This update is later than usual thanks to a wonderful, relaxing vacation that gave me lots of reading time by the pool and the beach! I had such a fun reading month. It is interesting to note that I didn’t read any nonfiction this month. This month I read:

• Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga [audiobook] – This is a sweet middle grades story of family and love and perseverance and bravery. Jude and her family live in Syria and her older brother is determined to fight for people’s rights, despite the danger. As it becomes more dangerous Jude and her mother are sent to visit/ live with her uncle in America. There we see Jude in ESL classes in school, trying to make friends, and learning a new culture, all while missing her friends and the family they left back in Syria.
• Chang-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah – I heard Katie from Currently Reading talk about this months ago and though I knew it would be a dark and heavy read, I wanted to read it. In this fictionaly dystopian world, prisoners are offered the opoprtunity to join the Chang Gang program. This is a televised system where prisoners fight each other to the death, with the hope that if you live through enough matches, you will ultimately be freed – from prison. But most prisoners end up “low freed” or killed long before that hope is realized. In this middle of this horribly dark premise, the author weaves in facts and satire to point to the real horrors of our criminal justice system, and the disproportionate number of Black people who are incarcerated in America. We get to meed wild characters, follow the love story of two of the strongest women you could imagine, and see families torn apart and brought together by this sick world. It’s hard to say I enjoyed this, but I appreciated the incredible work of a gifted story teller to fictionalize the horrors of reality for many prisoners.
• The Women by Kristin Hannah – This is the fourth book I have read and LOVED by Kristin Hannah! I often say I don’t like historical fiction, yet most of my 5 star reads are often beloved, bittersweet historical fiction stories, especially those with strong, powerful women protagonists. We meet Frankie as she signs up to serve as a nurse in Vietnam. We are with her through brutal work in country and a non-welcome home. Then we have to follow her return as she hears, over and over again, “there were no women in Vietnam”. As Frankie creates a new life, she also figures out how to tell the story of what the women in Vietnam truly did. This was beautiful! And now I can’t wait to visit Vietnam with my travel buddy Sue!
• Beartown by Fredrik Backman [audiobook] – Some of the former special guests of the Currently Reading podcast talked about this series with love and affection for the last few years! I waited until the hype died down, and I enjoyed this story. Beartown is a hockey town and the entire town’s hope is on the junior team becoming winnters and bringing glory to this small, cold town. Meanwhile, teenagers are being total teenagers and challenges ensue. This book was full of teens and adults behaving badly, then apologizing or lying or ignoring and moving on. I’m invested in the community and will continue reading the series.
• Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano- This was a silly, campy, creepy, fun, mixed media read! A woman disappears after visiting this small island and her brother is determined to figure out what happened to her. The island people have lots of secrets and it’s bizarre how everyone seems stuck in the 90’s… I don’t want to give any more away but this was part mystery, part horror, part science-fi/fantasy and an enjoyable read.
• The Power by Naomi Alderman- I’ve heard this author discussed on Currently Reading, so I made this book my first read over a long, relaxing vacation. The story takes place over many timelines and multiple narrators, all detailing the events that led up to a significant world re-order. As the world changes teenage girls have immense physical power, causing men to become scared for their lives, and unsure what the future holds when women are in charge. At first it feels a little like a joke and a gender bender play, where men are finally scared to walk alone at night, one of the many things women have been fearful of for centuries. But then people take power to the extreme and much damage is done to people and places. This is an interesting read on the psychology of people and power dynamics.
• Like a House on Fire by Lauren McBrayer- I recently heard this book described on a podcast and knew I wanted to read it. We meet Merit after she’s had her second child and decided to go back to work as an architect. She is hired by Jane, an older, confident, powerful woman who takes Merit under her wing. Merit and Jane have an instant connection and form a friendship both inside and outside of work. They support one another through life challenges and turmoil, all while Merit is trying to figure out what role Jane plays in her current life and a possible shift in her future life. I enjoyed this exploration of friendship and love and marriage and more.
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan- I love both of these authors separately and thought it would be interesting to read a book that they co-wrote. This is a YA romcom, full of silly teenage angst, mostly portrayed by two different narrators both named Will Grayson. Each boy is coming to terms with who they are, who they want to date, and how and what they share with their friends and family about their friends and their sexual orientation and more. This is a sweet and funny story about appreciating the people around you and the gifts friendship can bring you and being open to share with those you love.
• Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon – So happy to admit that I liked another historical fiction this month! I’ve owned this e-book for a long time, but finally got around to reading it. During this WWII saga, we follow the life of Helene, who goes by many names for many reasons. She is an independent woman who wants to help during war efforts, who wants to enjoy life to the fullest, and who works hard in every situation. This was based on a true person who was a significant support to the French and British war efforts, who saved lives and coded messages that made moves across nations. She was a war hero and cool chic!
• The Change by Kirsten Miller – This is my April book club book, which I was able to read early thanks to that vacation mentioned above. It was fun to read this so recently after reading The Power, since they both focus on the power of women. In this part-fantasy, part-mystery, part-magical realism story, we meet Nessa, Jo, and Harriett. Each woman is middle aged and facing significant changes in her life, and they come together to help solve a crime, and they end up doing so much more for each other. I appreciated reading a novel about strong, powerful women who can support themselves, who don’t care what others think, and who are going through a lot of what I’m currently living through. While it took me a little while to get into this story, I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the book club discussion!
• Tom Lake by Ann Pachett- Believe it or not, but this is my first Ann Pachett novel. My mom loved her writing and I’ve always meant to read her before now, but this book was talked about so much when it recently came out that I just had to see what the hype was all about. This was a beautiful story, set in the early days of the pandemic, yet not at all about the pandemic. That just gave the opportunity for our narrator Lara to have all 3 of her daughters home with her at the same time, begging to hear the story of when their mother dated a famous movie star. As Lara tells the story, we flashback and forward through her life, understanding how she ended up where she is now. This was a moving story about family, love, acting, growing up, and Our Town.

Favorite Books

Fiction: The Women

Nonfiction: N/A