ashleyholstrom's Reviews (1.38k)

I read this memoir about chronic illness ever so slowly. Miller writes in such a candid way about all the shit she’s gone through with Crohn’s and other diseases/infections/horrifying experiences. I am in awe of her strength. Also, did you know that poop transplants were a thing? Because I did not.

✨ From Heart-Eyes for Days at Crooked Reads.

Buckle up for the most devastating work of poetry you’ll read all year. Each poem is filled with rage and anguish over the state of racism in America. The poem dedicated to Breonna Taylor made me weep.

✨ From Heart-Eyes for Days at Crooked Reads.

Jacqueline Woodson’s done it again. This beautiful novel in verse is about ZJ and his dad, everyone’s favorite NFL star. Things aren’t going so well lately—Dad’s been missing games and complaining about headaches and getting forgetful. ZJ is scared as he watches his dad become a different person. The book gently explains the dangers of contact sports and the effects of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), brain degeneration caused by repeated head traumas, with a truly lovable family.

✨ From Heart-Eyes for Days at Crooked Reads.

If there was anyone I wanted a pandemic essay collection from, it was absolutely Zadie Smith. Intimations is a short batch of essays about living in New York City during lockdown, watching the effects on her neighbors and the nail salon where she used to get massages. It’s all classic Smith—sharp, witty, intelligent, observant, and somehow also soft. One of the final essays, in response to the murder of George Floyd, compares systemic racism to a virus in one of the most poignant pieces I’ve read in a long time. Oh, and Smith reads the audiobook herself, if that’s something you’re into.

✨ From 6 of the Best New Books about COVID-19 at Book Riot and All the Spoopy Vibes at Crooked Reads.

I just want to know how Jacqueline Woodson manages to write so many books and every single one of them manages to punch me right in the gut. This one, about a family and its secrets, moving backward in forward in time, is absolutely stunning.

✨ From All the Spoopy Vibes at Crooked Reads.

Frankie’s friends are loud and proud about their sexual encounters with boys, but she’s more focused on her internship at the planetarium. Until one day after school when she’s hanging out with the mega-cute Benjamin and they get intimate…and Frankie’s period arrives at that exact moment. They both agree that it’s only blood and it’s no big deal. The next day at school, though, rumors are flying over what kind of girl gets fingered while she’s on her period. It’s not only rumors—it’s also horrendous memes swirling around social media slut shaming the mystery girl. Frankie is frantic and devastated, because only she and Benjamin know about what happened, but she trusts that he didn’t tell a soul. As her life crumbles around her, she wonders who she truly is and who she can trust.

Lucy Cuthew’s Blood Moon is a powerful novel in verse about feminism, menstruation, and bullying that really captures what teen life is like today.

✨ From The Best Books We Read in July-September 2020 at Book Riot All the Spoopy Vibes at Crooked Reads.

First of all, take a moment to soak in this gorgeous cover. Now, to the insides. The Crying Book is a collection of vignettes and poems and famous (or not-so-famous) literary passages about crying. Heather Christle’s life is one big emotional rollercoaster—a friend has just died by suicide, she’s pregnant with her first child, and the United States is under a horrifying administration—and tears are the one central, unchanging thing. Christle digs into Lachrymology, the science of tears: The body produces different types of tears to keep eyes lubricated, to flush out foreign objects, and, of course, to show emotion. They have different chemical makeups and different viscosities. She writes about the agency of crying women, shares Amazon reviews for crying baby dolls, and considers the weaponization of white tears. The Crying Book is moving, sad, powerful, beautiful little book.

From Best Books We Read in October–December 2019 at Book Riot and Endorphins Make You Happy at Crooked Reads.

I got an early audiobook copy of this from Libro.FM, and I highly recommend the audio version. Saeed reads his raw memoir about being a young Black gay man in the South. It is stunning.

✨ From Endorphins Make You Happy at Crooked Reads.

If you need a big, warm hug of a young adult romance this month, 10 Blind Dates is it. Sophie and her long-term boyfriend break up right before Christmas, and her giant extended family sets her up on 10 blind dates for each day of the holiday break to get her mind off the ex. Some are goofy, some are great, and the whole thing is overwhelmingly cute.

✨ From Endorphins Make You Happy at Crooked Reads.

Incredible. Suzette (Little) comes home from boarding school for the summer and her brother, Lionel (Lion), is mostly doing well. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder a year prior. Now he’s feeling good and doesn’t want to be on his meds anymore. So he drops them, cold turkey. Little & Lion is a portrait of what mental illness does to a family

✨ From Cozy Weather Time at Crooked Reads.