Review: "All Adults Here," by Emma Strub

This is my book club's selection for July, but I decided to get a head start. I could not put it down. This is the kind of book that, when it ends, you still miss the characters. There are many different storylines, but Straub does a great job of wrapping them all up together with a character-driven storyline. The heartwarming family story about finding love at any age and being true to yourself will have you falling in love even with the characters who sometimes are unlikeable.  We all make mistakes as parents, as children, as friends, but this book will show that it is how you grow from those experiences that makes you ultimately a good person. 

Review: "Efren Divided," Ernesto Cisneros

Efren comes home from school to find that his mother has been deported. She is his "Soperwoman" who always makes their home feel so much more than just a tiny one-room apartment in their LA Latino immigrant neighborhood. This book smart middle schooler is now thrust into the world of ICE, politics, and being responsible for his 5-year-old twin siblings while his Dad takes on extra jobs to get their mother home. This moving, character-driven novel is a story of what it is to grow up as an American citizen when your parents are not. It is an authentic story about identity, friendship, family, and gratitude. Cisneros's writing is engaging and, at times, poignant. This book is for middle-grade readers, but it is definitely a book that anyone of any age can read and come away with an understanding of what life is like for so many undocumented families. 🕮🐛🐛🐛🐛

Review: "How Lucky," by Will Leitch

Daniel lives in a college town and is confined to a wheelchair because he is living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Despite his fatal disease, limited mobility, and speech, he lives life to the fullest with his sidekick best friend who takes him to college tailgates.  Life is great for Daniel until the morning that he sees one of his neighbors get into a car. The next day it is reported that his neighbor has been kidnapped and Daniel realizes that he witnessed her disappearance. The mystery of Ai-Chin's disappearance turns into a gripping, plot-driven psychological suspense. Leitch's writing draws you into the story as you get a glimpse into Daniel's innermost thoughts about his life and his disease. I also liked that the novel is written with contemporary issues in the background of the plot. 

Review: "The Light We Lost", by Jill Santiopolo

 

Lucy and Gabe's love story begins on September 11th, 2001, and spans a little over a decade. The Light We Lost is about first love. It's about the choices we make and the what-ifs. It's about love and regrets. The novel is written as a love letter to the one that got away. While I enjoyed Jill Santopolo's compelling storytelling, I did not find the main characters very likable. Maybe at a different point in my life, I would have loved the characters. As a 40 something-year-old married mother of two using my own personal experience as a lens, I could not sympathize with Lucy and found both men in Lucy's life irritating. As an intelligent, driven young woman, she took no control of her love life. The novel discusses love as a raging wildfire, a bonfire, or a steady hearth. The men in her life were the two extremes and in my opinion, what she needed was a bonfire. Not sure if all books have this, but my edition included some fun features at the end of the book. Book references are a trademark part of their relationship, so Santopolo includes a list of literature mentioned in "Lucy and Gabe's Reading List." Also included are a discussion guide, an interview with the author, and a playlist to listen to while discussing the books. I happen to be listening to it as I write this review. It's a good list of music and can be found on Spotify. 🕮🐛🐛🐛

Review: "Kindred," by Octavia Butler

In 1976 Dana Franklin, a Black woman, finds herself transported to Antebellum, Maryland. When she arrives, there is a White child that is drowning. She has no idea how she got there or why she is there. When a rifle is drawn on her, she is transported back to her suburban home in Los Angeles. These time-traveling episodes happen five more times throughout the book. The White boy turns out to be Rufus Weylin, the son of a White slave owner. She quickly realizes that she is transported back every time Rufus is in danger. Dana also learns that she and Rufus have an ancestral connection and feels compelled to help him because the past affects her future. As you can imagine, an educated Black woman from 1976 traveling into the time of slavery creates complications.

Octavia's writing is compelling, engaging, and draws you into the narrative. The tone is haunting and sobering with Dana's heavy responsibility for Rufus and the slaves that she lives amongst during her time in the past. Kindred is a commentary about the relationship between slave owners and slaves and a metaphor of what slavery took away from future generations of Black people. 🕮🐛🐛🐛🐛

Review: "The Couple Next Door," by Shari Lapena

 

This novel starts off as a whodunnit mystery and halfway turns into a psychological thriller. Anne and Marco come home after a night of drinking with their next-door neighbors to find that their 6-month-old baby has gone missing. Just when you think you know the full story of how baby Cora has disappeared there are many twists to be unraveled. Characters are flawed and everyone but Anne is unlikable, so you are not sure who you can trust. The pacing of the story is intense making it a quick read. If you like a nail-biter with a fast-paced storyline then you might enjoy trying to unravel this suspenseful mystery. 📖🐛🐛🐛

Review: "The Lost Apothecary," by Sarah Penner

 

The Lost Apothecary, by Sarah Penner, is historical fiction sprinkled with fantasy. It is a non-linear, intensely paced novel with three narrators across two time periods. In 1719 London, Nella works as an apothecary, working in the shop once owned by her mother. After being betrayed by a lover, Nella's work leads her to help women poison the men in their lives that have done them wrong. Eliza is the 12-year-old housemaid who befriends Nella when her mistress sends her on an errand to the apothecary. In the present, Caroline finds herself alone in London on what is supposed to be a tenth wedding anniversary trip. On her first day there, she finds a blue vial with a bear etched on its surface. Nella and Eliza's story unfolds, in 1719, as Caroline puts together the story of the origins of the vial. You quickly see many parallels between the past and the present. At the center of the novel is a story about the bonds and friendships between women, men’s betrayals, and womanhood itself. The characters are introspective, each making brave decisions to give closure to all three narrators. At the end of the novel, Penner includes magic and apothecary recipes and some historical context on poisoning in 18th century London. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a story with lots of twists and turns and strong women characters. The storylines were so intriguing that I found it to be a quick read. 📖🐛🐛🐛🐛