Month in Review: August 2016
So, I'm back. Summer was summery. The kids
fought too much, and I am delighted to have them back in school.
I read an astonishing 24 books in August,
although at least one of them was very short. After a summer reading adult
books almost exclusively, I got back into reading kidlit and YA to keep up with
the Missouri state readers awards in those categories.
Adult books (mostly fiction)
1. Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams -
My first Williams novel. This was for my in-person book club, and it was just
okay for me. As with most dual storyline novels, I felt like the storyline set
more in the past was the stronger one and carried very little for the other
narrative stream. My book group seemed to really like it though.
2. Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson - This
was great, but not as great as Brown Girl, Dreaming. Seriously if I could get
everyone to read Brown Girl, I would. My sci fi/fantasy-loving husband did, and
he loved it too. But Another Brooklyn was good, and short. It leaves you
wanting more. It is about a group of girls growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s.
3. Arrowood by Laura McHugh - This was pretty
good. It is about a woman who returns to the Iowa town where she and her family
had lived before her sisters' disappearance.
4. Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn -
Dennis-Benn's first novel is a powerful story about a family of women living in
Jamaica. It is about the desperate pressures of poverty and getting by. This
was one seriously messed up family.
5. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - Another amazing
debut novel! Also depressing. Two girls in Ghana live very different lives, and
we watch as their families' stories continue to diverge through the
generations. It covers 300 years of colonization and African and American history.
6. Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett - A wonderful
novel about the reverberations of mental illness in a family and the
medicalization of mental illness and how we treat it. Chilling. Also it gets
bonus points for introducing me to kratom the week before it became a banned
substance. I saw a story on it last night and was like, "Oh! Oh! I know
what that is!"
7. March: Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin,
& Nate Powell - Part two of John Lewis's graphic novel that follows him on
his journey from college student to political activist and major player in the
Civil Rights Movement. Book Two covers the Freedom Riders and the March on
Washington.
8. Siracusa by Delia Ephron - Two couples travel
to Italy together and come back changed. Not my cup of tea, but I knew that
going in. I just wanted to be entertained. I wish it had come together
differently. The big event that we learn about at the end was a major turn-off
for me, and the teasing style annoyed me at times.
9. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel - Honestly
I finished this on August 1, and it feels so long ago. A sci fi novel. We
discover something strange buried in the earth, and it goes from there. I am
not sure what would be considered a spoiler, so I will leave it at that. I
liked the characters and their interactions.
10. The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
- Another one that feels like I read it ages ago. A chilling premise that feels
too possible in this day and age. Then I find out that it is loosely based on
something that happened in Australia in the 70s! This one gets bonus points for
its feminist themes. Feminism is my jam.
11. The Sport of Kings by C. E. Morgan - A
sweeping saga about a man and his horse farm. Sort of. But also racism, family,
and a powerful critique of our social structures. This felt overly long. The
author tended to wax poetic at times, and it didn't always work for me. Morgan
is definitely a talented writer, but WTH was that ending?
12. The Story of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden - A
graphic memoir about author's life with her breasts: starting with their
development and ending with her battle with breast cancer and covering all of
her life and relationships in-between. I picked this up partly because I know
someone with the same name as the author, then that friend was diagnosed with
breast cancer. It was good, not great.
13. Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters - A
novel set in an USA where the Civil War didn't happen, not only is there still
slavery in a handful of states, but racism everywhere seems to be more overt. A
slave catcher, a sort of undercover operative of the US Marshals Service, is
hunting an escaped slave in Indianapolis. I thought this was very interesting,
but it suffered in comparison to the next novel.
14. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- I am going to tell you right away that this novel is part historical fiction
and part speculative fiction. I didn't realize that going in and was very
confused until I learned to just roll with its anachronisms and inaccuracies
and embrace the journey. It is a classic hero's quest story, and it is
phenomenal.
15. The Unseen World by Liz Moore - A girl tries
to crack the code of her father's mysterious past. This was a pageturner for
me. Well, really, I listened to it, but I finished it in just 1-2 days, which
means I listened at every available minute. It has faded a little since I
finished it, but still a good literary novel with a hint of science fiction.
16. Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein - I took
a huge break in the middle of reading this to finish things that had to be read
right then, and the book suffered for it. Ultimately I would recommend this to
anyone raising daughters. I have boys, but I read it because 1) feminism, and
2) I want to raise my sons to be good people who are respectful to women.
Young Adult books
17. Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway - A
preliminary nominee for the 2017-2018 Missouri Gateway Readers Award. Emmy
& Oliver are best friends, when Oliver is kidnapped by his father. He is
returned 10 years later, and they struggle to reconnect. This was just okay for
me.
18. Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither - A
girl's sister dies and is replaced by a clone, then the clone is involved in a
death. Is it part of a larger plot? I found this one's premise more interesting
than the previous book, but it was still just okay for me. Falls the Shadow is
a 2016-2017 Missouri Truman Readers Award nominee.
19. Some Boys by Patty Blount - Grace says she
was raped at a party, but everyone at school seems to be on his side. She is
bullied and made miserable, but refuses to hide or back down from her story.
Does it matter that he used to be her boyfriend or that she was drinking and
dressed provocatively? This was good. Some Boys is a 2016-2017 Missouri Gateway
Readers Award nominee.
20. What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler - Kate went to
a party, got drunk, and was escorted home by a male friend. After she left a
girl may have been raped. This book focuses more on the people who stand by and
do nothing. The girl that was raped is only in it briefly. The focus is on Kate
as she struggles to figure out what happened and how it affects her
relationships with her classmates. I found this more thought-provoking than
Some Girls. What We Saw is a preliminary nominee for the 2017-2018 Missouri
Gateway Readers award.
Middle Grade books
21. Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by
Sandra Dallas - A somewhat simplistic story about a girl whose family is
interned in a camp in rural Colorado during World War II. This could be a good
introduction for kids to a troubling episode in our nation's history. A
2016-2017 nominee for the Missouri Mark Twain Readers award.
22. The Lost Tribes by C. Taylor-Butler - A good
middle-grade sci-fi adventure story about a group of kids who are starting to
suspect that their parents are more than they seem to be. The book features a
racially diverse group of kids. (Disclaimer: The author is a friend of a
friend.)
23. The Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry - A
wildly implausible story about a group of eighth grade kids who suspect that
the people sitting behind them on an airplane are up to no good and set out to
foil their terrorist plot.
So many good books this month, but the standout
favorite is The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. So, so good it makes
it hard to think about other books.
24. Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon - An
easy read with lots of pictures good for a child that is reading chapter books.
My boys both enjoyed Vernon’s Dragonbreath series, so I picked this one up to
see what it was like.
**I am having huge problems getting images to copy into my blog right now, so I am skipping pictures of book covers for right now. I am not sure if it is me, or Blogger, or my new to me Mac. Anyway, I apologize.
