I finally read Yellow Wife and it completely lives up to the hype. This incredible story about Pheby weaves together fiction with historical research to tell the story of a slave who is in a position of relative safety on a plantation until she is unexpectedly thrown into the darkness of the slave trade and ends up at a jail infamous for punishing slaves. 

Pheby was raised by a kind, attentive mother who taught her that she is only a slave in her heart. Pheby keeps this close and passes on this mantra to her own children as they are born during her incredibly dark years. As the result of being pale and beautiful, Pheby garners the attention of the jailor. 

This story is about how even the "best" situations in slavery were terrible as were all the rest. It is about love and protecting your family, inspiring but not saccharine or dismissive of the terrors of the era. I really can't say enough good things about this book; pick it up as soon as you get the chance! 

A Map to the Sun is one of the most stunning graphic novels I’ve read and the way it tells a story through illustration, color, and exposition is truly incredible. 

I can’t believe how lucky I am to have found this one just perusing the library shelves. It is the story of five girls who form an unlikely basketball team at a low income high school in LA. Ren and Luna are the main focus, and we begin with their quick and deep friendship two years in the past, but Leong develops the other player characters as well. I was continually blown away by this one. 

I have no notes, not a single critique. I’m sure this will be a favorite this year and it’s only January 7th. Place a hold, go to the bookstore, just get your hands on this deep, gorgeous book now. 

Superworld: Save Noah is a wild ride and absolutely the most well produced audiobook I have ever experienced. It is designed to be an engaging experience for children and it 100% accomplishes the mission. My almost five year old loved listening to this book with me. 

Noah is the only non-super person in his universe. Everyone else now has a super power, except his sister... she has two! Noah is so sick of the super people devising trouble so that they can rescue him. But suddenly there is serious trouble in the universe and Noah is at the center of it! Can Noah solve the mystery even though he's not super? Will someone save him if everyone else is in trouble too? 

With amazing voice acting and music throughout, this is the audiobook to try with your kid or just for a fun, easy read with yourself. My son and I are both looking forward to book two! 

After thoroughly enjoying The Song of Achilles, I was happy to have this book recommended to me by a friend on Bookstagram. I decided to listen to the audiobook, and perhaps that is where I went wrong or perhaps I would have had a similar experience reading it physically. 

Circe is a story with a cast a mile long, but it does focus on Circe's life from being young to her journey as a mother and throughout it is about her love of a mortal. I found a lot of this book hard to visualize and focus on, but I loved the focus on Circe's love and struggle to connect with her son. The ending was truly beautiful, and I'd expect nothing less from Madeline Miller. 

I do think this is a harder book to get into than Song of Achilles if you are not a fan of mythology with some background schema to help you understand the story. However if you are up for immersing yourself and taking your time with it, this is a beautiful story about what it means to love and the meaning of mortality. 

The Girl in Red is a dystopian adventure story with some light horror elements. The main character, Red, is a biracial woman with a disability. The descriptions of her day to day struggles with and appreciation of her identities is excellent. The beginning of this book really drew me in. 

Red is hiking to her grandmother's house in a world that has experienced a sudden and severely deadly pandemic. The cough kills many within a few days, and those who did not die in the first round were sent to quarantine camps by the government. As the story alternates between chapters "before" and "after," we learn about how Red has experienced the sudden change in the world as she knew it. 

At a certain point, Red witnesses some deaths that simply couldn't be from "the Cough." Something else is afoot. Red must use her intelligence and cunning to survive the trip to her grandmother's house without being caught or worse. This story weaves in various kinds of family and some poignant statements about how humanity handles adversity. Published in 2019, some of the pandemic storyline is uncanny. If you like a fairy tale retelling, run to pick this one up! 

I was so excited to get to read Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun after really enjoying the first two books in the series. Read on for a more detailed review, but be careful- it may contain spoilers if you haven't read the first two books in this incredibly fun series by Elle Cosimano!

In this third installment, Finlay is finally ready to make some decisions about her love life and her future, but she is still grappling with mysteries left unsolved at the end of book two. Who is Easy Clean? Why were they out for her ex-husband Steven? As always, writing is not coming as easily as Finlay would like and her editor is on her back because her most recent draft is not up to snuff. Namely, it's not spicy enough. 

Finlay and Vero get into some hilarious hijinks including going to a citizen's police camp to try to get information for their own purposes. We learn more about Vero's past. and their friendship continues to grow. There is also more steam in this book and it's quite enjoyable! I love how Cosimano makes Finlay's writing mirror her life, it's fun and quirky. 

Like the second book was different from the first, this third in the series also has it's own feel. There's a significant focus on Finlay's mental state and her presence of mind is more clear and focused than ever. I think the mystery was really well done in this installment and you can bet that I'll be in line ready for book 4! Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Freestyle is a phenomenal middle grades graphic novel with arguably the most creative paneling I've seen in any graphic novel for any audience. Gale Galligan has really knocked it out of the park with visually enticing panels and two page spreads that will have you reading in a different way, even differently than you are used to with graphic novels. 

So we have established that the art and artistic formatting is top notch, and so is the story! Cory is our MC; he is in the eighth grade. He loves break dancing, but his grades are pretty rotten. Forced into tutoring by his parents, he meets Sunna and she motivates him by teaching him yo-yo tricks after successful tutoring sessions. Will Cory get his grades up before the big break dancing competition? Will he be grounded forever? You've got to pick this one up. 

I have no notes on this graphic novel. Momentarily I thought I was not a fan of how the author was handling Cory's negative traits, but it wrapped up nicely and with a lot of empathy and respect. There is also a character who wears a hijab and it's not a topic, just there being normalized. I can't say it enough, this is one to read! 

After reading lots of glowing reviews, I went against my gut instinct and listened to this audiobook. I am not a fan of cozy mysteries, but the comparisons to Only Murders in the Building got me. Thursday Murder Club was far too long and excruciatingly slow to me and full of a lot of telling rather than showing to solve the mystery at the end. I was paying attention and I don't recall many Easter eggs along the way. 

However, if you ARE a fan of cozy mysteries this book might be just right for you! 

Perfect Days is a juicy thriller that will suck you in quickly and won't let go until you finish. This novel was originally published in 2014 in Portuguese. I read a translated version. I enjoyed the setting and vivid imagery very much. 

Teo is a medical student who meets Clarice at a picnic and becomes immediately enamored with her. Teo seeks out Clarice's company and decides they must be together. Along with a couple of large suitcases, Teo makes a rash decision that leads to many more off the cuff calls that have lasting impacts. This book kept shocking me, in nearly every chapter. If you decide to read it, I recommend not reading the synopsis!

My criticism of this book is the ableist language that is rampant throughout. I think most of it is character development to influence the reader's opinion of Teo, but I just can't be sure how much of it is the author's bias. I would be very interested in reading more recent or future works from this author to see if this aspect of his writing has evolved. 

Ultimately, I think this is the kind of thriller that will leave you thinking "What the hell did I just read?" and if you're looking for that feeling, look no further. 

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a grand and expansive novel about Cleo and Frank, a couple who meet and quickly marry. Frank is twenty years her senior and Cleo is in need of a visa. Their friend group is a dynamic bunch of misfits, and much of the book dives into this side characters in great detail. Cleo and Frank's marriage is wrought with challenges, including his alcoholism and her tendency to isolate herself. 

If you are a fan of Sally Rooney, I think you will love this book. If you wanted to be a fan of Sally Rooney but weren't, I'd recommend giving this book a try. It delves into the emotions of finding yourself in your twenties, but also relationships and how sometimes we don't give our best to one person but then are able to give more to someone else. 

Ultimately, I think this book was far too long for the experience it offered to me. At a generous 14 hours, it was a long audiobook that I think could have been a more powerful experience if condensed. I spent much of the middle trying to get myself to focus. The final hour had me incredibly engaged and was completely beautiful. This book wasn't a perfect fit for me, but I don't want that to reflect on the book. If you love a deep, messy character study, give this one a look.