“A Little Life” was horrible and I loved every single page. Ugh! Where do I begin? The story of Jude’s life is devastating, horribly traumatic, and at many times, hard to read, but Yanagihara tells it in such a beautiful way, I ended up crying happy tears more often then I did because I was sad or angry. The good, happy moments were stunning and made me feel so happy. I don’t know how to summarize this book and if someone asked me what it was about I’d give them a list of trigger warnings and tell them it’s a long, but perfect book, and that they have to read it (if they’re able). While it definitely could’ve been shorter, I fell in love and empathized with every character who was good to Jude, even JB. Harold and Andy feel so important to me. Julia is the only character I found to be underdeveloped, but I also want to know more about everyone. I finished this book 45 minutes ago and I feel very sad at the moment. I also feel content; I learned so so much from this book, more than I could’ve imagined. I will be thinking about it for a very long time.

I’m very surprised by how much I didn’t fall in love with this book. I was super excited about it- Red, White and Royal Blue was an early quarantine read for me and I couldn’t put it down, plus it was one of the first queer books I’ve read. It wasn’t until about the last 80 pages or so did I finally get invested in August and Jane’s relationship and enjoyed reading about it. This story could’ve been a lot shorter, too. Oh and there were like 3-4 times it was just fanfiction and smut, which I can enjoy if it’s well written, but I didn’t think this was. Also, personally the whole syfi vibe threw me lmao I didn’t know One Last Stop was more than just a queer love story in nyc. That being said, the last couple chapters were very cute. I loved the additional save Billy’s and find Augie storylines. Above all else, these stories- stories about lesbian and bisexual women, specifically woc- are so important to tell and I’m glad McQuiston is telling them.

I’m a bit unnerved by just how similar Grace (yes, that’s her name) and I are. Not only do we have similar surface-level identities, but our brain works very similarly. She’s a frustrating person though and I think her story would have been a lot more effective told in first person. This book is witty and I love niche (re: lesbian) humor and there are a lot of good pop culture references! The one thing I really couldn’t get passed was the dialogue. The writing was great otherwise, but the dialogue felt rehearsed, cliché, and predictable in that no one would actually say things irl the way the characters say them in the book. That being said, Grace’s friendships remind me of my own and how rare and valuable they are.

I listened to Brandi’s audiobook version and there is something incredibly intimate about listening to her southern accent tell her story. At the beginning of the acknowledgments she talks about how odd it is to write a memoir going into your forties, but if there’s one thing this book has reassured in me, it’s that everything happens for a reason. Brandi is filled with creativity, strength, empathy, inspiration and aspiration, and surprising humor. Honestly, Brandi could’ve filled these pages with absolute nonsense and I would’ve fallen deeply in love with it and more deeply in love with her (if that’s possible), so perhaps I’m a bit bias. I recommend Broken Horses to anyone who cares about art and other people. Also, I highly recommend the audiobook- each chapter ends with Brandi singing a song or 2 with her acoustic guitar and it’s guaranteed to make you melt every time.

Whatever your expectations for this book are, you’re definitely wrong. I laughed out loud, my jaw dropped several times, and at the end, to my great surprise, I cried. Yes, this is a mystery novel about a hostage situation, but it’s also about 12 people who couldn’t be more different, and yet more similar. It’s sometimes scary to think about the ways we’re all tied to one another, but Backman highlights the beauty of that. My only critique is I wish it had a better title- the current one doesn’t do it justice. This book is about choices, the right ones and the wrong ones. It’s about unlikely friendships and messy families and love and laughing and finding yourself and idiots; and yes its riddled with anxiety on such a striking, humane level, but that’s not really the heart of the book. That being said, I’m grateful to have learned as much as I did from this book. Perhaps, I’ll plant an apple tree today.

Rereading this made me realize just how much I’ve grown since high school. I’m surprised by how much more I relate to Abby both on the surface (woohoo gays!!! woohoo geminis!!) and on a deep, emotional level. Humbled by Abby’s strength. Another great memoir for the books.

There were definitely some stories I liked more than others, but overall I found You Think It, I’ll Say it was warm and relatable and comforting. The Prairie Wife is my new favorite short story- it surprised me to say the least, and was very exciting. I also really loved The World Has Many Butterflies and A Regular Couple. Sittenfeld is quick and intuitive. I don’t read collections of short stories often, but I’m very satisfied with Sittenfeld’s pieces.

"Dispelling fear. Taming what was scary not by hiding it, not by blocking it or burying it, not by keeping it secret, but by reminding themselves, and everyone else, to choose love, choose openness, to think and be calm. That there were more ways than just two, wider possibilities than hidden or betrayed, stalled or brokenhearted, male or female, right or wrong. Middle ways. Ways beyond."
I learned so much from this book. At first it feels like a romance between a man and a woman, and then it feels like a story about about a young child exploring and claiming their gender identity, but it's actually a deeply personal, beautiful story about family in all its complexities. While Frankel's writing is a bit slow, it's incredibly descriptive and she takes you into the thoughts and feelings, the hopes and fears of Penn and Rosie. Another must read, especially for anyone who is raising or will raise a child.