I had an incredible reading month! Some of these reads I started in September and finished in October. Some were unexpected surprises. The amount I read was shocking, even for me! This month I read:

• A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar – I heard this described on the Currently Reading podcast and wanted to read it. By the time I got it from my library, I had no idea what it was about or what to expect. The story takes place in India, in the near future, when climate change has raised the heat levels and decimated crops, creating starvation and “climate immigrants”. The entire story takes place in the 7 days that a mother is waiting to take her father and two-year-old daugther to America, to live with her husband who already immigrated. This story is literary, with beautifully descriptive language about harsh condistions and what people will do to survive. It was more bitter than sweet and was hard to read at times, but well written. The title is impactful.
• How to Coach Resistance: Turning Pushback into Possibility by Elena Aguilar – I love everything that Elena Aguilar writes! She is my coaching guru and I always appreciate how she reframes situations. In this book, she explores how resistance is really other emotions an unmet needs showing up. She references the tools from all of her other books as resources to coach through these issues and get to the heart of what a teacher needs. She shares a variety of examples, when she got it wrong and when she got it right. All coaches have experience what feels like resistance and would benefit from reading this and looking at the situation with a more compassionate lens. She ends the book asking us to coach with love, after coaching us throughout the whole book.
• The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey [audiobook] – This was a fun, SPICY romance! Tallulah is a grad student hired to be an au pair for the pre-teen daugther of an aggressive, famous, older hockey player. The sparks fly between them fromt he first time they meet, but Tallulah has some past trauma to get over and Burgess wants to be the responsible boss and father he is, dealing with his own issues. This was a lot of fun!
• Family of Spies by Christine Kuehn – My friend, Sue, recommended this narrative nonfiction book to me and I loved it! Christine finds out, as an adult, that her father’s family were Nazi spies who orchestrated the Pearl Harbor bombing and is horrified to learn of these ties that she was unaware of her whole life. A family secret come to light is hard to swallow, but she eventually dives into the research and is brave enough to share it. This is a shocking tale of espionage between Germany, Japan, and Hawaii, with lavish lifestyles and no care for certain human life.
• The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon – I found this middle grades book while roaming a bookstore, looking for new-to-me diverse reads. Delilah, our young protagonist, is grieving the recent death of her beloved grandfather, which followed years after her father’s death, and she is seeking answers and ways to feel closer to her mother. When she finds a treasure map from her grandfather, it leads to wild adventures beyond her imagination (and this time period!). This was a beautiful, sweet story about family and friends and race and love.
• Champagne Problems by Addison Clarke – This is a fun sapphic romance about an age-gap couple who begin as grad student and professor. Emily is working on her masters when she meets Sophia, an older, wiser, French woman new to their small town. The two have some interesting arguments before recognizing what is really going on between them. There is an entire support team behind Emily here, that I think get explored in the author’s other books, which I will dive into in the future. This was romantic and full of fun literary references.
• Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey [audiobook] – This was the next book in the Big Shots series, of which I read The Au Pair Affair already this month. In this story, a profesional hockey player, Sig, is taking care of his soon-to-be stepsister, Chloe, in the big city of Boston. However, the two met and had sparks flying before they new their parents were going to get married. Their desires clash with their professional ambitions and public opinion as they continue to be drawn together like magnets in this steamy romance. This was silly and fun!
• Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Elspeth Leacock, Susan Buckley – A number of teachers in my district read this book with students, so I borrowed a copy from a 5th grade teacher recently to check out the story. This is a retelling of life events during the civil rights movement, told by a woman who was only 14 when she began participating in marches and sit ins and being arrested for being Black. We know the details of many of the marches, but seen through the eyes of a young girl makes the reality even more frightening and powerful. She was a brave young lady, with a lot of perspective to provide on the events she experienced. I’m sure our students have some incredible discussions after reading her story.
• Penitence by Kristin Koval – I wish I could remember where I heard about this book, but I have no memory of the source. This is a hard book to read, as teenager Nora is on trial for murdering her teenage brother Nico, who was suffering from adolescent Huntington’s disease. Nico and Nora’s parents hire a local attorney, who brings in her son Julian to help with the case. Julian happens to be the ex-boyfriend of the kids’ mother Angie. We flashback to the romance of Julian and Angie and flashforward to the present day actions. This book explores grief, guilt, the juvenile justice system, and forgiveness. It’s beautifully written.
• In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood by Collin Gosselin [audiobook] – I am sad to admit that I watched all of the Jon and Kate Plus 8 episodes and the Kate Plus 8 episodes that followed. I knew the parents marriage was bad and that Kate was a tough mother who was rough with her words, especially to one child, Collin. However, until I listened to his story, I didn’t realize how horribly he was treated or the abuse he suffered. This was very hard to read about, but not nearly as hard as it must have been for him to live through. I’m so happy that he was able to tell his own story and come out the other side, with support from his father and chosen family. Reality TV needs a lot more controls and barriers, especially for children.
• Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth – I have loved a few other books by this author and I heard great things about this one, so I was excited to get it from my library recently. We meet “Mad Mabel” when she is 81 years old, going by the name Elsie, in a quaint little street of happy neighbors. Over time, as a present mystery is solved, we learn how this woman was infamous for being the youngest convicted murderer in Australia, which doesn’t match the person we see today. The cast of characters are rich and entertaining, the references to Anne of Green Gables are sweet and nostaglic, and the family trauma is real. I loved this book!
• The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia – I grabbed this impulsively from my library recently, without realizing that it was #3 of a series, though as I read it felt like a lot of background was hinted out that would be part of a series. I enjoyed it enough that I have already checked out #1 of the series from the library. Max and Jonah are PIs hired to find a missing woman, but they quickly realize there is a lot more to the story of the worried boyfriend, the caring boss, and the history of the missing woman. This story is told from multiple narrators’ perspectives, so we hop along throughout the mystery in a unique way. It was gruesome in parts and beautiful in other parts. I look forward to reading more.
• Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey [audiobook] – Now that I’ve found this author, I keep going back to her for easy, rom coms that are fun as audiobooks. In this enemy-to-lovers story, Bethany and Wes are forced to work together to flip a house under stressful circumstances and their growing attraction. Wes’s niece and Bethany’s perfectionism are challenges they face together along the way to their happiness (because, of course it ends happily!). I enjoyed this silly story!
• Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel – I have read and loved a few of this author’s dystopian, sci-fi books and was excited to find this new release during my recent bookstore visit. In Exit Party, we meet Ari in LA in 2031, after the US has collapsed. We follow Ari’s life of crime as she tries to survive this new world order, while also coming to grips with a weird party she attended. With dopplegangers and different timelines, it takes a long time to figure out what is going on, if we ever really do. The characters are fascinating and flawed and the two worlds are both scary. I loved this creative, complex story!