What I Read: September

Books:

• Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance by Zora Neale Hurston- There were some stories I really enjoyed and others I powered through just to finish them. My favorite part of the book was probably the introduction that told all about Hurston and her life.
  

• The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley- I read this one aloud with the kids. When we finished The War That Saved My Life they wanted to read this one right away. I had also read this one by myself previously. Carter was a bit disappointed by the ending. He was hoping the book would include the end of World War II, but the war was still going on when the book ended. I thought it did include the end of the war, so I was also surprised by the ending.

• The Bodyguard by Katherine Center- I liked this but not nearly as much as her other books. 
  

• Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo- I read this one with the kids. I didn't think I'd read the whole book before but once we finished it, I realized I had. I think I read it as a read aloud with my class back in the day. It was so good. Elise was even super into it and asked to read it every night.

• Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain- There was so much to love in this one: psychics, a werewolf (rougarou), and a mystery. It was one of those that was hard to stop reading. 
  

• The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin- I loved the premise of this book that witches controlled the weather and they could help slow the difficulties the world was experiencing due to climate change. For some reason I was sure this would be the first book in a series, but looking at the author's Goodreads, she has 2 newer books coming out and neither are sequels to this, so that may not be the case. 

eBooks:

• The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell- I was so excited about this one because I liked The Family Upstairs so much. It was good but not nearly as good at the first one. The ending was too happy. I also felt like Henry's character was redeemed in a way that didn't really fit with who he was.

• The Grownup by Gillian Flynn- This was a short story. It was really good and then the ending was just kind of weird. I read it in one sitting though because I just had to finish it.
  

• From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks- Carter read this one and insisted I read it when he finished it so we could talk about it. He was right, it was so good!

Audiobooks:

• Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley- This book was incredible. I was glad I listened to it as an audiobook so the narrator could pronounce the Ojibwe words. That added a whole other level to the book. I loved the storyline, the way she wrote, the Ojibwe stories and customs she included, and the strength of the main character. Daunis works with the FBI and someone thinks the crimes against her will be taken more seriously because of that. She says 10 x 0 is still 0. It was such a powerful statement and it made me feel so angry knowing violence against women of color goes even more unpunished than violence against white women.
  

• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs- I didn't like this one very much. It may have been because I was expecting something creepier. The beginning was really creepy and sucked me in. Then I felt like it fizzled a little and wasn't as interesting.

• In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet- I should have read the subtitle on this one. I wanted something about witches and the cover was really pretty. I thought it was going to be about witch hunts in the past, but it was more about the current state of women's rights. I think I would have like it if that was what I wanted, but I was really disappointed because I wanted more about witch hunts.

• The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow- My favorite parts of this book were the spells and fairy tales that chapters tended to start with. It was a bit frustrating at times how the story just kept drawing out and there were a couple things I felt like could have had a resolution that didn't. I liked the premise of the women's rights movement being intertwined with witchcraft.