July 1, 2023
Epoch
By: Kat Elle
I #DNF this one. Just wasn't my thing.
July 2, 2023
War's Over, Come Home
Patrick Smithwick
Wow, this one was so good, I couldn't put it down! A relatively short read, with several heartwarming and heart-wrenching photos interspersed, this was an easy one to one-nighter! This memoir is about a father's (and family's) search for his son, a young marine vet who is suffering from PTSD and homelessness. Andrew is lost and confused, making his way across several states, setting up makeshift homeless camps and visiting shelters and soup kitchens as needed. He easily becomes agitated and aggressive when he encounters his family members or close friends trying to help him, though he seems to not recognize them at the same time. He is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, hallucinations, and fear. He believes his family is withholding his inheritance and spying on him with the FBI. Warrants are out for his arrest, but the charges are minor. Missing person ads on social media and paper flyers posted in a number of cities and states he may have been seen in. But Andrew doesn't seem to want to be found.
Much like the journey must have felt for his family, this book has a way of making you feel like you are so close to finally finding and helping Andrew, and then something new gets in the way. You can imagine the rollercoaster of emotions this family experienced as they tried desperately to help him. As much as I searched through the epilogue and author's note for a happy ending, this memoir doesn't have one, and it is devastating, but completely honest and real.
Smithwick clearly and painfully identifies the problems with the mental healthcare system in the US (though I'm sure Canada's is not much better) as well as the inadequate support for Veterans after their service. He juxtaposes these facts with stories and images of Andrew as a happy child and commendable marine, really sending the message home of how important it is to support veterans and those with mental health needs.
This is a memoir I would definitely recommend! Thanks to @prbythebook for sending me a copy of this one to review!
July 4, 2023
Maribelle's Shadow
July 7, 2023
What's Handed Down
Joelle Cullen
This was a nice read that explores losing a parent at a pivotal point in life and your career and what impact their lost dreams have on your future.
July 8, 2023
AHHH we got our wedding bands today! Just over a month until I DO!
Just Have Sex
A.L. Guion
I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it!
Ashley and Josh are young newlyweds in their mid-twenties when they begin planning their future and their family. Unfortunately, like many couples, their journey to parenthood was not as simple as putting away the protection and waiting 9 months. Both Ashley and Josh underwent testing and while many of the tests were both uncomfortable and inconclusive, it seemed that there were challenges on both sides when it came to trying to conceive. Written more like a narrative than a non-fiction, Ashley digs deep into the day-to-day and big moments along their journey which lasted several years and had many, many, many unexpected turns of events. More than simply a fly on the wall account of their experiences, this memoir also gives some thought and reflection to many relevant topics such as: insurance, adoption, societal views, work-life-balance, the importance of a caring and supportive relationship, and the science behind fertility.
As a woman in her early 30s, so much of this was relatable and while I'm on a very different journey when it comes to having children, so many of the societal challenges Ashley and her husband, Josh, faced throughout their journey are things that many women in my age group face as well. Starting with the title, obviously a hot-button topic, the comments that people make about having children range from insensitive, to offensive to completely inaccurate. There is absolutely no reason that anyone should have an opinion on your life choices, and even more importantly, the things you can't control, like your ability to get pregnant. Yet, that's one of the most challenging parts of both infertility and "non-normative" life choices for women in their twenties and thirties such as: waiting to have kids, choosing to focus on education/career, choosing adoption, not being in a long term relationship, being in a non-heterosexual relationship, or just not being sure of the exact moment you would like to get pregnant (as if that were even possible, right?). To be clear, I do not believe any of those life choices are normal or "non-normative", but society sure has some opinions....
Whether you are experiencing infertility, have followed a less common route to parenthood or are like me, a 31 year old female with no children (yet), I am sure there will be take-aways for you and if nothing else, this book gives a closer look at what some families have to face in order to become a whole. I love the author's choice to write this more narrative style and in the present tense, so that you could feel like you are along for the ride with them. It made things much more personal, but also really enjoyable to read.
Thanks so much to Booksirens and the author for giving me a chance to read a complimentary review copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Speaking of sex...
Strip Tees (Audiobook)
Kate Flannery
I started listening to this audiobook the other day and was instantly hooked!
In the early 2000s, a young adult straight out of college, Kate suddenly finds herself working for the trendy new brand American Apparel. In some ways similar to a cult and in others the playboy mansion, American Apparel was not your average t-shirt company. I knew very little about American Apparel prior to reading this book, other than the fact that my 2009 grad hoodie was from their line and that it was a popular brand for that sort of thing. I had no idea that there were sexual harassment suits and some questionable practices going on behind the scenes. That being said, I also didn't know that the brand stood for things like sustainability and anti-sweatshop policies. Does ensuring your factory is a place where safe work and fair pay counterbalance an owner who (consensually) hooks up with his 19 year old employees in store fitting rooms? Well that is for you to listen and decide!
Kate's first hand account brings listeners back to the early to mid-2000s as she describes life long before iphones and the #metoo movement, and gives a behind the scenes view of a brand that was much more than a line of screen printed hoodies. I did find things slow down a bit as the end of the story approached, but overall it was a very interesting memoir, and the author and narrator did a great job telling the story. It is definitely one I'd recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to and review this book!
*I do not own the picture and the t-shirt above is not real. I wanted to try canva's mockup tool and thought this was a fun way to represent one element of the book.* :)
July 16, 2023
Check out my FOLD choice for June 2023: Juliet Takes a Breath
July 17, 2023
One of this year's Global Read Aloud selections is Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner
See my MGM post here https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/middle-grade-monday-2023
July 19, 2023
Andy and the Extroverts
I got to relive my teenage years of angst at camp with this one! Andy and the Extroverts by @jessicakfosterauthor is a YA about a very quiet and shy teenager named Andy who is forced to go to summer leadership camp by her over-involved mother. Andy is used to reading about relationships in books, not forming real life friendships or romantic relationships in person! While not everyone at the camp is as perky and annoyingly outgoing as her counsellor Suzie, there are definitely a lot of extroverts and Andy is placed in countless uncomfortable situations every day for 2 weeks! When she starts to fall for Lucas, the brother of one of the other counsellors, Andy suddenly finds herself in the middle of her first romance and her first real friend drama over a boy!
This book was a lot of fun to read, and also a good reminder of those awkward teenage years! I remember being so excited to go to my first sleepaway camp when I was about 16. I was distracted enough that I kind of forgot it was Band Camp. I got there and was watching all these kids literally skipping around with their instruments, so excited for clarinet practice and it hit me: "These people all like Band... I hate band... what have I gotten myself into?!" In the end it was actually a great experience, much like it was for Andy, but needless to say, I did not return the following year 😂
The book ended with a bit of foreshadowing to next summer, so I am really looking forward to finding out what happens when Andy comes back as a counsellor. I will definitely be checking out that book, and Foster's other books in the future!
Thanks to @breysbooktours for inviting me to join this fun #booktour!
July 22, 2023
Today may be my last day of 31, but apparently it has also been a year of great YAs! I just finished Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales and it was another fantastic LGBTQ+ YA. In this one, Darcy is the secret mastermind behind a "Dear Abby" type relationship advice network. Having stolen and modified the locker assignment and combination list from the school office while waiting for her mother (a teacher) to finish working one day, Darcy was able to commandeer Locker 89 and start her own confidential mailbox for hopeless romantics in need of advice. Darcy takes the job very seriously, even researching the advice and supporting what she is sharing by referencing human psychology and attachment styles. For the most part, she has a great success rate and keeps things completely professional, except when it comes to letters about her best friend and secret crush, Brooke, in fact she may have made some mistakes with those advice letters that could risk her friendship if anyone found out her identity. When a popular guy finds out her secret and asks for her support, she feels she must help him or risk the whole school finding out who is behind Locker 89.
Full of perfect YA drama like underage drinking party chaos, love triangles in messy young relationships and secrets that you know wont stay secrets for long, this books is sure to be a hit with teens. Beyond the typical YA though, this book also explores Bi erasure and Biphobia as well as other LGBTQ+ topics in an informative and supportive way. Bi erasure was not something I was familiar with prior to reading this book and I learned a lot actually. Recently, an acquaintance who is also a leader in my school division and community came out as Bisexual. He is happily married and part of a loving family which looks very heteronormative on the outside. When a colleague made anti-trans remarks he felt it important to come out publicly to show that he represents the LGBTQ+ community even though he may look like just your average heterosexual white guy. He then faced quite a bit of backlash, first from social media trolls and then real live protesters and he and is wife received threats and the situation continues to unfold months later. I feel for him and wish that he and his family were not going through this, but also appreciate that he is bringing light to both his identity and the fact that homophobia is still rampant in our community. What I took from both this situation and the book is the idea that just like how someone may be "white passing", people who are bisexual can seem heterosexual (intentionally or just through not constantly coming out because no one should have to do that every time they meet someone new!!) but this is a part of their identity and just because they happen to not be in a same-sex relationship at any given time in their lives, it doesn't mean they are no longer bisexual or part of the LGBTQ+ community.
I love that this book features several main characters who identify as queer, without any homophobic or harassment scenes. While books with those situations are absolutely important as well, I appreciated reading a book where queer teens experience typical teen problems like having a crush on someone who is unavailable, or drama over who is going with who to prom. I think it is important to have some light-hearted YA novels (and middle grades, picture books, adult novels, all types of books really) which feature diverse people just living their lives. I don't mean that authors should omit the bad stuff and pretend everything is great all the time, however, normalizing the complete acceptance of diverse people within their community through DEI media is one way to help change it from an ideal to an expectation. There is a space and a group of readers for both types of books!
July 25th, 2023
Check out my blog post about Us Two by Janet Hoggarth. I am not quite done yet, but hoping to be finished before the end of the month to add this one to my July Reads list!
July 26th, 2023
I previously read and reviewed The Girl in the Triangle Factory by Joyana Peters and LOVED it so when I saw this book coming out I was so excited! The Girl from Saint Petersburg is a short but sweet historical fiction and is a prequel to Peters' other book. In this story readers are brought to Bloody Sunday in Russia where Ruth's betrothed, Abraham, father and brother are involved in the dangerous political climate. Immediately following the events, Abraham and her father escape to America and unfortunately her brother is killed in the massacre. Over the following 4 years things get much worse in Russia, as Ruth her younger sister Ester and her mother struggle to survive. Ruth gets a job at a factory (which prepares her for her time at the Triangle) but even with that it is not quite enough to support the family and things go from bad to worse when Ester comes down with consumption and a trip to get the doctor puts Ruth and her whole family in danger. The only option they have left is to flee Russia, but how?
I actually didn't know very much about Bloody Sunday and the uprising in Russia, so I really enjoyed both the story and the informative author's note at the end. It was just what I expected and a great precursor to the second book. My only slight criticism is I wish it was longer! I blew through the 124 pages pretty quick and there were a few moments I would have loved a bit more. That being said, it is a great novella and would definitely recommend it. One thing that is great about both of these books is that they could totally be read by teens or potentially even older middle graders. There was mention of a doctor propositioning a teenager but it just said something along the lines of unbuckling his belt, and while there was definitely violence, it wasn't super gruesome, totally appropriate for young teens but I enjoyed it as well!
Thanks to the author for sending me a copy, and to Brey for organizing another great book tour!
July 28, 2023
She Calls Her Mom by @kanawuauthor is a short and sweet novella about a 21 year old woman who suddenly finds herself the sole guardian of her 4 month old niece days after her beloved older sister dies tragically in a car accident. Dealing with her own grief, the loss of her only close family and learning how to be a young mom while her friends and ex are busy leading their early 20s lives is definitely challenging for Zoey, but she finds help in unexpected places.
With a fair number of twists and turns as well as some piecing together of characters and storylines that came out later in the story, this very short book covers a lot! I think this book definitely could have been a full length novel and I hope to see the author come up with some more great books in the future. It is usually a good thing when the only real criticism I have is I wished it was longer! :)
Thanks to the author and @breysbooktours for giving me the chance to read and review this great new book!
July 29, 2023
While at the lake I DNF'd a few books as well...
I wanted to love Stray City by Chelsey Johnson but could not get into it. It was extremely well written but just not one I could stick with. I think it was a bit too well written (literary) for me. I did love the fact that it was another book set in Portland in the late 90s/early2000s era. I might need to expand my reading in that time period...
I also wanted to love Let Your Heart Be Broken, a memoir by Tina Davidson.
Here's the blurb:
Tina Davidson is three-and-a-half when she is adopted from her foster home in Sweden by a visiting American professor. Soon she is the oldest of five children, living with her mother and stepfather in Turkey, Germany, and Israel. She studies music and becomes a prolific pianist and composer. But something about her birth remains unnamed and hidden. When she returns to Sweden, she contacts the Swedish adoption agency. “Come,” says the voice on the phone, “I have information for you.” In Let Your Heart Be Broken, Tina Davidson juxtaposes memories, journal entries, and insight into the life of an artist—and a mother—at work. Along the way, Davidson meets Ernest Hemingway and Carl Sandburg, survives an attack by nomads in Turkey, and learns her birth father is a world-famous scientist. And throughout, there is the thread of music, an ebb and a crescendo of a journey out of the past and into the present, through darkness and into the light.
Memoir? Check. Something to do with adoption? check. Related to the arts? Check. SWEDISH?! Check! (In case you didn't know, I am Swedish). So what went wrong? Well I read a lot of memoirs (again, in case you didn't know) so I am pretty familiar with the different styles of memoirs out there. This one was written from a sort of random point in the present (but not the present present... more like the past?) looking back on different aspects of the past. It made things very disjointed and hard to follow. I also just felt sort of removed from the story rather than immersed in it. As a result I couldn't give it the time or attention it needed to be one I stuck with. Might still be worth checking out, but I know what I like when it comes to memoirs and this just wasn't it.
July 31st, 2023
While away at the lake last week I got to spend some time being transported into the past with The Book of Alys by Alan Gold
Here is the synopsis:
King Henry II finds love, solace, and passion after falling for the youthful beauty of Alys and makes her his mistress. Alys was the timid 8-year-old daughter of the King of France, sent to England and forced into marriage with Henry’s violent son Prince Richard, who rejected and ridiculed her. Within six years, Alys had developed into a ravishing beauty, who was suddenly appealing to the old King himself. Alys quickly realised she could only save herself by becoming more powerful. Her ambition was to become queen, to replace the formidable, feisty monarch, Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the most beautiful powerful and wealthy women in the world.
When a son, William, is born to old Henry and Alys, the young Princess now has her life complete, but once the old king dies, who will protect Henry’s latest son, William, and his mother Alys, from the assassin’s sword?
Alone in the castle, surrounded by enemies, Alys must measure every step as if it was her last, knowing that her life and that of her son, are entirely in her hands. And old Henry, the most powerful and ruthless monarch in the world, is powerless to help her against his wife Eleanor and her four sons. So, realizing that she and her son’s life depend only on her own cunning, the innocent and naïve Alys sets about beating four strong avaricious men at their own game, a band of brothers who are supported by the world’s most devious mother.
My thoughts:
Unfortunately I couldn't really get into this one. It definitely had promise but wasn't my favourite. Thanks to Breysbooktours for giving me the chance to read and review this book.
That's a wrap on July! Next month I'm getting MARRIED! :)
