April 4
I just finished reading Childless Mother by @tracymayoauthor and it was super interesting!
Quick Synopsis:
1970, pre-Choice America. After their eighth move in her thirteen short years, the lonely only child of a high-ranking naval officer and a socially ambitious mother, Tracy Mayo longed for a normal adolescence — to have friends, to feel rooted. What she got was a pregnancy at fourteen and exile to a maternity home. There, she bore not only a child but also the weight of the culture's shame. She was required to surrender her baby boy at birth and pretend it never happened. Twenty-two years later, her longing undiminished, Tracy set out to find him — and perhaps, through her search, to reclaim her self. Are we moving back to a world where women have no agency, stripped of control of their bodies and their futures? More than fifty years after one frightened, grief-stricken young mother was ordered to forget, Tracy's story is even more important to remember.
My Thoughts:
As you have probably noticed, I'm very interested in adoption memoirs so this one was a pretty safe bet as being a good fit for me. I really appreciated the author's detailed descriptions, especially of life on the military base, as that is not something I know too much about. Her time in the home for unwed mothers was equally detailed and very easy to visualize and empathize with. Overall it was a well written memoir that gave a very clear snapshot of life in this time period and I felt for her as a young teenager (only 14, though not the youngest at this home 😲) with so little control or choice in this difficult and life changing situation. As far as the writing goes, there were a few weird narration moments, I think that the author wanted to give a sort of "out of body" or outsider feel but it was a bit awkward. That being said it didn't really affect the overall story or anything and the book as a whole was interesting and easy to follow. I'd definitely recommend this one, and it is out now, so grab your copy!
Thanks to @booksforwardpr for giving me the chance to read and review this one!
April 14
I loved It's a Privilege Just to be Here by Emma Sasaki
This book is told from the perspective of Aki, a teacher at a (fictional) prestigious Quaker private prep school in DC, known for having alumni that include the president's children. Aki's daughter Meg attends the school and is a junior, and while both Aki and Meg experience microaggressions and prejudice on a regular basis at the school, Aki firmly believes that by getting Meg to graduate from this prestigious school she is helping set her on the right path for college and beyond. When Meg is caught up in a scandal related to racism and graffiti at the school, and Aki is thrust by the school's admin into a made-up smoke screen of a DEI position, this goal of getting Meg to graduation seems more and more complicated.
Filled with unique or diverse perspectives, such as the Quaker school, the experiences of Japanese-American women, and the elite private school students and parents, this book is super interesting! I loved the weaving in of the social media posts and chat forum quotes as it really gave you the feeling of being part of this school community. I work in a higher income community and sometimes I see these attempts to use privilege and power in negative ways, so I could relate to some of what was going on in the story. I also could relate to Aki's constant balancing act and how much gets thrown on her by admin and parents! Teachers or anyone familiar with private or elite schools will see some connections for sure. This book is a really great opportunity to consider and reflect on racist assumptions, microaggressions and the experiences of minorities in prestigious schools. It also gives some great insight into what happens when organizations pretend to address racism and prejudice but don't actually put the work in to support the diverse members of the workplace or community.
Thanks so much to @netgalley and the publisher @crookedlanebooks @alcovepress for giving me the chance to read and review this awesome book. It's pubdate is June (I believe) so definitely get this on the preorder now!
April 17
On Wednesdays We Post Pink 🌸 so here's a great pink and teal cover for the occasion!
We're Never Getting Home by @tracybaduawrites is a fun YA about a group of teens whose trip to a music festival does not go as planned!
Here's the synopsis:
Jana Rubio and her best friend, Maddy Parsons, have an epic senior year finale queued up: catching their favorite band at the Orchards, an outdoor music festival a two-hour drive away. When a blowup over Maddy’s time-sucking boyfriend exposes a rift that may have already been growing between them, Jana calls off their joint trip and gets a lift to the festival from her church friend Nathan…only to realize Maddy and her boyfriend are along for the ride, too.
All Jana wants is to enjoy the concert and get home as soon as possible. But then Nathan loses his car keys crowd-surfing, and it’s up to Jana and Maddy to find them. As they navigate stolen phones and missing friends, scale Ferris wheels and crash parties, the two of them are forced to reckon with the biggest obstacle of all: repairing their friendship.
Will Jana and Maddy find their way home—and also back to each other?
My Thoughts:
This is a fun and fairly lighthearted YA that focuses on relationships and the disagreements or problems that lead to friendships falling out which are a common problem in teen years. I could relate to the characters and wanting to fix things but also knowing that growing up and life events like graduating high school can add different kinds of pressures and anxieties to already fractured relationships. I think this would be a great choice for YA fans and would definitely recommend checking it out!
Thanks to @booksforwardpr for giving me the chance to check out this great YA!
April 19, 2024
In Own Your Wellness, personal trainer and health coach @danielladayoubforrest gives readers the tools they need to nourish, move, explore, and enhance their bodies so that they can break through any health plateau and reach their wellness goals.
Daniella Dayoub Forrest has helped countless clients take control of their health and own their wellness. She allows the reader to tailor their wellness path to their own needs and to reach their goals in a way that is fine-tuned for their unique bodies. In Own Your Wellness, Daniella helps the reader define their goals and, most importantly, helps them find a driving reason to achieve them.
Daniella empowers readers to parse through the bombardment of health information and encourages them to reach optimal health, not just to feel “fine.” Own Your Wellness follows the basic format she uses with all her health coaching clients. She covers health challenges one might be facing, as well as ways to get to the bottom of nagging issues.
In this book, you will learn how to:
Determine your “why”—your reason for wanting change
Nourish your body with the right foods to attain and sustain your goals
Move your body with exercise you actually enjoy
Explore testing and other healing opportunities
Enhance your journey with supplements, vitamins, and minerals
My Thoughts:
One of the things I really appreciated about this book was that right in the introduction the author told readers that it was ok to pick and choose which parts of the book you wanted to read and to skip sections that weren't relevant right now. Different stages of life have different challenges and priorities, I thought that being given that permission to read the sections that apply to me now was great. Wellness can be overwhelming, and being able to start where a reader is ready to start is a great way to help readers take those first steps.
Thanks to @verseventurestours for organizing another great tour! Thanks also to the author and @booktrib
April 29, 2024
I recently read Dancing with Dragons by @ogden.jenni and it is one I would definitely recommend!
Pub Date: July 2024
Set in the 1970s in rural Western Australia, this coming of age story juxtaposes the mesmerizing beauty of ballet with the ethereal beauty of the sea dragons who live in the coral reef. The story begins with Gaia and her brother Bron, who are homeschooled and study the art of ballet under the tutelage of their mother, a former professional dancer, followed by experiential learning about their environment by snorkeling in the reef. Everything changes with a catastrophic fire leaves Gaia with serious burns covering much of her body, no home and an orphan. Gaia is determined to get back to her land as soon as she has recovered and is old enough to return on her own. Despite being self-conscious about her scars, Gaia eventually begins to dance again and her love of the land she grew up in continues to grow as she tries to make it on her own.
I loved watching this story unfold, and learning more about Australian culture and natural physical beauty, especially the wildlife. As a former dancer myself, I of course enjoyed the dance elements of the story, and seeing it from this particular time and place in history. I also really appreciated the way that the author slowly unpacked some of the more mysterious or unexpected background information, as it felt realistic that as Gaia grew up more pieces of the story would become known to her. As a reader you are learning along with Gaia about the secrets of the past. The author started with a disclaimer about the Indigenous peoples of Australia and their connection to the land, and I thought that was so important and relevant, but I also loved that the author included some of the negative stereotypes and racism that these Indigenous people faced and still face today.
I would recommend this book for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing as there were lots of similarities.
April 30, 2024
The Removed
I recently read #wanderingstars by Tommy Orange, and if you checked that one out, you should add this one to your backlist.
The Removed by @brandon.hobson.7 tells the story of a Cherokee family in the US who has been impacted by intergenerational trauma dating back to the Trail of Tears. Woven together with pieces of Cherokee folklore as well as being told through multiple POVs, readers see both the lasting effects of trauma and the remarkable resilience of this family.
When teenage Ray-Ray was shot and killed by a police officer, the lives of each of his family members changed irrevocably. As the family plans to mark the 15th anniversary of his tragic death, we see his brother Vin struggling with opioid addiction and a break up, his sister Sonja struggling to be a support to her parents while also navigate personal relationships, his father Ernest battling Alzhiemer's and his mother Maria trying to keep the family afloat. Despite struggling with supporting her husband and worrying about her children, Maria agrees to take in a young teenager as an emergency foster placement the week before the anniversary. The addition of Wyatt to the family, even if only temporarily, brings memories of Ray-Ray alive in so many ways, and it couldn't have come at a better time for the family.
The storytelling and the weaving together of both the distant past, and the more recent past and present, helps make this story flow very well. I enjoyed this book and took a lot away from it, but did find some of the chapters a little less interesting - particularly those written in Vin's perspective. While important for the story, I just found they lagged a bit, especially when compared to Maria and Sonja's perspectives which were really interesting for me. Overall a good book though and definitely a great opportunity to learn more about the injustices, both historical and contemporary that Indigenous people in the US face, an area I have been trying to learn more about in recent years.
QOTD: Do you have any recs for Indigenous books set and/or written in the US?
May 1, 2024
Last week, I couldn't put down A Mercy of Widows by @marcylanewrites! This novel tells two parallel stories of women becoming widows too young as the result of cancer.
When Heddie finally is able to pick herself up and get back on track 3 months after her partner Hugh died, she finds herself in a terrible battle with Hugh's brother Stanley, the executor of his estate. Even though Heddie and Hugh dated for 6 years before he passed away, they were never officially married and were only living common law for about 10 months, not enough to legally make her to beneficiary of his estate, and as the result of some hard feelings on Stanley's part he is not willing to budge an inch when it comes to splitting the estate. To add to her stress (and homelessness and financial strain), Heddie is selected to be a juror on a trial where a widow is accused of killing her husband when he didn't meet the eligibility requirements for MAID.
As the case in the courtroom unfolds, Heddie's own story also comes together for the reader. There are many parallels between the two womens' stories and, as a result, many interesting angles to consider when it comes to planning a humane and relatively-comfortable death for cancer victims. The ethics related to suicide and consent are examined and debated from every perspective, as well as the difficulties of carrying out the wishes of ill and deceased loved ones when they are no longer able to voice their wishes.
It was really interesting to read this book while simultaneously reading The White Angel by John MacLachlan Grey as part of the #canuckreads #readalong. Also set in Canada, but 100 years earlier, both books explore women's rights, the impact of media in court/police cases, and societal views about death. Stay tuned for that review once I've met and discussed that book with my group!
May 2, 2024
Sarah Cart's On My Way Back to You is a first-hand account of the rollercoaster world of lifesaving transplants and the unimaginable challenges Sarah faced as she struggled to manage her husband’s devastating illness and to save his life, their marriage, and her own sanity.
In suspenseful and heartrending detail, Sarah shares how her husband Ben developed an incurable autoimmune condition that was manageable and under control one minute and threatened to kill him the next, landing him in the ICU as the Covid pandemic closed the world down. Thrust into the role of nurse and caregiver, Sarah joined the ranks of 39 million Americans who champion and care for an ailing loved one.
The difficulties Sarah faced as both a caregiver and an advocate will be relatable for anyone who has acted in this role for a family member. Of course, the pandemic made this even more frustrating at times, as the healthcare system was overwhelmed so her ability to communicate with her husband and his medical team was even more difficult. I also really appreciated that she detailed the challenges she faced with home health care. The people who work in home care are some of the most underpaid and overworked health care employees, with an extremely difficult job that has high turnover and high demand. These, added to other confounding issues such as working freelance or having limited supervision can lead to patients and their families experiencing neglect or even malpractice. This can leave families hanging in the balance with limited support from the hospital team they relied on and not yet ready to care for their loved one without help. Sarah's real and heartbreaking account of her caregiving journey gives readers a glance into this difficult role and can help remind you that even the toughest challenges can be faced with determination and love.
Thanks to @verseventurestours for organizing another great book tour and giving me the chance to read and review this book!
Here's the run down on the book:
One Long Weekend
When all seems lost, hope remains...
Val Murray has mislaid her most precious mementoes of the people she’s loved and lost. Can her family, the wonders of technology and a little divine intervention somehow mend her shattered heart?
Sophie Smith had to take a rain check on a marriage proposal. Will her bid to turn back the clock lead her to her greatest love or yet another heartbreak?
Alice McLenn stood by her husband, Larry when a scandal cost them everything. When he hits the headlines again, Alice has an opportunity to leave – but can she find the strength to finally walk away?
Rory Brookes was forced to turn his back on his parents to save his career and marriage. Now, he’s lost his job and wife on the same day. Is it too late to make amends with the one person who never let him down?
Three days. Four broken hearts. Just one weekend to make them whole again.
Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/OneLongWeekendsocial
May 4th
Oh absolutely. I definitely have way too strong an attachment to particular items, and would be in the exact same state as Val if I lost them. Additionally, Val has experienced a large amount of loss, and is grieving the love of her life, that is hard enough without this added loss and feelings of guilt that go along with it. Letting go of material items is important but it has to be on the person's terms, and be something they are ready to let go of, otherwise it is a recipe for more loss.
Interesting. I think I connect with the three women fairly equally. Val is much older than me and in a very different life stage, but she also seems like a caring person and slightly quirky. Sophie is definitely closest in age to me, but I can't say I'd take a trip on a whim to try to rekindle an old flame. Alice is quite different from me, but I love how she was so dedicated to helping her community prior to the big scandal that overtook her family, by donating to hospitals and volunteering etc which is quite a bit like me. I don't connect much with Rory, but I always have a harder time connecting with male characters.
May 5th
Sophie leaving her partner to take care of her mom is a tough one, I think I would have done the same but I would hope that a strong relationship would last through that, rather than peter out when she likely needed Ash the most.
Alice distancing herself from Rory would be so difficult, but at the same time I think in some ways she was basically in a domestic violence situation and feeling trapped, so she did what she thought was best for her child. It is just unfortunate that she had to suffer losing her son as well as life as she knew it.
For Val, I don't think I would have gone back in for the rings! That definitely would have made for a much less interesting story, but I always want my most cherished belongings to stay safe, and for me that would be safe AT HOME! It might not have changed her life, but it definitely changed her weekend!
Rory didn't really have a lot of say in his relationship, but I think leaving her was a good choice even if it wasn't his choice to make!
I understood the decision, but it is an unfortunate one. I think it would have been better for her to get out of her relationship with her husband as well (leave with Rory), but Alice felt that she couldn't leave, as many women do. It's hard to stand in the shoes of someone in a tough situation like an unhappy - and in at least some forms, abusive - relationship and say "well I would have left him", but that really is what I would hope I would do. If your partner is the reason you need to distance yourself from your son, then leaving your partner is what you need to do, and to be fair to Alice, that was her plan, it just took time. This is a tough question to answer though!
May 6th
I love the Carol-Carly relationship, and really just the relationship between Val and her nieces. It is really sweet. I also really like Sophie and Erin's sister relationship, they are sweet together.
That's super interesting, I don't remember Val in any of the Low books I've read so far, but I have seen similar characters in her stories. Carol and Carly feel like they already have their own other books (maybe they do?!) but if not they definitely should. Their podcast and social media stuff is great. It would be cool to see Alice in another story, maybe in the past while she was in the spotlight of her career, or in the future, hopefully in a much more positive relationship. Something with Sophie and Erin would be cool too! I love all of the characters!
My Review:
The read along caused me to consider lots of the things I would normally put into a review or discussion after reading a book, but there are a few final thoughts I would like to share. I was never really sold on the need for Rory's POV. I know Shari loves to have four and I think that usually works really well, but I didn't see the need for Rory. I feel like we could have gotten all that we needed of his story through Alice. Rory could still have been a character without his chapters, or I wonder what it might have looked like if Alice was embraced by the women even more (maybe going on a trip with one of them) and Rory just didn't exist at all. Feel free to debate with me about it if you feel differently!
Even though I wasn't sold on Rory's POV, the book as a whole was really well done and totally what I was expecting and anticipating as a Shari Low book. I love the way that strangers are brought together and that it really celebrates the idea of strong, independent women, but also that there is a benefit in connecting with each other and supporting other strong women. You don't need to ask me twice, I would absolutely recommend this book and look forward to reading Low's next one!
Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood for giving me the chance to read and review this book. Of course, adding the readalong made this an even more thoughtful and enjoyable experience, so thanks to Boldwood for organizing that!
May 9, 2024
Abandoned at Birth, by @janetsherlundofficial explores the inherent need adopted children have for a sense of belonging and the pain and courage that is required to discover their true identity. Adoption is often painted as a happy, inspirational act—a baby finds a family and lives happily ever after. But the truth is that adopted children experience displacement and rupture from their mother and that trauma can impact an individual for a lifetime.
Sherlund, who was given up for adoption within days of her birth, shares her journey for connection with her family of origin, and what it was like to have a “borrowed identity.” In poignant detail, Sherlund describes her quest to find out who she is, where she came from, and why she was given away. And she reveals the pain and courage required to discover one’s true identity. The insight Sherlund derived from her journey will encourage and console others on the same path, while examining the inherent need of all of us to belong, and understand our origins, our culture, and our genetic roots.
I read a lot of adoption memoirs, but one thing that really stood out to me in this one was the exploration into the impact adoption has on the adopted child and how this shapes their identity. Since Janet was adopted and grew up at a time where mental health was not discussed and theory around adoption and attachment was limited. Janet's self reflection and ability to be vulnerable and tell even the most difficult parts of her story can almost act as a case study for social workers and adoptive parents or other adoption stakeholders. I also really appreciated the discussion around the secrecy of adoption and why that is detrimental to everyone involved. In the past, this secrecy was of utmost importance, but even today there is a lot of secrecy around adoption, something that I think needs to be reconsidered.
Thanks to @verseventurestours and @booktrib for giving me the chance to read and review this book!
Over the weekend I got the chance to sit down with some of the members of the #canuckreads group to chat about The White Angel by John MacLachlan Grey.
Written in about 2017, but set in 1924, this book is part Murder Mystery, part Historical Fiction, telling the story of Vancouver's oldest unsolved murders. When Janet Stewart (in real life Janet Smith), a young Scottish nanny is found dead in the basement of the rich white family she works for, blame falls on Wong Sing Chi, the Chinese housekeeper. The author's note explains that the book was written with the racist terms and beliefs of this time period and location, which was horrifically racist towards Asian people, and while the use of terms like "chinaman" and the way Wong Sing Chi was treated were super offensive, it did show a fairly authentic view of societal norms at the time.
The readalong group spent quite a bit of time talking about the racism, and about how to determine what is appropriate when it comes to authors of one ethnicity or gender writing characters of another ethnicity or gender, leading to some really great dialogue. Overall the sentiment seemed to be that we didn't mind the story, but that the writing was just ok. I felt that there wasn't enough depth when it came to the inner thoughts of the main characters, instead there was a lot of story telling through dialogue, telegraph transcripts and newsreports, with lots of descriptions of the people and places, but not a lot of consideration of the feelings, thoughts and motives of any characters. We also felt it was much stronger on the historical fiction than the murder mystery genre, and didn't get the suspense or action we were hoping for. I liked learning about Vancouver in this time period and it left me with a lot of things to think about and read more about. Definitely a time period and setting I'm not as familiar with!
Thanks to @trishtalksbooks for hosting and to @cb_reads_reviews, @sunoncedar @jw_vancouver and other members of the group for the great dialogue, I look forward to reading and discussing more books with you in the future! 😁
May 10, 2024
I am a little late to the game, but I did set a goal for myself to read some (if not all) of the #cbccanadareads books this year, and I finally had the chance to read Shut Up You're Pretty by @teamutonji
Shut Up You're Pretty is a collection of interconnected stories that feature the same main character, Loli, who was born in Congo and immigrated to Canada as a preteen. Part coming-of-age and part exploration of the fluidity of gender and sexuality, Mutonji's book shows how messy, unclear and challenging growing up and creating your own identity really is. Themes around sexuality, substance use, mental illness, prostitution, abortion and trauma are prominent throughout and written about in a poetic but also realistic way. The fact that this is a short read, at around 150 pages, and written in a Canadian context, make it an easy one to knock off your CBC Canada Reads list if you're a little far behind like me!
May 13
Happy Pub-Day Eve to "After Italy: A Family Memoir of Arranged Marriage" by @annamonardo2019 which is coming out tomorrow!
I had the opportunity to read an ARC copy of this book through @booksforwardpr and am glad I get the chance to share my thoughts with you in advance of it's pubdate! After Italy is the story of marriages across three generations. Starting from a marriage brokered to facilitate immigration from Southern Italy to Braddock, PA, a steel town outside of Pittsburgh, before and immediately after WWII, this memoir explores the multigenerational impact of arranged marriage.
Monardo makes many connections and parallels between her own marriage and that of her parents, despite one being arranged. In phenomenal detail the author tracks her family history, including what was like in their part of Italy prior to her family's immigration to the US. The impacts of fascism and world events that took place during the first half of the 20th century had a lasting effect on Monardo's family, and eventually on her own life choices and decisions, despite being so far removed from the challenges her ancestors faced.
The author makes great use of poetic and literary devices such as metaphor, analogy and foreshadowing which adds quite a bit to the story telling. That being said, I did have a hard time getting into the book. I found the beginning dragged quite a bit, but I stuck with it and the first note I made was actually about 40% of the way in where I found that the writing style changed a bit and the author seemed to write with some real joy. I wonder if it was when she started getting into her own adulthood and personal story that the writing changed from a historical and biographical text to a personal narrative and memoir. The second half of the book was much more interesting, emotional, and well written (especially with the literary devices I described above) in comparison to the beginning half.
The adoption portion of the story was by far my favourite (unsurprisingly as this is a sub-genre of memoirs I really enjoy) and I loved that the author was able to step outside of the constraints her family (and her own personal barriers and expectations) and follow the life journey that made the most sense for her, despite coming from a very traditional Italian family. Overall it was a good book, and I would recommend it, but not to anyone who gives up on memoirs that drag in the beginning (a bad habit I have myself...) because it gets so much better later on. Thanks to Simone at #booksforwardpr for sending me a copy of this memoir!