Three Holidays and a Wedding by uzma jalaluddin and marissa stapley was the fun and diverse holiday book I needed this winter break!
January 3, 2024
In this dual POV romance, Maryam and Anna start off irritated by each other, and become close friends when their respective trips to Toronto for the holidays is derailed. Set in the year 2000, a year where Eid, Christmas and Hanukkah fall within days of each other, and also in the absence of reliable cellphones and internet service, they must both find a way to make the most of being stranded in a multi-day blizzard in a small, remote Canadian town. This town is straight out of a Hallmark movie, a joke which is played up multiple times throughout, though the name of the movie production company (yes there is actually a Christmas movie being filmed in this tiny town) is altered, presumably for copyright reasons. This blizzard gives both women a chance to reconsider their life paths and potential/former relationships, as well as the true meaning of family. The perfect amount of cheesy, improbable situations (it is a romantic holiday story after all) and predictable happy endings, this book is a great choice for anyone looking for a more diverse Holiday romance.
Thanks to netgalley and penguin random house canada for giving me the chance to read and review this sweet holiday story!
January 12, 2024
Mad Honey
Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
Mad Honey has been on my TBR for a while, and I am SO glad I finally got to it. @jodipicoult is one of those authors I've read sporadically since I was in High School, and yet I tend to forget how much I love her books. Everytime I pick one up I get so absorbed in her writing. I love that the suspense and twists and bold choices in narratives that jump all over the place but somehow work because she wrote it.
I could sit and talk about this book, if you've read it recently and want to chat about it I would totally be up for that, DM me. But in the meantime, here are the things that stood out to me about this book.
1. I loved that it was co-authored, and as a result, featured some own voices aspects. I rarely read the end pages of a book, usually there is another book so pressing and I don't really care how many publisher's children and neighbour's cousins the author wants to thank, but this time I read every word of the authors' notes. I didn't look up @jenniferfinneyboylan prior to reading, and I am glad I did because it kept one of the twists a huge surprise for me, but I definitely want to read her other books.
2. The twists. There was 1 main one that left me up at 2:30 a.m. shocked, but Picoult is an expert at throwing curve balls.
3. The unfolding story in two timelines and POVs. I absolutely hate this kind of thing in MOST books, but as Picoult said in her author's note about a conversation with Boylan "You can write a story in reverse", maybe she needed to add, "if you're writing with Jodi Picoult".
4. The characters were great, generally well developed, and most had large arcs and transformations. Their learning journeys, especially about a main theme, were well done.
5. As always, Picoult did a great job of the court case. I love that Jordan was back and that she referenced Nineteen Minutes and the Pact. I think I read those in early university so it's been A WHILE but the reference didn't go unnoticed for me.
If you've read anything Picoult before, definitely pick this one up, I don't think you'll be disappointed. 🐝
January 14, 2024
We Rip the World Apart
Charlene Carr
I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to read and review an ARC copy of We Rip the World Apart by charlene carr! I recently discovered this fantastic Canadian author by reading Hold My Girl near the end of last year and so I couldn't wait to read this one!
Evelyn, a white female meets her husband Kingsley in Jamaica. When the political climate became dangerous in the 1980s, the young couple moved to Toronto and raised their young son, Antony. Growing up half black in Toronto in the late 90s/early 2000s was a different kind of dangerous, and Evelyn and Kingsley feared for their son's life anytime he came in contact with the police, whether that be during a peaceful rally, or unfortunately could even happen when driving his car or walking down the street. When their nightmares are realized and Antony is killed by police officers, their family is never the same.
Evelyn's daughter Kareela (Antony's much younger sister) is the other FMC and shares her POV mainly in 2022. She is living with her boyfriend (who is white) and when she finds herself pregnant she is unsure if she wants to both commit to the relationship she is uncertain about and bring a child into the world. As the story unfolds, readers learn that the complexities of being Black or in a mixed-race relationship in Canada, as well as the discrimination they face on a daily basis, and even more so, the dangers that come with that discrimination.
I did find that some of the timelines were a bit difficult to keep track of. Even though the chapter title said "Evelyn 1997" it didn't necessarily mean the whole chapter took place in 1997, sometimes part of the chapter was a reflection on what had taken place when she lived in Jamaica or when she was growing up etc. For the most part it was clear enough, but at times I thought it could have been a tiny bit clearer. Similarly, early in the novel I was confused about location for some of it, but once I realized that Kareela was in Halifax, and Evelyn was in Toronto until around 2010 at which point she moved to a small town in Nova Scotia, then it made more sense. It was probably more me not paying enough attention.
Carr did an excellent job with this one, her story gives readers such a neat perspective, especially in the Canadian context, because there are people out there who think racism doesn't exist in Canada or "isn't as bad as the states". Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher, harpercollinsca for giving me the chance to read this fantastic ARC!
January 17, 2024
Winipek
Niigaan Sinclair
I was SO excited when I found out I was approved for this book on Netgalley! As a Winnipegger and Social Studies teacher, this was right up my alley. I feel like I could write a university essay on this book and all of the interesting things I took away from it, but I want to start with a general review.
Sinclair's non-fiction text Winipek is made up of 4 sections representing the seasons in a year. Each section has several short pieces of writing each on different topics related to the city of Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba, the Red River, Lake Winnipeg, and the history of Indigenous people and the relationships they had with each other and the Canadian government, leading to both the extensive challenges and moments of positive change we are seeing in recent years. Sinclair does an incredible job of giving the background information on each topic in a way that is fluid, non-judgemental and with just enough detail to make this story accessible for readers of all ages and backgrounds. This book did not feel like a history lesson or a lecture on the harms and mistakes of our past, but yet it accomplished the same things. Although I would consider myself fairly well versed in the challenges Indigenous people face in my hometown, I learned SO much from this book. Topics I new tidbits about were suddenly fully filled in, areas I knew lots about had additional facts I wanted to share with everyone around me, and the things I new nothing about, I feel ready to take action and learn more. This book is a must read for all Manitobans. It could (and probably should) be a required read for High School and/or University students. It is enjoyable and interesting but more importantly, it is indepth, well written and informative.
Thanks so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review an advance copy of this book. I will definitely be lining up to get a physical copy as soon as it hits the shelves.
January 18, 2024
Earlier this week I read No One Can Stop Me But Me by Jennifer Hernandez.
As a teenager, Jennifer Hernandez fell into a life of rebellion—drugs, sex, gangs, fights, school dropouts, pregnancy, and stints in and out of psych hospitals. Jennifer takes readers on an unforgettable journey, from childhood trauma and reckless adolescence to breaking through barriers. Jennifer's family life was shattered by her parents’ sudden divorce when she was about 4 years old. Soon after the divorce, her mother began a new relationship with a man who was unstable, abusive and had signs of mental illness. After moving in with her dad full time in her early teens, she realized that he knew how to be a fun dad, but not necessarily a supportive parental figure. Feeling alone and having no one to talk to, Jennifer began looking for love in all the wrong places and her life started spiraling out of control. Yet through this dark and troubling time, Jennifer was saved by motherhood and managed to pull herself together and find a way out.
My thoughts:
Despite sharing the many traumatic and difficult experiences she had in her teen years, Jennifer's writing is fairly light, always coming back to what she learned from the experience and how she has made sense of these experiences now that she can look back at them as an adult. I think her writing style choices were purposeful in that she wanted this story to be motivational and empowering, that being said, I would have liked to see a little bit more depth and emotion. I also found it a bit confusing at times mainly related to some chronological errors and some limited descriptions. It is a very interesting story, but I think some sections could have been expanded on to help the reader follow along. As a result, I DNF'd at about 50%
Thanks to @verseventurestours and @meryl_moss for giving me the chance to read and review this book!
January 20, 2024
Check out my review for Hijab Butch Blues in my 2024 TBR blog post
January 21, 2024
After reading Mad Honey a few weeks ago I remembered how much I used to LOVE reading Jodi Picoult books! I had two on my "read" bookshelf downstairs that I actually wasn't sure if I had read. While sorting some books to donate/sell I rescued this one and another of her books and brought them upstairs to my TBR shelves and decided to dive right in to House Rules.
Synopsis:
Jacob Hunt is a teen with autism. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and has a special focus on one subject - forensic analysis. A police scanner in his room clues him in to crime scenes, and he's always showing up and telling the cops what to do. And he's usually right.
But when Jacob's small hometown is rocked by a terrible murder and Jacob becomes a primary suspect, the behaviors Jacob exhibits which are hallmark symptoms of autism, look a lot like guilt to the local police. But the question remains, did Jacob commit murder or did his love of CSI just get a little too intense this time?
My Thoughts:
This one was not in my top faves of Picoult's books, but it was still a 5 star read for me. I enjoyed seeing her portrayal of a teen with high functioning autism and the impact this diagnosis has on the family. There were times when there was a bit of repetition, which came from the multiple perspectives, something Picoult usually is able to work around a bit more seamlessly. That being said, it was also extremely hard to put down, and held my interest from the beginning all the way to the very last page. Needless to say, I don't think it will be long before I'm picking up another one of her books, as she is such an incredible author!
January 22, 2024
I recently read: The Mis-Arrangement of Sana Saeed by @noreen_lekhak
Synopsis:
Thirty-three-year-old hijabi Sana Saeed is unsure if she'll ever find love or marriage. The arranged dates she’s agreed to have all failed time after time, but she wants to prove to her mother that she can be the stable care giver her younger brother Zia, who has autism, needs when her mother is one day unable to care for him.
Coincidentally, Sana finally agrees to give a new arranged marriage a try with Adam, at the same time as her estranged former best friend (and childhood crush), Daniel, suddenly walks right back into her life and becomes her new boss... Who will she choose?
My thoughts:
I enjoyed this book, the premise was interesting and I loved that Sana was just finding love at age 33. I also loved her connection with her brother, and saw so many connections between this book and the one I read right before it, House Rules by Jodi Picoult, which also featured a teen with autism and a sibling who ends up being a caregiver at times. As far as the storyline goes, I did find it a little slow going and didn't think the dual POV (Daniel's perspective) was necessary. I have to admit that I lost interest around 60% and DNF'd it but I don't think it was a bad book, I just needed a bit more excitement after reading a Jodi Picoult!
Overall, it is a sweet, tame romance novel, filled with well-loved tropes such as the grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity, friendship to lovers/enemies to lovers (at the same time lol), and love triangles. I loved the arranged marriage and cultural values that were so important in this story. I would definitely recommend this book for people who are looking for a more diverse romance novel!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, alcove press for giving me the chance to read and review this one!
January 27, 2024
I’m a huge fan of Cathy Glass but have not read one of her books in a while and this one was worth the wait! Slightly different from most of her books, this one started with the child, Anastasia’s life well before she came into care. Anastasia was born in a different country and lived in an orphanage, her adoptive parents, Elaine and Ian’s adoptive journey made up about half book. This was section was different than usual but super well written and a very important back story. The second half of the book starts with little Anna arriving at Cathy’s after two failed foster placements in one week. As with all of Cathy’s memoirs, she shares the challenges, growth and emotional moments of her time fostering Anna. With an unusual and abrupt end to the placement, I was hooked right to the end. Cathy Glass fans will love this one I’m sure, and if you’re new to her books, but have an interest in both international adoption and fostering (in the UK), you should definitely check this one out!
January 28, 2024
This is such an incredible book! Maddy is a young adult living at home as the primary caregiver for her father who has Parkinsons. Her parents are separated, though still married, but her mother lives in Ghana most of the time. Maddy has an older brother but he is enjoying his own young adult life and is not able to support her and their father financially or otherwise. When Maddy's mom returns from Ghana it is the perfect opportunity for Maddy to have some independence and freedom, she moves out of the family home, takes on a new job and some new relationships, things are going fairly smoothly until tragedy hits and Maddy's life changes more than she anticipated. This is a story about navigating love, life and loss in the early twenties, but from the perspective of someone who had to grow up so young.
There was so much about this novel that spoke to me. I started listing off the similarities between Maddy at 25 and me in my early 20s and my husband said "wow, it's basically a book about you". Without giving too much away, Maddy's experiences with being a care giver, having her family expect too much of her at too young of an age, the double standards and frustrations that come with growing up too fast, all were very relatable for me. The loss she experiences at 25, I went through at 21, also right around when I moved out and finally let go of that care giver role, leading to resentment, regret and of course grief, all without the loving parental relationships that other young people have to rely on. Maddy and I also both started dating immediately after we moved out, and went through some pretty shitty first relationships. Her shitty boyfriend cheated on her and mine broke up with me (probably because he wanted to date/was dating someone else), on significant and difficult days (mine was my first mothers day after my mom died), within the first week after we had lost our virginities to them... like these are some pretty crazy similarities here! We also both found our special someones probably before we were ready for them, but luckily they both saw through the chaos and were there for the long term. Maddy gets at least a somewhat happy ending too.
Most of my annotations were related to these connections, but I also noted how much I loved the character development and writing style. Maddy grows SO much through this novel and I loved watching her self reflection and independent personal journey. It was a bit like watching me a decade ago and being able to let go of any worries I carried with me because I could see she would be ok even if at times she may have felt like everything was about to unravel. I loved watching Maddy take risks like sharing those pieces of herself that she kept hidden, and standing up for herself when it was required. On a lighter note, I love her quirkiness, like how she googles literally everything and how the author personifies google as if it were a customer service type person she is dealing with.
"but Google seemed very confused with at least two parts of that sentence."
Jessica George. Maame (Kindle Locations 1935-1936). Kindle Edition.
And of course her description of printers was insanely accurate and perfectly sums up my feelings toward these devices.
"mainly with the printer because they’re all bastards and will likely lead the technological charge in the eventual war against humans,"
Jessica George. Maame (Kindle Locations 1270-1271). Kindle Edition.
This is such a well written and beautifully crafted story. It is emotional and heartbreaking, but also inspirational and endearing. Definitely worth picking up.
January 30, 2024
Check out my post for my January Fold Challenge:
And that's a wrap on the first month of 2024! It flew by, that's for sure. Am I the only one still writing 2023 on everything?!
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