daughter taken away from her. She has to work awul jobs to pay off the smugglers who brought her here. Rebecca is a wealthy wife and editor who adopted a daugther from China, where she met her husband. As we get to know these two women, and Jasmine races to find her daugther, the wheels come off of everything and it’s a fast-paced thriller at the end. This was a look into adoption, China’s one child policy, and so much more.
• Mickey Chambers Shakes it Up by Charish Reid [audiobook] – This is a cheesy romance that was a simple palate cleanser in between harder-to-read books, and a quick listen on audio. Mickey is a woman trying to find her new path, as she takes a job as a bartender. The bar owner, Diego, is a widower with an attitude. These opposites quickly attract and fight and find their way together throughout this simple, entertaining story.
• Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley – I have loved Boulley ever since I heard her speak at a past Equity conference. I loved her first YA mystery and I loved this one as well! Her writing is beautiful, and she creates powerful young women who are warriors in their own right. She weaves details about the Indigenous culture into every part of her storytelling, from language to history to traditions. In this story we follow Perry and her friends through their summer internship, while Indigenous girls continue to go missing in their area. As Perry learns about the very true Native American Graves Protection Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), she struggles with how her ancestors remains are being treated by museums, tourist shops, and private “collectors”. She is empowered to do something as she learns more, uniting her friends in a dangerous adventure that was fast-paced and thrilling.
• The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes [audiobook] – While looking for an audiobook from my library, I stumbled upon this book, which was a Reese Witherspoon pick I had high hopes for. The first half of the story, as we get to know Maya in her present state and her past, I got sucked into the mystery of how her friend just fell over and died in front of a man Maya had been dating. When a sudden death of another young woman is caught on tape, with the same man present, Maya must confront her past and figure out what happened. Once some of the mystery was reveleaed, this was a big let down, both in storytelling and thriller aspects. I was disappointed with the ending.
• Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang – I love a good climate fiction story, that takes an element of climate change and accerlates it until we are a dystopian world struggling to survive without resources we are used to. In this case, a deep fog has taken over the world, so people no longer see sky or sunlight and crops go extinct. A young chef, struggling to make ends meet, is hired by an anonymous business man to come work on his hill, known as the Land of Milk and Honey, as he prepares to create a new world order. This chef doesn’t know what she is getting into, but she begins her job, begins to get to know her boss, his daugther and his patrons through her cooking. The writing style is very unique, with disjointed sentences and incomplete storylines jumping around, yet beautiful poetic language. This was a fascinating story to read.
• The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak – I picked this from Book of the Month because I usually love their thrillers. This was okay, but not great. Amanda is a young CIA agent, just as her father and grandfather were. She is stationed in a boring CIA area in Italy with nothing to do until a Russian man walks in with information. While Amanda belives him, her boss doesn’t and they sit on the information until it comes true. From there, Amanda is tasked with figuring out what the Russians are up to. We flash back to her father’s time in Helsinki, which connects to Amanda’s work in the present day. While this was a fun story line, there were too many characters introduced and switched around too often, and it was about 50 pages longer than it needed to be. With some tight editing this could be a very good mystery.
• Don’t Overthink It by Anne Bogel – I have enjoyed the What Should I Read Next podcast by Anne Bogel for a few years now. With every episode I am convinced that she has read every book EVER and am so impressed with the depth of her knowledge about books. I knew she had written a few books so I bought this one awhile ago and finally sat down to read it. This is a simple self-help book for those of us who are overthinkers – with anxious minds that cause us to keep thinking about decisions even after we’ve made them. While there was nothing earth-shattering in here, she provides good reminders about setting good habits for your mind and body, make certain decisions once so you never agonize over them again (love the rule that she always buys flowers at Trader Joe’s – I usually do too!), ask for help or outsource when you can, and treat yourself with kindness. This was a quick read and good for anyone who hasn’t yet developed habits for calming an overactive mind.
• Spare by Prince Harry and J.R. Moehringer (Ghost writer) [audiobook] – I have never been a huge fan of the royals. I have never watched a single episode of The Crown. But I do remember Princess Diana’s wedding and her horrible death. While I didn’t run out and get this book as soon as it was released, when I saw the audiobook available from my library I happily listened to it in a few short days. Though I don’t think I learned anything new about the events that led up to Harry and Meghan leaving the UK, I did learn a lot about Harry’s life, how disgusting the British press is, especially the paparrazzi, and how little control Harry had on any part of his life before he left it all behind. I hope that he and his entire family are safe and happy now.
• The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins – I LOVE a good cli-fi story! In this one, we meet Emi and her parents, who are living in Nuuk, which is the new Greenland after the great transition. After the earth is ruined by climate change, people fight to get to net zero and to rebuil safely and securley. Some people are happy to live in the new exisistence, while others continue to battle. Like all cli-fi books, the best and worst of humanity come out during tough times. People rally together in beautiful communities and also people do evil things. I liked Emi, depite her being a whiny, angsty teen, and her father was so lovable.

Favorite Books

Fiction: Warrior Girl Unearthed & The Great Transition

Nonfiction: Spare