The three weeks between Thanksgiving break and winter break are also so busy for us in education. I didn’t read much personally during that time, but I took advantage of my winter break to catch up and end this year of reading well. This month I read:

• Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei – I love a climate fiction story that takes place in the somewhat near future, when humans have basically ruined the environment and life is a big struggle, with good versus evil battling it out for society. In this CliFi, we follow two sisters, Skipper and Carmen, on their boat journey to find their missing sister, Nora. Life is rough in this future and the girls must fight pirates, hunger, weather, and lies to find their sister and the truth. I enjoyed the adventure!
• The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier – This was a fun, tense thriller. We meet Samantha, an author writing a book about the serial killer The Butcher, caught by her boyfriend’s father, the famous Chief Edward Shank. Soon, we learn that the man caught as the butcher may not have been the serial killer, then we know more than Samantha does, as she tries to solve the mysteries that present themselves to her. It was fun to be a reader who had the information and wait to see how the characters would figure it out. I enjoyed this story, despite the darkness of the murders.
• March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell – Someone told me about this graphic novel, one of many that she read this year, and I was intrigued enough to find it in my library. I love to read a graphic novel in print. This book tells the early history of John Lewis’s life, and what made him the peaceful, nonviolent protester that he is known for being. We learn about his childhood, how he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins he was a part of. I will continue to read this series, as it is a first-hand account of important events from America’s history.
• The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy – I first read this book about 30 years ago and remember discussing it with my parents, who were both Conroy fans. Conroy’s writing is exquisite – detailed, rich, figurative, poetic, and impactful. This story, about the Wingo family, is heart-wrenching, sad, personal, and touched with sibling love. The poverty and abuse the three Wingo children suffered was enough to drive Savannah to deep depression, forgetting entire years, and multiple attempts to end her own life, which is when we meet her as an adult. It affected her twin brother Tom very differently, and their older brother Luke, even more so. We root for these siblings to survive their horrible childhood, story after story, while knowing that tragedy will befall many of them right from the beginning. Despite the dark storyline, the beautiful language and messages of love and compassion shine through, making this a worthwhile read at the end of this year.
• Palaver by Bryan Washington – I received this book as a Christmas gift (thank you, JJ!) and loved it! I had never heard of the author or the book, but my cousin knows that I like to read diverse stories by diverse authors and this fit the bill. We meet the son and his mother when she shows up to visit him in Tokyo, from her home in Texas. While we never learn their names, we learn so much about their lives, their backgrounds, the challenges of a Black gay man living abroad and an immigrant mother raising children. Their lack of communication was both real and frustrating, but I appreciated the unspoken feelings shared through the pages. This was a literary story that make Tokyo come alive, as we rode trains and walked through city streets. I enjoyed the entire reading experience!

Stay tuned for my end of year wrap up summary and a few favorite superlatives coming soon!