Book 59 of 2024: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Roaming through New York City at 3AM, April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship—like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor—April and her best friend, Andy, make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day, April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world—from Beijing to Buenos Aires—and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight. Seizing the opportunity to make her mark on the world, April now has to deal with the consequences her new particular brand of fame has on her relationships, her safety, and her own identity. And all eyes are on April to figure out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.

@bookishswiftiesclub May read! This wasn’t a book that I would normally pick up but it was definitely entertaining. April was a really layered character and made a great protagonist as the reader got to see her navigating the Carl phenomenon and young adulthood together. She was snarky but also very real. I liked how the book approached first contact with an alien life force in the context of social media. The book was fast-paced and very easy to read and follow for a sci-fi story. I kept wanting to read to see what would happen next! This was a fun and quick read that lovers of modern media and sci-fi will enjoy!

Book 60 of 2024: Erasure by Percival Everett

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thelonious "Monk" Ellison's writing career has bottomed out. His latest manuscript has been rejected by seventeen publishers. He seethes on the sidelines of the literary establishment as he watches the meteoric success of We's Lives in Da Ghetto, a first novel by a woman who once visited "some relatives in Harlem for a couple of days." Meanwhile, Monk struggles with real family tragedies―his aged mother is fast succumbing to Alzheimer's, and he still grapples with the reverberations of his father's suicide seven years before. In his rage and despair, Monk dashes off a novel meant to be an indictment of the bestseller. He doesn't intend for his book to be published, let alone taken seriously, but it is―under the pseudonym Stagg R. Leigh―and soon it becomes the Next Big Thing.

I’ve been meaning to read Percival Everett for a while and I’m so glad I finally did! This book was razor sharp. The satire of a Black author writing a story that is “Black” enough to cater to white peoples’ preconceived notions about what the Black experience is was delicious. I appreciated Monk’s character so much, he was complex and had so many different layers, which were demonstrated through his relationships with his family and colleagues. There was also a lot of family drama as the reader witnesses Monk navigate his mother’s illness, loss of his sister, and fractured relationship with his brother. This book was so smart and I loved Everett’s writing. Will definitely read more of his works on the future!

Book 41 of 2024: Julia by Sandra Newman

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⚠️cw: pregnancy loss, torture, assault, sexism, murder, war, police brutality 

Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal citizen who may sometimes bend the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia. Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story.

Phylis’s Former Student Book Club March read! Continuing our theme of female retellings for this year, Julia is a retelling of George Orwell’s dystopian classic 1984, featuring Julia instead of Winston as the book’s protagonist. This book was a lot more graphic than I remember 1984 being, so I definitely recommend checking trigger warnings! I really enjoyed getting to hear this familiar story retold from a female perspective. It was incredibly interesting to dive more into the role of women in the Orwellian world the characters were in. I liked how there was a twist on Julia’s original story that recontextualises her role in the narrative. While the original novel’s ending obliterates all scraps of hope for Winston and Julia’s futures and freedom, Julia’s ending was a lot more thought provoking with a glimmer of hope, and leads the reader to question whether The Brotherhood is really all that different from Big Brother. I also really appreciated that Newman was able to give even more complexity to the novel’s familiar characters.

Book 43 of 2024: Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⚠️cw: mental illness, child abandonment, PTSD, emotional abuse 

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Happy publication day and thank you @netgalley and @grandcentralpub for the ARc! Would you believe me if I said this was my first Abby Jimenez book? 🫣 i’ve had so many of her books on my TBR for the longest time, and just have never got around to them. After reading this book, though, that is going to have to change! This book sucked me in from the beginning and I could not put it down. The book was deep and not entirely lighthearted, so I would definitely recommend checking trigger warnings before reading, but I did find that there was a great balance between the somber and sparkling. I loved all of the humor that was incorporated into the story, which was a great juxtaposition to the more raw and heart wrenching moments as Emma learned to cope with the trauma of her past and open up herself to other people. Emma and Justin were both very beautiful characters who truly brought out the best in each other. Justin was an absolute golden retriever and I loved how caring he was for not only Emma but his whole family. I also really loved Emma’s friendship with Maddy. All of the characters just felt so real and well-rounded and complex. I definitely recommend picking this one up!

Book 45 of 2024: Kiss Her Once for Me by Allison Cochrun 

Rating: ⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The only things his book had going for it were the grandmas and all of the Taylor Swift references. I probably should have DNFed this but I am a pathological book finisher even if I hate it sooooo…

my other hot takes from reading this:
-instalove stories are so unrealistic and give me the ick
-I have no sympathy for characters who spend all their time wining about how hard their life is without doing anything to help themselves or take any responsibility 
-not sure how describing someone as smelling like bread multiple times is supposed to be sexy 
-all of the characters have garbage communication skills
-third act breakups because of garbage communication skills are the worst
-the narrator’s voice was super quite except when doing other characters’ dialogue and I think it made me hate Ellie even more
-wtf is a quarter moon smile 
-if I hear one more description about Jack’s calloused hands I’m gonna lose it 

Book 47 of 2024: Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City. By 1998 Anita’s name has been all but forgotten―certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. When Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita’s story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist. 

@bookofthemonth March pick! I’ve had this author’s other work on my Kindle for a while and I’ll have to get to that one soon as I found this book really enjoyable. From the blurb I anticipated that the book would read more as a mystery, but it definitely did not. I was slightly disappointed by this but enjoyed the story nonetheless! The story oscillated in time between Anita in the 1980s and Raquel in the late 1990s, and was more of a drama and character study than a mystery. Anita was such a richly complex character with so many colorful and sharp layers, and I loved learning more about her. I also really enjoyed the magical realism elements from her story, and how they truly enabled her to get the last laugh. Raquel was a bit less likable for me; there were so many times I wanted to shake her out of being such a pushover, but I suppose that was all part of her growing up and coming into her own. Both Raquel and Anita struggled to fit into a world that did not accept them, but through Anita’s story they were able to share their voices and find a community of acceptance, and I loved that.

Book 48 of 2024: Mythos by Stephen Fry

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mythos is a modern collection of Greek myths, stylishly retold by legendary writer, actor, and comedian Stephen Fry. Fry transforms the adventures of Zeus and the Olympians into emotionally resonant and deeply funny stories.

12 books recommended by 12 friends in 2024 book 3! My friend from high school @erin_wildcat recommended this book on audio and it was a really fun and entertaining listen. I’ve kind of been in my Greek mythology era recently so it was fun to hear the myths retold in a modern and approachable way, and it was definitely a refreshing take on the usuall tellings. I also loved how many mythic the book was able to cover! I feel like no character was left undiscussed. Some of the stories were perhaps not as in depth as other renditions but the book still gave a lot of information in a friendly tone. Thanks for the recommendation, Erin! This was really enjoyable!

Book 53 of 2024: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Each decade, the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to earn a place in the Alexandrian Society, the foremost secret magical society in the world. But only five can move past their first year. The chosen will secure a life of power and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each of the six newest recruits has their reasons for accepting the Society’s elusive invitation. Even if it means growing closer than they could have imagined to their most dangerous enemies― or risking unforgivable betrayal from their most trusted allies― they will fight tooth and nail for the right to join the ranks of the Alexandrians. Even if it means they won’t all survive the year.

This book had been on my TBR for quite some time, and I’m glad I finally got around to it. I listen to it on audio, and there was a different narrator for each of the six candidates, and I thought that made it really fun and interesting, and it also helped me keep track of whose story was whose. I really enjoyed the dark academia of vibes of the story. The characters were all very different from one another, but I love to see how they changed and developed throughout the book, as well as their relationships with one another. Each of the characters had their own problems, but as a cast together, they were really enjoyable. I had two problems with this book that distracted from me liking it more. First, the plot felt a little slow at times, probably due to the introduction of all of the characters and the and their magical world. Secondly, for  a story about magicians, I also wanted to see some more magic used throughout the story. This is a trilogy so I think that these two things will be addressed and hopefully not be an issue in the remaining books in the series. Overall, this was a very intriguing premise for a series and I am definitely interested in reading the next book!

Book 51 of 2024: This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan

Rating: ⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Soledad Barnes has her life all planned out. But none of her best laid plans can save her when catastrophe strikes, and the life she built with the man who was supposed to be her forever, goes up in a fire of betrayal and disillusion. But there is no time to pout or sulk, or even grieve the life she lost. She’s too busy keeping a roof over her daughters’ heads and food on the table. And in the process of saving them all, Soledad rediscovers herself. But then an unlikely man enters the picture—the forbidden one, the one she shouldn’t want but can’t seem to resist. She’s lost it all before and refuses to repeat her mistakes. Can she trust him? Can she trust herself?

Thank you so much to @netgalley for this ARC! I loved Kennedy Ryans’s Before I Let Go so much, but unfortunately this book was a miss for me and I seem to be among the very small few that did not like this. Soledad and Judah in and of themselves were solid characters and I really appreciate the autism awareness and visibility in this book. All of the kids were all great characters as well, but especially Adam and Aaron. My problem with this book is that it took FOREVER for the plot to go anywhere, and the final destination was disappointing. I felt like the novel was full of incredibly slow moments that never really built up to anything exciting—plot-wise, character development-wise, and romance-wise. The dialogue wasn’t anything to write home about and after a while I just got really tired of Judah and Soledad pining for each other but not doing anything about it. There were a lot of side plots going on that didn’t have much to do with their relationship and for me that really detracted from their chemistry. Also Inez the moody teenager seemed to get over her reservations about her mother’s new boyfriend very quickly without any explanation and that bothered me. Overall this just wasn’t for me.

Book 54 of 2024: Funny Story by Emily Henry

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. But when Peter realizes that he is actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra, Daphne finds herself stranded in Waining Bay, Michigan, moving in with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles. Scruffy and chaotic, Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them? But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

Emily Henry will forever be one of my favorites! She is the master of rom-coms. What I love about her is that she creates characters that are so real, with layers, flaws, struggling though life, and it all just feels so realistic and relatable. She has a particular penchant for being able to convey the realness of struggling with starting over in your thirties, when you’re supposed to have your shit together but we all know that’s never a thing. This book was no different! I absolutely loved Daphne and thought she was hilarious and extremely relatable. I loved how she was able to strike out on her own after her fiancé called off their wedding and how she made her own friends and truly made Waining Bay home for herself.  She took control of her story and I loved that so much. I also loved the roommates to fake dating to actually dating, and thought that she and Miles made such a delicious pair. They truly brought out the best in each other and I loved all of their adventures and hilarious banter. Definitely recommend this one!