“Books and ideas are like blood; they need to circulate, and they keep us alive.”

It is not often that I pick up a World War II historical fiction novel, but the early buzz around this book, and the fact that it’s centered on a library made me pull the trigger on requesting. I’m glad I did, but there were elements I felt lacking and I wanted more from the story.

The narrative is set up in a dual timeline, one obviously during the war when the main character Odile is a young librarian at the American library in Paris, and the other in the 1980s when Odile is a widow living in Montana. The author creates that sense of urgency to learn how she ended up so far from home, but I felt as if the journey to that understanding was packed with unnecessary character building and seemed to sag in the middle. Once I learned how fate brought her to the United States, the book is almost over and that’s when I wanted to know MORE. There is a lot to unpack about friendship in both timelines, and was what made the book so compelling. Things JUST GOT INTERESTING with the young Lily in the 80s and potentially her friend Margaret from the war years when the book abruptly comes to an end.

I definitely recommend this novel for fans of historical fiction, and it was fascinating to read the prologue about the characters from the book that were actual historical figures. I honestly wouldn’t mind a small sequel perhaps, so that I could find out what became of Lily, Margaret and Odile! 

 “The truth is, there is no better place to live than in the shadow of a beautiful, furious mountain.”

Wow wow wow. I listened to In the Dream House on audio, and I felt in a little over my head at first. Machado reads with a singular cadence that took a few passages to get used to, but then her voice became utterly hypnotic. And her cerebral prose is dense at the outset, but settles into the very unsettling and menacing account of the abusive relationship with her ex-girlfriend.

The entire time I listened, I kept thinking about how hard this must have been for her, on so many levels, to examine. Her grief, vulnerability, and trauma is so sharp in this memoir with the visceral writing and (actually successful!) use of the second person.

Lots of TW regarding mental abuse, to be sure, but I highly recommend this indelible book. 

 I first put The Lost Queen on my TBR when I saw it blurbed as ‘The Mists of Avalon for a new generation.’ SOLD! Mists was one of my favorite reads as a young adult, and I was looking for something magical, epic and immersive that wasn’t high fantasy.

There’s absolutely a similarity between the books: both follow the life of a strong female lead, are filled with ancient Celtic magic and the complex politics of tribal kings, religion and power. I have seen Outlander and Game of Thrones mentioned as similar reads, but I think The Lost Queen isn’t as romance focused as the former, and much more character driven than the latter. Pillars of the Earth would be a good comparison with similar themes and story elements.

The plot might have lingered a little too much on the men in the story than I would have liked, as their power struggles dragged for me. I wanted more about Languoreth’s mother, and her mentor Ariane. But on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed this reading experience and look forward to picking up the next in the trilogy soon. I was also in complete awe of the detail and research that Pike put into the novel - absolutely fascinating stuff. As someone of Scots/Irish heritage who dreams of visiting that part of the world one day, this made my wanderlust grow exponentially. 

 “The constellations we see are temporary creations, our effort to draw order and meaning from a mostly unknowable universe, to tell ourselves stories, to guide our way home across oceans.”

I read Molly Wizenberg’s ‘A Homemade Life’ many years ago, so I only have vague recollections of her love of family, food, and falling in love with her husband. So going into The Fixed Stars, the account of her evolving sexuality and dissolution of her marriage, was disorienting. Then again, I think that was sort of the point - those stars aren’t really fixed and can shift into a different pattern, depending on your perspective.

While lyrical, especially when espousing on the cosmos metaphor, this read like a friend sitting down over a bottle of wine and telling her equally ordinary and extraordinary tale of marriage woe. I felt so genuinely happy for her in having the courage to make a life of her choosing. I appreciated her honesty about her privilege, and that she doesn’t have all the answers. None of us do in this world and we should accept the story that people tell about themselves, not one we write for them. 

 I read this feel-good comfort read along with my Instagram book club and wasn't really wowed by the story. Things started out promising, as it reminded me a little bit of Insecure, one of my favorite tv shows. Kerry is trying to get her life started and works for a nonprofit serving children in the community - there's even an eye rolling 'woke' white coworker. Alas, there were a LOT of side characters and no one got a real deep dive, even the main romantic interests. It was cute, but a little to cliché for my liking. 

 I want to preface this review by saying that I found In the Quick to be a unique and absorbing character driven novel. It should get a lot of traction with people looking for something other than what the blurb describes... The way the book is marketed might unfortunately result in some unnecessarily negative reviews.

The description claims a fiery love affair within the first sentence, which I think is terribly misleading. This novel felt like a quiet, introspective story where June’s relationships help showcase her coming of age, but do not take center stage. The romantic relationship, which is a stretch to call it as such, is barely a tenth of the book.

Readers picking this up thinking they are getting action packed sci-fi, might also cast it in an unfair light. To be sure, there are a number of well-timed scenes throughout that are very tense and rife with action.

But the beauty and the drama in this story is getting inside the mind a brilliant and flawed character. It reminded me of less fleshed out version of The Unseen World by Liz Moore, which I also recommend. 

 Another fantastic middle grade graphic novel! Seance Tea Party is a poignant coming of age story about that in between time when kids still just want to be kids and play, while many of their peers are exploring more mature pursuits.
Lora is such an easy protagonist to empathize with, as I was definitely a kid who was not interested in growing up fast, and my daughter seems similar at almost 11: still running around on playgrounds, still acting silly, still loves animals and fuzzy things. But it is bittersweet, because we know what is inevitable. We both give this one two big thumbs up.
The book does such a wonderful job illustrating Lora’s very gradual shift in viewpoint on what it means to grow up. Her friend Alexa the ghost is a melancholy, but beautiful message about the privilege of aging. Highly, highly recommend for tween readers and fans ofRaina Telgemeier's books or The Babysitters Club!
For more reviews and bookish musings visit http://www.bornandreadinchicago.com/ 

 “All the rings of inner heartwood are essentially dead, just lignin-reinforced cellulose built up year after year, stacked layer upon layer, through droughts and storms, disease and stresses, everything that the tree has lived through preserved and recorded within its own body. Every tree is held up by its own history, the very bones of its ancestors.”
Greenwood was such a moving and thoughtful novel (and reminded me of another great book: This Tender Land, set after the great depression, a protagonist jumping the railways). Christie’s story ties to the future in a clever narrative structure, set up like a cross-section of the rings of a tree. It begins in 2038, hops to 2008, 1974, 1934, 1908 and then forward through those same years back to 2038.
The bulk of the story is told in the year 1934 with a cat and mouse chase between protagonist Everett Greenwood who saves a baby abandoned in the woods, and the wealthy RJ Holt who fathered the baby out of wedlock, sends a lackey to retrieve the baby and keep things under wraps.
While compelling and suspenseful, with books that span great swaths of time, I tend to get invested in some characters and wish more time was spent with them. At times the cat and mouse chase seemed to drag, but when the plot did come back around to characters from the later years, I was moved to tears. It’s a beautiful and heart wrenching reflection on the environment, what makes a life, and a family. Bonus points for a gorgeously rendered depiction of the PNW.
For more reviews and bookish musings visit http://www.bornandreadinchicago.com/ 

 “I squat there and think about how you get trained early on as a woman to perceive how others are perceiving you, at the great expense of what you yourself are feeling about them. Sometimes you mix the two up and a terrible tangle that’s hard to unravel.”
Gahhhh. I loved this book! I hesitated for so long to read it, thinking it just didn’t sound like something I would enjoy, even though the hardcover of Euphoria sits on my all time favorite books shelf. I started to think perhaps I loved that novel because I seem to gravitate towards crazy books about a stranger in a strange land, like The Poisonwood Bible and State of Wonder (also on the revered hardcover shelf). But then I realized I adore Patchett and Kingsolver even when they aren’t taking me to the depths of the jungle, and I HAD to pick up Writers and Lovers by Lily King.
Like the aforementioned authors, her writing is so lovely and accessible, shocking me at times, and just made me feel some type of way.
It’s a slice of life and a beautiful coming-of-age story arc, wherein I wanted to hug the protagonist and the whole book when I was done. It can be bleak at times, especially when examining the grief over her mother’s death, yet it’s an immensely satisfying and, dare I say, happy ending? I think we could all use one of those.
For more reviews and bookish musings visit http://www.bornandreadinchicago.com/ 

 This new graphic novel series was such a delight to read. A young girl joins with a rare and heartwarming creature (a Galdurian) to find her missing grandfather, and it echoes some of my favorite children’s stories like The City of Ember and Labyrinth. Probert also addresses anxiety - how it can overwhelm kids at times, and also empower them. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and my daughter is chomping at the bit for the next installment.
If you have fans of Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi in your household, or fantasy graphic novels, you should definitely pick up this book.
For more reviews and bookish musings visit http://www.bornandreadinchicago.com/