What I Read: May

Getting out of school a week earlier than previous years was a game changer for my summer. It was so nice to have a week in May to relax before Girl Scout summer camp started. My favorite thing about summer is waking up and laying in bed reading for a while before getting out of bed. I got to do that most of the last week in May and it was glorious!

Books:

• When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole- This started out slow as she built the background for everything that was to come. Then it became a gripping and terrifying story about gentrification of a neighborhood through any means possible. People begin to disappear and shops completely change as a large company comes to the neighborhood. Sydney is left to put the pieces together and solve the puzzle before she becomes the next one to disappear. The ending was good, but it was a long time coming.

• Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy- This book was an emotional roller coaster with suspense and mystery thrown in the mix. The way she writes about climate change and global warming is always heart wrenching, but this was even more so. Our human impact on the life of animals and nature is so hard to grapple with and she really adds a gut punch to those already difficult feelings. Her characters are always so complex and loveable. My favorite moment in the book was the story of what wombats do during a fire. And then there was this, "Maybe that's what being a parent is. Expanding to be more. Asking of yourself more, for them."

• Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall- I had mixed feelings about this book. It was well-written and really sucked me in. As much as I hated the story, I couldn't stop reading. I got progressively more and more annoyed with Beth throughout the story. I hated what happened to Jimmy and each reveal was more ridiculous than the last. I never struggled to read the book, I just felt a lot of anger toward the book. I'll give that it made me feel a lot of emotions, although they were mostly negative.

• Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghen- I may have loved this book so much partly because I ended up with a migraine and felt terrible, but eventually felt good enough to read, so I powered through this book in a day. Nora and Leo's story made me feel better when I was miserable and the separation didn't seem as bad since I made it through the book so quickly.

• My Friends by Fredrik Backman- Fredrik Backman is my favorite author. He writes such beautiful and real stories. I had more difficulty getting through this one than any of his others because the sad parts were just so sad. There was beauty, but the overarching feeling I got from the book was melancholy. I really needed a light fun read when I finished this book.

• The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose- I started this as an ebook, but it was due before I finished it. I had forgotten to cancel my hold on the regular book when I got the ebook, so I picked it up and switched over to reading it as a book. This book was so cute. I loved reading the chapters from Gran's diary that told more about her life. I always enjoy Molly the Maid's character and this book was just as much fun as the others.

Elise likes me to sit in the bathroom while she showers, but usually chats to me the whole time so it's rare for me to read while I'm in there, haha.

• Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate- The kids and I were reading this together a long time ago. They lost interest, but I was really liking it. I came across it on the shelf again and decided to finish it by myself. It was optimistic and hopeful and everything I needed right now. I loved Kek and Gol so much and the other characters were great too.

eBooks:

• The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl- I was really excited about this book, but it didn't capture my attention. It just made me want to re-read "World of Wonders".

• The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us by Rachelle Bergstein- I didn't read Judy Blume as a kid so the first part of this book was a bit boring to me. When it got into book censorship, it was very interesting and I really enjoyed it.

• Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker- The first chapter of this book was fire and it just kept getting better. I loved this dark and gruesome story of a Chinese American woman navigating the pandemic while also grieving her sister and being followed by a ghost. Baker tackled the racism that throbbed along with the Covid-19 pandemic in such a realistic and terrifying way. After I finished the book, I read the book description. I'm so glad I didn't read it before reading the book because I was so shocked by the ending of the first chapter. I don't know why they would spoil that. IT was so well written and the best beginning chapter of a book I have read in a very long time.

Isn't this cover fabulous? I picked the book based solely on the title and cover.

• It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey- This was the perfect light and fun read to come to after finishing My Friends by Fredrick Backman. It was exactly the easy read I needed to brighten my spirits. I loved Piper so much, she reminded me of Alexis from Schitt's Creek. In the acknowledgements, Bailey mentioned she was loosely based on her, so that made sense! And I always love a burly man who does woodworking, makes me think of my own leading man. I didn't even mind the end of the book breakup because the reunion moment was so great. It also helped that the breakup was short lived.

Audiobooks:

• The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton- I did this as an audiobook and i had a really hard time paying attention to it. I'm not sure if the storyline didn't capture my interest or if it was because I was under a lot of stress at the time. There were some parts that had me laughing so hard as I was running, I had to walk for a bit.

• The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab- I loved the premise of this book, it just didn't hold my attention. It took a long time to get to the meat of the story. Her descriptions were so good though.

• The Ash-Born Boy by Victoria Schwab- I enjoyed Cole's backstory. This was a pleasant surprise at the end of The Near Witch.

• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan- I really enjoy books that are re-imagined myths or stories of myths set in modern times. This was one of the best I've ever read. Carter wanted me to read it with him for class, but then changed his mind so I canceled my hold. Then he told me he wanted me to read it again and was desperate for me to finish it so we could talk about it, it was so funny! Now he's anxiously waiting for me to read the 2nd book. He's on book 5.

• Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney- When I saw this book was loosely based on "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie, I was so excited because I love that book! This was so good and kept me guessing the entire time. Based on Agatha Christie's book, I was pretty sure I knew who was behind everything, but I did not see the surprise at the end coming at all.