The Rabbit Hutch is a character driven novel about many residents in an apartment building in an industry forsaken Middle America town. It is told from numerous perspectives, some of which we circle back to as the book goes on, and some of which we only visit with once. Gunty also intersperses the novel with news reports and website entries. One of the main characters works for a funeral home moderating their obituary website; this dark job becomes important to the message of the novel. 

I found the first half of this novel incredibly engaging and the characters therein very relatable and fascinating. The back half of the novel introduced a few too many characters for my taste, and some that seemed only just tangentially related to the crux of the story. I did enjoy the summation of the story, and overall this is a brilliantly written character study of the connections between people that we sometimes miss and the interweaving of a small town down on its luck. 

I was impressed by this debut novel and will eagerly read from Tess Gunty again in the future. 

I Was Their American Dream is a graphic memoir that is both funny and poignant from the perspective of Malaka who was raised by a Filipino mother and an Egyptian father. The daughter of two immigrants, Malaka focuses her memoir on her young desires to be more like white people and her desire that strengthens as she ages to honor her cultures. This short graphic memoir really gets to the heart of what it means to exist between and in several cultures and what holding all of those things can mean to an individual. This is a fantastic read. 

The Family Game is getting lots of buzz but also a fair bit of mixed reviews. I went into it having read opinions on both sides and I have to say I loved it. I didn't have high expectations, which usually helps, but this book by far exceeded what I look for in a fun, binge worthy thriller. 

Harriet Reed is a newly successful UK author of thrillers, but she still has plenty of pressure from her publisher and a wicked case of writer's block. She is dating a man from one of the wealthiest families in America. When her boyfriend proposes, she can avoid his family no longer and they have deep dark secrets. And around the same time, Harriet gets life changing news herself. 

Told mostly from Harriet's point of view, we also get the narrative voice of the wealthy patriarch who has recorded mini audiocassettes for Harriet- such a niche throwback to decades ago. As she slowly listens to the family story, Harriet must figure out who is the most dangerous in all of these dark family games including the very real and scary games they keep making her play at all of their holiday gatherings. 

While The Family Game doesn't reinvent the genre, it is enjoyable and moves at a good clip. I loved the narration and sound effects of the audiobook, so if that's your cup of tea that's a great way to read this book.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, why did I wait so long to read this book? I have been hearing about this title for quite a while and I completely regret sleeping on it. This book is a hard hitting YA book about being a fat WOC in high school. Charlie is adorable, everything about her is wonderful- but her life isn't all roses. 

Charlie dreams of being kissed, and she is about to celebrate her 17th birthday. As the story begins, a boy shows interest in her. Is he being sincere? Is this a big joke? I won't comment more on that. 

As the novel continues, we dive into the relationship between Charlie and her mother, who has recently lost a significant amount of weight. Charlie's mother seems to have suddenly forgotten what it means to live in a fat body, taking Charlie shopping in straight size stores and constantly nagging her for her size and choices. This book really takes a deep look at dysfunctional mother/daughter relationships around fatness. 

If this is a sensitive topic for you, enter with caution. It was very, very hard for me but I also loved it because Maldonado wrote it so well. It was so accurate to my experience with fat phobia from a parent. I'm tearing up again now thinking about this book as it relates to my trauma. Which is all to say, READ THIS BOOK (if you can). It is beautiful, it is complicated and messy, it is fat love and joy and the complicated road to self acceptance and boundaries with people who just can't get it together. If you are like me and just can't resist a well written, diverse hard hitting YA, snap this up immediately!

The Natural Mother of the Child is a gorgeous memoir about the complicated experience of birthing children in a nonbinary body. Krys Malcolm Belc is an exceptional author, their writing drew me in immediately. This book focuses on the experience of being pregnant, birthing, and nursing a young child while trying to maintain one's own identity- something I think all parents can find relatability in. 

Krys spends a lot of time writing about what it is like to receive medical care as nonbinary and how important it was for them to avoid unnecessary medical interventions. Then after giving birth, Krys describes the complicated choice to nurse their baby. Krys nursed for two years before weaning so they could begin testosterone treatment. As someone who is still nursing a preschooler, I found this so emotional and beautiful. Human milk feeding in any form is a dedication of love and time, and it can completely shift the center of one's identity. The balancing of needs is critical to any parent's mental health, and Krys makes salient points that apply to both gender queer and cis het families alike. 

This is a book that I will be recommending to many birthing friends, because as the author points out transgender gestational parents aren't seen often enough and that can lead to unintentional discrimination and misunderstanding. There is really no way you can read this book and not feel the love Krys has for their children and gain empathy for families that look and are made in all different ways. This may be my favorite memoir of 2022. I love it. Read it. 

Where We Go From Here is an exquisitely beautiful book about the experiences of three young men in Brazil living with the realities of HIV and AIDS. The story begins in a public clinic, as Brazil has great access to HIV testing and to treatments through its public health system. However, that does not mean that the stigma does not exist. 

We begin with Ian who has just been diagnosed with HIV. Next to enter the patient room is Victor, who is relieved to test negative. Henrique has been living with HIV for the past three years and he is a source of wisdom for others that are new to this experience. The characters' stories weave together and separately into a lovely and heart wrenching story about what it means to live with immense fear and to create hope for themselves. 

Despite the inherent heaviness, I couldn't put this book down. I think this topic is not prevalent enough in common conversations. For many readers, this book can be more than a great story; it can also be a way to learn about what it is like to live with HIV now in the 21st century. Treatments have made incredible strides and with PREP for the partners of those with HIV, it is possible to live a safe, healthy, normal life. Written by a Brazilian author, this book also showcases what public healthcare can accomplish and as he points out in his afterword, how fragile life is for those with AIDS and HIV when healthcare is politicized, a truly life threatening situation if the political winds and policies shift. 

This YA book handles the topic with so much maturity and grace, I recommend it to anyone regardless of age. I think it may be best for older teens, but I think it is important that they have access to books like this that emphasize safe sex and less stigma- here's your reminder that purity culture isn't helping anyone. 

Amoralman by Derek Delgaudio is a book I picked up for Nonfiction November and I'm so glad I did. This memoir is about Derek's experience as a card shark/cheating dealer. Growing up without a father, Derek also shares memorable and poignant experiences from his childhood that launched him towards learning card tricks, which ultimately propelled him towards amoral money making when life was exceptionally challenging in his young adult years. 

Both funny and serious, this memoir rides a line that I love. It shows the complexity of life experience in a situation that I'd say almost none of us have direct experience with. I loved the vivid details about entering the world of high stakes poker and learning how to be a crooked dealer. If you like memoir, pick this up. It is such a unique story that manages to encapsulate very relatable human experiences. 

How to Survive America is a fact based commentary on the war against Black and brown people in the USA. D.L. Hughley narrates the audiobook, bringing a unique tone that is a mix of justified anger and some of his usual comedy. His comedic take on serious topics is used judiciously, mostly at the end of chapters or sections to diffuse some of the intense emotion. 

This book covers serious and upsetting topics around racial justice in the last few years, specifically police brutality and the Covid pandemic. Hughley is clearly furious with the state of life for people of color- and he brings up numerous data points to justify his outrage. I cannot say I enjoyed this book because that's the wrong phrasing for a book on this topic, but it really caused me to think about issues that are not currently in the news spot light but are still 100% relevant and current. 

This short book packs an emotional punch; my criticism is that the end seems disorganized. With about 20% of the book still left, it sounds like D.L. Hughley is drawing a well crafted conclusion but then he launches into more information that happened after his original draft. On a related note, some of the statements about Covid are outdated because he wrote this at the end of 2020 and edited in early 2021. I won't pick on that too much, because how are we as laypeople to predict a pandemic but it is notable. 

Overall this is a concise book that drives home how deadly serious the situation is in the USA for people of color. If you are uncomfortable with the voice of an angry Black man, this isn't the book for you. But maybe that also means you need to investigate that fear and deal with it. 

Garbage. Total garbage. Two stars because the writing quality is fine, but this novel is slow as molasses and the twists are absolutely ridiculous and borderline offensive. I can't get behind this book and I have no idea why so many people on Booktube and Bookstagram recommend it as a super surprising twist ending thriller. Do not drag yourself through this 300 pages of almost nothing happening. Stay away. You have been warned. 

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is an enjoyable thriller perfect for readers who don’t like anything scary and enjoy a story within a story. I really enjoyed this audiobook with a full cast to bring to life the story from the 1970s of an unsolved murder in the Italian villa that our 2020s author friends are visiting for the summer. 

Our MC Emily (voiced by the lovely Julia Wheelan) is a cozy mystery author going through an ugly divorce. She heads to Italy for six weeks with her friend Chess, a pithy memoir author. This book explores levels of deception and distrust as well as what it means to share a secret. 

This thriller won’t rock your world but I enjoyed it all the same. Well produced with music and podcast elements, I definitely recommend this one in audiobook form.