I'm long overdue for another post like this. Summer is for reading, am I right?! I haven't mentioned it yet but earlier this year I finally got a library card and have been using the overdrive app to rent ebooks. I'm obsessed. And so is Tristan, because we are saving $10-$40 a month ;) The only downside I noticed was that most of the books I wanted to read aren't available so I'd have to put my name on the waiting list. Which is fine because now I have found a collection of books I want to read! As of the last few days I've recognized another downside. I'm getting to be first on the waiting list to all the books I had on hold at the same time. I have to read 3 books in two weeks so I don't lose them! AH!
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
Summary:
For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe she was abandoned, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.
Desperate to find the truth, Jenna enlists two unlikely allies in her quest: Serenity Jones, a psychic who rose to fame finding missing persons, only to later doubt her gifts, and Virgil Stanhope, the jaded private detective who’d originally investigated Alice’s case along with the strange, possibly linked death of one of her colleagues. As the three work together to uncover what happened to Alice, they realize that in asking hard questions, they’ll have to face even harder answers.
As Jenna’s memories dovetail with the events in her mother’s journals, the story races to a mesmerizing finish.
My Review:
I think we all know how much I love Jodi Picoult. Though this wasn't my favorite of hers, I ended up liking it! It was one that took a longer time for me to get into but I'm not going to lie, it definitely took me by surprise in the end. Plus, all the information about elephants was seriously fascinating. We kind of like elephants in our house.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Summary:
Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.
Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.
My Review:
Oh. my. goodness. This book was so unlike anything I have read in a really long time and I absolutely loved it! I loved the way it told the story by weaving between the past and present until everything fits together. So so good! When people ask me for book recommendations these days, this is one of the first ones that come to mind.
After You by Jojo Moyes
Summary:
How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?
Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.
Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future.
My Review:
Did you read Me Before You? It's been almost two years since I read it but I finally got around to reading the book that comes after it! (the third book is currently on hold!) Okay, so I definitely did not like this book as much as the first. All I could think the entire time is how can so many bad things happen in one persons life? It's like one accident after another which was a little unrealistic to me, but maybe I'm living in some kind of dream world. I'm glad I read it, I like a good romance novel. But it was not the best book I've ever read.
The Island by Elin Hilderbrand
Summary:
Birdie Cousins has thrown herself into the details of her daughter Chess's lavish wedding, from the floating dance floor in her Connecticut back yard to the color of the cocktail napkins. Like any mother of a bride-to-be, she is weathering the storms of excitement and chaos, tears and joy. But Birdie, a woman who prides herself on preparing for every possibility, could never have predicted the late-night phone call from Chess, abruptly announcing that she's cancelled her engagement.
It's only the first hint of what will be a summer of upheavals and revelations. Before the dust has even begun to settle, far worse news arrives, sending Chess into a tailspin of despair. Reluctantly taking a break from the first new romance she's embarked on since the recent end of her 30-year marriage, Birdie circles the wagons and enlists the help of her younger daughter Tate and her own sister India. Soon all four are headed for beautiful, rustic Tuckernuck Island, off the coast of Nantucket, where their family has summered for generations. No phones, no television, no grocery store - a place without distractions where they can escape their troubles.
But throw sisters, daughters, ex-lovers, and long-kept secrets onto a remote island, and what might sound like a peaceful getaway becomes much more. Before summer has ended, dramatic truths are uncovered, old loves are rekindled, and new loves make themselves known.
My Review:
I had lower expectations for this book. I didn't really like the last book I read by this author... but all the books I had wanted to read weren't available and one of my best friends recommended her so I found one of her books that was available without having to put it on hold and went for it. Best decision! It surprised me how much I loved this book. There were so many details that were perfect and I really appreciated the portrayal of depression.
The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff
Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.
Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.
My Review:
I have yet to meet a book set in World War II that I didn't like and this was no exception. The details of the war are devastating but to think about how people survived it, what they had to do, is so amazing. If historical fiction is your thing, definitely add this to your list.
Forever is the Worst Long Time by Camille Pagan
Summary:
When struggling novelist James Hernandez meets poet Louisa “Lou” Bell, he’s sure he’s just found the love of his life. There’s just one problem: she’s engaged to his oldest friend, Rob. So James toasts their union and swallows his desire.
As the years pass, James’s dreams always seem just out of reach—he can’t finish that novel, can’t mend his relationship with his father, can’t fully commit to a romantic relationship. He just can’t move on. But after betrayal fractures Lou’s once-solid marriage, she turns to James for comfort.
When Lou and James act on their long-standing mutual attraction, the consequences are more heartbreaking—and miraculous—than either of them could have ever anticipated. Then life throws James one more curveball, and he, Rob, and Lou are forced to come to terms with the unexpected ways in which love and loss are intertwined.
My Review:
I actually bought this book because one of the bloggers I follow (at this point, its almost specifically for her monthly book recommendations) said she was forever indebted to the friend that recommended it to her. When I went to find it on overdrive, it didn't exist but that kind of review made me think it would be worth the money. It was. I read it in a day and stayed up until 3 a.m. to do so. I was hooked. But then once I finished it, I was SO sad it ended. This. This is a honest and heartfelt story about love, loss, and life. And the cherry on top to the beautiful story is the amazing writing style and the way it's told in journal form. I can't begin to describe how much I loved this book!
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
My Review:
This book is so honest and important. It's thought provoking and completely heart breaking. It feels like it could be a real story because of how prevalent this type of violence is in our society these days. I think this is a book that everyone should read. *there is some intense language which fits the setting but may be offensive to some.
Am I the only one who can't finish a book and start a new one in the same day? It's almost like I have to mourn the ending of a book for a time. Maybe I'm weird...
on deck: Educated by Tara Westover (I've had tons of people recommend this to me, I'm excited! I was initially #203 on the hold list so it's obviously really good!) and I See You by Clare Mackintosh.
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