And just like that, the summer is almost over, and I only read three books over the last two months! The first two months in our new home have been so busy though (peep my new bedding!), so I'm glad I still managed to find some time to read.
Genre: Literary Historical Fiction
My Reviews: Goodreads
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
Format: Hardcover
Quick Synopsis: How much would you trade to defeat lonesomeness? Kya watched her siblings and parents abandon their difficult life in their North Carolina marshland. But way out yonder, where the crawdads sing, the swamp is the only home Kya knows. It keeps her secrets better than anyone else can, even if it can’t keep everyone else out.
Quick Review: Where the Crawdads Sing is a beautiful and heartbreaking tale of survival, loneliness, isolation, chosen family, and forgiveness. Specifically, I thought the questions regarding lonesomeness interwoven throughout the book (and for various characters) were well thought-out and definitely seemed to come full circle by the end. The author really brought the swamp to life, and not just via the critters that live there, but as a character in its own right. The birds, fireflies, and foxes taught her about trust, behavior, and instinct, while the Carolina waters ebbed and flowed in sync with her emotions. The marsh provided solace and familiarity when she needed it most, truly putting the mother in Mother Nature.
Who Should Read This: Collectors of things and knowledge. Anyone who spent their childhood playing in the forest. Anyone who enjoys nightcaps listening to the tree frogs croak and the crickets sing.
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Paperback
Quick Synopsis: Each summer, Belly and her family make an annual trip to her mother's best friend's summer home in Cousin's Beach. Belly, always feels like the tag along to her own older brother, and the two brothers who live there. But this summer is different, it's the one where she's finally grown into her own, and she thinks her summer crush ought to see her as something more...
Quick Review: This book is pretty much exactly what you expect it to be. It's a coming-of-age tale that takes place during the course of a few summer trips with the same families. There are a few love interests for Belly, and yes, they're all moody teenagers with teenager problems. Most main characters were just plain mean. Conrad was selfish. Belly treated her mom, her family friends, and the boy who truly liked her like trash. At least Belly's brother, Steven, was mean to her in a way I imagine most older brother's were annoying to their little sisters. I feel like the screen adaptation of To All the Boys I Loved Before was better and cuter than the book version, so I'm hopeful that the show for The Summer I Turned Pretty will be more exciting and complex than the book.
Who Should Read This: Young adults (not adults). And for the record, there are some great YA books adults should read, but this isn't it.
Genre: Non-fiction
My Reviews: Goodreads
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Hardcover & Audiobook
Quick Synopsis: Chad and Lizzy have dissected each and every episode of The Bachelor over the past twenty years to bring you an ESPN-like commentary, history, and rule-book of the show. They even go so far as to coin their own terms like the Rose Quotient (a metric used to determine how successful contestants are in receiving important roses) to the HuJu (a play-by-play execution of the Hug Jump we see at the beginning of dates).
Quick Review: This book is a long-form version of those Powerpoint Night TikToks where you all bring and present a five-minute Powerpoint on a random and funny topic. Think: water bottle brands ranked, things I would implement if I was president, reasons I think my friends would die in the Hunger Games, how to win The Bachelor. I find this style of commentary, especially in terms of The Bachelor, to be quite entertaining, and it brings a whole new light to watching the show.
Who Should Read This: Watchers of The Bachelor who A) are not embarrassed that they watch it, B) have ever participated in a Bachelor fantasy league, or C) think they were a Bachelor producer in a past life-time.
Comments