Welcome to Litsy!

In trying to read down my TBR stacks this year, I‘ve found that I am drawn to books with dark themes when I go shopping!

This one is about a teen whose best friend died of suicide. She searches for a reason, because she didn‘t see it coming at all.

Although it‘s grief filled and immensely sad, there are happy moments and characters I really loved in here. And it made me think, offering some new perspectives.

Really good epilogue with 🔽

Updated my #readacrossamerica tracker. 2 more states were added this month.
CT: Before I Fall
SC: The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
23/50 states

This is the first book I‘ve read by Charles Frazier. It showed up in my Little Free Library.

It‘s a slower paced thriller I guess? With some characters I really liked and a beautiful sense of place. I enjoyed it, it‘s not the kind of thing I read very often.

#ReadtheUS2021 #NorthCarolina

I wanted to do one challenge this year, and have enjoyed seeing others read the states in previous years, so I went for #ReadTheUS2021. In January I did really well with 9 states plus Washington DC 😄

#Alaska- The Word For Woman is Wilderness
#California- The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes
#Florida- Fates and Furies
#Georgia- MemorialDrive
#Massachusetts- White Ivy
#NewYork- The Thirty Names of Night
#NorthCarolina- Nightwoods

Claudia‘s best friend Monday is missing, but none of the adults in her life seem to take her concerns seriously.

This was a great YA thriller! The main character is learning to manage her dyslexia along with typical teenage struggles, and of course the loneliness of her friend being gone. I really enjoyed the author‘s description of the way Claudia was moved by and escaped into dance.

I think it would be useful for more authors and publishers to consider putting notes like this at the beginning of their books.

Gloss hits the pop scene and immediately takes off, and the four young singers have to dive headlong into the fast paced celebrity life. Lots of teenage drama and bad decisions, but also glimmers of trying to be friends and splashes of young love. I did enjoy this, even though there is sadness from the above warned.

What an interesting book! The story of a marriage from first the husband‘s point of view, then the wife‘s in part 2. They turn out to be different in ways I wouldn‘t have guessed.

As with every marriage there are ups and downs, hot spots and downright chilly ones. From his point of view it seems pretty normal, and a lovely life together.

Then you get into her story and things change drastically. The end really shook me. Great book!

This wasn‘t what I was expecting or hoping for... it is a novel about a woman who travels from the UK to Alaska to prove that a woman can have the same kind of freedom and solitude that the “wild men” like Thoreau and McCandless. She goes by boat, dog sled, bus, and hitchhiking.

Along the way, and especially once she arrives at her cabin, it gets heavily bogged down with philosophical rambling, unfortunately too much for me.

TW in spoiler⬇️

This is a haunting and heartbreaking memoir about Natasha‘s mother‘s terrifying relationship with her abusive, obsessive, and eventually murderous husband. It‘s beautifully written, incredibly sad, and definitely not for the faint hearted. I‘m glad I listened, but I feel a little broken now. 🥺

While this wasn‘t quite as great as RPO, I still enjoyed this second romp of a quest through the Oasis. Yes, Wade is an ass at the beginning, but once he got back into the swing of a mission, I liked him again.

There‘s of course a ton more 80‘s references and fan-boying. My favorite was Prince, in all his heavenly forms.

Fun, even if it is just an extension of book one. I hope Cline lets it lie here, no sequel needed.