What I Read: July

About halfway through the month, I totally forgot about taking pictures of my books when and where I was reading them. July was pretty packed with events and setting up my classroom, so I didn't read as many books as in June, but it was still a very good month of reading.

Books:

• Beach Read by Emily Henry- This was such a cute book and reminded me a lot of Book Lovers which was her first book I read. She is an optimist who writes happy endings and he's a realist who can't quite write a happy ending. They both have struggles throughout the book and land in a happy spot together by the end. I didn't like it quite as much as Book Lovers, but liked it WAY more than Happy Place.

• Sisters of a Lost Nation by Nick Medina- I loved how this book started, it hooked me immediately. The mythology throughout way my favorite part of the book. The issue of MMIW is such a huge and important one and he wrote about it in such a way that you really felt the pain of the family left behind. I also liked the view point of a two spirit character and living that confusion with her. I didn't like the way he jumped back and forth in time. There wasn't a chronological order to the past or the present sections, it was all mixed up and so hard to keep track of. It made it hard for me to get into the book and I was constantly flipping back to past sections to figure out where what I was reading fit into the timeline, which took away from the story.

• True Biz by Sara Novic- This story begins with 3 students missing from a school for the Deaf. Then it goes back 6 months in time to give you the background on each of their lives along with the life of the headmistress. During this time Novic is able to beautifully illustrate the complexity of Deaf culture and the rising issues with cochlear implants. I absolutely loved the sections between chapters on Deaf Culture, Deaf Mythology, and ASL. I learned so much from this book and I felt it was a necessary read for me as a teacher.

• Sarina and Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine- I read this book 3 years ago not realizing it was a book of short stories. I just thought it was a pretty cover and grabbed it when I saw it displayed at the library. When I realized it was short stories, I expected all the stories to connect back to Sabrina and Corina somehow since that was the title. I ended up being disappointed in the book because every single story left me wanting to know more about what happened with the characters and I wanted a connection through the stories. After hearing Fajardo-Anstine speak at a book event, I decided to re-read this book. It was such a different experience knowing it was short stories and they weren't all connected. I just read one or two stories a day so I could really immerse myself in the characters and think about their stories. I enjoyed it so much more that way!

• The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin- This was my least favorite of her books I've read. It just felt like there was so much going on, she didn't get to the heart of the characters like she normally does. I didn't feel a connection or click with the characters in this story like I usually do with her books. I didn't dislike the book or struggle to read it, I just didn't get excited to read or want to know what happened next.

• Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King- Carter read this and liked it so much, he insisted I read it so we could talk about it. King packed so much into one book. The main theme of book censorship is very timely with everything going on with book banning, censorship, and the forced teaching of the Bible in Oklahoma right now. I'm so glad this book exists and shows kids how they can take action to make changes and take ownership of their lives and learning.

eBooks:

• Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline- The sequel to Marrow Thieves was even better than the first book. Dimaline does such a great job of giving you hope even through all the struggle. Miig's quote toward the end of the book made me tear up, "Our ancestors are there not just to pile onto the load you carry but also to shoulder some of the weight." It's that little nugget of hope hidden within all the struggle that makes her writing so incredible. I also love that even though these are Young Adult books, the young adults don't do it alone like in most Young Adult books, the elders are so important to the story.

• The Blingsters by Andrea C. Neil- I loved Neil's Beverley Green series so I was really excited when I stumbled across this series. This one didn't do much for me, but I remember liking subsequent books in the Beverley Green series more than the first, so I'll give the next book in the series a try.

Audiobooks:

• This Body I Wore: A Memoir by Diana Goetsch- I've never read a nonfiction book about a trans person before this. She wrote her story in such a way that I felt the confusion along with her the entire way. Wondering what she would discover about her gender as she grappled with the ways she was different and how her body didn't feel the way her outer appearance made her think she should. This was so well written and made me aware of the issues of not just being trans, but the sexuality piece that goes along with it. Having to come out twice, once for gender and once for being queer, would be so difficult!

• The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson- I loved the little snippets of ice cream information at the beginning of chapters and I loved the inclusion of such a variety of characters. It just didn't really grab my attention or pull me in. It may have been because it was a young adult book so I wasn't the target audience.

• Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate- This book was incredible! The work Wingate put into researching and telling the story of the "elf Children" in Oklahoma in the early 1900's was very evident. She told the story of these Native children who were abused and neglected by "guardians" who were only interested in taking their land and money while also weaving in the history of women like Kate Barnard, who helped them, in a genius and compelling way. She intermixed those chapters with a more recent story following a National Park Ranger. Both stories were amazing on their own and, woven together, were an intricate and hard to put down story. If your mind was blown by Killers of the Flower Moon, just wait until you read this piece of long buried Oklahoma history. I am so excited to read a book about Kate Barnard to learn more about her life and service to the state of Oklahoma.

• Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh- I enjoyed the characters in this book. I also liked the way she brought the stories together. She packed so many important issues into one book without it feeling overly heavy.

• His & Hers by Alice Feeney- My mom recommended this book to me and I saved it to listen to during my drive to and from San Antonio because I knew I'd need something good to get me through over 16 hours of driving! The book kept me guessing the whole way through. I loved the sections from the killer's perspective because they were read through a voice changer. You couldn't tell if the character was male or female which left it so open. It was very well done.

• Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver- I listened to Butcher and Blackbird and the serial killer scenes were a bit graphic for me. I was in the mood for something dark and decided it was time to read the sequel. This was just as dark as the first book with fewer graphic killing since which was perfect for me! The humor and nicknames blend in the perfect amount of lightness to the story. I enjoyed this one so much more than the first!