I had heard amazing things about Homegoing, but my only disappointment was that I didn't read it sooner! This is a truly beautiful book. Gyasi seamlessly transitions from one point of view to another, from one generation to another. The stories travel across multiple towns and continents. I did not think I'd enjoy the story lines switching between so many characters, but I loved it. I really enjoyed how you kept learning about a character and their life even after the story had shifted to one of their descendants. 

I highly recommend this book, even if you aren't a historical fiction fan. The writing is beautiful and I feel like I learned so much from this book. 

This book was SO CUTE. I immediately fell in love with the two main characters, Desta and Elias, and was invested in their love story from the beginning. This book goes beyond just a romance story, though, and brings up important topics, such as cultural identity and homophobia.  The story is set in Ethiopia and discusses their lack of LGBTQIA+ rights, which is something I knew nothing about before reading this and am so glad I got to learn about this topic. It's easy to forget that other cultures are so different from mine and I appreciate stories that remind me there are so many different cultures out there with with a different set of standards and rules. Be prepared for *steam* in this book as well! 

I listened to the audio version & it was good! The narrator did a good job and would recommend on audio. 

I was influenced by Bookstagram to read this one. This was my first recent fantasy read. This book made me feel lots of emotions. It definitely had me in my feels. I enjoyed being so deep in the protagonists mind, being able to really grasp her every emotion. I think the topics of mental health and depression could have been addressed better and in a more upfront way; the seemed to be handled as afterthoughts.  Still a good book and look forward to mental health struggles being addressed in more fiction books in the future.  

While this book quickly sucked me in and it was hard to put down, I didn't really like the characters. I couldn't tell who I was supposed to like and dislike at points. Katz does a great job of exhibiting a toxic workplace, details of which unfortunately are real life for some. 

Definitely recommend for those that work in corporate America or want a look inside the BigLaw offices of NYC. 

Content warnings: drug use/abuse, sexual assault 

Content warnings: drug use, overdose, death of animals

This book reminded me of a more sophisticated version of The Clique series (IYKYK). The first 3/4 of the book was just pretty good to me, but the last 1/4 made it real good and brought it all together. This book has love triangles, sibling relationships, and cousin relationships. I have both strong cousin and sibling relationships, so I really enjoyed those aspects! I loved the diversity of the characters. Jenny Lee was able to provide perspectives from multiple characters without overwhelming the reader. I liked how Lee added depth to the teen characters, instead of portraying them all as shallow, wealthy teens running around their playground that is NYC.

As Vanessa reflects on her relationship with her high school teacher that started when she was 15 years old and spanned into her 30s, the reader is able to see how it all started and continued on. This book is difficult to read - it is no escape to fiction. However, I found it to be an important read. Russell allows the reader to see how the teacher, Strane, manipulates teenage girls into believing they are "the only one." The reader sees the long-term affects that being manipulated and raped by her teacher has on her. The point of view alternates between current Vanessa and past Vanessa, really allowed the reader to dive into the characters and storyline. 

I did find the storyline to be a bit boring at times, but this book is definitely worth reading and was very eye opening for me.