Recent Reads

As I was putting this post together, I realized that I’d read twelve books since my last Recent Reads post at the beginning of March…and then I finished another one! I don’t know how I got through so many! It was really a mixed bag of amazing and just okay, and nothing that totally blew me away. Quite a few books I read dealt with mental health issues and other major life challenges. As always, I loved the historical fiction, but I’m also finding myself enjoying the wit and raw honesty of Young Adult books. Let me know if you’ve read any of these and if you have any recommendations for what I should read next!

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate: This story takes place in Memphis in 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a happy, transient life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat, until one day when the children are found alone and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage. What the children go through from that point on is heartbreaking, and it was troubling to learn how much of it was based on what actually happened at the Tennessee Children’s Home. I thought it was fascinating to learn about adoption and what it was like for the families and the children. There was a modern day story line that was a little less compelling, but I still enjoyed it.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn: An amazing story based on an inspiring network of women who took major risks to help their country in times of war. One storyline takes place during World War II and follows a group of female spies. The second storyline picks up after the war when worlds collide and lingering questions are answered. The main characters were fierce and displayed incredible strength. If you’re looking for a book with kickass female protagonists, this one’s for you. It’s very well written and the plot will keep you guessing.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green: John Green has this amazing ability to tap into the teenage psyche. This book is about a typical teenager…with crippling anxiety (something I can relate to). She’s just trying to live as normal a life as possible, but it’s a struggle. Although the narrative is lighthearted at times, the underlying issues are not. A quick read, but a good one.

When We Collided by Emery Lord: Another YA book that bravely confronts mental health issues. Jonah and Vivi are seventeen when their paths cross. Their lives are imperfect and they’re fighting their own demons, some deeper under the surface than others. This book was heavy, but so so necessary. Although the story is fiction, the struggles of the main characters are reality for so many people. Kudos to Emery Lord for shining a light on mental illness, through the lens of an unconventional love story, in such an honest way.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne: This book was long (520 pages), and about a third of the way through, I wondered why I was only that far. But, then I realized that it’s truly the life story of the main character, Cyril, and it follows him all the way through his life. Some of the characters and situations annoyed me, but I think that might have been (at least in part) intentional. That said, it was a really fascinating look into what it’s like to be afraid to be who you really are and the toll that takes over the years.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett: Told from the third person perspective of the group of lifelong church goers known as “The Mothers,” this book tells the story of a community and how they face love, loss, and difficult decisions. Nothing is easy and people are not always what they seem. The story was raw and at times painful, but totally compelling and beautifully told.

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti: A strange book, but interesting. I learned a lot about a totally different lifestyle and what it’s like to live a life on the run. The relationship between the father and daughter was fascinating, and how they each dealt with the empty space left by their wife/mother. This one started off slow, but got better as it went along.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney: Lillian Boxfish has had a very interesting life, and now that she’s in her mid-80s, she’s looking back at her journey as she (literally) takes a walk around New York City. I loved seeing the city through her eyes and her perspective on the advertising industry was interesting too. The writing is incredibly lyrical and colorful and I really enjoyed it. There were a few sections that I felt could have been shorter, but definitely got some nuggets of wisdom from this one.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman: This is the story of the rebellion on Masada when the Romans sought to drive the Jews out of Judea. Based in history, but woven with fiction, this book is beautifully written. It’s long, but I never felt like I was slogging through. The main characters, the heroines of the story, are women, and we witness the story from multiple perspectives. Even though I’ve visited Masada and learned about this part of Jewish history, I felt like I learned a lot more through this book (about spirituality too). I think it was probably more meaningful to me because I’m Jewish and this is part of my people’s history, but I don’t think you need to be Jewish to appreciate and enjoy the story. My mom recommended this one to me after she read it with her book club.

The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard: This book follows the everyday women who worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II. It was pretty good, but since I watched the show Manhattan when it was still on, I found that I already knew a lot of the story and this wasn’t told in a different enough way that I could really appreciate it. I also found it a bit anticlimactic towards the end.

After You by Jojo Moyes: Jojo Moyes is such a fantastic storyteller, and this book had me hooked. I read the first one so long ago that I had to refresh my memory at the beginning of this one to fully enjoy the story, but it didn’t take much. We pick back up with Lou as she’s struggling to find her way in life. Lou is stuck and she is broken, but she can never quite allow herself to give up. It was interesting to see what changed and what remained the same from the first book, in terms of family dynamics and how the characters coped with their grief.

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine: The best way I can describe this book is twisted. Main character Amber is deceptive and crafty, and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. But, don’t assume you know how everything will turn out because there’s more to the story. Really enjoyed this one and it kept me interested from the start. It was also fun to find out that the “author” is actually two sisters who write together from several states away.

The Gunners by Rebecca Kauffman: This is a book about a group of childhood friends, how they grow apart, and ultimately come back together. They’re a strange group, quirky and flawed, which is appealing, but also a little much at times. I think I liked it overall, but I didn’t get much from it, and I didn’t feel that connected to the story.