The book opens with an “angel” (who turns out to be the daughter of a prominent citizen) replacing all the boI found this book absolutely delightful.
The book opens with an “angel” (who turns out to be the daughter of a prominent citizen) replacing all the books in Lula Dean’s Little Free Library with books that Lula Dean would prefer to be banned. A few people walk by the LFL and pick out a book, usually out of boredom, but the banned book inside speaks to some issue they’re wrestling with, and it opens their minds to other experiences. A little pat and perfect, to be sure, but Miller’s characters feel so real that the reader doesn’t mind too much.
Each chapter deals with one banned book and one character (or pair of characters). I really enjoyed the chapter called Battling the Big Lie, in which Ken and Kari Kelly, avid watchers of Fox News (though it’s never actually named), who are interviewed by a reporter from the channel after the two mayoral candidates have a debate on the stairs of the church. While the Kellys are supportive of what happened during the debate, but found it frightening when a rally ended in violence, their words are twisted on the nightly news to make it appear that they found the event after church terrifying. It’s only then that they realize that they have become “fake news,” what their favorite channel rails against yet tends to perpetuate. One can only hope they start to find more reliable sources for news.
I know people will say that this book leans left, but honestly the author is really just fighting for basic human rights extended to all people, regardless of race, gender, or sexuality. Those things really ought not to be political. At times Miller did become a little heavy-handed with the preaching, even as I agree with her. However, the folks that really need to read this book will see it as just so much “fake news.”...more
I learned to read when I was 3, and I’ve been reading voraciously ever since. I am never without a book; there is not a moment of the day when I’m betI learned to read when I was 3, and I’ve been reading voraciously ever since. I am never without a book; there is not a moment of the day when I’m between reads. I’m also an enthusiastic patron of my local indie bookstore, so much so that they have asked me to host author events at their store.
So you would think this book would excite me. Sadly, it did not. For one thing, the writing isn’t even any good. I don’t know how these essays were collected, but they can’t have all been written by the people they depict because they all sound the same. There are few individual voices to be found. Everyone also has the same purpose to being a bookseller/librarian, to share the love of reading with others and the next generation, and it’s expressed in much the same way in every essay.
Almost every essay starts with an event in the past, but it’s written in present tense (“I’m 9 years old, and my mother and I are perusing the shelves at the local library when…” “Now I’m 50 and have been working as a librarian since I was a page at 14,” to give an example). It’s very jarring to begin the essay thinking that it’s happening “now” when in reality it was decades ago.
There are so many booksellers that work at Barnes & Noble represented, which is a little disheartening. I would have preferred more essays by those who work at independent bookstores, or even used bookstores. And too often a bookseller would mention that someone came in looking for the latest James Patterson, or that they just knew the customer would love this James Patterson novel. It feels a little self-serving. James Patterson really doesn’t need the extra publicity. Even non-readers know who he is.
This book would have been much stronger had it features far fewer essays, and had the essays been more in-depth. As it is, we barely get a taste of each bookstore/library before we move on to the next. The only chapters I really remember anything from, and even then the essays were superficial, were the ones from the bookstores I’ve been to (Page 158 in Wake Forest, NC, and Inisfree Bookstore in Meredith, NH)....more
Hmmm. Initially I wanted to give this book four stars, but now that I’m thinking about it I think I’ll go with three.
While this book had me turning pHmmm. Initially I wanted to give this book four stars, but now that I’m thinking about it I think I’ll go with three.
While this book had me turning pages like mad (I’d sit down and be able to read something like 50 pages in half an hour), aspects of the novel had me frustrated. I didn’t love the back and forth timeline, between the “now” just days before Bridget’s wedding, and chapters that were two, three, and four summers ago. I realize that the author was setting up *why* this summer would be different, but it just frustrated me because I wanted to know why Bridget was being so evasive. I also felt Bridget was being a bit selfish; I understand getting your bestie to come to you when you’re freaking out over a huge decision, but you also need to not string along said bestie for days without telling her what’s going on when she has a huge contract on the line *and* she needs to do the flowers for your wedding.
I also found the best friendship between Bridget and Lucy a little problematic. Finally Bridget tells Lucy she can’t be her everything, but that should have been established a long time ago. I get that these women are super close, but Lucy seems quite dependent on her. That said, I may just not understand that sort of thing, never having had that kind of best friendship.
For me, the slow burn, the “will they end up in a real relationship or won’t they,” was drawn out way too long. I would have preferred for that to have happened at maybe the halfway point, instead of nearly to the end.
But there are things that I really loved about this book. I loved that it was set in PEI, and it really cemented my desire to visit one day. I have always loved the Anne of Green Gables books, and I loved that Fortune sprinkled some quotes from the books throughout this novel. I loved that Felix was such a reader, and that he loved Jane Austen novels. I really loved that Lucy really worked on herself, on being happy with herself and not because she was with either Felix or Bridget, because loving yourself, being confident in yourself, helps you be a better friend and partner.
I’m not sorry I read this book, but I just wish it was a little bit better....more
I absolutely adored The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, and so was thrilled to find out that it was merely the beginning of a series!
As much as I loveI absolutely adored The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, and so was thrilled to find out that it was merely the beginning of a series!
As much as I loved the first novel, I think this one has my heart even more. I love Bannen’s world-building, and even though it’s been a while since I read Hart & Mercy, Bannen described enough of her world to refresh readers like me. I’m also impressed that Bannen not only created an entire world, but also came up with a religion to go along with it. It was fascinating to read about birth keys and wedding ceremonies and the Old Gods vs the New Gods; to be honest, this sounds like a belief system I could believe in.
I may have identified a little too much with Twyla. I totally and completely empathize with her feeling like a chair, and it was so refreshing to see her finally with someone who treated her instead like the amazing human she is. I didn’t love how long it took them to get there, and the misunderstanding trope (we’re just friends, we’re not even going to talk about it so that we don’t ruin our friendship) is my least favorite, but it was worth it in the end.
I will say that there are times when Bannen’s writing slips a bit. I’ll be reading along, absorbed in the story, when her writing will falter and jolt me out of the story. It’s such a shame too because she can clearly write. I don’t know why it happens.
I am very much looking forward in the third book of this series!...more
Is this why they tell fairy tales in here? To slip rebellious thoughts past the censors, in the guise of nursery stories?
As a kid, I knew of Mother G Is this why they tell fairy tales in here? To slip rebellious thoughts past the censors, in the guise of nursery stories?
As a kid, I knew of Mother Goose, of course, and even had a volume of her stories. But the fairy tales I read more often were those of Hans Christian Andersen, which were compiled in a large volume my parents had given me at some point. But like most Americans, I would guess, I had no idea that the Mother Goose fairy tales had been compiled by Charles Perrault, a main character in this novel, and it is he that founded the modern fairy tale genre.
I quite enjoyed the tales told within these pages, especially as they are in their earlier form than what we may now know (for example, Rumpelstiltskin is known as Ricdin-Ricdon). However, I don’t love the crassness that runs through the Bo. I know it’s the way things really were in those times, like the fact that there weren’t bathrooms at Versailles, and instead courtiers would relieve themselves in chamber pots and even a convenient corner when necessary, leading to an overwhelming odor of urine that hovered throughout the gilt halls. It seems like the “in” thing to do, to take historical events and make them more crass or more bawdy than they have generally been portrayed. It’s just not my preference.
But the telling of fairy tales ends up turning political, and there are serious consequences when the king gets wind of what’s going on in this salon.
I have to say, I hope Henriette and the Princesse did have their happily ever after. ...more
I quite enjoyed The Guncle a year ago, and then in between I also read The Celebrants, which I did not love. I’m starting to think that maybe The GuncI quite enjoyed The Guncle a year ago, and then in between I also read The Celebrants, which I did not love. I’m starting to think that maybe The Guncle was it for me in regards to Rowley’s books.
One of the things I didn’t love about this book is how full of himself Patrick is. I know that’s who he is as a person, but after a while it got a bit grating. And not to sound like I’m full of sour grapes, because I do enjoy my wine, but Patrick drank far more than a person should who had custody of two young kids in a foreign country. I also didn’t love Maisie constantly being asked if she were on her period when she was grumpy, and then for her to start bleeding at a particularly fraught moment. Not only that, but I have dealt with periods since I was 10 years old, and I don’t recall ever having a stream of blood traveling down my leg. I’d ruin my underwear instead.
To be frank, there just wasn’t the sheer charm of the first novel. I also didn’t love that Patrick was so fussed about turning 50. My husband is already there, and I’ll be joining him in 5 years. It’s not that bad. Indeed, it’s far better than the alternative.
I still do Lily and the Octopus, but I may be more hesitant reading any further novels from Steven Rowley....more
Charles Spencer, younger brother of Princess Diana, recounts the horrors of his experience at a boarding school in England as a young boy in the 1970sCharles Spencer, younger brother of Princess Diana, recounts the horrors of his experience at a boarding school in England as a young boy in the 1970s. Then, schools rarely had any oversight, and headmasters and teachers had full sway over the children in their care, setting up the perfect conditions to abuse, physically, sexually, and emotionally, the precious souls they were meant to protect. My heart aches for all of the children that were harmed in these situations.
While I understand that sending your children away to school was just the done thing throughout much of the time in England, it boggles my mind that so many parents ignored the pleas of their children to bring them home again. These are small children, some as young as seven or eight, most of whom had never been away from home before.
I applaud Earl Spencer for bringing these issues to light, and to corroborate his experiences with that of other boys at Maidwell during the same time. He’s also very candid about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of an assistant matron, pointing out that while our society tends to downplay sexual assault of boys, considering it merely an early introduction to sex, it is still assault, and he is still traumatized by it.
This memoir is difficult to read at times, but I’m glad these sorts of stories are coming to light. I just wish his headmaster had endured some consequences in life for his sadism towards these innocent boys....more
The other two books featured some high statues conflicts, and added a layer of tension that this book didn’t have. While I can understand Jo’s fear that her lavender marriage is at risk once her husband’s lover becomes pregnant, it doesn’t have the same immediacy as the conflict in the other books. That said, I adored that yet again we have a group of people that choose to be family, even though it may look odd to someone else looking in. But all that matters is that there is love, and love indeed wins.
My favorite aspect of the relationship between Emily and Jo may be how much Jo softens Emily. Everlee tells us time and again how stiff and upright Emily appears, as if she’s tightly corseted though her rational dress rejects corsets (thank goodness). Yet every time Emily lays eyes on Jo, she relaxes and softens, and it’s just such a charming indicator of the fact that Jo is indeed her person.
Though I loved the other two books in this series just a tiny bit more, this one is still quite good and I’m so glad these books exist....more
I really wanted to love this book, but I think I may have read it at the wrong time for me.
Yeongju had it all, according to Korean modern society: a I really wanted to love this book, but I think I may have read it at the wrong time for me.
Yeongju had it all, according to Korean modern society: a good education, a good job, a good husband. But something was still missing from her life, so she decided to divorce her husband and open up a bookstore off the beaten path. From there, she slowly started to heal from the rat race encouraged by Korean society, and she finally began to learn who she herself was and wanted to be. Her bookshop too became a hub of community, serving those in the neighborhood as well as those who came from far and wide to visit her humble bookstore and to drink specialty coffee made by Minjun, for whom coffee became a passion.
While I was forever rooting for Yeongju and Minjun and Mincheol and his mother and all the other denizens of the bookstore to find their own calling, as humble as it may be, there just isn’t much of a plot. It feels more like a series of essays on how to live one’s best life, even as society around you wants to judge your achievements based solely on capitalism. Several chapters also felt like book reports, as Yeongju would discuss this book or that with Minjun or another friend. Not having read these books, mostly being Korean books, made it a little difficult to follow along.
I do agree that Hwang has a point about bestsellers, that the fact that a book has sold many copies doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good book (Colleen Hoover novels, I’m looking at you), and that the bestsellers’ lists tend to stifle diversity. While it is fun to read what everyone else is reading, especially when it comes to starting conversations about books, I feel like a lot of bestsellers are very similar, and they’re not usually my thing.
I can definitely see why this book has such a following. It is a love letter to books and reading and bookstores and booksellers, but it just wasn’t my vibe. ...more
My local indie bookstore pointed this book out to me, knowing my penchant for “sad boat.” Add in the fact that the author came to speak at the bookstoMy local indie bookstore pointed this book out to me, knowing my penchant for “sad boat.” Add in the fact that the author came to speak at the bookstore today, and I felt I really did need to read this book. And I’m so glad I did.
Let me preface this by saying that Eric Jay Dolin is a delight. It was so lovely to talk to him and hear about the things he writes about and is interested in. I loved that he gave so much credit to his wife, who has been the breadwinner for much of their marriage so he can focus on his writing. It was totally unprompted, which made it even sweeter.
I also was able to explain to Mr Dolin what “sad boat” is, mainly because the owner of the bookstore is a friend of mine, and he encouraged me to explain it. As a result, Mr Dolin signed my copy of his book Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America with “To Karyl, a lover of sad boat stories!”
But back to this book. Thanks to Mr Dolin, we are able to learn about this story, even though it’s not particularly important to history overall. An American sealing ship, the Nanina headed to the Falkland Islands to harvest seals and make some money, while a British brig, the Isabella, was on its way to London to New South Wales when it wrecked. The captain, being drunk at the time, was of absolutely no use. At some point later, the Nanina came upon the shipwreck survivors and agreed to rescue them, even though the War of 1812 had broken out and the British and the Americans were now enemies. The commander of the Nanina, Charles Barnard, attempted a hunting expedition in order to provision the survivors and the crew of the Nanina, but while he and a few of his men were gone, the Nanina left him behind, as it had been claimed as a prize by the British. Barnard and his men then spent almost two years as castaways in the Falkland Islands.
This is a really fascinating adventure story, and Dolin tells it well. I loved how many engravings he included in his book (although he told me his publisher wasn’t terribly fond of how many he wanted to include). As a very visual person, I really enjoyed having illustrations on nearly every page. It also covers a time period of American history that is somewhat lost to the mists of time. We don’t really think about the War of 1812, and how America fought back against the British a second time, only a few decades after gaining their independence.
If you have any interest in rollicking adventure stories from the Age of Sail, this will definitely scratch your itch. I am looking forward to reading more from this fantastic author....more
I fell in love with this book based on the cover, and it definitely did not disappoint!
I admit that I didn’t really like Opal at the start. As a peopI fell in love with this book based on the cover, and it definitely did not disappoint!
I admit that I didn’t really like Opal at the start. As a people-pleaser, I could definitely identify with her, but wow, she turned people-pleasing into being a doormat. The Opal of the first few chapters is so hard to like because she does it to herself. I am so glad she has her older sisters (and I loved that they’re called Ophelia and Olivia) to knock some sense into her.
I also really loved Pepper. She’s so grumpy, understandably so, and utterly wounded. I identified with her a little too much, also having been abandoned by my biological mother time and time again, and having her choose men over her children at every opportunity. My mother wasn’t a con artist like Trish, thankfully, but she did hit me up for money every so often until I cut contact with her.
I wish we could have met Grandma Lou more than just in Pepper’s recollections of her. Clearly the story wouldn’t have even gotten off the ground if Grandma Lou were still alive, but I wish we could have gotten to know her. She seems absolutely lovely.
One issue I had with this book: Opal is so quiet and unassuming and definitely not the one to take charge, until she gets to Thistle and Bloom. All of a sudden she’s totally comfortable bossing Pepper around, and for me it didn’t feel true to the character that Eddings had introduced us to in the beginning. I understand that characters grow and change, but this seemed abrupt.
I did really love that both Opal and Pepper were messy people, and they eventually owned their messiness and worked on fixing whatever issue it caused. I love that they each forgave each other when it was necessary. I love that they swapped who was grumpy and who was sunshine. I love that they seemed to complement each other so very well.
Even the side characters are well fleshed out. Diksha and Tal and Alfie and Alfie’s boyfriend Evens and Opal’s sisters Ophelia and Olivia all seemed like the kind of folks I’d love to hang out with. (It’s rare for me to remember the names of side characters that don’t get much screen time, so for me to remember them all definitely means that they’re well-written.)
The submission that Opal and Pepper came up with for the flower competition was amazing. I could almost see it in my head. And the speech that Opal gave about Sappho was just amazing.
If you love sapphic romance that’s a little messy but awfully adorable, read this book. I am definitely looking forward to reading more by Mazey Eddings....more
I know this book has gotten a lot of hype, and being as contrary as I am, I hadn’t planned on reading it. But my online book club chose it for the monI know this book has gotten a lot of hype, and being as contrary as I am, I hadn’t planned on reading it. But my online book club chose it for the month of May, so here I am.
I’ve read two other books by this author, and enjoyed them well enough, but I didn’t love this book. I appreciate very much that Hannah brought a very real issue to life, that while we are now better at recognizing that we should honor the men that were sent overseas to a pointless war they had no choice about, the women who served in Vietnam are still overlooked. This is a concern I hold dear to my heart; my own mother joined the Navy in 1979 and served more than 20 years, but I still get strange looks when I tell people both my parents were in the Navy.
That said, this book is a repetitive list of horrible, horrible things that happen to one person. I get that Vietnam was awful and ugly; that’s not the issue I have. But poor Frankie not only has a traumatic time in Vietnam, but then more and more and more horrible things happen to her in relationships both in Vietnam and back home. It was really a lot to handle. Halfway through this book, I actually picked up a romance novel I had out from the library just to give myself a break.
And for a book that’s supposed to be about women and their service and their camaraderie, there was a helluva lot about men in this book. Almost every decision that Frankie made until she went to Montana had something to do with a man. It’s a bit jarring.
While I am glad that Hannah wrote this book, and that it’s gotten so popular so that more people will know that women served their country during this controversial conflict, the writing and the plot line just weren’t for me. ...more
Lewis is just about to leave for university, but he’s only been on T for a few short weeks. His body has yet to display any of the changes that will be evident later, and he’s worried that everyone will see him as a girl. Unfortunately, Lewis tends to fixate on how others see him and what they think of him, and this leads him into so many anxiety and shame spirals regarding his outer presentation. Thankfully, his mother, his high school friends, and even his new uni friend Melka are there to support him, and even give him needed kicks in the backside at times. I am so glad that Lew had so many people on his side. Had he been born to harsher and less acceptable parents, I fear the worst may have come to pass.
While it was hard to read about how Lew struggled so much for so long, it was so heartening to see that he finally realized that it’s more important to make himself happy than it is to worry about how people see him. He really does blossom into an amazing young man by the end of this graphic memoir.
I really hope that Mr Hancox continues to put out graphic memoirs. He can only tell his story, but it is an important one to share. ...more
I picked this up from the new non-fiction shelf at the Newport library, and considering my fascination with the Age of Sail, I figured this would be iI picked this up from the new non-fiction shelf at the Newport library, and considering my fascination with the Age of Sail, I figured this would be interesting.
Edward Watson, of whom we know little but who is buried here in Newport, kept this journal while stationed aboard the brig Hiram on a voyage between Newport and the coast of West Africa. The book has a transcription of the journal on the right page, and explanations of the text on the left page. At the end of the book are photographs of each of the journal pages as well, in case the reader wants to compare the transcription with the actual page.
Not a whole lot happens in this journal, which is interesting as to why it was chosen to be published. However, the editors do a fairly good job of explaining what Watson has seen or done throughout the voyage (though I’m never going to understand the rigging of a sailing ship). This is how I learned about the wreck of the Méduse, which culminated in the abandonment of the ship and all of its crew boarding a raft which was then lost for 13 days. When it was recovered, only 15 of the original 146 men and 1 woman was left alive. Learning about this spurred me to the library’s website, where I requested two books on the subject.
I am also rather taken aback by the description by the editors of the various islands and ports of call that Watso mentions. We are told who discovered said island and when (usually Columbus), and which colonizing nation claimed it or fought over it. However, no mention is said of the indigenous peoples that might have lived there before Columbus made his way across the Atlantic. I find it hard to believe that most of the islands in the Caribbean would have been uninhabited.
I do appreciate the mention of the fact that the vast majority of ships carrying enslaved people from Africa to the United States were owned and operated by Rhode Island merchants. It’s important to remember that the northern states were also complicit in enslaving human beings, not just the southern....more
My eye was attracted to this book while it sat on the New Fiction shelf at the library, and when I read the blurb, I knew it would be for me. Stories My eye was attracted to this book while it sat on the New Fiction shelf at the library, and when I read the blurb, I knew it would be for me. Stories of the plague and the Great Fire in London are always going to grab my notice, and this one was beautiful.
Cecilia is a young woman who has lost her beautiful husband to the plague, and now she’s been taken in by her twin sister Margaret. Cecilia is so devastated by her grief that it’s hard for her to eat, and so Maggie summons a Jewish doctor named David Mendes, whom she feels is Cecilia’s last resort. He too is grieving the loss of his dearest friend Manuel, who had also perished of the plague. Both Cecilia and David are laid low by their grief, but somehow a spark flares between the two. However, marriage between a gentile and a Jew is forbidden, as Jews have barely won back the right to even exist in England. Not only that, but if Maggie cannot produce an heir for her husband, the family line will die out, so Cecilia must make an advantageous match.
This story sounds so bland when I write it out, but Siegel’s writing is lush and evocative. The reader is transported through time to a London that was on the brink of destruction, thanks to the plague and the Great Fire, but it rose from the ashes. Though it takes place four hundred years ago, the plot feels modern and fresh, though still rooted in history. I also appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation; people seem to forget that gay people have existed since people have. While there is definitely an element of romance, this book is much more heavily influenced by historical fiction. ...more
I picked this up at the library while browsing the new non-fiction shelf. I’ve always been intrigued by stories of families struggling with mental illI picked this up at the library while browsing the new non-fiction shelf. I’ve always been intrigued by stories of families struggling with mental illness (a fantastic book on the subject is Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family, in which half of the children in the large family were diagnosed with schizophrenia), so this definitely piqued my interest. I’m so glad I read this.
Meg Kissinger is amazingly vulnerable and raw in this book. She shies away from nothing, even recounting something horrible one of her brothers did as a young man that got him in a huge load of legal and moral trouble. She pulls absolutely no punches, letting us into the chaotic family home, full of eight children born in 12 years to a mother struggling with mental illness and post-partum depression and a father diagnosed later in life as bipolar. Kissinger watched her three older siblings struggle once they hit the late teenage years, and wondered if she too would follow in their footsteps. Two of her siblings took their own lives, a trauma that the remaining family is still struggling with.
This book broke my heart in so many ways. Growing up is difficult in the happiest of families, but when your mother disappears for days or weeks and you don’t know she’s recovering in a psych ward somewhere, it makes it even more difficult. Add in the severe mental illness of her other siblings, and it’s no wonder that Kissinger wasn’t sure what to do or how to help anyone. No one discussed these things in the 1960s and 1970s. When her older sister took her own life, her father insisted the family tell everyone it had been an accident. But that only adds to the stigma.
Most of this book is intensely personal, and it’s a privilege that Kissinger lets us into her family home to discuss these hard things. But then she begins to explain her life’s work, that of exposing the lack of mental health resources that our nation struggles with, and we see that she has chosen this work as a way to try to make sense of her own childhood and the issues in her own family.
I was so angry to learn that while President John F. Kennedy had championed the Community Mental Health Act of 1963 as a way of making mental health care the responsibility of the federal government and President Jimmy Carter convinced Congress to pass another mental health bill in 1980, when Ronald Reagan took office, the bill was repealed. Because of course it was. And look where we are now, with most people suffering from mental health issues slipping through the cracks, incarcerated more often than not, or unhoused entirely. It’s shameful.
This book is incredibly well written. It’s clear why Kissinger has been a finalist for the Pulitzer. I absolutely devoured this book in about a day. I could not put it down. My heart goes out to her and her remaining siblings, and I am so glad that the subsequent generations seem to be far more open about their struggles and they know when to ask for help. May her family continue to grow and care for one another....more
I came across Sorry, Bro at my local library and was instantly intrigued by it. As someone who doesn’t feel that she has much of a cultural heritage, I came across Sorry, Bro at my local library and was instantly intrigued by it. As someone who doesn’t feel that she has much of a cultural heritage, I am so fascinated by people for whom their culture is still so very important to them, even after many years and generations of living in America. And I love seeing the young folks now maybe rediscovering their heritage, if their ancestors had worried more about assimilating into American culture instead of hanging onto that of their parent country.
Plus I’m a sucker for a sapphic romance.
I loved this story about Nazeli (Ellie to her American co-workers), a young Armenian-American woman who decided not to join her parents in the family business, making Armenian food to sell in local Mediterranean markets. Instead she earns a business degree and joins a tech company on the rise, but when she decides to held her family out at a food conference in Chicago, she must still put in time with her day job. A major account needs landing, and Ellie really ought not to have left San Francisco. Then she meets Vanya, a fellow Armenian-American, and sparks fly between the two women.
I quite enjoy novels about people realizing that a soul-sucking job in corporate isn’t always the best choice. Too often in America we place too much emphasis on how much a person makes, instead of how happy they are doing it. It was so heart-warming to see not only Nazeli realizing that she can help her parents but also that they learned she has the skills to do so.
Perhaps this isn’t a classic romance, in that the romance isn’t really the full focus of the story. It’s more a good about realizing that the capitalist hellscape we live in isn’t going to make people happy, and that family, even when they annoy us, means so very much.
Voskuni is a talented writer, and I want to read every book she publishes....more
Apparently I am reading this series all out of order. Oops. I have read Part of Your World, but I haven’t gotten to Yours Truly yet. And it’s been so Apparently I am reading this series all out of order. Oops. I have read Part of Your World, but I haven’t gotten to Yours Truly yet. And it’s been so long that I read Part of Your World that I didn’t realize that they involved the same people. I’m grateful for the author questions at the end of this book so that I am now all caught up with how everything relates to one another, and I shall be checking out Yours Truly post-haste.
As with my review for Part of Your World, this book really hit it out of the park for me. It did hit way too close to the bone, however. I had a mother much like Amber, but fortunately I was sent to live with my father and stepmother at a young age so that I didn’t have to deal with constant abandonment. Yet I was still abandoned by my mother twice, once when I was 2 and again when I was 6, and I’m still dealing with the emotional repercussions of that. I don’t run like Emma does, but I struggle with attaching to friends and with asking for help as a result. I identify quite strongly with Emma, for better or for worse.
I’m surprised by other reviewers saying they didn’t see the chemistry between Justin and Emma. With the alternating POV between chapters, we get a peek into both of their heads, and they’re both pining for the other. How can you miss that chemistry? For me, it leaps off the page. And I love that Emma fell in love not just with Justin, but his entire family. Found family for me is really huge, and I love it when people realize that home is a person/family, not a place.
I found it interesting how Jimenez wrote Emma, especially regarding her trauma and how it manifested. Every time Emma dealt with Amber, or had some sort of set-back, Emma became “small.” I find that so fascinating because I think I do that to a degree, and I never really had a word for it. It’ll definitely be something I discuss with my therapist.
One of my favorite things about contemporary romance is how real and messy it gets because real life is messy. Emma and Justin don’t just ride off into the sunset for their happily ever after. They each work for it and earn it, Emma by unlearning a lot of her unhealthy coping mechanisms, and Justin by showing up for his siblings and making a healthy family while his mother is gone. As a result, when they do come together, they can be so much stronger and healthier than if they’d just decided to give it a shot without putting in the work. I love that so much.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’ll read anything Abby Jimenez writes. But be warned this is no fluffy beach read. This is fairly deep and meaningful, and I loved it....more
Graphic memoirs tend to be one of my favorite genres, but this book just didn’t do it for me. I found it rather inaccessible, like I just wasn’t smartGraphic memoirs tend to be one of my favorite genres, but this book just didn’t do it for me. I found it rather inaccessible, like I just wasn’t smart enough to understand what was going on. Oddly enough, I rarely find that to be the case with other memoirs, even by people whose fields are difficult to comprehend. Yet they seem to want to make their readers understand. Ai Weiwei wants to make us think, yes — about art, about what art means, about the human rights violations that the Chinese government has been guilty of and continues to perpetrate, about the importance of the rich history of Chinese culture. But he does so in a way that makes him seem like he’s above the rest of us, and that I find a bit off-putting.
Perhaps I would have enjoyed this memoir better if I were a follower of Ai Weiwei’s art, or if I were an art student in general. I picked this memoir up mainly because I enjoy this genre, but also because I am interested in Chinese culture. I felt this memoir read more like a college class, with Ai Weiwei lecturing us on his work and how it fits in with Chinese culture and resistance....more
First things first, I am LOVING the new cover designs for this series. I always found the old ones a little too cartoonish and clunky, but these are pFirst things first, I am LOVING the new cover designs for this series. I always found the old ones a little too cartoonish and clunky, but these are perfect. And there is so much detail! I was at my local indie bookstore yesterday, talking to the booksellers about this book, and one of them had remembered that Tallulah had blue hair and a glucose monitor on her arm. I hadn’t even noticed the monitor, but I love that the artist included it.
Second, I am now SO SAD. I love the Bergman siblings, and I have always wanted to be part of a family like this. I love how close these folks are to one another, how perfectly and completely they enfold the spouses and partners and children, and even close friends, into the family. I also love Liese’s inclusivity and representation of so many different sorts of complications in people’s lives, from being neurodivergent to having ADHD to struggling with Type 1 diabetes to being hard of hearing. Everyone has struggles, but they don’t define the person. It’s just something they have to deal with.
While Frankie’s story is always going to be my favorite, mainly because I identify quite a lot with her, this is going to be a very close second along with Ziggy’s story. I love Viggo so much. I love that he’s a romance reader, that he’s so in touch with his feelings. I love that he embraces all kinds of different hobbies without caring if they’re a “girl hobby” or a “boy hobby” — he crochets, he bakes, he does woodworking, he makes ceramics. If it’s something he wants to try, he does it. As someone who loves pushing back against gender stereotypes, this makes me so happy. I also appreciated how Liese throws in the names of her fellow romance authors; there were a few I hadn’t yet heard of.
I also understood Tallulah a little too well. My family life has always been messy, and I still, save for my kids, feel that any love a person has for me is conditional, that I have to earn it and deserve it, that I have to be on my best behavior at all times so as not to rock the boat or cause issues. In this way, I understand so well where Tallulah is coming from. I am so glad she found such a softie as Viggo to help her realize that she deserves love, just for existing, that she doesn’t have to do anything to deserve it or earn it. The two of these people together are just adorable and I love the unconditionality and the support of their love.
I am so sad to have to leave the Bergman siblings behind, but I suppose that means I need to start reading Liese’s other books. ...more
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