It’s time for my first half of May book review post! I am sharing what I read in May so far, although I am skipping my 5 star reads to share later in the month. The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Title: Here We Go Again
Author: Alison Cochrun
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 4/2/24
Source: Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Have enjoyed her previous books
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book is about Logan and Rosemary, former best friends who grew up and now teach in the same town. They are very much opposites and no longer get along. Their shared mentor and former English teacher Joe tells them he is dying of cancer and wants them to transport him cross country from Oregon to Maine. Along with Joe’s stinky dog, this makes for quite a road trip.
“A long time ago, Logan Maletis and Rosemary Hale used to be friends. They spent their childhood summers running through the woods, rebelling against their conservative small town, and dreaming of escaping. But then an incident the summer before high school turned them into bitter rivals. After graduation, they went ten years without speaking. Now in their thirties, Logan and Rosemary find they aren’t quite living the lives of adventure they imagined for themselves. Still in their small town and working as teachers at their alma mater, they’re both stuck in old patterns. Uptight Rosemary chooses security and stability over all else, working constantly, and her most stable relationship is with her label maker. Chaotic and impulsive Logan has a long list of misguided ex-lovers and an apathetic shrug she uses to protect herself from anything real. And as hard as they try to avoid each other—and their complicated past—they keep crashing into each other. Including with their cars. But when their beloved former English teacher and lifelong mentor tells them he has only a few months to live, they’re forced together once and for all to fulfill his last wish: a cross-country road trip. Stuffed into the gayest van west of the Mississippi, the three embark on a life-changing summer trip—from Washington state to the Grand Canyon, from the Gulf Coast to coastal Maine—that will chart a new future and perhaps lead them back to one another.”
This book was heavy and sad as both Logan and Rosemary had to confront their pasts, their feelings for one another, and the imminent loss of Joe. The characters had different ways of mourning and ways to deal with what was happening. Rosemary reminded me so much of Paris Geller, especially how she was narrated! I enjoyed getting to know both Rosemary and Logan. There is great representation of neurodivergence as well.
Title: Olivetti
Author: Allie Millington
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends, 3/26/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This is a middle grade book partially told from the point of view of a typewriter! Ernest is one of four siblings whose family has changed due to something in their recent past. Now, their mom goes missing. Olivetti must break typewriter rules to communicate with Ernest and help him find his mom.
“Being a typewriter is not as easy as it looks. Surrounded by books (notorious attention hogs) and recently replaced by a computer, Olivetti has been forgotten by the Brindle family―the family he’s lived with for years. The Brindles are busy humans, apart from 12-year-old Ernest, who would rather be left alone with his collection of Oxford English Dictionaries. The least they could do was remember Olivetti once in a while, since he remembers every word they’ve typed on him. It’s a thankless job, keeping memories alive. Olivetti gets a rare glimpse of action from Ernest’s mom, Beatrice―his used-to-be most frequent visitor―only for her to drop him off at Heartland Pawn Shop and leave him helplessly behind. When Olivetti learns Beatrice has mysteriously gone missing afterward, he believes he can help find her. He breaks the only rule of the ‘typewriterly code’ and types back to Ernest, divulging Beatrice’s memories stored inside him. Their search takes them across San Francisco―chasing clues, maybe committing a few misdemeanors. As Olivetti spills out the past, Ernest is forced to face what he and his family have been running from, The Everything That Happened. Only by working together will they find Beatrice, belonging, and the parts of themselves they’ve lost.”
I enjoyed the creativity of this book as well as the siblings and family growth described. Olivetti is a great curmudgeon! There is some sad content that may be difficult for kids.
Title: The Passengers
Author: John Mars
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Berkley, 8/27/19
Source: Giveaway / My shelf
Why I Read It: Backlist books challenge
My Rating: 3 Stars
The next book in my 24 in 24 backlist challenge list was The Passengers by John Marrs. This book that takes place in the near future is about self driving cars and what happens when a hacker traps 8 people inside cars that they have no control over.
“Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an undocumented immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man. From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will show their true colors when they are asked, ‘Which of these people should we save?…And who should we kill first?'”
I was expecting this book to be similar to the books Falling and Drowning, but it wasn’t quite as fast paced as those books. It started out interesting with chapters about each of the Passengers, but then it slowed down for me in the middle. I suppose this was an interesting look at what could happen if AI takes over when it comes to our roads!
Title: Uncomfortable Conversations With a Jew
Author: Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 4/30/24
Source: Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Current Events
My Rating: 4 Stars
When I heard that this book was already being published, I was surprised because I thought it would take much longer to write a full book. However, Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby had been working together on the book long before 10/7. In fact, that event almost derailed their collaboration. Thankfully, they were able to finish the book and publish it at a time when it is direly needed.
“For Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby no question about Jews is off-limits. They go there. They cover Jews and money. Jews and power. Jews and privilege. Jews and white privilege. The Black and Jewish struggle. Emmanuel asks, Did Jews kill Jesus? To which Noa responds, ‘Why are Jewish people history’s favorite scapegoat?’ They unpack Judaism itself: Is it a religion, culture, a peoplehood, or a race? And: Are you antisemitic if you’re anti-Zionist? The questions—and answers—might make you squirm, but together, they explain the tropes, stereotypes, and catalysts of antisemitism in America today. The topics are complicated and Acho and Tishby bring vastly different perspectives. Tishby is an outspoken Israeli American. Acho is a mild-mannered son of a Nigerian American pastor. But they share a superpower: an uncanny ability to make complicated ideas easy to understand so anyone can follow the straight line from the past to our immediate moment—and then see around corners. Acho and Tishby are united by the core belief that hatred toward one group is never isolated: if you see the smoke of bigotry in one place, expect that we will all be in the fire. Informative and accessible, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew has a unique structure: Acho asks questions and Tishby answers them with deeply personal, historical, and political responses. This book will enable anyone to explain—and identify—what Jewish hatred looks like. It is a much-needed lexicon for this fraught moment in Jewish history. As Acho says, ‘Proximity breeds care and distance breeds fear.'”
On audio, you can listen to the two authors talking directly to each other. They speak about stereotypes and assumptions that people make about Jews, and they are voiced by Acho in a way that shows he held these assumptions himself in his own life. Tishby is a gifted speaker and is able to explain her answers in an accessible way. They discuss antisemitism, the actual definition of Zionism, Black and Jewish relations, etc. My main issue with the book is that it isn’t long enough! It also includes a glossary and the audio includes Acho’s podcast with Tishby just post 10/7.
Title: Sam Makes a Splash / Marina in the Middle / Halfway to Harbor
Author: Nicole Melleby
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers, 5/9/23 / 5/7/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This month I read the three books that make up the House on Sunrise Lagoon series. I enjoyed reading about this sweet family that includes Mom, Mama, Harbor, Sam, Marina, Cordelia, Lir, and Good Boy the Great Dane!
In Book 1, Sam Makes a Splash, we meet Sam, who dreams of taking over Mom’s boating business. Just one problem – she doesn’t know how to swim. And Mom may be selling the business! So Sam and her siblings try to change that.
“If you want to get to know eleven-year-old Samantha Ali-O’Connor, you need to know three things: One, she isn’t the only one of her siblings who is adopted, but she is the only one whose name isn’t inspired by the ocean. Two, she and Harbor always compete with each other to be the best Oldest Sibling—and just about everything else. And three, she is determined to prove she’s a real Ali-O’Connor by taking over the family business, repairing and chartering boats. Except there’s a Capital-P Problem: Her mothers have been Serious Whispering about selling the business before summer’s end! Sam needs to come up with a plan, quick, before Harbor finds out. And before Sam loses her chance to inherit the business and be an Ali-O’Connor forever.”
Book 2 is Marina in the Middle and we get to know how Marina feels being stuck in the middle of the family. She deals with anxiety, especially around the boats that are so important to the family.
“If you want to get to know Marina Ali-O’Connor, you need to know three things: One, despite her name, Marina is secretly afraid of the water. Two, she wanted to be one of the Oldest Siblings, but is stuck smack dab in the middle. Three, she’s pretty certain she’s the Extra Ali-O’Connor kid—the forgotten one. When Boom, a budding filmmaker exactly Marina’s age, moves in across the lagoon, she decides that Marina’s quest to become someone’s favorite Ali-O’Connor would make a perfect documentary. But when each plan goes a little bit wrong, Marina begins to wonder if she’ll ever feel like she belongs, or if she’ll always be lost in the middle.”
Book 3, which just came out this month, is Halfway to Harbor and we learn how hard it is for Harbor to feel like only half a sibling. She can stay with her dad and get all the attention plus all the space, but she also wants to be a part of her big and beautiful family. She deals with changes in her friendships, balancing basketball and family life, and her first crush.
“If you want to get to know Harbor Moore, you need to know three things: 1. Sometimes she signs her name Harbor Ali-O’Connor to match her siblings.
2. She misses her dad a lot, but she doesn’t want to be away from her moms and siblings, either.
3. She just might have her first crush.
Harbor is excited to spend the summer working on her jump shot in an elite basketball league. But the games take place near her dad’s house—hours away from her beloved Sunrise Lagoon. Suddenly, she’s spending every weekend at her dad’s and getting to know Quinn, a girl whose smile makes her feel warm inside. Still, Harbor can’t help wondering what’s going on at home. Why is Sam hanging out with Harbor’s best friend? Has Marina’s friend Boom taken her place in the house? What have the twins ‘borrowed’ this time for one of their disastrous scientific experiments? When it comes time to decide whether Harbor will stay and play basketball with her team—and Quinn—all year round, or continue to live on Sunrise Lagoon, Harbor thinks she knows what to do . . . but is it the right decision?”
With themes of foster care and adoption, friendships and family, anxiety, and more, this series is such a sweet one for younger middle grade kids and their loved ones.
Title: The Golden Doves
Author: Martha Hall Kelly
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books, 4/18/23
Source: Book Tour
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3.5 Stars, Rounded up to 4 Stars
This book is about Arlette and Josie, former spies during World War II, who were sent together to Ravensbruck. Now Josie is in the U.S. and can’t believe how well former Nazis are treated as they are recruited to work for the government, and Arlette is looking for her missing son, taken from her in the camp. The women come back together when Josie is searching for a doctor who experimented on women in the war and Arlette goes to French Guiana to look for her son.
“American Josie Anderson and Parisian Arlette LaRue are thrilled to be working in the French resistance, stealing so many Nazi secrets that they become known as the Golden Doves, renowned across France and hunted by the Gestapo. Their courage will cost them everything. When they are finally arrested and taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, along with their loved ones, a reclusive Nazi doctor does unspeakable things to Josie’s mother, a celebrated Jewish singer who joined her daughter in Paris when the world seemed bright. And Arlette’s son is stolen from her, never to be seen again. A decade later the Doves fall headlong into a dangerous dual mission: Josie is working for U.S. Army Intelligence and accepts an assignment to hunt down the infamous doctor, while a mysterious man tells Arlette he may have found her son. The Golden Doves embark on a quest across Europe and ultimately to French Guiana, discovering a web of terrible secrets, and must put themselves in grave danger to finally secure justice and protect the ones they love.”
This book was a bit long, but well written. It is written in two timelines and from two viewpoints. I sometimes was confused on whose viewpoint I was reading. I noticed some parallels to what we are experiencing in today’s world. I learned a lot from this book.
Title: The Anxious Generation
Author: Jonathan Haidt
Genre: Non Fiction / Parenting
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio, 3/26/24
Source: Publisher Audio
Why I Read It: Friend suggested it
My Rating: 4 Stars
A friend of mine was listening to this book and said that I should as well. When I looked at what it was about, I asked her if she was trying to tell me that I gave my kids cell phones at too young of an age! She said no, she just found the book interesting and wanted people to discuss it with. This book is about the decline of mental health in adolescents that took place in the early 2010s, just around when social media was getting its start. The author posits that there is a direct correlation from the “great rewiring” and the move from play based childhoods to phone based childhoods to the mental health crisis.
“After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why? In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the ‘play-based childhood’ began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the ‘phone-based childhood’ in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this ‘great rewiring of childhood’ has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies. Most important, Haidt issues a clear call to action. He diagnoses the ‘collective action problems’ that trap us, and then proposes four simple rules that might set us free. He describes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood.”
I appreciated that the author had recommendations of how to solve the issues he sees around social media use, such as jointly working together with other parents, as it is hard to deny one child something that every other child has. The writer does seem a bit more conservative in this thinking that I am, and he doesn’t make me feel great about my own parenting!
This post includes 9 of the books I read this month. 6 were print books and 3 were on audio. 5 were adult books and 4 were middle grade. Genres included rom com, contemporary, thriller, non fiction, and historical fiction.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?
