Alison

Oh how I LOVED this book! Courtney Maum was able to keep me rooted in a reality not too far removed from our own, despite the occasionally absurd circumstances our heroine finds herself in. I was captivated not only by the charming love story, but by a woman remembering how to love herself. It's easy to get lost in the tech of today's world and this book was an ever so lovely reminder that the true magic of the universe still lies inside the day to day interactions we have with each other.

Somewhere between a 3 and 3.5. I waffled between being very caught up and invested in the Chase sisters' journey and wondering where it was all going. The story itself is compelling but I found myself disappointed in the final chapters. A little too cleanly wrapped up for my liking but still worth the read.

I liked this book a lot but not quite as much as I expected to after having been told by many friends how amazing it is. The descriptions are vivid and I absolutely felt like I had a strong grasp of the protagonist but I wasn't wowed. If you like books about writers and artists and the processes inherent to both you'll enjoy this book a lot.

I've read a lot of memoirs this year that touch on the nature of memory and how the act of remembering shapes us as we grow older. Small Fry is about a woman growing up in the shadow of an industry giant and everything that comes with that. It's about adults failing to see how their actions affect the development of the child in their care and the lasting consequences that can have - well into that child's adulthood.

Brennan-Jobs does an excellent job of describing the Bay Area in the 80s and 90s as well as describing the coping mechanisms we develop when surrounded by untrustworthy adults. A difficult but worthwhile read.

I so enjoyed Life After Life and found Transcription to be a bit of a let down. The characters never revealed enough of themselves for me to invest in them and I found the structure to be a bit unwieldy. There were sections that I flew through but overall I found the novel to be a bit more work than I wanted it to be.

I loved this book so much and was simply devastated when it was over. It's incredibly refreshing to read about Jews, especially in a semi-historical-though-in-this-case-also-fantastical setting, who are not ashamed of their identities. None of the Jews in this book were trying to assimilate, or become something else simply because they were marginalized by the society around them.

The riffs on fairy tales combined with the themes of self, family, love, and empathy were so moving. I could not put this book down.

This is an important and necessary read for everyone - but especially for Americans who find themselves (as I do), so far removed from the wars raging not only in countries far away, but in our own communities. Clemantine Wamariya paints a vivid picture of family, war, violence, lost childhood, and survival. We should take a lesson from her resilience, and be grateful that she survived to tell her story.

Read. This. Book. I couldn't put it down and flew through it in two days. Even if you are familiar with Greek myths you will continually be surprised and moved by Circe. Much like the play The Penelopeiad, hearing this story directly “from the source,” as it were is a fantastic treat. As I closed this book it occurred to be that maybe there aren't as many differences between Gods and mortals after all.

I had high hopes for this book at the start, sort of a grown up version of Summer of My German Soldier which I'd read as a kid. But alas, the writing didn't really inspire anything other than a vague interest in getting to the end. Though I occasionally got excited about the characters having an actual debate about the cost of war they never really delved very deep. If you want a book on a similar subject but with better writing, I would suggest The Nightingale or The Women in the Castle.

What a gift this book is. I read it on a flight from California back to Chicago and at one point I was crying so hard that the nice man next to me asked if I was okay. Not only is this a beautiful meditation on faith and family, but it is a window into the world of a fascinating politician - a man whose personal life affects his political life and vis versa. A lesson in the strength of vulnerability; Joe Biden sets a high bar for fatherhood and leadership.

I grew up in Northern California at the tail end of the GSK's initial spree, and the way in which Michelle McNamara was able to evoke the Bay Area of my childhood was remarkable. It felt like I was sitting in the backyard of my childhood home. My Mom grew up in an Eichler and the landscape McNamara described was both eerie and comforting. She manages to write about a horrific series of crimes with an unflinching yet compassionate eye so that the macabre is never indulged but the terror isn't lost. It is a true tragedy she passed away before she was able to see her efforts pay off - but what a legacy this book leaves in her memory.

This book was at times difficult to read but always moving. I laughed and cried and found myself thinking about my own childhood with frequency. I had heard so many great things about the book and it lived up to every expectation and then some. If you have experience with an addict, this book might be hard to get through, but there are so many glimmers of hope and optimism to be found.

Simply extraordinary. Education snuck up on me a little and by the time I'd reached the halfway point of this incredible book I was unprepared for how invested I had become. Tara Westover manages to articulate the myriad of feelings that come from loving damaged people, how our histories shape us, and how we are formed and reformed by trauma. She does so both unflinchingly and gently, without artifice and with lyrical prose. I couldn't put this book down.

I'll round this up to a 2.5 but I found Red Clocks generally underwhelming. I understood where Leni Zumas was going with the cultural and political commentary but I never felt like I got enough time with the characters to really care deeply about their journeys. And that is saying something since this book comes in at 300+ pages. The most compelling story was about a woman who died 150 years before this book starts - and we get the fewest details about her. I really, really wanted to like this book more but it just didn't do it for me.

If you're looking for something in this vein but much better, check out The Power by Naomi Alderman.

I was so excited to read The Great Alone after devouring The Nightingale but unfortunately it wasn't as compelling. That being said, the way Kristin Hannah described Alaska was incredibly moving and that is what bumped my rating from a 2.5 to a 3. But when I found myself wanting more pages detailing the landscape than I did detailing the characters I knew that there was something missing for me. It's a good but not great read.