August + September 2020 Book Review

Hey Friends! As you can see, I’m a little behind on my book reviews, but not behind on reading. I have been reading a ton of good books (with a few not so good ones) and I’m on track to reach my goal of 52 books for the year. Here’s what I read in August and September.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid – This was about a white blogger who hires a Black babysitter for her daughter. It starts with the babysitter taking her charge to the grocery store where she is accused of kidnapping the child. The rest of the book is about how her white employer tries to right the situation but often fumbles. The book touches on important topics regarding race, like white savior complex and racial inequalities, but completely lacked the powerful punch I was hoping for. There were also a lot of strange asides that I thought were unnecessary. And I don’t understand the title of this book at all. Not really a fan. 2 Stars

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner – Big Summer is about a plus sized influencer, Daphne, who reconnects with an old friend (who happens to be a gorgeous bitch) who burned her in the past. Daphne is supposed to stand up in her friend’s wedding, but things go horribly wrong. This book started off promising and I liked the writing, but it had a really weak ending. 3 Stars

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins – I loved this book. Its about a woman and her son who are forced to flee their hometown of Acapulco, Mexico because of immediate threat of cartel violence. They make the perilous journey to cross the border to the states via La Bestia (real life freight trains that migrants ride the top of –Google it!). This book was like watching a suspenseful show– it had me gasping and covering my mouth in shock at times. Its filled with grief, heartache, and hope. And it was beautifully written. But…

…this book had quite a bit of controversy surrounding it– the issues that people have with this book is that it’s written by a white woman from a Mexican woman’s perspective, thus being appropriative. Also, people are upset that the publishing world is failing in letting more people of color into that world to tell their own stories. I agree that the publishing world does need to do a better job of letting POC into the gates to better reflect the people they serve (currently the publishing world is 80% white). However, as a Mexican (and I obviously cannot speak for all Mexicans), I did not take offense to this book. I read a quote (although I can’t remember who said it) that said, “If we have permission to write only about our own personal experience, there is no fiction, but only memoir,” and I couldn’t agree more. Furthermore, I believe this book has the potential to educate people on migrant stories and struggles and it shouldn’t matter that a white woman is doing the educating. So there’s my two cents.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman – A tiny, isolated community is obsessed with one thing and one thing only– Hockey. They live and breathe hockey. And when their small team makes the championships, the whole town is hopeful. But something happens that could take the whole team down. I had such high hopes for this book after reading Fredrik Backman’s book A Man Called Ove. Sadly, this is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I should have stopped when I had the chance, but I kept going because of all the rave reviews. The characters were underdeveloped and there were so damn many of them. The book was full of melodramatic statements that made me roll my eyes so hard. It was repetitive and at times I jumped through paragraphs just to get somewhere. I think part of the issue was that it was a bad translation and part of the issue was that it sucked.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – This one is about Black twin girls that live two very different lives– one lives in her hometown and the other moves across country and secretly passes for a white woman. This book is a family drama that explores racial identity, family ties, and sisterhood, among many other things. The author does a great job of developing the characters and it is more of a character driven story. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t a life-changing book for me. 3.5 Stars

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt – This is a young adult novel that I picked up and it’s about a 13 year old boy that becomes a father and goes through several juvenile detention centers. He winds up with a foster family that cares for him and he is trying to find his daughter. It’s a heartbreaking story that hits you right in the feels. It would be perfect for a middle schooler or high schooler. 4 Stars

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel – A husband and wife have five sons, but their youngest son, Claude, says he wants to be a girl. It’s about a family’s journey to protect their gender non-conforming child from the world and helping her figure out who she is. It’s also about so much more that I can even write. What I didn’t like about it: It was wordy with long-winded sentences. And at times a bit too saccharine for my taste. Despite that, I do think it should be necessary reading for everyone and my biggest takeaway from the book is this: “Wider ranges of normal make the world a better place for everyone.” –Laurie Frankel 4.5 Stars

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson — This is a fictional book that weaves two historical truths into one really good story. The first historical truth is that there were literal blue people of Kentucky. They had a genetic blood disorder that caused their skin to be blue. The second historical truth is that in the 30s, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt started a traveling library called the Pack Horse Library that traveled through the backcountry of Kentucky to bring books to the impoverished people of the Appalachian Mountains and hills. So the story is about a woman who is a blue person and also one of the pack horse librarians. It’s about the connections she forges with her patrons. She brings them more than books; she brings comfort, hope, and sometimes food. It’s also about the discrimination she faces for being blue (which was very similar to how Blacks were treated at the time) and how she copes with that. This was such an original story and so well researched. I loved the main character and learning about this interesting time in history. 5 Stars

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes – I happened to pick this book up right after reading Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, not knowing that it was also about the Pack Horse Library. This one is about a group of women who are all Pack Horse Librarians and become close friends. Each of them has their own personal drama that they’re grappling with. I liked this book and enjoyed the relationships between the different women, but the Pack Horse Library was more of the backdrop of the book, whereas, it was front and center in Book Woman. What I loved most about each of the books was the interactions between the librarians and their patrons and how they encouraged literacy and The Giver of Stars didn’t have as many of those interactions as I would have liked. 4 Stars

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd – This is a historical fiction about Sarah Grimké, a real figure in American history. She was a female abolitionist and one of the first feminists. She grew up in the south in a family of slaveholders and develops a complicated friendship with one of the slaves named Handful (Handful is a fictional character). The story alternates between her story and Handful’s. I really enjoyed this book and learning about Sarah Grimké. 4.5 Stars

And that’s it! If you’re looking to pick up a new book, there are some great ones here for you to choose. And as always, I welcome your recommendations!

XO,

L