Close to Home is a detective novel about a missing eight year old girl. You might immediately think, I've read this book SO many times. In a way, you are right. Cara Hunter does manage to make this overplayed plot engaging and fresh in some ways. I certainly thought I had it figured out and the multiple twists at the end surprised me. 

This would have been a four star read for me, but I noticed some uncomfortable lines in regards to race. On several times a child at the missing kid's school was referred to as "looking Chinese" and some men in the city were referred to as "appearing Asian." In all circumstances, it was not related to the plot and just felt off. Was it intentionally and explicitly racist? Maybe no, but that doesn't mean it wasn't racist. 

The Chaperone is a YA dystopian novel in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale. In New America, girls cannot be alone anywhere after their menarche and must be supervised by a trained chaperone. 

When Stella’s chaperone dies unexpectedly, she begins to learn about the resistance movement against the Minute Men and the New American leadership. 

I was enjoying this a moderate amount until the last quarter when the book really started to sing it’s own song. I’m impressed with the messaging in this book while it also maintains suitability for the entire YA age range. There is limited violence, no sex scenes, and only limited allusion to sexual assault- which felt very important to the story. 

Overall, I think this is an excellent YA dystopian novel about the importance of reproductive freedom and the dangers of vilifying those who can bear children as wonton and immoral. 

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for an ALC in exchange for my honest review. 

Stone Cold Fox is a con artist story about a woman who was raised to grift by her mother. Now as a young adult, she’s setting her sights high. Determined to marry into one of the richest old money families in NYC, there are a lot of people to fool. 

Full of tension, this is a predictable but fun ride. Be aware there is body shaming and fat phobia throughout, which I read as evidence to dislike the main character but would definitely be harmful if you’re in a tough spot with that topic. 

Overall, this is a fun, juicy book that would be great easy summer reading. 

A wonderful compilation of short stories by Black female identifying authors, Well Read Black Girl is what it says on the tin. This set of short stories focuses on how the authors were impacted by literature for and by Black women. If you have ever heard that it is important for everyone to see themselves in literature, this book is some of the proof to back that up.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this. My only criticism is that the sections after stories that recommended books focused heavily on Black classics and I think a balance of older and contemporary books would appeal to more people as many people are intimidated by just the word "classics." 

First, if you haven't read Over the Top by JVN stop everything and get that done. Then come back to read this review and then read this book, Love that Story. 

Love that Story is an informative nonfiction book in which JVN takes stories from his memoir and then adds factual and historical context to those situations. He tackles a lot in this book, systemic racism, homophobia across different cultures, transphobia, and how to interact with family members who are opposite of you in political beliefs. The way he weaves together personal stories with humor and information makes this heavy read still feel fun and fast. 

At the end of the day, I don't know what to tell you other than read this book and listen to it if you can. What is better than focusing on how we can make the world better through the voice of Jonathan Van Ness who always makes it feel like a conversation with your queer best friend? Nothing, nothing is better. Read it. 

Spin with Me is the third book I have read by Ami Polonsky. Ami writes fantastic middle grade novels that focus on queer identity and coming of age in various family systems. I absolutely love World Made of Glass and Gracefully Grayson so I went into this book with high expectations. 

The book begins with the perspective of Essie, a seventh grader who has just moved to North Carolina with her father for a guest professorship. Her mom stayed behind and now Essie has three months to wonder what's going on with her parents and why her mom is so distant- physically and emotionally. When school starts, Essie meets a few new people including Ollie who identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns they/them. There are instant "zaps" and what follows is a dual perspective story of first love and the importance and unimportance of identity and labels. 

I waffled about how to rate this book because it did fall a little short  when it became a bit repetitive in the second half and lacked just a bit in character development, particularly for Ollie in the second half. But also, I read this in one day! That's a sign that an author has done a wonderful job and I want to be in the characters' world. 

Two absolute loves and a near perfect love is pretty good for an author so I'll continue to read any and everything Ami Polonsky puts into the world and I recommend you do the same! 

The Leak is an excellent middle grades graphic novel that speaks to very serious topics in an approachable, unintimidating way. Ruth is a middle school student with a passion for writing. She has a small online newsletter that she enjoys publishing each week. But when she discovers some sludge in the local lake, she starts to uncover some very newsworthy information. 

In The Leak, Ruth learns about the value of reputable journalism and the ethics that make news reliable and trustworthy. Discovering some very serious dangers in the local area, this book is pertinent to our time and dedicated to the kids of Flint, Michigan. 

In an era where the term "fake news" is thrown about wildly, this book brings us back to what good journalism actually means and why it is so important. I think that's a critical message for people of all ages and I strongly recommend this serious but enjoyable graphic novel. 

Killingly interested me as a reader of historical fiction and mysteries and thrillers. Based on a true disappearance of a Mount Holyoke student in 1897, this story begins with the introduction of several important characters and hastens to the disappearance of Bertha Mellish. 

While I appreciate the story that was being told here, this novel was so unevenly paced and overly drawn out. If it had been significantly shorter, that would have greatly increased the tension. Beutner speaks to many social issues of the time without hitting the reader over the head, which I did enjoy. I was hoping for an author's note explaining how much of the story was fiction and how much was grounded in facts from the case. That would have helped justify the extremely slow and uneven pacing, but alas that wasn't what I found at the end. 

Overall, I think this is a good fit for readers of true crime and historical fiction. 

I didn’t think this book would have so much to offer to a topic that is fairly common in self help, but it did and I loved it! What makes this book special is that it is hyper focused on cleaning and organizing when you are physically or mentally unwell. 

I’m personally digging out of a serious depressive episode and wished I had read this a month or two ago. It really shifted my perspective about what my home means and how to care for my space to care for myself. 

This book is also culturally sensitive and acknowledges the role of privilege in this conversation. 10/10 Highly recommend. 

The Complicities is a novel that exists outside of our typical expectations while still playing in a familiar enough space. Suzanne is a recently divorced woman, going from extreme wealth to barely making ends meet in a small town on Cape Cod. Her husband was convicted of financial crimes, and the story attends to the ripple effects of what she knew, didn't know, or pretended not to know. 

D'Erasmo offers us a strange take on the novel form by spending a significant portion of the story focused on a beached whale. This rare, endangered whale captures Suzanne's attention as well. I think for many readers this emphasis on the whale, it's rescue, it's ultimate slow demise, will be too detailed and drawn out. I expected that for myself but found that I couldn't put this book down. I connected so much to the way Suzanne was trying to do something good while suppressing all memories that reminded her of her own complicities. 

While we learn about the whale, we also slowly learn about two other women. It takes a while for us to fully understand who they are, but by the end of the story these three women are so intertwined and also separated by grief. This is the kind of book that makes you sit with some discomfit, considering what our responsibility is in situations we impact directly and indirectly. 

I recommend this to a certain reader, one who likes a slow pensive novel with not much plot, a main character who is not fully dislikable but also not redeemed, and someone who enjoys an almost strange level of detail about a tangential topic (in this case, the whale). If those aspects appeal to you, I highly recommend this small but memorable story.