I read this one with my youngest (age 8) and it was a lovely middle grade story of a boy separated from his domesticated fox and runs away to bring him back home. Along his journey he is helped by a hermit woman, Vola, and he ends up helping her in turn. Although I think a lot of the nuances of the book were lost on my daughter. There is so much to unpack about Vola's life, her inner demons and the complexities of war. Also I felt as if the ending were rushed, while the middle of the book sort of sagged.
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If you are the kind of person who listens to Anne's podcast, then this book will SPEAK TO YOU. So many bits about being a reader made me laugh out loud and nod my head. But I was also really impressed by some of her more personal anecdotes, especially the essay about her first home with her husband that was next door to the library. This was the perfect book to cap off my year of reading.
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Thrillers are not normally my go-to genre, but the description and buzz around this debut novel had me intrigued. I'm really glad I picked it up, as it was a perfect way to kick off the year in books: engaging and fast paced!
The plane crash Allison survives hooked me into the book immediately, and Barry does an excellent job of 'show, don't tell' as we gain clues about her life, which become increasingly sinister and sordid, and the circumstances in which she finds herself. There is a good deal of food for thought on feminism, and how women often find their worth tied up in beauty that gave the story more heft.
Meanwhile, her mother Maggie's storyline stuttered a bit in the beginning. However, I am a sucker for a dual narration and I warmed to her as the author lent a good deal of authenticity with her inner thoughts on motherhood and grief.

"Being the mother of a grown child seemed to be a twinned experience, simultaneously loving the person she had become with all your soul while mourning everything she had not."

I turned the pages furiously to reach the conclusion of this story. Even though I was able to piece together a few twists, I was surprised at several turns and rather satisfied with how the ending came together. It was well plotted had a very cinematic feel. I wouldn't be surprised (and sorta hope) that this will inevitably become a film. Now I am thinking about perhaps picking up some more thrillers that I've noted had similar buzz, since I enjoyed this one a great deal - definitely recommend.
Many thanks to the folks at Harper Books for a complimentary advance copy in exchange for my honest review!
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This book had me riveted from the first page and didn't let up until the final one. The premise of this story is so arresting, and in Walker's hands, it is transcendent. Her prose is lovely and straightforward, evoking a multitude of emotions. Early in the book, I was reminded of what it was like to be in high school getting a call from a boy, a girl in a coed college dorm, and most strongly what it was like to be a new parent.
"Here is what he has learned about loving a baby: the time away from her is vital to the pleasure of being with her."
As the unthinkable events of this sleep plague unfold, various scenarios play out as through a prism with each character in a separate facet of life: the two school age girls stranded alone, the college students, the parents, and an elderly professor. There is so much to unpack about what gives our lives meaning at different stages in life, how love can mean something different for every individual, and many ethical dilemmas. I loved how she took a contagion story to illustrate the bonds between individuals and communities. I also cannot stop thinking about the concept of time, of our wakeful vs. dreaming life. How can we truly know which is real, what is the construct of time but a human invention?
"Some dreamed of their youth. Some dreamed of old age. Some dreamed of days that might have been - all the lives they did not live. Or the lives that, in some other world, they did."
Oftentimes I was reminded of The Road by Cormac McCarthy, though it is much less harrowing. Yet there are similarly sweet and poignant moments alongside an unrelentingly ominous backdrop, and constant jaw dropping plot twists. I can't say enough about how much I admired, and was enchanted by, this novel.
Many thanks to the folks at Random House and NetGalley for a complimentary digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
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I am invested enough in pop culture to know who Busy is - what shows she was on (none that I watched, though) and that she's Michelle Williams' BFF, which I always thought was super cute, how they went to events together. But I didn't really know much more about her until I, like everyone else, started following her on Instagram a year or so ago. I'm so glad that I've 'gotten to know her' on that platform for a decent amount of time before diving into her book. It felt like listening to a friend shoot the shit, as does her Instagram. She's just, as she'd very correctly put it, a sparkly human you just gravitate towards. There are so many funny bits, especially the bits related to her mom. (FYI, this is excellent on audio!) Much like Trevor Noah in his memoir, there's something about the author doing an impression of his or her mother that just SLAYS. Alongside the humor, there are a lot of in your face difficult truths she shares about her life. I just really want to give her a hug, and drink margs with her OBVI.
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I tend to limit the amount of WWII novels I read, since there are so many out there and I don't want to get them mixed up in my head! So, I usually wait to see what rises to the top. This novel was a clear favorite over the last year, and for good reason. Hunter started this book as an investigation into her grandfather's family experience during the war and it's EXTRAORDINARY. Their story of survival against all odds had me up until the wee hours of the night turning the pages. I even cheated a few times and looked a few pages ahead from time to time, which I never do, because I was so invested in the characters. I of course looked up more about them on the author's website - googling afterward is always the sign of an excellent book.
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I didn’t know much about this book, other than I remembered hearing good things. I decided to jump in without reading the description and loved it so much. I am a sucker for a stranger in a strange land narrative, and Washington Black’s story is a heart palpitating one. The writing is sublime and filled with beautiful language, especially when Washington is immersed in the scientific world. It gets stranger by turns, until coming to a very surreal and thought-provoking ending. Definitely recommend.
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What a unique and crazy book! I decided to add this to a book of the month order after Elin Hilderbrand gave it a glowing review on Instagram. Jardine's writing is so oddly beautiful. The most mundane of things described in such perfect detail:
"His voice had a soothing, loving, everything-will-be-ok growl to it, like the favorite uncle who spends half the cocktail party in the kids' bedroom telling stories, lulling the children into dreams, capable of this magnanimous and lazy lavishing of his adult time in a nursery seeing as he has no hope for his own life, and can give it all away."
The boy meets girl from the wrong side of the tracks trope is done well. I was so anxious throughout the book, as their relationship would be tested in so many highly fraught ways. The middle sagged just a little bit, but the ending took my breath away!
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What can I say about this that hasn't been said already? There's a reason this was the best selling book of 2018 - and it came out in NOVEMBER! I got the audio book and could have listened to the dulcet tones of her confident and soothing voice forever and ever. She is truly a gifted storyteller, in addition to the multitude of her impressive accomplishments in her own right. I loved the metaphor she used about learning to play the piano throughout the book, and feeling like I got to know some of my absolute favorite people just a little bit better. No matter your political persuasion, this was an inspiring and fascinating read.
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I thought To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was a good book - a fun little read but not something I ever followed up on after reading it back in 2015. But with the sequel to the excellent Netflix adaptation coming up, and listening to so many people rave about the whole series, I decided to grab the two remaining books from the paperback picks shelf at the library. I’m so glad I did! I felt as if, in these two books, Jenny Han did an even better job of delving into such important topics in a young person’s life (family, changing friendships, college, the future) beyond the (still swoon worthy) YA romance. They’re perfect comfort reads that I gobbled up in just a few days.
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