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All in Recommendations
Rating: 4.5/5 | This book was creative, and gripping, and just plain great writing. It's not long; I read it in one evening. I hadn't planned to, and it kept me up about two hours past my bedtime to do it. But I couldn't resist. I felt like I got pulled into something that would break if I stopped in the middle. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4/5 | I requested and read this book on the recommendation of a good friend who really knows books, and she did not let me down. I'm still mulling this one over. It was an introspective, deep novel about family, independence, identity, and love. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Trust Exercise is going to be a hard book to review without spoilers (but I shall attempt). So much of what makes it great is in the surprises you get along the way as a reader. So you're just going to have to trust me when I tell you that this book was really, really good. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | This book blew me away. I usually like (but don't love) generational family stories, but this was really something special. I was so drawn into the stories and lives of these characters, and my review is not going to do it justice. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I impulse-purchased this book after seeing it on Feminist Press' Instagram channel. I've never disliked anything they published, and it looked beautiful, so I bought it. A+ DECISION, DEEDI. The Summer of Dead Birds was a heartbreakingly beautiful story told in poems that I will surely lend to many people and read several times over. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | This. Collection. Is. Masterful. I cannot overstate. Lauren Groff is unbelievable, and she does so much with so little in each of these stories. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4.25/5 | The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls was a beautiful novel about women, family, and the burdens we all carry. The characters were vivid, their experiences were important, and the story was transfixing. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4/5 | Y'all. This mystery is WILD. I'm not usually big on true crime, but I'm so glad I read this one. Cara Robertson has spent her life — literally, this started as a thesis paper — researching Lizzie Borden's story. She's able to paint a rich history of what we know about the crime, and about the trial. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4.5/5 | I'm not sure where they had me: "short stories," "speculative fiction," or "feminist lit." Because I love all of those things. And I was supremely ~not disappointed~. These were make-you-squint-and-think stories. I carried a pencil with me when I was reading it and underlined or circled a significant portion of the words on each page. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | This may have been the most personal memoir I have ever read. Laymon isn't just writing about his life; he's practically writing poetry about his soul. I kept being re-surprised, over and over, at just how many of his deepest, darkest, most private thoughts, feelings, and actions were put down into words for the world to read. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Such Good Work was really, really good. Lichtman's writing is introspectively profound and yet straightforward and simple. It made for a lot of underlined passages and a hard-hitting story. There's also some sort of story-ception going on here, which was a delightful surprise and still has me mulling this whole thing over. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Wow. Wowowow. This is exactly the kind of exciting, beautiful, diverse, badass fantasy novel I want in my life. It kept me humming and hawing about what was going to happen, and the ending was so well done — the perfect amount of excitement, heartbreak, answers, and new mysteries. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4/5 | Anyone who reads a fair amount of nonfiction will tell you: Too many nonfiction books say pretty much nothing new. Refreshingly, When is not one of those books. I read it as part of my subscription to the Next Big Idea Club. It taught me new things about myself and about the world and gave me real-life takeaways that I can implement. I only wish that it had been longer! (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4.5/5 | I love a well-written memoir, and this did not disappoint. Stephanie Land always knew she was meant to be a writer — she was right. Maid is well constructed, well written, and impactful. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4.5/5 | There are a lot of nonfiction books out there, and so many of them are just okay. They put forth an idea in a book that could really be a long-form article; much of it is fluff. The Art of Gathering is NOT that. This book was refreshingly original, useful, and gosh darn interesting. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | I may be a little late to the party, but oh man — am I glad I came. I do read memoirs regularly, but this was unlike anything I've read before. It's hard to describe why, but it's just good. It's just really well written, really engaging, really fascinating, and really emotional. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | Full disclosure: Books like this were made for me. I love feminist fiction, and I really love retellings — especially Greek mythology. Madeline Miller is my jam. This book is also my jam. I loved every page. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 5/5 | What a truly fantastic memoir. You're probably hearing that from everyone who's read this book, and that's for good reason. Its beautiful prose and thoughtful structure make it an easy yet powerful read. (Click the post to read more.)
Rating: 4/5 | This was an impressive debut novel for Krysten Ritter! I'm not always a fan of thrillers (they're such a rollercoaster ride), but this one was fun to read. She gives you just enough information to know that you have all the pieces of the puzzle, if only you could figure out how they fit together. I listened to the audiobook during my Thanksgiving car rides, and I really enjoyed it. (Click the post to read more.)
