April began with a Caribbean vacation FULL of reading at the pool and the beach! This month I read:

• Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor – I had never heard of this author before a recent episode of Currently Reading, where Kaytee talked about this unique book. The story is told in alternating narrations. One is a literary family safa of Zelu and her Nigerian family, as Zelu struggles to write a novel and the deal with the aftermath of it becoming a smash. The other narration is a story witiin a story, as we get to read Zelu’s SciFi novel, about future robots taking over the world. The stories are so drastically different, but both were engaging and I was happy to keep reading each part until the end. I loved this style and her cultural storytelling.
• Holly Jolly July by Lindsay Maple – I got this book from NetGalley while looking for some light reading to take on my vacation. This was like an LGBTQ+ Hallmark movie, or a fun, cheesy romcom, which was perfect for pool reading! Mariah and Ellie meet on a small town movie set, where Ellie is trying to be the best supporting actress ever and Mariah just wants to do make-up anywhere else. They soon connect over a shared problem and work to solve that problem while also getting to know each other in fun and silly and real ways. This was sweet and fun!
• Octopus Moon by Bobbie Pyron – I found this sweet middle grade novels on NetGalley. At first I picked this book soley based on the beautiful, sweet cover. Then I read the description and knew I would enjoy it. We meet Pearl in 5th grade, and learn alongside her that she is struggling with depression. As she navigates her own self discovery, we learn coping techniques and communication tips with her. This is such a serious and important subject, handled with grace and dignity and perfect for a young audience. I would love to place this book lovingly in the hands of very specific readers at their point of need. This is perfect.
• All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall – I’m not even sure how I discovered this, but I love a Climate Fiction story so it found me! In this near-future story, the world is taken over by water and after a big storm, Nonie and her family have to leave the home they made in the Museum of Natural History and set off in a boat to find a new home. What follows is harrowing, wet, dangerous and sad, but also hopeful and redemtive and full of found family. Nonie was a great young protagonist I was rooting for the entire time.
• The Housemaid by Freida McFadden – I think this is the book that made Freida famous, but I’ve read lots of hers by now so I’m used to her thriller style, where the narration changes and you can never trust any narrator because there will be twists until the end. What’s funny is that I read this after reading The Last Mrs. Parrish and the plots are almost identical, with a slightly different twist at the end. In this story, we meet Millie when she is hired as the live-in maid for Nina and Andrew Winchesters. We soon see that Nina has mental problems, Andrew is a good-looking saint, and Millie just happens to fall for Andrew. When the narration switches halfway through, we see more than the surface details and things change. This was a thriller for sure, with some brutally graphic scenes and lots of dislikable characters.
• Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel – I have read and loved Laurie Frankel’s recent books, so I went back into her catalog to read an earlier book. This book is definitely not as good as her later books, but I can see the beginning of her writing style. She creates likeable characters dealing with real world issues and we root for them to find love and happiness. Sam and Meredith meet by chance and fall in love. As we follow their romance, Meredith’s grandmother dies and leaves her broken-hearted. In an attempt to help her grief, Sam creates a computer program that allows Meredith to email and video chat with her grandmother (like AI before we knew the possibilities). It is creepy at first, then a lifeline for Meredith. Soon this becomes a business idea and we meet a lot of grieving people just trying to survive. This book was devastatingly sad but also hopeful and sweet, full of family and love and the realities of grief.
• Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monninger [audiobook] – I have no idea how many times I have now read this story. For the first time, I listened to the audiobook version instead this year. I often revisit this book in April. We lost my mom 14 years ago, on April 13, 2011. I think of her every day, but especially in April. This book reminds me of her love of reading, literature, nature, a good love story, and shared experiences. It’s like a warm hug of a memory, knowing she read and enjoyed this book before she passed. Though I am not an outdoorsy, camping kind of person, I love nature and this book always makes me want to raft down a river and camp under the stars. The love story of Mary and Cobb is one of beauty.
• The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams [audiobook] – Apparantely I heard about this book in 2021, because that it when I first added it to my TBR list. However, I have no memory of that. Instead, I was looking for good audiobooks from my library’s catalog and I stumbled upon this. What a gem! I adored this book! This is a sweet, sometimes sad, story of Mukesh, an octogenerian widower who finds a way to keep his deceased wife close to him, by learning to love reading. During his journey he befriends a teen librarian who needs support, Aleisha. Together, they read through a found reading list and end up finding each other, themselves, and their way to a new start for each of them. This is a love story to libraries and the power of books and connections.
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie- This was our May choice for the Laura Tremaine Secret Stuff book club. We follow Ifemelu and Obinze from their teen love in Nigeria to their separate adult lives (she in America and he in the UK). We see race relations through Ifemelu’s experience as a Nigerian in America, facing what “Black” means to Americans, before returning to Nigeria with her new perspectives. Her experience teaches us about Black hair care, racism, white priveldge, and more, through deep storytelling.
• The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella- This was a random selection that I found in my local library. I had never heard of the author, but the cover felt right for my attempts to avoid dark murder books. We meet Jack, who is running his families restaurant in a beach town in Delaware, at the precipice of him, deciding whether or not to sell the family business. As we follow Jack’s journey, we meet his past, loves, his grief, and his found family. This was a sweet, small town story full of love and light. I’m glad I found a new author who has other books that I look forward to reading as well.

Favorite Books

• The best book that demonstrates the extraordinary power of books to change lives and build connections: The Reading List
• The book that holds my heart and memories with my mom- Eternal on the Water
• The best book of mixed genres and cultures- Death of the Author