I can honestly say that I am over this weird Midwestern winter weather. We've had three cold snaps within thirty days! And every time we have one I get a cold, the ones with lots of sinus pressure and headaches. So... it's been fun and I'm really really ready for some spring weather. I'm hoping March will be beautiful, but I also know I've lived in this region my entire life and have never witnessed a lovely one. I'm being optimistic. In other news, February is Black History Month! In observance, three of my four books (the fourth was chosen for my book club, so not much wiggle room there) were written by black authors. And though I put a lot of thought into these titles, I've been trying to diversify my reading throughout the year and not just in February. You may have noticed I've been reading more and more books by poc and bipoc authors as well as books that represent the lgbtq+ community. I greatly encourage you to also diversify your bookshelf, there are so many wonderful books out there to enjoy. Ok, let's get into my reads!
"The Mothers"- Brit Bennett
At seventeen, Nadia has a lot on her plate. Reeling from her mother's recent suicide, she takes on a secret relationship with the local pastor's son. They're young, having fun, and the unplanned pregnancy and eventual cover-up is enough to send Nadia running. But not before she meets Aubrey, her new God-fearing best friend. Travel the years with both these women, the community that watched on as they stumbled and fell, and the men that carry their hearts.
Oh, wow, was this an interesting book. The long play of these two women's entangled story was amazing. The whole thing really came full circle. And the most important part of this book focuses on the community or "the mothers" that make up the church in this small town. This community that will hold you up when you're falling apart, but will also stand by and watch you catch fire and fan the flames. It's such an interesting dynamic that kept me reading until the very end. It was a very open ending, which I didn't love, but I appreciated that it was left up to the reader. Add this one to your list.
"No Exit"- Taylor Adams
On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, art student Darby Thorne gets caught in a blizzard she was hoping to outrun. Stranded at a rest stop with four other strangers, she's forced with the same task as them. Waiting for the roads to clear enough to move on. But on a run to her car, she sees something odd. A young girl is trapped in a dog crate in the back of the van parked next to her. Darby now faces the night with a new task, free the girl and find out who trapped her there in the first place. But with no cell reception and no end to the snow in sight, can she honestly make it through the night? Can she trust any of the four people in the rest stop to help her?
Ok, so I had major issues with this book. And honestly, I was really shocked I didn't love it because it had glowing reviews. So, just reading the premise for the book I sat there and wondered, "Wouldn't it be easy enough to figure out who has the girl trapped? I mean there's four other people, you could just casual ask what everyone's driving and find the culprit." Which is exactly what happened within the first twenty pages. And from there the pace was really too slow for me. There was just this back and forth of "I know" and "I know that you know" and "I know that you know that I know" for almost a hundred pages. Now, at the end of the book there was some really great moments, especially if you like gore writing. But that was a long time coming and I had pretty much lost most interest in the book by the time those moments came. Our main character, Darby, was also extremely impulsive and that made for difficult reading on my end. The whole time I was reading this book I was frustrated by every decision she made simply because she never really thought anything through before she did it. And so her plans seemed to predictably go awry. So, yeah, this book didn't really work for me, but it obviously worked for a lot of people. Hulu also just released a movie based on this book that I have not seen yet, but the trailer seems to have a little more of an open interpretation.
"Little and Lion"- Brandy Colbert
Suzette has been away at boarding school in New England, and when she returns home to L.A. for the summer she's not sure she'll ever want to go back. Her friends and family are all in L.A., plus her brother Lionel needs her emotional support more now than ever. After his shocking diagnosis of bipolar the previous year and the subsequent moving of Suzette, she feels the need to be right by his side. But as the summer progresses and the dynamic between Lionel and Suzette changes, can she really remain in control of herself and, even worse, Lionel?
Oh, my goodness, representation galore in this book! I absolutely loved this one. First off we have Suzette and her mother who are black that form a new family with Lionel and his dad who are Jewish. So, we have this concept of blended families, but also of non-married families, which I think is really beautiful and hardly ever addressed in literature. There's also some great lgbtq+ representation here and also the discussions of societal pressures to label your sexuality and whether or not that's really important and/or necessary. And finally, mental health rep! We have Lionel battling his fairly new diagnosis of bipolar and the difficulty of balancing medications, keeping in mind that this all happened while he was in his junior and senior year of high school. I mean, wow, so much good stuff happening in this book. And I was rooting for Suzette and Lionel through every page, I just wanted the very best for these two and this book just really delivered. I highly recommend this one!
"Who Asked You?"- Terry McMillan
Betty Jean has a lot on her plate. Her husband needs a nurse to get through the day at home, one of her sons is too good to call, one can't call because he's locked up and only writes when he needs money, and her daughter just dropped off her two boys to go on a bender. Betty Jean also has two sisters she loves but also hates, a neighbor that is her best friend, but white, a job she hates but can't afford to leave because two growing boys cost lots of money, and she can't seem to get any help from anybody. Follow along the twists and turns, and burdens and blessings of family.
So, a few things about this book. Everyone has a turn. And I mean everyone! We hear from absolutely every member of the large cast of this book. It keeps the pace fresh and interesting, but you may want a note card to keep track of everyone. The writing style of this book was definitely different for me. It was all straight dialogue and internal thought. Nothing else. No scene setting, physical movement, dialogue tags, nothing. This did keep things moving right along, but it felt very dry. I couldn't tell you what anybody in this book really looked like besides male, female, black, white, fat, skinny, old, young. That's about as detailed as the personal descriptions got. The story line was phenomenal. And McMillan told an entire life story of two boys within these pages, as well as all these side stories along the way. No stone was left un-turned and that deserves all the respect I have for writing. So, if you're up for it, give this one a go.
That's what I read in February! Did you read anything interesting? Have any recommendations for me? I'm excited about what I have set aside for March, but would love to hear what you have set aside as well! Are you picking out any special reads for spring break? Any fun traveling plans? Let me know, I love hearing from all of you! I'll see you in a month, happy reading!
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