The Neighbors We Want focuses on Hallie who in her late twenties is looking for her father. Hallie's mother died when she was young, shunting her into the foster care system and it's accompanying trauma. Desperate for connection, Hallie mailed letters to many men that had the name that her mother said belonged to her father.

When one of those men writes back that he is her father, Hallie decides to meet her father and siblings in their isolated family home. Much of the tension early on and in the middle of this book comes from the forested locale and the presence of bears. (Sorry, but this just doesn't do it for me because I live in an area with bears. Maybe it will work for some.) As the story goes on, we learn about the dramatic lives of her newfound siblings and slowly get little bit by little bit about Hallie's past. 

If you enjoy a thriller that gets most of its tension from the environment and you also like family drama in your thrillers, I think this will suit you. To me it was too little too late, I was barely hanging on when it finally got interesting in the final 15%. This book was written well, it just wasn't the story I was in the mood for and the synopsis ruins one of the major twists. 

I'm going to keep this review short because I know you can read a synopsis. 

Read this book if you like: 
-WWII history, specifically as it impacted UK children 
-Searching for lost family 
-Found family 
-A book within a book
-Cross continent mystery
-Twist upon twist at the end of a story that you don't expect that from 

This was really beautiful. I listened to the audiobook which was well narrated and very enjoyable. I think it might have been a 5 star book if I had read it physically. 

I enjoyed Pageboy immensely and I really appreciated learning more about Elliot Page and his career. This is a moving book, but it is also restrained. At many times it felt like the emotions of Page's experience were several layers removed from the memoir. The pacing felt a bit off, but I will say it was less repetitive than many celebrity memoirs I have read. At first I thought the end was going to be more emotionally restrained meandering, but it turned into a story that encapsulates Elliot Page's journey to self love. 

Numb to This is a memoir about a surviving a shooting at a community college. Kindra launches quickly into her horrific experience, without too much graphic detail, and then the book mostly follows what it is like in the aftermath of a shooting for those who experienced the extreme fear and trauma. This is excellently illustrated and tenderly written. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to handle it, but I'm glad I read it. 

The plot of this book had so much room to explore and so many potential avenues to tell an incredible story. Unfortunately for me, it fell short. I didn't feel connected to the main characters, I was often bored, and the plot points that should have been deeply unsettling felt matter of fact. 

After reading The Party earlier this year, I decided to take the jump on Robyn Harding's newest release The Drowning Woman. I am primarily a library user and I purchased this one through a book subscription box- breaking my own rule never to purchase thrillers. And you know what? I broke my own rule and I knew better.

So let's get down to brass tacks about The Drowning Woman. It's the story of a woman who once owned two successful restaurants prior to the pandemic and when money troubles hit hard, she ended up without a home and on the run. One morning while living out of her car, she sees a woman head down toward the beach and then hears sounds of distress. She saves the drowning woman, and a friendship forms. 

I think going further into the plot is spoiler territory. I liked that this book read quickly and by page 75, it was absolutely nuts. I didn't like that it felt exploitative of a person experiencing homelessness. I thought it was very, very predictable. The character development was very uneven and there wasn't enough development to get my buy in on a few key plot points. 

Overall, I don't recommend this one. 

The Children's Blizzard reads like nonfiction, but it is a fictionalized story of the impact of the historical event in 1888 on the Great Plains that shocked the citizens and took so many lives. Well researched and carefully told, Benjamin begins with character development and set up for the day of the blizzard. The blizzard came on suddenly, with nearly everyone ill prepared as the day started as an unseasonably warm one that was a welcome change from the bitter cold of Nevada. 

The second half of the book focuses on the aftermath, primarily on the teenage girls who were teachers and thus responsible for the safety of so many children when the blizzard came by surprise that treacherous day. The contrast in experiences between teachers who handled the emergency well and those who didn't is incredibly dramatic. Benjamin does an excellent job building tension here and then bringing us into the mental world of one of the teachers responsible for tragedy. 

I wouldn't call this a fun read, but I couldn't put it down. I walked away from this book with beautiful, dynamic characters living in my head and such appreciation for the modern era of weather forecasting. 

Signal Fires is a quiet, beautifully written novel about a family torn apart and put back together by shared tragedy. When Sarah and Theo are teenagers, they are in a car crash with their dear friend. She dies as a result, and the family never speaks of it again. 

That was 1985, and now Shapiro guides us deftly through a non-linear chronology to tell the story of each family member and of a family across the street. This is a book about human connections and the whispers between us, not necessarily the shouts. The writing reminds me of Celeste Ng and once I settled into it, I was engrossed. 

I wished for just a bit more at the end, although I can't say just what. Maybe more emotion, maybe more resolution, maybe more drama. Whatever the case, I thought this was beautiful and I'll happily dive into Shapiro's backlist. 

Shubeik Lubeik is easily one of the best adult graphic novels I have ever read. Mohamed has crafted an incredible story that while magical, seems so real as she uses the world market of wishes to make so many statements about the nature of humanity. I know that sounds highfalutin, but it comes across as humorous, sincere, and just plain engaging storytelling. 

Shubeik Lubeik focuses on four primary characters, all of whom are somehow connected by the use or possession of a first class wish. First class wishes are very valuable and heavily monitored and controlled by the Egyptian government. From the first pages, I was fascinated by the world Mohamed has created here and I felt so much empathy for each of the characters. 

I'd put this on the reading list for anyone, even if graphic novels aren't your usual speed. The illustrations are incredible and work so well in tandem with the excellently written exposition. I at many points felt this could have been a novel, and no doubt one I'd read, but this is certainly the right format for this moving and entertaining magical tale. 10/10, don't miss this one. 

When this book begins, it is with a shocking event that grabs your attention and doesn't let go. A baby was stolen from a stoller in the grocery story twenty years ago and now a woman has been murdered in a care home. Somehow the two crimes are linked. Told from multiple perspectives, Good Bad Girl is a puzzle novel through and through. 

If you've read from Alice Feeney before, I think this book will be both familiar and unique to you. I have now read four of her titles and each one seems so distinct to me (Rock Paper Scissors, His & Hers, Daisy Darker, and this title). I really enjoyed the layers of mystery here that occurred simultaneously with nuanced character development- no one in this book is clearly good or bad. They are just women usually doing their best in challenging circumstances. 

Since the puzzle of this book begins from the get-go, I'd recommend avoiding the synopsis and in depth reviews of the plot. Just jump in and enjoy! 

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for an ALC. All opinions are my own.