Some People

I am not sure if more people are like Maggie or not like Maggie.  I think if we have the answer to that life would be a lot easier.  This book just completely messed with my understanding of morality and how I think (or thought) people see right and wrong.  This is How I Lied was pretty terrible regardless. 

Not a Fan of Wintergirls....

so that is why I was so late in reading this one even though I had heard really good things, but I am glad I did and I really did like Shout.  I like poetry and the message here is really important.  It is raw and honest and I did cry.  And I think that all young women and young men and old women and old men should read it.  And I am glad that Anderson has raised her voice.  There is just something about her writing that doesn't "5 Star" for me...and that is probably me, yes, I am sure it is.  But I will recommend this for sure. 

Just a wee bit long

I liked Stolen Things.  It sucked me in right away.  But the thing was, I really didn't like the characters.  I liked JoJo okay....but the mom?  Na...and Harper?  I tried to feel for her, I really did.  I don't know...this was just kinda died for me.  Good premise.  But maybe needed a little editing? 

Really Different

Courtney Summers has written a great book in Sadie and has told it in a unique way, as the book alternates between Sadie's POV and a podcast like Serial.  She has told it so well that the idea of book told at least in part as a podcast doesn't come across as a gimmick or cheesy.  And because of the nature of podcasts, this book was just meant for audio and so really enjoyed the listen.  I got so caught up in it that it was one of those books that I had to listen to the end and then go back just because the suspense was killing me. 

Meh

Girl in Snow looked so good.  I kept waiting for it to get better, but by the time I was halfway through the book, I realized it wasn't going to get better.   I had to read it from the end to the middle, just to get through.  Probably should have broken up with it, but I had come so far.  All of the characters were so unlikable and uninteresting to me.  Blah. 

Why?

I know there is no point in asking why we do horrible things to one another.  Human nature is prone to such horrors.  Ones that sicken us.  Horrors done to groups of people, horrors done to individuals.  The essays in Not That Bad:  Dispatches from Rape Culture show this to be true with each account.  It is edited by the incomparable Roxane Gay. 

I don't know how to comment on these stories.  Some of the writers say that they don't want to be called "brave" or a "survivor" and some don't want to hear that people are "sorry for what happened" but some do.  I want to respect that.  I want to just give to them as much respect as I can.  So all I can say is that I am very thankful for their words and willingness to share.  I simply want to offer to them all that is within me and that my heart and soul can give, as respectfully as I can.  I absolutely recommend this book.  

The F Word

I really, really resonated with Bad Feminist in a lot of ways.   The book isn't just about feminism though.  It deals with a lot of issues.  One of the things that kept running through my mind was that this was written in the Pre-Trump days.  Things were bad then, but they are even worse now for women.  No, for humans!  Dr. Gay is brilliant.  Witty, too. 

So this is...

Maresi.  The first in the Red Abbey Chronicles and it was published in Finland in 2014 but published in the US in 2017 and it's getting some Printz buzz.  It's hard for me to make a judgement call because this is SO out of my world of reading.  It has a fantastic cover.  And the description makes it sound so good.  But man...I just couldn't really get into it at all.  I started it one day and then couldn't finish it so went back and tried again.  And I have to say that by the time I finished it, I really could appreciate what the author, Maria Turtschaninoff did with the book.  Some books take work.  And I am a lazy reader sometimes.  I think this one took work for me.  But I am glad that I worked on it!  I gave it 3 stars, but it is more 3.5 and the lower rating of it is because of my personal feelings toward this kind of book, not a reflection on the quality of it.  I could recommend this book, for sure.  Printz worthy?  I honestly don't know.  

Unexpected

I hadn't read too much about Jumping the Scratch before I started it, but I knew it was by Sarah Weeks, of course and I find her books to be just so very, very good.  And this one was no exception.  Thoughtful, painful, beautiful.  Real.  Yeah.  Great, great book.  I didn't want to read it at first, because the cat dying and all, but the description of the book tells you that right up front.  I mean, man, if a cat is going to die, then that is the way to tell it.  Let us know first!  Excellent. 

Maybe

It's because I seem to have read a lot of books lately in which the main character is an aspiring writer or painter or musician, but those around the main character think that their art is a waste of time or a good hobby, but won't pay the bills.  Local Girl Swept Away was like that, too.  The main character is an aspiring artist and her family is a very blue-collar fishing family in Provincetown, MA.  What I did really like about it was the way that the mom was portrayed.  That seemed very real to me.  I hate to be critical about books of this type, because I know that is very important, that people do try to pursue their dreams and I know it is common for someone to have a dream about making it in a career that is hard.  I mean, as I think about it, my parents were NOT thrilled when I decided to go to seminary instead of law school.  Any my friend who is a pastor was not too excited when his daughter decided to go into the ministry, knowing the challenges, instead of the sciences, at which she also excelled.  So I get it, I do.  And again, this is just a reflection upon what I feel about the book, not about what others might feel.  So if you or someone you love is finding themselves in a situation like this, you might need this book!  Interestingly though, that is not the main part of the book!  Read the description and you will see that it is much more about deception and friendship and doing what is right, even when you don't really know what the right thing might be.

Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn

Truly great song by one of the greatest artists ever.  Darkness Before Dawn is the third and presumably last book in the Hazelwood High series by the incredible Sharon M. Draper.  What an author.
This is Keisha's story.  And a good one it is, sadly, one that is very realistic. Even today it is in the news.  Great, great book.

Super Good

Chris Crutcher is a fantastic writer.  Sports books, but more than sports books.  Real-life books.  Hard topic books.  In the case of Deadline, death.  But more than death.  How to live when you are dying.  Tell or not tell?  Grace. Forgiveness.  Racism.  Small towns.  Small minds.  First love.  Incest. Everything.  Wow.  Just a LOT in Deadline.  A LOT.  Highly recommended. Highly.

Always More

A.S. King always offers more-- so much more, in her books.  When I started Still Life with Tornado, I think I had forgotten that.
I was listening and thinking, "Blah, this is like that horrible Wintergirls, but with a different problem."
And then I remembered that this is A.S. King.
Really, really well told story.  In just her way.  Excellent.  I think this might be my Printz pick.  This or We Are the Ants.  Just excellent.

ohhhh that was GOOD!

Snake is the 1.5 offering from the Messenger of Fear series and it was delightfully dark and good and creepy!  I am so hoping that #3 will be out soon.

Toughie

This was a tough book.  It was a hard book.  A sad book.  And it was almost like Almost Perfect, one I couldn't finish because it was just so sad and hard and tough.  I really like Sara Zarr's books and so I stayed with this one, but I had to listen to it backward!  Just to make sure the end wasn't just a devastating mess.  I wasn't worried it would be a cheesy, "all's well that ends well" deal, and knowing Zarr's other books like I do, I probably should have realized that this would be just a disaster book, designed just to play on emotions, but I really came to care so much about the characters that I just couldn't not know that hope would still be alive, even if on life-support.
Great, great book.

Perks

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a book I had intended to read for a long time, but I guess I just thought it was too trendy or too cool or too something.  I was very wrong.  This is an incredibly sweet story.  I love this book.  While some have commented that Charlie, the main character, is too young to to really be 15, I don't think so.  There are some 15 year olds who are sweet and caring and sensitive. Charlie is one of them.  The story is told in letter form.  Charlie writes to someone we don't know or meet and writes from the heart, honestly.  And it is lovely.  What a wonderful book about growing up, the good and the bad.
Okay so I admit, I wrote this review when I was about 1 hour from the end of the audiobook.
Now that I finished it, what a joke. This is not the book I thought it was. The ending is just so not good. It is just so bad. Unbelievable and it ruined the book for me completely with its bizarre conclusion. I feel cheated and manipulated and foolish.

Horror Story

Yeah, Because I am Furniture is a horror story, for real.  It is realistic horror.  And horror like this happens every day and that makes it even more horrific.  Anke's father is super abusive.  A true monster.  But there is more Anke.  I just love her.  She is fighter and real and just a true hero.  Powerful book.  Very. 

It is Very Hard

to catch up on all of these books that I failed to write about while I was going through my surgery and all of that stuff with my dad.  It is even harder to think about different ways to praise Jacqueline Woodson.  I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This is the first book, which I read second, about Lena and Marie.  This one is told from Marie's POV and I have to say, even though I read them out of order, I loved them both and can't recommend them enough. 

Saying Good-bye

Yes another chance to use this fantastic Anne Murray song. There is a line in Lena that made me think of it right away.  "Seemed like someone was always leaving someone, like that's the way the world worked- people were born and people died, people left and people came."
Lena is a sequel to I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This.  I wish I would have read that first, but I didn't take away any of goodness of reading Lena.  It was pretty much just what you would expect from Jacqueline Woodson- beautiful.
This is the story of two young girls, Lena and her sister Dion, who have run away from home because of their abusive father.  A story of strength and heart-break and courage.  Highly recommended.

Heart-breaking and Real

Holding on to Zoe is a great book.  It is short and meaningful and complex but simple and really, really good and painful.  I was so into the characters that I really wanted to scream at the mother.  What a ridiculous woman.  But a real woman.  First of all she is an unthinking, selfish moron.  She should be a foster parent.  She is the next best thing though, a social worker.  First she ain't too bright.  Here's how serious moronic she is:  she was a secretary, when the husband leaves she decides she needs to make more money and so she goes to college to be a social worker.

Because going into social work should be about the money.

Because social workers make a lot of money.

What a moron.

But I know people like this.  So I found her character to be very realistic.  She makes fun of the people she is supposed to be helping.  She has no compassion at all.  And she was dumb enough to go into it because she didn't have money!  You go into a job like that to help people!  Knowing that you WON'T make any money.  Could this woman be anymore ridiculous?  Could she be anymore life-like?  Great character, albeit a truly evil one.  She is so cruel to her daughter.  And she has psychological problems of her own but did she get help for them?  No!  Instead she chose to help others.  What a buffoon. So real.  

Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are good social workers out there.  I just don't hold much stock in the whole deal.  You go into social work for selfless reasons, not to feel good about yourself or make money.  Also you have to be totally mentally capable.  Too many people who and social workers actually NEED social workers.
Enough with the rant.  I don't want to give too much away, but Jules is a girl with a horrible, selfish mother who gets pregnant and the baby means everything to her.  And wow...just read it!