Category: Contemporary - Booked up

Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist

8/17/2017

Born completely blind, sixteen year old Will is embarking on his most challenging endeavor yet: public high school. As he gains confidence in his ability to navigate his new world, Will finds himself with a fantastic group of new friends and a potential love interest, Cecily. Everything seems to be going swimmingly in his new life, especially since he has been given the chance to have an experimental surgery that will give him his eyesight. What Will soon realizes is that seeing is a language of its own, and it holds its own secrets. Love and First Sight mixes light-hearted teen romance with a thought-provoking perspective on how we see the world and how it sees us. I picked it up for a light and fun summer read and ended up having several great conversations because of this book. There’s more than meets the eye with this lovely little novel. Read more to find out why!

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

8/3/2017

Some days you just need to sit down with a good book of poetry and cry it out.

Some days you just need to read one poem on the go to make you smile.

Milk and Honey is just that book. Pick it up at any time, read a few (or many) something you can pick up at any time, read a few (or many) poems, and find yourself changed a little bit for the better. Broken into four parts, The Hurting, The Loving, The Breaking, The Healing, there is a poem for any occasion. Short, sweet, and to the point, Rupi Kaur takes the hard in life and shows you how to learn and grow from it.

Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson

7/21/2017

A reclusive author hasn’t published anything since her record-breaking best selling novel must now write in order to keep a roof over her head.

A young woman moves from New York to LA to become the author’s full-time assistant and finds she must take care of the author’s eccentric son instead.

A 9-year-old boy obsessed with old Hollywood and extreme fashion enlists his mother’s assistant to help him uncover the identity of his father.

Combine the three and you have the delightfully charming book, Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson.

Want to know more about this delightfully quirky book? (I don’t know why you wouldn't want to pick this one up for the cover alone. There’s a top hat and a monocle for goodness sake!) Read more to find out!

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

7/13/2017

Books like The Hate U Give are important to read not just because they’re timely, but because the fill a gap. They make waves. They make you think about how you view the world. Angie Thomas writes in a way that makes you immediately engage in this novel, so much so that I could imagine her quietly coming up and putting her arm around me saying, “I know this makes you uncomfortable, but let’s think about why.” It’s uncomfortable because it’s supposed to be. Many of you will shy away from that, choosing to read books that make you feel good. That’s great! As for me, I’m finding that I take more from a book that makes me think, feel, and wrestle with some difficult issues. This book fits the bill. The Hate U Give is a young adult novel and one that I would have as required reading in my classroom. I think I might make it required reading for my friends and family as well. Read more to find out why…

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman

6/21/2017

If you're paying attention this summer, you know that Fredrik Backman is on everyone's lips for his newest release, Beartown. I have yet to read it, as his works are in translation from Swedish, and I haven't had the best of luck with books in translation in the past (I'm looking at you, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). When I ventured into my local library earlier this week, I found myself looking for Beartown or A Man Called Ove, just to give him a shot. Then And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer caught my eye. I could easily make the joke that the title is longer than the novella itself, but I'll spare you. So, because this book was only 76 pages, I decided it would be the best use of my time to decide if I really do want to tackle Backman's other works. I thought, "It's only 76 pages. If I don't like it, I haven't wasted my time reading too much of a book. If I do like it, I'll give Beartown a shot." So what was my verdict? Well, readers, this one left me wiping away tears as I read those last few pages, but not for reasons you might think.

After You by Jojo Moyes

8/10/2016

I started this book with a sigh and ended it the very same way. After devouring Me Before You, I was a little hesitant to pick up Jojo Moyes’ sequel, After You. You either loved or hated Me Before You, but no matter what camp you chose you had strong feelings about it.

Did I want to find out what happened to Lou? Yes.

Was I afraid that After You would ruin the ending of a story I felt had such wonderful closure? Absolutely.

Am I happy my curiosity got the best of me and I read After You anyway? Eh.

If you haven’t read Me Before You, there are spoilers about it in the rest of this review. Proceed at your own risk.

Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst

8/2/2016

What do you get when you take three families, all with children who are on the autism spectrum, and leave them at a camp to fend for themselves? Absolute hilarity, that's what. Harmony is the story of the Hammond family's search for "normalcy" in the middle of not so normal circumstances. It is told in alternating perspectives of Alexandra, the mother, and Iris, the neurotypical daughter. Alexandra packs up her husband and two daughters to live at Camp Harmony in hopes that parenting expert Scott Bean can come up with a solution for how to raise Tilly, the Hammond's eldest daughter who is a mix of genius and socially awkward. Harmony was a definite page turner, and actually made my jaw drop with the ending.

First Comes Loves by Emily Giffin

7/7/2016

I hate to admit it, but this is my first Emily Giffin novel. I'm sorry to all of her adoring fans, I just have never been a "chick lit," "chick flick" type of girl. I have watched the movie adaptation of Something Borrowed with Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin. I enjoyed it, but it's not one of my top 50 movies I've ever watched. For that reason, I just haven't tried any of Giffin's #1 New York Time's best selling novels. Please accept my ardent apology for never giving her the time of day before; I have learned my lesson. First Comes Love was a lovely little novel that I just adored. It was light, funny, and had just the right amount of cutesy love that I can handle.