You guys, summer is nearly over! Can you believe it?! The school supplies are out on the shelves, registration is up, and summer is officially winding down. It leaves me a little sad every year, but I can honestly say I'm ready to leave the heat behind. I've been really distracted by the Olympics the last few days but managed to finish up my books before months end! Let's get started.
"With the Fire on High"- Elizabeth Acevedo
Emoni may only be seventeen, but she's known nothing but tough decisions for years. Besides being a teen mom, Emoni helps pay the bills, manage her grades, and deal with just being different than everyone else. But if there's one thing that Emoni knows with all her heart, it's food. And when the opportunity to join a cooking class at school that is planning on going to Spain, Emoni struggles with saying yes. Does she have enough time for that? Can she afford a trip like that? What's the point if she won't be able to pursue cooking after highschool? Follow Emoni as she navigates the tangled web of highschool, her complicated social life, home life, and the struggle of pursuing her dreams.
This book really surprised me. I don't usually read this genre, but I think there were a lot of really great points in this book. We have a teen mom that is black and Puerto Rican who struggles with her identity at times. She struggles with her dreams, her home life, and all the complicated issues of growing up too soon. I really enjoyed this one.
"The Space Between Worlds"- Macaiah Johnson
Cara is a traverser. A world walker. One of the best, simply because her other selves in the multiverse are all dead. Cara escaped her hard life outside the wall because she's rare. And in a few more years, she'll have permanent citizenship and live by her own rules. But when she gets pulled to a new world where her doppelganger isn't dead, Cara nearly dies in the journey. And she must depend on people from another version of her world to protect her. When Cara begins to uncover confidential information, she realizes she may be in over her head.
This book is amazing. The representation is astounding and I absolutely love the world building and the complexity of the characters. There's sci-fi fantasy vibes in this book, but also a romance line as well. A little warning, this book is a bit gory, there's a lot of death and also domestic abuse. Please check out this book, you won't regret it.
"The Devil and the Dark Water"- Stuart Turton
A detective in shackles, a bodyguard, a governor general and his small army, a smart and abused wife, a mistress, a holy man and his assistant, a questionable cargo, and an unruly crew set off from Batavia to Amsterdam. After some confusing moments on the dock the boat is marked by Old Tom, otherwise known as the devil. When unfortunate events begin, it's up to this mixed bunch to unravel the mystery of Old Tom and get their group to safety.
I absolutely loved Turton's "The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" and this book was equally thrilling. Turton has a very unique writing style that I absolutely love. This books unfolds slowly but is so eloquently deceitful! Turton did a good job keeping me guessing until the very last page. This book is like a mix of "The Pirates of the Caribbean" and Sherlock Holmes. I highly recommend this book, but be careful; it's a big read!
"The Round House"- Louise Erdrich
Summer of 1988 on an Ojbiwe reservation, 13 year old Joe's summer went from fun and trouble to pure devastation. His mother was attacked. Badly. As the tangle of law becomes involved, it only seems to make things worse. As the summer continues to spiral, Joe stumbles on problem after problem trying to find peace for his family. And he begins to wonder if they'll ever be able to move past it.
This book was incredibly sad, but equally wonderful. There's a deep dive of information here about what law looks like on reserved Indigenous lands and how completely awful it is. And though the laws in this book are set in 1988, unfortunately some reservations and tribes have not been able to amend or improve them. This book gives a very close up view of what reservation life is like and the continued struggles of indigenous peoples. Erdrich is a well renowned indigenous author and I'll definitely be adding more of her books to my tbr.
What a fantastic lineup this month! I was so very pleased and surprised. What did you read this month? Do you have any recommendations for me? Did you meet your summer reading goals? I hope you've had a safe and memorable summer. Happy reading, book nerds!
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