The ending isn‘t as strong as the beginning (I‘m finding that to be a theme with so many books lately), but still an overall fun horror read. An adult book but leans more YA, so nothing nightmare inducing happens. It had the potential to be much better.

What can I say, Richard Russo is my favorite author and Nobody‘s Fool (the 1st of the Sully stories), which I read almost 30 years ago, is still my favorite book. I‘ll never be unhappy returning to North Bath. Sully may be gone, but his presence still guides the familiar cast of characters.

My vacation read. Part kidnapping story, part monster horror, it starts off strong but the dialogue grows annoyingly unrealistic and the plot holes are abundant.

Loved it. Depression, death and a possible murder. If you‘re not into stream of consciousness regarding the mundane of life you‘ll not like this book as it‘s less about the plot and more about the character. A lot of dark humor that actually had me laughing out loud.

There were some very beautiful and insightful moments about family, loyalty to one‘s culture and the emotional struggles of an immigrant family, but the creepy relationship that started between a 9 year old girl and a 26 year old man was never addressed in a way that made me feel comfortable. Much better stories available.

Grabbed this novella today without knowing much about it. Upon finish I was surprised by the extremes of opinions. If you‘re looking for gore, you won‘t find it, although there isn‘t a lack of disturbing events, they just aren‘t the focus. Instead this is a slow psychological exploration of how internet trauma can warp good people. Or, maybe they weren‘t really such good to begin with. Some say the ending is abrupt, I felt it was an epiphany.

Mother daughter book club pick with a little Handmaids Tale meets Lord of the Flies. Who wouldn‘t enjoy some dystopian grrl power. It falls flat though. Little feminism and a lot of trope. Started off lovin it, then I hit angry hatred, and ended with mild frustration. All that and yet I still enjoyed it, I just wish it wasn‘t so disappointing male centric.

One of the best memoirs I‘ve ever read. Highly recommend.

When I bought this audiobook I didn‘t realize it was a sequel, and although it can be a standalone, my enjoyment of it may be off from not having read the first book. It was ok. A bit hokey with an over the top Appalachian drawl narration, but also sweet and innocent despite some heavy events. It‘s not a YA book, but something I would have liked more when I was a teen.

Super fun read, I get the hype. Old time Hollywood, secret lives, what‘s not to enjoy. The twist at the end didn‘t seem necessary, nor was it very surprising, but otherwise a great book 4.5/5

Creepy, weird and an overall off kilter vibe that I really enjoyed. I find that mystery/thriller/horror always have inconsistencies and ‘why the heck did they do that‘ moments, and those moments were present here, but not enough to ruin the story. It won‘t leave you with nightmares, but it‘ll leave an uncomfortable smile on your face.

I‘m a sucker for multigenerational books so I fell right in with this story of three generations in New Orleans. I would have loved for the author to have gone deeper; the ending sort of just ended without much fanfare.

I liked this book despite all the things wrong with it. I loved the idea-a secret apothecary where woman can purchase poison to right the wrongs men have created. Yes! Old timey London! Yes! Multiple POVs! Yes! Pointless side story about a cheating husband? Toss it! Obsession by multiple characters with babies? Blah! The “I‘m not like other girls” attitude of the main character? Ugh! It could have been an amazing but even so, it‘s a fun read.

I was a young teen when the Romanian Revolution happened. I remembered bits and pieces but never knew what it was like for the Romanian people. An excellent fictional account of the horrors they lived through daily.

Perfect book to break my reading slump. My friends either loved it or hated it. I was on the love side. Death, whimsy and love.

Not sure if it was the meandering story or the sleepy narration, but I found myself replaying chapters because I had stopped paying attention. As a book about family storytelling I though I would enjoy this more as a listen. Reading it as a printed word may have been more enjoyable.

This took me a while to get through. It starts quickly and then abruptly slows to a crawl. I considered putting it aside, but I didn‘t dislike it enough to quit on it. I wanted to see where the marriage was going, I just didn‘t want to deal with the characters anymore.

It‘s been years since I‘ve read Stephen King. I think I‘ll spend more time contemplating what I would do if I were in Gwendy‘s position with my own little button box than it took me to read this novella.

Beautiful, heartbreaking, complicated. I‘ve picked this book up many times over the years but only now took it on. I am haunted by humans also.

Yup, high schoolers are complicated creatures. Decent writing and story line, but extremely predictable. It‘s close to being a great book, but lacks the depth to take it out of the YA category. Still, it‘s worth the read, if only to remind you what the teens in your life are up against.

It was good. It‘s a fun story about middle age women dealing with some cruddy situations and using friendship to get through it. The story is just over the top enough to make it an interesting read, but not so unrealistic you‘ll roll your eyes.

Everyone seems to love this book but me. I didn‘t. I barely even liked it. There were some beautifully written parts, and at times I felt like I was about to fall in love with the story, but then it would fall flat. I almost bailed more than once, and only stuck with it because I was listening to the audiobook. It‘s supposed to be about friendship, but it just felt like selfish resentment.

It was ok. Even within the scope of a difficult frontier life, the challenges faced by this family within a short span of time was a tad over dramatic. The narration is repetitive and whiny with some aspects written ad nauseam, and other events glossed over. Would have been better as a tightened up cohesive story instead of a three book series.

Everyone should read this book. Important, impactful and well cited. Racism in America has coat all of us dearly.

I have to admit that I had never heard the historical account of what occurred at Ebenezer Creek so this fictionalized telling of the event was surprising and moving. I only wish the writing style was more emotionally in depth. While I felt for the characters I didn‘t feel connected to them. It‘s listed as a YA book but read more like middle school. Still, I recommend this important story of betrayal. TW-brutal treatment of slaves but no gore.

Toxic friendship at its best…or maybe worst. Quick read thriller with lots of twists and turns at the end. Some where more predictable than others

So many raves about this book but it just wasn‘t something that interested me. And then my book club picked it and I dove in. I couldn‘t help but like it. Nothing close to what I expected-another mindless boy meets quirky girl and after some hijinks everyone lives happily ever after. There‘s a quirky girl, and some hijinks, but it‘s far from mindless drivel. Serious without being too heavy. I get the hype.

Fun read. Enough twists, turns and red herrings that even if you think you know the ending you can‘t really be sure.

A short book, but still too much to consume in one sitting (pun intended). The premise, though over the top and unrealistic, stirs a lot of internal thoughts on how society is so willing to dehumanize others. It‘s gory, graphic, and as I finished I threw it down in disgust, but it‘s a pick because it says more about the human condition than most books.

2nd book of the Dread Nation series and another winner. Like the first book, it starts a little slow but picks up the pace.

Average. I enjoyed it but didn‘t love it. I‘m on board with going after the college Greek system but there were so many stereotypes that even this frat hating girl was rolling my eyes at times. Some of the reactions from her colleagues made no sense to me to a point that I flipped back to make sure I hadn‘t missed a chapter. It‘s good for a quick dose of mystery but I doubt I‘ll remember it a year from now.

Books 1-3. Steamy, but not as smutty as the Netflix series. Romance isn‘t my cup of tea, so I‘m not the best judge of the genre but after a series of some very heavy, trauma filled books I was looking for something light. I enjoyed them, but I rolled my eyes…a lot. The stories are predictable, the constant goings on of hitting, killing or harming someone is tiring, but it‘s still over all fun and a nice change of pace.

4/5 stars. Beautifully written and extremely moving story of pharmacist student living through the Syrian war. I‘m not a big cryer but I cried big. The only criticism is the most pivotal moment of the book happened about 100 pages from the end. The story lagged a bit from then on and could have been condensed to leave the reader with the biggest impact. A lot of triggering events throughout the book.

Enchanting and sweet. Although the backgrounds of all the characters stem from some serious trauma, the book manages to have a light and airy feeling.

For a YA zombie book Dread Nation is a pretty compelling read. Set after the civil war-but only over because the dead have risen-the story revolves around Jane, a student at Miss Preston‘s School of combat. There are some fun action scenes, an interesting take on a historical time frame and a good touch of teenage bickering. It‘s not a perfect book, but it‘s a fun read with a seriously badass heroine.

The darkest, most graphic book I‘ve personally ever read. The story and writing was excellent. The BOTM version came with a 42 page translation guide which did help. Looking up so many phrases did slow down me down initially but the story kept me interested. Not for everyone. Check for trigger warnings before starting.

Midnight Robber came highly recommended. The creole dialect makes it a slow start-it‘s a bit like reading Shakespeare-it takes a few pages to get into the swing of things. The Afro-Caribbean mythology is grabbing my attention, but it‘s going to take me more time to get through than most sci-fi books.

My daughter picked this up as a summer read from the school library so I decided to sneak it in before she starts back up in a few weeks. Quick and enjoyable YA read about teens growing up in a doomsday cult.

The first of the series, Lobizona, was one of my favorites last year and this one doesn‘t disappoint. A magical world that explores what it means to be different, the outsider, illegal. The series is supposed to be a duology, but I‘m hoping for a third

I liked the premise of this book-dystopian capitalism, war, heros with murky origins-but it dragged at times and I can‘t quite get behind saying it‘s a pick. I don‘t know, maybe this never ending heat slowed me down, but there were days when I just couldn‘t get myself to pick it up.

My favorite book so far this year. I was a little hesitant since fantasy isn‘t my normal pick, but I was intrigued by the idea of a magical tale that was outside of the norm. I love this story. It‘s a book I‘m sure to read again.

Maybe it‘s just the times we‘re in, but I connected with the story of a mother struggling to keep herself and her family going amid the Great Depression and Dust Bowl.

Reading for our mother daughter book club. Not a book I would pick for myself to read, and it‘s taking a lot for me to not bail at only page 70. I‘m committed though and maybe it‘ll get less sickly sweet??

Grabbed this from my daughter‘s reading pile. She had just finished an oral argument for English class on purity culture‘s influence on the judicial system-comparing and contrasting The Crucible to Persepolis. Great graphic novel read on the Iranian revolution.

I am so sad that this book was so not good. Utterly disappointing is the best I can describe it. Plot holes, very little character development, a complete lack of describing the setting. I love the idea of the book but I‘ve got to pan this Peter Pan tale.

Painting: Mad Woman by Chaim Soutine, 1920

Beautiful writing. I love when short stories can pull you in and make you feel emotionally that you read a full novel. Not everyone is able to make large impacts with just a few words.

Book club pick. I was unfamiliar with the author or her Instagram. There are some nice insights that may apply to many of us, but ultimately this is how one woman dealt with her trauma. LePera writes how self healing ultimately can only be done by the individual, but then builds upon idea that she is THE teacher and this is THE work that is to be done. This one size fits all is problematic and takes away from the helpful aspects of the book.

So repetitive. The same day over and over and over again. By the end I just didn‘t care anymore, I just wanted the day to be over. I‘d have called it a pick if it was 100 pages shorter. It was very close to being a DNF.

“Rather than reject reality, you accept it. Instead of making demands, you make plans. You know rejection changes nothing. Acceptance, on the other hand, will be your first step to changing everything.”