This contemporary novel is funny at times and attempts to satirize the notions of motherhood, consumerism, and wealth, but doesn't quite get there. I liked it, but it didn't "wow" me with its characters or the trajectory of the story.

Shelly Means is a stay-at-home mom living in Manhattan who is thrilled to be building a beach house in the Hamptons. She justifies using the money earned by her husband to do this since the house will be in the "worst" part of the Hamptons and her house will be built out of less-expensive shipping containers. Told from Shelly's point of view, we hear her simultaneously complaining about living off of her husband's salary (he's a voice-over artist) and breezily sharing that she has a house cleaner and dog walker. She got kicked out the PTA for throwing a bottle of water at the president, which both makes her feel bad and powerful. This vacillating between one emotion to its opposite, or one end of the spectrum to the other end takes up most of the novel and ends up making Shelly seem contrarian at best and thoroughly annoying at worst. She's not a character I could understand or relate to--or, eventually, root for.

This expansive memoir follows Hua Hsu's formative years in college and his three-year close friendship with Ken, another Asian American man attending Berkeley. Hua defines himself at college--rebel, lover of music, creative--and juxtaposes that identity with Ken's--a charming frat boy. These two shouldn't form a close bond, but they do. Unfortunately that bond is severed when Ken is murdered in a carjacking.

Using their friendship and Ken's death as focal points, Hsu discusses so many things. Identity, politics, love, family, guilt, redemption. It's amazing how he explores so many "life" issues through the 3-year friendship and years-long grief of this central relationship in his life. While the stories and details shared here are specific to Hua and Ken, they expound on bigger issues. Why Hua felt guilt about Ken's death. Why Ken? This memoir is emotionally resonant, especially in how it conveys how a short friendship like Ken's and Hua's can create lifelong memories and monumental growth. I really like this one.

The stunning cover of this book and the promise of a story satirizing the wellness craze hooked me. Unfortunately this book did not live up to my expectations.

Indian-American Anita Kathlikar is tired of her dead-end job, overprotective mom, and the sameness of living in NYC. After securing three free months of rent in Venice at a place called The Gig, she heads west in hopes of a new journalism career at a place called, Gonzo. Anita had met up with their CEO at a conference and plans to reach out to her for a job.

Almost immediately things don't go according to Anita's plans AND Anita starts lying--to herself, to her Gig-mates, to her mom, to pretty much everyone. She doesn't hear back from anyone at Gonzo and seems to hate anyone and everyone who's not trendy or affiliated with The Goddess Effect, a wellness place she joins. Her BFF at TGE is Stacy (engaged to a rich fiancé) who seems way too good/genuine to be true. The head of the retreat, Venus, is an Indian woman who seems to be perfection in human form, but Anita starts to notice cracks in the facade (and promptly makes sarcastic comments about them). It doesn't stop her from maxing out her credit cards to stay with the program, even being picked to go on one of their exclusive retreats.

The moment she's accepted to the retreat, things start to get even more suspect. She immediately hears from the woman at Gonzo who's ignored her for months and is asked to cover the retreat. Stacy comes clean about her true intentions. The banality of Venus's mantras and entire aesthetic start to wear thin. Anita's complex relationship with her own self-esteem as a woman of color gets even more complicated as she starts to notice odd things happening at The Goddess Effect.

There's a lot going on in this novel and it suffers for it. Is it a commentary on wellness crazes? Racism against Indian Americans? A woman's coming of age within an Indian family? A woman's search for her true identity? Marikar doesn't focus on any one plot point and ends up jumbling all of them into an overstuffed book. I also felt like the exploration of the racism Anita endured waned and only really started to crystalize into a strong plot point near the end of the book. I don't mind a book that attempts to explore numerous concepts, but this one seemed to suffer from uneven and confusing narrative through-lines for each issue it tried to tackle.

I also really wanted to like Anita more. The consistent slang and stream-of-conscious narration didn't bother me like other reviewers but I do think it took away from the story. There can be flawed characters that you root for; and I just couldn't root for Anita. Her experiences, personality, and backstory were too convoluted to engage me.

Wow. I was so excited just reading about this book! A fictional female character--descended from a Salem woman accused of witchcraft--who is the inspiration for Hester in Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter?! This novel hit on some of my favorite tropes--books about books, social issues through history, and a complex female protagonist at the forefront. I was IN.

Isobel Gamble is a Scottish seamstress who emigrates with her apothecary husband to America. After a short time in Salem, her husband (an addict) sets off on a ship, leaving her alone and unable to afford rent. She uses her exceptional needlework talents to survive.

Isobel's life in Salem isn't easy. The town and its inhabitants are haunted by the sins of its past. Isobel is continually subjected to hate because she's an immigrant and a woman. She is appalled by the institution of slavery and how it still festers in Salem. Her saving graces are letting her creativity shine through her needlework and spending time with the intriguing Nathaniel "Nat" Hawthorne, a fledgling writer who is obsessed with being better than his descendent, who promoted burning women at the stake. Isobel and Nat's connection is passionate yet tenuous--she hates that he's a proponent of slavery and knows he's too concerned with appearances to truly give her the love she deserves.

I'm thrilled to say that this engrossing book exceeded my expectations. Laurie Lico Albanese has put such a great feminist spin on this already intriguing tale. Isobel isn't just a fascinating character--she becomes the focus of a bigger literary narrative: How an anti-immigrant/patriarchal worldview permeated "the new world," and harmed anyone who threatened its supremacy. The descriptions of Isobel's synesthesia (she "sees" in colors) are gorgeously written. Albanese has written a romantic, powerful, enchanting book. I highly recommend it!