I am of the generation that knows Sharon Gless from Burn Notice. I have never seen an episode of Cagney and Lacey and I read this book because it was a new release and I enjoy celebrity memoirs. I completely did not know what to expect going in.

What I discovered is that Gless has been through so many challenges, in her childhood and as an adult, specifically with addiction. She managed to make such a good life through those hardships. And just by the sheer determination to be herself, she forged a ground breaking role and changed the future of TV opportunities for women. 

I really enjoyed Gless’ narration and highly recommend this as an audiobook. Her emotion and amusement as she walked back through her life was apparent in her voice and so enjoyable. It rarely felt like she was holding back and the raw honesty was a highlight of this book for me. If you enjoy celebrity memoirs, I think you should give this one a try. 

Wow, I finished this book today and I am still a swirl of emotions and I know this one will be on my mind for a long time to come. It’s definitely my top read so far this year. 

Nović creates beautiful, enthralling characters that will suck you into this story from the earliest pages. The story is set at a residential deaf school and is told from multiple points of view including the headmistress, Austin (a cute boy from “Deaf Royalty”), Charlie (a teenage girl new to deaf school), and others. The students all have their own challenges including ableist families, new siblings, divorce, abuse, cochlear implants, but they share the mostly common experience of being up against an ableist society. As the story moves forward, we discover challenges the school itself faces. Suddenly the school and the students and staff are headed for a dramatic ending that will keep you from putting this book down. 

Truly I have not a single complaint about this book other than that I’m done reading it. I loved it start to finish. From the exceptional characters to the incorporation of informative pages between chapters to build the reader’s background knowledge, this novel is a work of art. I’ll be recommending this one for years to come. 

Nightbitch is a book like none other than that I have read. It is the story of a mother lost in the weeds of raising a young child with a spouse that is traveling for work every week. Early on, she begins to go beyond the loss of self that has already happened in her matrescence and it becomes something more, she thinks she is becoming a dog. She notices more hair, different impulses, and soon it starts to affect her perception of everything around her. 

I loved so much about this book despite it being completely different from my wheelhouse as a reader. I adored the way the author brought to life the challenges of parenting a baby and toddler while not casting any judgment on our decisions and constantly showing the difficulty of a multitude of parenting situations. There were also so many times that I laughed from a deep place in my belly or teared up because the book named things about motherhood in a way that struck me and made me feel so validated. 

I couldn’t finish this physical book but I knew I wanted to continue reading so I checked out the audiobook. If small font and minuscule line spacing are also an issue for you, I’d recommend an e-book or audiobook copy. 

Total “Dad book.” This was a fun adventure ride, and for many readers this is a great pick. It isn’t my wheelhouse but I enjoyed parts of it. Please do NOT give this to someone in your life who works in aviation. The inaccuracy will just aggravate them, as evidenced by my partner who was mad just hearing the synopsis. 

The characters are very All American but still loveable. The story around the hijackers and discrimination against the Middle East starts to make a positive statement but falls a bit short. I do appreciate that the attempt was made but I don’t think it was enough. 

I found this collection of YA romance short stories fell a bit flat. It is clear that a good effort was made to include diverse characters and portray queer romance. With that in mind, I was disappointed that there was no representation of trans or gender queer characters and no disability representation. With the obvious attention given to alternating between heterosexual and homosexual relationships and alternating between white and BIPOC stories, it sticks out like a sore thumb that these groups of people who deserve representation in all literature where left out. 

Otherwise, some of the stories were fun and engaging while many of the stories dragged and didn’t create compelling characters or romance. I can’t recommend this anthology. 

This was my second Ruta Sepetys book. I read this shortly after her newest release, I Must Betray You. Between Shades of Gray focuses on Soviet work camps at the beginning of WWII. I was almost unaware of this portion of history, and this book brought the atrocities to life. I highly recommend this book for its educational value, but I must mention that it is very dark. Be prepared for an emotional experience, and don’t skip the incredible afterword from the author.