February 2nd, 2023
The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself
I wanted to kick off this month by reflecting on racism and anti-racism and this book was a great way to start things off! Check out my full post and review here: https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/the-stories-whiteness-tells-itself
February 4, 2023
Prescription for Admission
Monique Nugent
This non-fiction text is the ultimate how-to guide for hospital stays. It is organized into parts, covering each step of an average hospitalization, from the pre-planning or decisions related to arriving at a hospital, to the diagnosis, tests and treatments that might occur in the first few days of a hospital stay to the planning, meeting and decision process around leaving the hospital. Some sections/topics covered include: questions to ask specific medical professionals, decisions and discussions to have with family before life saving measures need to be made, common medical language and what the acronyms you hear on Grey's Anatomy stand for, your role in being an active part of your care, things to consider at each stage of a hospitalization.
The author was very knowledgable, clear and concise, giving a variety of tips, strategies, information and even planning pages or lists you could keep handy for your own reference during portions of a hospital stay. I think this guide is super important, especially for anyone who has a chronic illness and may need to navigate the medical system, and for their family members. It is also just helpful information for anyone who is curious or interested or wanting more information as a precaution or in preparation for potential hospital visits in the future. Knowing that hospitalization can be a very a sudden, traumatic or chaotic experience, having this basic information in the back of your mind and the book available to reference later would be a great way to help manage the difficult situations and stresses you may face in the future. I would highly recommend this book and definitely think it is a great resource! Thank you to Booksirens and the author and publisher for giving me a chance to read this book!
February 6, 2023
This Is How It Always Is
Oh how I loved this book! Almost as much as I love my cutie, Chloe who posed so nicely beside it after her busy day being groomed <3
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel tells the story of a family who are crazy and special in their own ways, and have one truly exceptional member - the youngest. When parents Penn and Rosie try for their fifth child, they are hoping for their first girl, but we don't always get exactly what we wish for. Claude is the youngest member of the busy household and is the only one who requests princesses in the bedtime stories, bikinis as bathing suits and purses disguised as lunch boxes. Rosie, Penn and all of Claude's siblings wonder and worry at times, but it isn't until Kindergarten when things start to hit a boiling point. Evidently Claude's purse is distracting and the only appropriate bathroom is the one by the nurse's office, and Claude is welcome to change his name and pronouns and wear a dress but otherwise it is just too complicated for Kindergarten. The family somehow navigates this mess together and accepts Claude no matter what he is wearing, things get scary when a playdate at the home of a very homophobic parent turns into harassment and threats of violence, the family decide they are not safe in Wisconsin anymore.
In Seattle the family starts fresh, with Claude registering for school as Poppy, a little girl on the inside and pretty much mostly outside as well. Poppy grows, shines and thrives for four years, meanwhile her brothers struggle a bit in their own ways and Rosie and Penn continue to navigate work and a busy family. When the kids at school finally find out the truth about what is in Poppy's pants, her whole family seem to go crashing down with her, completely at a loss for how to navigate yet another tough situation. In their own ways, each of the family members takes some time to really reflect on what kind of secrets are worth hiding inside, which ones you need to share with the world and which ones are ones you need to protect because they don't belong to you. And sometimes, it takes seeing things in a completely different light to fully understand your own experiences.
This book was SO well written. The author explains in her note at the end that while she does have a child who is transgender, she wrote a fictional story as her daughter's story is not hers to tell. That being said, it was clear that the author had personal experiences with these issues as she handled them so extremely well, even when her characters fumbled. Despite being a story about a big family, all of the characters were very well developed and were quite easy to visualize. It is clear this author has a way of observing human nature and transforming it into writing (much like her character Penn!). I caught glimpses of writing that reminded me of Liane Moriarty who is actually quoted on the front of the book. So if you're a Moriarty fan like me, this might just be the book for you! Thanks to my local library for the rec, I think they are doing some kind of book club or something with this one so I might just have to go back and check the info.
February 7, 2023
Love, Anonymous*
Keighley Bradford
Still looking for the perfect romance novel for Valentines 2023? Look no further! Love, Anonymous by @keighleybradford is the perfect YA/Adult romance and it comes out on VDay!
About the Book:
Samantha "Sammy" Eastwood is a good college student, aspiring journalist, and an introvert who'd much prefer to stay home reading oh - and she is the secret founder of Love, Anonymous, an anonymous love letter page for her peers on campus are obsessed with!
And it all started because of him. Byron Ashford, her former childhood best friend. Law student by day, PT by night. The player who unknowingly broke her heart.
When Sammy ghosted Byron a year ago, it had almost broken him. No text, no note — nothing to explain what had gone wrong. Crossing paths again in the most unlikely of places, Byron becomes determined to win back his best friend, no matter what it takes.
My thoughts:
I love that the author married the ideas of online dating and writing love letters, in a sort of the 2023 version of craigslist "missed connections" meets post secret, while also being specific to this college in Australia, so kind of like the beginnings of facebook (but anonymous so.. without the face lol). I also liked the slow reveal of back story and relationship details, while it was also a bit confusing at times, it made for a more interesting storyline because you were constantly wondering "Why did Sammy cut him out?" or "what brought Sammy and Kelsey together as best friends/roomates?" This is especially true of the relationship between Sammy and Byron. At first I was frustrated and confused, like were they a couple? were they friends with benefits? were they just friends? But eventually I realized that the author wanted those lines blurred a bit because all relationships are messy.
Thanks to @katieandbreypa for giving me the chance to read this fun book just in time for Valentines!
February 8, 2023 - The Day of MRIs and Audiobooks
My doctor wanted me to go for an MRI when I updated my family history to include a genetic disorder called Acoustic Neuroma, which my grandmother and my dad both have and causes these benign tumours and eventually deafness. Anyway, the health care system in my province is in complete shambles after the government made huge cuts to health care in the months leading up to the COVID 19 pandemic and as a result, testing and procedures are either extremely backlogged, only available with an inconvenience attached or both. So I had to go to Dauphin (a 4 hour drive from my city) for my MRI. There was also a snowstorm in Dauphin today, which thankfully only affected a small portion of my drive, but still, driving 8 hours in one day, some of it during a snowstorm, is not ideal. Anyway, I took these 8 long hours of prairie roads as an opportunity to catch up on a few audiobooks I had either started or saved to listen to when I wasn't likely to fall asleep.
I started off with The Year of Cecily* by Lisa Lin. This one alternates POV between Cecily a lawyer in her 30s who makes 8 new years resolutions, and Jeffrey, a screenwriter. The two both happen to head back to NYC from California to be with their families for Lunar New Year, and also happen to be former flames who have gone a decade trying to forget each other and what happened between them.
I got about 20% in to this one found it pretty boring and predictable. I did kind of enjoy the new years resolution aspect and Cecily's desire to set goals for herself and take charge of her future, especially in terms of boundary setting and finding time for herself. I didn't find Jeffrey's sections very interesting, and kind of wished it was just told from Cecily's perspective. Not all romance novels need to be told from both perspectives, yet I find that is becoming more and more common these days... I think I might have enjoyed it more in a physical copy, but also am not having any FOMO about not finishing it, so I think my DNF decision was all good. Thanks to netgalley and dreamscape media for the chance to listen to this one!
Next up was The Many Dates of Indigo* by Amber Samuel. I liked this one more than the one before it, but still had a hard time committing. I bounced back and forth about quitting a few times, and finally gave up at about 60%.
This one tells the story of 29 year old Indigo, an entrepreneur who is finally ready to get back in the dating scene after focusing on family and work for too long. There are several secondary characters in this one, as you might expect by the title, as there are a few potential love interests. Indigo's best friend, Tate, lives next door and is essentially part of her (large) family. Through her work friends Hazel & Emery, she meets Nathan, who is the first "date" as described in the title. She also has an enemies-to-lovers trope start up with Diego, a horrendous customer, who also happens to be the person who replaced her father in the family business when he retired AND the former college roommate of both Tate and her brother-in-law Xavier.
This one was more interesting than the Cecily one, so it held my interest for at least half of the 8 hour drive, but it just didn't quite have enough to hold my interest all the way through. I found things pretty predictable and while I really liked some of the characters, I really didn't like others. I'm not 100% sure if this was the fault of the author or the narrator though. With so many male characters, it might have been a good idea to consider having two narrators. I really disliked the voice of Nathan in particular. I also really hated Diego's character, and the voice didn't help for that one either. In general, the writing was good and there was really thoughtful character development, even with so many characters. I do think I probably would have preferred (and stuck with) a physical copy of this one. I do think I'd recommend it, more in the physical form than audiobook, but if you're an audiobook fan then it might be the right book for you!
When I finally gave up on the Indigo one I dove back into one I've been listening to at night. Made in China is a memoir about the author's experiences living and working in factories/sweatshops in China and the US, as well as being abandoned by her mother after her father's death, and being treated as a servant among her mother's new family; a step-father and two half-siblings. Abuse, neglect and intergenerational trauma were woven throughout the story and caused me to shake my head at the awful circumstances.
One line that stuck out for me was when she described this feeling of always being on the edge of chaos. I definitely could connect with that feeling and to me it symbolizes childhood trauma. This feeling that you are always on the brink of something really bad about to happen, even in moments of relative security or calm. It also likely is related to attachment as well. Anna definitely had attachment issues since she lost her father and her mother (for a period of time) at a very young age, then was ripped away from her grandparents to live in a foreign country with parents who rejected her.
I found that the author jumped around a little bit as far as timelines, but that is pretty common for memoirs about childhood trauma, and something I can relate to as it takes quite a while to piece everything back together. I appreciated hearing about her experiences contacting CFS about the neglect and abuse she experienced, as well as the detailed accounts of working in a factory and the difficulties she faced as a young adult, completely alone and trying to navigate university. While I think I also would have enjoyed this book as a physical copy, I did enjoy it as an audiobook and am glad that I got the chance to listen to it. I would definitely recommend it!
February 9, 2023
Group*
Christie Tate
This memoir brings mental health out of the shadows and into the spotlight as Tate bears all and lets readers right in to the most vulnerable moments, just like she did in group therapy. Tate holds nothing back, from her most embarrassing confessions to the pain she experienced while working through her mental health challenges, readers are there to witness it all, and as an audiobook, it felt even more like listening to a performance. When Tate was in law school, under immense pressure to succeed, she began to seek support for her eating disorder and other mental health challenges. She started attending group therapy with a slightly unconventional therapist in a setting where there were no secrets allowed and she was "prescribed" tasks like calling a group member to report everything she ate that day, every single day. Throughout the memoir Tate outlines her dating challenges, the lack of support she received from her parents who were of the "don't air your dirty laundry" persuasion, and her long recovery from her eating disorder. There is so much for readers to take away from this memoir, and anyone who has considered or received therapy should definitely give this a read (even if it is to scare you away from group therapy - I'm definitely not sold on the group aspect, though this book still firmly reminded my the importance of seeing someone when you're struggling!!). I commend Tate for her openness, and just a few days after Bell Let's Talk Day, I can't help but think about how fitting this is and how important it is that we bring mental health discussions to the forefront because hiding away isn't helping anyone!
I enjoyed this book in the audiobook format, as I previously mentioned, it was quite an immersive experience. That being said, with the very intimate nature of the book, it could be difficult to listen to at times, especially when I was listening to it around the house with no headphones in! Let's just say there were a few confused looks from my partner when she was describing moments from her sexlife or her challenges with mental health and eating disorders. Personally, I think I would have preferred it in print form, but I prefer most books in print form, and this one definitely managed to hold my interest!
February 10, 2023
Shadowed Seats
Marguerite Ashton
Another fun Xpresso book tour is in the books (pun intended)!
Check out my full post about this YA mystery here
February 13, 2023
The Glass Letters*
S. A. Gensch
This is my second book I'm reading from this author, and there was a lot I liked about it. The story is about Aiden, a man in his twenties who experiences some major challenges when his long term girlfriend leaves him. Depression and anxiety seep in and Aiden really struggles to manage the panic attacks and relies heavily on his sister Jaxie and best friend, Brett. As he begins to get things under control as far as his mental health goes, he begins to notice some changes in himself. He starts to develop feelings for Brett and begins to question his sexuality. Coming from a very religious and conservative family, he worries about his secret feelings getting out, but feels he must tell Brett the truth. Brett takes the news terribly, as he is a homophobe, something Aiden didn't notice previously. As Aiden slowly begins to explore his sexuality and continue to cope with mental illness, Brett starts to harass, threaten and physically assault Aiden to the point where a restraining order is required to keep Aiden and his friends and family safe, but even that may not be enough to stop Brett.
I really liked the author's exploration around self-discovery and coming out later in life, as well as the discussions around several challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community such as increased risk of suicide, loss of family and friends, prejudice, stereotyping, homophobia, violence, bullying, discrimination and so much more. The focus on mental illness, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, over- and self-medicating, and suicidal ideation was also one that I really appreciated. I thought it was good that the author didn't rush any of these subjects and modelled the importance of seeking medical help to manage this illness, and to have regular check ins with a doctor.
So lots I liked, but unfortunately, the writing style is not my favourite. I tried really hard to read another of Gensch's books, Me and My Missing Buddy, and did not get very far. This one was much easier for me to read, but I still found some things awkward or difficult to focus my attention on. I didn't like that Brett used "ain't" a lot, perhaps the author was trying to create a character with a specific speaking style, maybe American South? but it seemed to be the only part of the dialogue that really came out in the writing and I didn't love it. It was hard to read about some of the interactions between Aiden and his family, but I think that was actually pretty realistic and sometimes the things that are hard to read are what we most need to read. It's hard to imagine families not being accepting of their children coming out, but this experience is certainly not unique.
Overall, I do think this book tells an important story and the author is definitely showing growth in their writing. I look forward to seeing what Gensch comes out with in the future! Thanks to Katie and Brey PA for giving me the chance to read and review this book as part of their book tours!
February 14, 2023
Happy Valentines Day!
I read Peonies for Paige back in September 2022, and while it was ok, I definitely had a hard time staying interested in. I figured that I should give the second book in the series a shot just incase but I DNF'd this one as well. Dahlias for Dominica* by Kasey Kennedy is the second book in the In Bloom series. I think both books could be read as standalones - no problem.
Here's the blurb:
Creative and friendly Dominica, "Nica", is pursuing a teaching degree in physical education to appease her parents, but she dreams about flipping houses and becoming an online content creator. When she meets her handsome, but grumpy and uptight landlord, Grady, they clash over Nica’s “fix-it-yourself” nature. However, Grady must spruce up a flailing apartment building fast or risk losing his investors’ support. Desperate for a fast and cheap solution, he asks Nica for help. She wants to refuse, but she needs a date to her cousin’s quinceañera. Maybe they’ll get his investors and her parents off their backs and then go their separate ways. Or maybe, the sparks from their quibbles will ignite into something neither of them sees coming.
I liked Nica's tough attitude and willingness to take care of herself rather than relying on a man to do things like repair plumbing. The girls in the story are college-age, making this the perfect book for both young adults and adults looking for romance books with characters in their 20s. That being said, I wasn't a fan of the Latinx storylines, partly because I'm pretty sure Kasey does not identify as part of that community. I was pretty uninterested in the book but then the male main character said some pretty offensive and stereotypical comments about Nica and I decided I was done. Sure, he apologized, but I'm not sure that part was necessary to begin with and being unsure of the author's background (I did check her goodreads and website for mention of her background and didn't find anything), just made it feel even more uncomfortable for me. I don't really want to go further into that as it may not be a real issue, but if nothing else, I was looking for an out and I took it.
Thanks to Katie and Brey PA for giving me the chance to read this book, I don't think I'll check out any further books in the series.
February 15, 2023
The Way You See Me *
Synopsis:
Sometimes love hides in all the messy places. Scarlett Ray’s life has never been steady. Every few months, there’s a new apartment, a new job, a new boyfriend…
The only constant is Daisy, her unruly shelter dog, and the man who raised Scarlett — Gramps. So when Gramps calls from the hospital, Scarlett abandons her messy life yet again, and heads to the coast to take care of him. But being closer to Gramps means being closer to her past — a past that promised a version of herself that Scarlett lost somewhere along the way. And without the safety of distance between them, the messy truth keeps threatening to spill out.
Determined to show Gramps he can rely on her, Scarlett commits to rekindling her relationship with him as he recovers. And much to Scarlett’s resistance, the devilishly handsome guy next door is committed to reconnecting with her. When an unexpected visitor suddenly appears on Gramps’s doorstep, Scarlett finds herself confronted by a truth that reopens wounds she thought had long turned to scars. With the past and future vying for her attention, Scarlett is forced to make a choice: live with the mess she’s created, or place her trust in someone who has always let her down — herself.
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed the first few chapters of this book, but there just wasn't quite enough to hold my interest. It wasn't a bad book, but with so many books out there for me to commit to one that is not giving me enough is just not happening right now. I enjoyed the relationship between Scarlett and her grandfather, and also liked that the author chose to portray Scarlett as both independent and struggling to find her way. Not everyone has an easy path, and even though her grandparents were quite supportive, Scarlett was not dealt a great hand when it came to her parental figures. We often expect a lot from females in their mid 20s to mid 30s. If you haven't got a fabulous job and are working on starting a family, you are just not meeting societal expectations and I liked that the author made Scarlett work through that a bit in the story. It definitely was a new form of role model, and a reminder to readers that you don't always have to have everything figured out in order to go places in life. Sometimes it is the friends and family you have in your corner that help you along the way.
February 16, 2023
The Breaks Between You and Me *
Taiya Collier
This book is a heart wrenching tale that follows sixteen-year-old Harper Cassidy as she navigates returning to her hometown with a dark family secret and reignited feelings for her childhood best friend.
Somewhere out in the hills of Montana, 17-year-old Harper Cassidy has a home. Really, she does! And so does her sister, Lil. But since all they’ve ever done is skip across the Pacific Northwest from town to town, following her mom’s every desire from Montana to California, it’s been getting harder and harder to feel rooted anywhere.
Until tragedy strikes. And, before she knows it, Harper is... free. Free to go home to Montana and return to a stability she never had. Only, there are several problems standing in her way.
First, she has to create a stable life for her and her seven-year-old sister. Second, she has to do it alone. And third, worst of all, she has to keep her mother’s absence a secret from the people she grew up with: her grandfather, her aunt, and him, the boy.
Andy Madden is Harper’s best friend, and the answer to her aching loneliness, but he is also the threat to containing the secret that her life depends on. A secret that seems just a little too heavy for any one person to keep.
My Thoughts:
I tried really hard to get into this one but just couldn't... I think it may have been the writing style, or maybe I just couldn't really fully believe this was what was happening. The book starts with her in a car with her six year old sister when they get pulled over by the cops. She is 16, has no adults with her, is driving recklessly at night, has no license, he lets her go with a ticket, she is thinking of her mom's driving advice as she is swerving... none of this makes any sense. Then they arrive at their destination, their old house which is the same as they left it, in a small town from which they suddenly disappeared without a trace or explanation. Then she is talking to her friend slash exboyfriend maybe and he's there but maybe he's not actually there and it was like the mom driving advice part? Anyway, wasn't the right book for me, but you never know unless you try right?
February 17, 2023
Check out my FOLD post here to learn more about my Adult and Middle Grade picks for the Black Canadian Speculative Fiction (February) Challenge!
February 18, 2023
The Shape of Your Heart
Debbie Howells
I had lots of fun with this blog tour. Check out the post here
February 19, 2023
The Catch
Shari Low & Ross King
Check out my blog tour post on this fabulous second in the series!
February 22, 2023
Alice Alone
Amanda Brookfield
I got the chance to participate in another fun book tour with Boldwood this month. Check out all the details on Alice Alone in my post here!
February 26, 2023
Jonny Appleseed
Joshua Whitehead
I made the mistake of waiting way too long to write a review on this one (today's actual date as I am typing this is March 16...). I do that sometimes. Sometimes it is because I am insanely busy, and other times it is because I just want some time to reflect on the book, this time was definitely a mix of both. I really liked this book. It was unique and special and I'm really glad I read it, but reviewing this one is going to be tough!
Let's start with Goodread's synopsis because I don't think I could write a better synopsis if I tried:
"You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine" is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling novel. Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living. Self-ordained as an NDN glitter princess, Jonny has one week before he must return to the "rez," and his former life, to attend the funeral of his stepfather. The next seven days are like a fevered dream: stories of love, trauma, sex, kinship, ambition, and the heartbreaking recollection of his beloved kokum (grandmother). Jonny's world is a series of breakages, appendages, and linkages--and as he goes through the motions of preparing to return home, he learns how to put together the pieces of his life. Jonny Appleseed is a unique, shattering vision of Indigenous life, full of grit, glitter, and dreams.
This book should really just have a giant trigger warning stamp on it, because someone will be offended. There is lots of sex, LGBTQ themes, racial slurs, death, trauma and lots of other things that will likely be hard for some people to read, but then don't read it! Being from Winnipeg myself, reading this book and knowing my city's awful history when it comes to racism towards Indigenous people, this one definitely hit home a number of times. While this is a fictional novel, it read like a memoir at times, and when I saw a picture of the author I thought: hmmm, that's is exactly what I pictured Jonny Appleseed looking like, so I do wonder how much is from the author's own experiences and how much is fiction.
This book is raw, beautiful, messy and chaotic and a powerful debut. The author represents a voice we rarely have the privilege to hear from and one that we need to spend more time listening to. I wish I could give this book the review it deserves, but really you just need to know that it wont be for everyone, but it should be, and I hope you read it.
And that's a WRAP on February!
*DNF - eek there were lots of these this month!
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