It’s time for my first half of September book review post! I am sharing what I read in September 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: By Any Other Name
Author: Jodi Picoult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books, 8/20/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3 Stars
I have often and for years cited Jodi as my favorite author and it pains me that this book was not a favorite for me. In this book, Melina is a playwright who discovers Emilia Bassano in her ancestry. This overlooked woman is one of the people who may have written some or many of the works attributed to Shakespeare. There are long sections telling a fictionalized story of Emilia’s life, including events that could have served as inspiration for the plays and poems that she may have written for Shakespeare. In the present, Melina writes a play about Emilia, which is accidentally credited to her male best friend.
“Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym. In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work. Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.”
While I thought the parallels in the lives of the two playwrights were interesting, the biography sections were tragic and difficult to read. There was a lot of abuse in her life. One thing I was very interested in was that Emilia was a Converso, a Jewish person hiding her identity. Meanwhile, many Jewish people consider some of Shakespeare’s works antisemitic. Instead, in the author’s note, Picoult cites him as having humanized Jews. This is not an opinion I’d heard before. In the end, I think a scholar of Shakespeare would enjoy reading this book, but they’d have to be open minded to the theory that he did not write his own works.
Title: Not Nothing
Author: Gayle Foreman
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, 8/27/24
Source: Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Enjoy her books
My Rating: 4 Stars
Not Nothing is the story of Alex, who is volunteering at a retirement home after doing an unnamed very bad thing. There he meets Maya-Jade, who is Jewish, Asian, and adopted. He also meets Josey, a 107 year old resident who decides to tell Alex the story of his history during World War II.
“Alex is twelve, and he did something very, very bad. A judge sentences him to spend his summer volunteering at a retirement home where he’s bossed around by an annoying and self-important do-gooder named Maya-Jade. He hasn’t seen his mom in a year, his aunt and uncle don’t want him, and Shady Glen’s geriatric residents seem like zombies to him. Josey is 107 and ready for his life to be over. He has evaded death many times, having survived ghettos, dragnets, and a concentration camp—all thanks to the heroism of a woman named Olka and his own ability to sew. But now he spends his days in room 206 at Shady Glen, refusing to speak and waiting (and waiting and waiting) to die. Until Alex knocks on Josey’s door…and Josey begins to tell Alex his story. As Alex comes back again and again to hear more, an unlikely bond grows between them. Soon a new possibility opens up for Alex: Can he rise to the occasion of his life, even if it means confronting the worst thing that he’s ever done?”
As Josey’s story unfolds, Alex’s is revealed as well. He must learn to deal with his anger over his mom’s abandonment and face up to his past behavior. I liked how the people in Alex’s life helped him grow, even those he wasn’t sure about at first. There are a lot of good lessons in this book.
Title: The Good Lie
Author: AR Torre
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer, 7/20/21
Source: Library
Why I Read It: Book Club
My Rating: 3.5 Stars, Rounded up to 4
This month my book club read The Good Lie by AR Torre. I couldn’t find the audio but it was a short read so I borrowed the library book from my friend and planned to read it quickly – I finished on time but it took me longer than I expected! This is about Gwen, who is a psychiatrist (though her job was more of a psychologist) working with people with violent inclinations. The book begins with one of her clients dying along with his wife, who he had said he wanted to kill. Meanwhile, a teenager named Scott escapes a serial killer and the father of one of the previous victims decides to represent the person Scott claims kidnapped him. This lawyer, Robert, meets Gwen and asks her to create a profile of the killer.
“Psychiatrist Dr. Gwen Moore is an expert on killers. She’s spent a decade treating California’s most depraved predators and unlocking their motives―predators much like the notorious Bloody Heart serial killer, whose latest teenage victim escaped and then identified local high school teacher Randall Thompson as his captor. The case against Thompson as the Bloody Heart Killer is damning―and closed, as far as Gwen and the media are concerned. If not for one new development…Defense attorney Robert Kavin is a still-traumatized father whose own son fell prey to the BH Killer. Convinced of Thompson’s innocence, he steps in to represent him. Now Robert wants Gwen to interview the accused, create a psych profile of the killer and his victims, and help clear his client’s name. As Gwen and Robert grow closer and she dives deeper into the investigation, grave questions arise. So does Gwen’s suspicion that Robert is hiding something―and that he might not be the only one with a secret.”
I liked how the parts of the story connected and how even though some parts felt obvious, there were still some surprises. I felt like Gwen was missing things at times and I was annoyed by some of the things that were left unsaid at the end. Our book club seemed to like the book overall!
Title: The Holdout
Author: Graham Moore
Genre: Legal Thriller
Publisher: Random House, 2/18/20
Source: Swap
Why I Read It: Backlist Challenge
My Rating: 4 Stars
The next book I read from my backlist book challenge was The Holdout by Graham Moore. This was a Book of the Month pick back in 2020, but I swapped a book with another reader and received this one. It is about Maya, who 10 years ago was on a jury trial for Bobby, who was accused of killing his student, Jessica. After hearing the case, Maya was the only one who thought Bobby was not guilty. She then convinced her fellow jurors that there was definitely reasonable doubt. Since then, another of the jurors, Rick, has been trying to prove Bobby’s guilt, and now they are reuniting since Rick says he has proof. When one of the jurors is apparently murdered, Maya is a suspect. She must find out what happened, and whether or not Bobby is actually guilty.
“It’s the most sensational case of the decade. Fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, heiress to a billion-dollar real estate fortune, vanishes on her way home from school, and her teacher, Bobby Nock, a twenty-five-year-old African American man, is the prime suspect. The subsequent trial taps straight into America’s most pressing preoccupations: race, class, sex, law enforcement, and the lurid sins of the rich and famous. It’s an open-and-shut case for the prosecution, and a quick conviction seems all but guaranteed—until Maya Seale, a young woman on the jury, convinced of Nock’s innocence, persuades the rest of the jurors to return the verdict of not guilty, a controversial decision that will change all their lives forever. Flash forward ten years. A true-crime docuseries reassembles the jury, with particular focus on Maya, now a defense attorney herself. When one of the jurors is found dead in Maya’s hotel room, all evidence points to her as the killer. Now, she must prove her own innocence—by getting to the bottom of a case that is far from closed. As the present-day murder investigation weaves together with the story of what really happened during their deliberation, told by each of the jurors in turn, the secrets they have all been keeping threaten to come out—with drastic consequences for all involved.”
I liked learning about each of the jurors and the secrets they were keeping, as well as the two mysteries that Maya was trying to solve. The topics of race, class, and the justice system were somewhat well addressed, although some stereotypes were relied upon. I guessed some of the reveals, while some surprised me, and overall I enjoyed this read.
Title: Weirdo
Author: Tony Weaver Jr., Illustrated by Jess and Cin Wibowo
Genre: Middle Grade Graphic Memoir
Publisher: First Second, 9/17/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Weirdo is a graphic memoir of the author’s childhood, addressing bullies and suicidal thoughts. Tony is a self described nerd who enjoys comics, writing, and video games. When he switches schools he finally finds his people.
“Eleven-year-old Tony Weaver, Jr. loves comic books, anime, and video games, and idolizes the heroic, larger-than-life characters he finds there. But his new classmates all think he’s a weirdo. Bullied by his peers, Tony struggles with the hurt of not being accepted and tries to conform to other people’s expectations. After a traumatic event shakes him to his core, he embarks on a journey of self love that will require him to become the hero of his own story. Weirdo is a triumphant, witty, and comedic story for any kid who’s ever felt awkward, left out, or like they don’t belong. An adolescence survival guide that will give every reader the confidence to make it to the other side.”
I think this is a great look at the difficulties of being different, as well as the process of finding yourself. I appreciated that Tony went to therapy as well. The graphics were well done and this should be a hit for graphic novel lovers, though it does contain topics that may be hard for young readers and that they should discuss with their trusted adults.
Title: The Wilderwomen
Author: Ruth Emmie Lang
Genre: Contemporary, Magical Realism
Publisher: Macmillan Audio, 11/15/22
Source: Print from BOTM, Audio from library
Why I Read It: Waiting on my shelf
My Rating: 4 Stars
The Wilderwomen was my BOTM in November…of 2022. I actually forgot I’d had this one waiting for so long! I listened to the audio of this story about sisters who have magical skills and were abandoned by their mother. Zadie can see things coming while Finn can see memories. Using their skills, they embark on a trip to find their missing mom Nora.
“Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning. Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn, can’t see into the future, but she has an uncannily good memory, so good that she remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an ‘echo’ more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird…When Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora. Now, it’s up to Finn to convince her sister that not only is their mom still out there, but that she wants to be found. Against Zadie’s better judgement, she and Finn hit the highway, using Finn’s echoes to retrace Nora’s footsteps and uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave? But the more time Finn spends in their mother’s past, the harder it is for her to return to the present, to return to herself. As Zadie feels her sister start to slip away, she will have to decide what lengths she is willing to go to find their mother, knowing that if she chooses wrong, she could lose them both for good.”
Some of this book was interesting and fun to listen to, while other parts confused me. There is a lot of symbolism surrounding birds which probably flew over my head. Some parts were funny and while I didn’t quite understand it, I did like the ending. The audio was well done but I wondered about the pronunciation of the tile. The main characters’ last name was Wilder (wild-er), but the narrator read the title as The Will-der Women. That was strange to me!
Title: Love Is In The Hair
Author: Gemma Cary
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Delacorte, 8/27/24
Source: PR for author
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I was really excited to read this book as it is about the fact that girls have body hair, specifically about a young teen with PCOS and excess facial hair, something that I have as well. Frankie goes through a serious bullying incident around her hair, and her best friend Evia takes on the cause, starting a Hairy Girls’ Club to try to publicize the fact that girls have hair too.
“Fifteen-year-old Evia Birtwhistle can’t seem to catch a break. At home, she must deal with her free-spirited mom, and at school she’s the target of ridicule for stating basic truths: like that girls have body hair! When her BFF Frankie—who has facial hair due to her PCOS—becomes the target of school bullies, Evia decides that enough is enough and creates the ‘Hairy Girls’ Club.’ Leading a feminist movement at school is not easy. Boys often look at Evia like she’s a total weirdo, and the self-proclaimed ‘smoothalicious’ girls start their own campaign in retaliation. As Evia struggles with feeling strong enough to lead, and questions how to be a good friend to Frankie, she falls back on the best thing she has—hope. Her message is simple: We CAN make this world a more accepting, less judgmental place for girls to live in…one hairy leg at a time!”
While I appreciated Evia’s cause, I wasn’t sure that she should be the one taking it on. I was proud when Frankie eventually told her how she felt about the campaign. Evia was also put through a ton of bullying and I think some of they retaliation she faced should have been further addressed. This book was funny and sweet, full of friendships and smart ideas. I just wanted more about Frankie’s own experience!
This post includes 7 of the books I read this month. 5 were print books and 2 were on audio. 4 were adult books, 1 was YA, and 2 were middle grade. Genres included historical fiction, contemporary fiction, thriller, graphic memoir, and magical realism.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?
