A Whole Summer of Book Reviews

I’d like to blame a lot of things for having three months of book reviews to post.

The fact that we bought a new laptop for me to use but it has a glitch and now we can’t get it charged.

Having a really fun, packed summer.

Having four kids and getting three of them back to school.

But we all know we have time for what we make time for. (Like reading, for example!) And I’ve made more time for trying to start a little bit of a business on Poshmark instead of writing. And while both are good, I miss writing more! I’m trying to find a happy balance as we work our way back into a schedule.

So I’ve decided I can spend one hour and I will write ALL THE REVIEWS. They can just only be two sentences. I will try to flesh these out over time on GoodReads, so follow me over there. 

June

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman – I absolutely love Backman’s style. This novella feels more My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry and less Man Called Ove – kind of fantastical and slightly confusing but still beautiful.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes – I’ve heard a lot of people say they loved this third book in the Me Before You trilogy, but I can’t agree. The situations felt super predictable, and I didn’t hate it but it wasn’t love for me.

The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie – See my post about reading aloud with my kids here. Loved this treatise, and it encouraged me to keep on the read-aloud path as my kids grow.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman – Backman’s intense understanding of human nature and ability to convey it on the page is perfect. Five stars.

The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues by Edward Kelsey Moore – I was hoping for more considering how much I adored The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat (review here). Enjoyable, funny, and quirky, but not the original.

My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South by Rick Bragg – I’d tried to read this maybe a year ago, when it was a new release, but it wasn’t the right time. The right time was at the beach on Tybee Island, where I delighted in the foibles of Bragg and his South (other than the sports essays).

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan – I’m sorry I haven’t seen this all over the web, because it is a fantastic debut YA novel chronicling the life of half-Taiwanese teenager Leigh after her mother commits suicide. (Not a spoiler – trigger warnings, obviously, but suicide is a MAJOR trigger for me and I did OK with this book.) 

July

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – Reread for me, and so glad I did. Still amazing, still cried like a baby.

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan – Excellent, Newberry medal-winning book with intersecting stories from around World War II. Loved the fantastical element in it, and the young heroes and heroine.

Home by Marilynne Robinson – For some reason, this appealed to me much more than Gilead. Heartfelt spiritual struggle, familial relationships, perfect prose.

My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul – Memoir through books, based on the fact the author has kept a running list of what she’s read since high school (!!) (wish I had!). Not my favorite, but some good insights and fun book nerdiness.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before / P.S. I Still Love You / Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han – I had a really good binge on this trilogy during our Great Road Trip in late July. Thought the first one was great, the other two were pretty good, although what does it mean if you’re rooting for the other guy to win the girl? (Shrug.) (Definitely read the first one if you watched the movie. So much not fleshed out in the movie!) (Also I went to high school with Jenny Han.) (Six sentences because it is three books.)

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter – I had really high hopes for this YA spy school start of a series, because several of my online book buddies have raved about it. Alas, just not for me, and now I know. 

August

Still Waters by Lindsey P. Brackett – Sweet Southern romance on Edisto Island, which reminds me of Tybee and I felt like I was there. Realistic family relationships and romances, while not being too angsty. Looking forward to the sequel. (GoodReads long review here.)

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander –
How can this author
Use so few words
And still make me feel
Right there in the midst of his tale?
Perfect poetry
and I cried, of course.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell – Two women are sending emails at work, and one man is reading them all … and finding it hard to detach. Rowell is so witty and adorable and I loved this.

I’d Rather Be Reading: the Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel – A series of short essays from my beloved Anne about books, reading, bookstores, and of course, You’ve Got Mail. My only complaint is that I wanted more in each essay so I could keep reading! (This book was provided to me by the publisher as part of the author’s launch team. Full review here.)

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke – Snarky teen finds herself on a low-budget, community college reality show after a life crisis. While hilarity often ensues in this book through journal entries, the underlying spiritual questions are really very interesting.

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Twenty books over three months! It’s amazing what you can do when you just don’t clean your house. 😉 I hope you had a fantastic summer of reading, and I’d love to hear about your favorite title.

This will be added to Quick Lit at Modern Mrs. Darcy.