What I Read: April

One more month of school and then it's summer reading time! I love the summer reading program so much along with the chill days with more time for reading! I'm definitely ready, 18 days and counting. 

Books:

• Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants by George W. Bush- I had this from a virtual event Magic City Books put on. Bush isn't a great writer, but this was decent. I liked reading all the stories of immigrants and their journeys. It made me want to read more about most of the people in the book. I even added a couple books to my to-read list.

• White Bird by R.J. Palacio- This graphic novel was the full story of Julian's grandma's (from Wonder) experience during World War II. It was so good. It was recommended to me as an adult graphic novel at a training on using graphic novels in the classroom and then I saw it at the kids' book fair so I bought it. I think older kids could definitely handle it and was surprised the librarian said it wasn't appropriate for children, maybe she meant that more as a teacher recommending to students. I think this is one parents would want to be involved in their children reading.
  

• The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty- This book was just like her others, hard to put down and I'd get sucked into it. It wasn't my favorite of hers, but very good.

• The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz- My mom recommended this one and I loved The Passenger so I was really excited. I didn't like it as much as The Passenger, but it was really good.
  

• Messenger by Lois Lowry- This was book 3 in The Giver quartet. I was disappointed in this one. There were parts of it that were interesting, but then the ending was awful. I felt like maybe it was mostly a set up for the next book. It didn't really stand on its own. 

• Even the Stars Look Lonesome by Maya Angelou- I picked this up at a used bookstore. I think I may have read it years ago when I read all of Angelou's books, but I still really enjoyed it!

• Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy- I told one of the librarians at the library by our house that every time I look at her pick shelf, she has books I've read and loved on it. Whenever she puts a book on it I haven't read, I check it out. We chatted about which books we've both read and loved and discovered we both always have an audiobook, ebook, and regular book going at all times. She recommended an audiobook for me. The next time I went to the library she said she put this one on her shelf with me in mind. It was so beautifully written and I loved it so much. It's set in a future where most animals are extinct due to climate change which was really sad, but if that wouldn't hit you super hard (like it did me because it just felt too likely), I would highly recommend this book.
  

eBooks:

• Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep- This book was part story of a trial and part story of Harper Lee after To Kill a Mockingbird. I loved In Cold Blood and didn't realize Lee helped Capote research for the book. I enjoyed this so much!
  

• The Austere Academy by Leomny Snicket- Book #5, still enjoy the humor and the writing. The storyline is fairly repetitive but I enjoyed the introduction of new characters with their friends at school.

• Something Blue by Emily Giffin- This was the sequel to Something Borrowed. It was from Darcy's perspective which I loved. I also enjoyed getting to see her transformation through this book. I actually enjoyed this one more because Rachel letting everyone step all over her was driving me nuts in the first book!
  

Audiobooks:

• An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn- This was Benedict Bridgerton's story. I loved the Cinderella aspect to the story.  

• The Rose Code by Kate Quinn- What I love about Quinn's historical fiction is that she bases her stories on real people and researches their lives. Then she fills in the gaps. This book was based on the female code breakers during World War II.
  

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid- I loved Daisy Jones and the Six as an audiobook and I saw this had different narrators so I went with the audiobook. It was so good. I love it when authors pull characters from other books into an unrelated book. I loved that Mick Riva from Malibu Rising made an appearance in this book. Although this book came out before Malibu Rising, I read them out of order.

• The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg- I like that Berg often writes about older characters. This one was set at a 40th high school reunion and brought together many different characters by following their stories leading up to the reunion. I didn't like that the end of book skipped over a lot and then just picked up later. I liked this book but each time I read one of Berg's books, I'm hoping for it to be as good as The Story of Arthur Truluv and they never come close. She just seems to only have captured that magic once and her earlier work isn't as good and nothing that came after stands up to it.

• Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn- This may have been my favorite of the Bridgerton books so far. It wasn't can't put it down like the first one, but I think that was mostly because I now know the formula for her books so I know for sure what's going to happen and don't feel the need to keep going to find out. I also knew who ended up together at the end of this book, thanks to the spoiler that was the 2nd epilogue of the 2nd book. I was really invested in Penelope's story due to the show. They really make you love her in it. I also loved the unmasking Lady Whistledown storyline of this book. Now I can't wait for Eloise's book next!