Only Plane in the Sky

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M Graff, 425 pages

Even now, twenty years later, when the subject of 9/11 comes up, the conversation almost invariably turns into an exchange of personal experiences:  "This is what I was doing when..."  Virtually every person in the United States, and large numbers outside the US, were affected, emotionally if in no other way, by the events of that day.  The Only Plane in the Sky collects the "Where were you?" stories of hundreds of people, most of them uncomfortably close to the horror as it unfolded.

There are some notable lacunae - for example, the stories of the passengers and crew of Delta Air Lines Flight 1989 and Korean Air Flight 85, both erroneously believed to have been hijacked, are completely absent -  but those are filled elsewhere in the considerable amount of literature produced on the attacks.  This same literature poses other challenges - those seeking a comprehensive account of what happened inside the WTC are far better served by the excellent 102 Minutes, and detailed accounts of what happened in the White House and onboard Air Force One are not hard to come by, while the ATC and military response was recreated in a manner more truthful than most documentaries in United 93.  Where The Only Plane in the Sky shines is its relatability.  The current of testimonies of ordinary people suffering through what seemed unimaginable draws the reader on and on.  The result is a compelling portrait of a moment in time.

Campusland

Campusland by Scott Johnston, 323 pages

There is perhaps no more comfortable place than an elite American university.  This is certainly true of Devon, where English professor Ephraim Russell's biggest worry is beating out a rival for tenure and freshman Lulu Harris frets over being on the cover of a magazine and finding bedmates who meet at least some of her standards.  It is a fragile idyll, however, and it is about to be turned upside down by the ambitions of an activist grifter and an imperious diversity commissar.  

Campusland reads like a combination of an artless Bonfire of the Vanities and a version of the movie PCU where the wacky band of misfits has been pushed to the periphery.  The result, while entertaining, is unsatisfying, as the novel makes a dramatic tonal shift as the climax approaches and Kafka is suddenly swapped with National Lampoon.

Secret Empires

Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends by Peter Schweizer, 225 pages

In 2019, it became front page news that Joe Biden's son, Hunter, had been paid millions of dollars to sit on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, despite having no experience in the energy industry and not speaking Ukrainian, at the same time that his father, then Vice President, had taken charge of US relations with the Ukraine.  Interestingly, Peter Schweizer had already reported the story in this 2018 book, connecting it to other business dealings involving the Bidens, the Kerrys, and the Chinese, Mitch McConnell's in-laws and the Chinese, Rep Danny Rehburg's family and the Mongolians, George W Bush's uncle and the Chinese, the Daley family and the Chinese, the Kushners and Qatar, the Trump sons and Indonesia, and more, establishing an undeniable pattern of attempts by foreign businesses - many of them with strong connections to their own governments - to influence American political figures by channeling substantial amounts of money to their families.  Although, as he points out repeatedly, such behavior by US companies towards the families of foreign leaders is illegal, there are no restrictions in the other direction.

It is worth noting that there are no smoking guns here.  Schweizer charts the flow of cash into the pockets of politically connected individuals, but he cannot prove that this money bought anything - even though it seems naive to believe that it did not.  There is a suggestion of another kind of naivete, however.  In the West, modernity has advanced an ideal of the bloodless, "rational" individual, but the Rest is dominated by more humane, family-centered cultures, hence the clash between the fashionable Western vision of a family as a collection of autonomous individuals and the belief shared throughout much of the non-Western world that all business is ultimately family business.  The author seems to assume that the Western view is both correct and stronger.  At one point, he quotes Chicago dynast Richard J Daley's response to a question about favorable treatment his children allegedly received from the city, "If a man can't put his arms around his sons then what kind of world are we living in?"  Despite Schweizer's intentions, this question resonates throughout the book - is such a world even desirable, much less possible?

Bad Blood

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou, 299 pages

It's a familiar story.  A brilliant college student with a revolutionary idea dropped out of school to start her own business and chase her dreams.  Through hard work and pluck, she managed to impress a series of movers and shakers, earning investment dollars for her company and plaudits for herself.  A decade later, the company was worth billions and she was hailed as a role model for a new generation of girls looking to change the world and get rich in the process.  But there's a twist - it was all a sham.  The company's products never actually worked.  The dream was never more than a dream - and marketing.

Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos ("THERApy" and "diagNOSis") in 2003 with the tuition money she saved by dropping out of Stanford.  Wearing a signature black turtleneck in imitation of Steve Jobs, she managed to win the endorsement of influential men and women from Henry Kissinger to Bill Clinton with her promise to revolutionize health care with a new technology that would allow quick, easy, cheap, and mobile blood tests.  By 2014, the company was valued at over $9 billion, and in 2015 Holmes was named "Woman of the Year" by Glamour magazine and listed among the "Most Influential People in the World" by TIME.  Later that same year, Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou revealed that Theranos was falsifying its results, conducting standard blood tests and then attributing the results to their devices.  After initial denials and threats of lawsuits, the company slowly walked back nearly all of the claims it had made, before collapsing into bankruptcy amid criminal investigations.  Bad Blood is Carreyrou's book-length account of how things reached that point, and how so many people were fooled, cheated, and, in some cases, endangered.

The most remarkable thing about Bad Blood is how sympathetic Holmes remains.  She is presented as a powerfully driven young woman who desired nothing more than to become a billionaire and help people - or, at least, to be seen to be helping people.  She seems to have genuinely believed that if she just wanted it enough - believed it enough - eventually the devices would work, and the multi-billion dollar business she had founded would thrive.  This spiraled into new age megalomania - at one point, Holmes told employees that they were working on the "best thing humans have ever built" and at another that they were "building a religion."  Carreyrou skillfully weaves the personal stories of Theranos insiders into the bigger picture, creating a rich and compelling narrative.

Justice on Trial

Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court by Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino, 306 pages

Anthony Kennedy surprised almost everyone when, in June of 2018, he announced his imminent retirement from the US Supreme Court.  Immediately, both within and without the White House, discussion began concerning his replacement.  President Trump disappointed many diehard conservatives when he announced his nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, widely considered the safe, establishment pick.  What was always certain to be a difficult nomination process soon developed into a circus as protesters sought every opportunity to disrupt the proceedings, then descended even further when Senate Democrats produced a woman who accused Kavanaugh of having assaulted her over three decades ago, on an unknown date in an unknown location.  Despite all of the accuser's named witnesses contradicting her story, the truth of the accusation became an article of faith for many on the left and in the news media, and she was soon joined by others making progressively more improbable allegations, until the proceedings outpaced parody with earnest discussions of the possible sinister meanings of '80s teenage slang.

Milan Kundera wrote, "The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting."  Meanwhile, if he wasn't the first to say it, The Washington Post's Phil Graham at least popularized the idea that "journalism is the first rough draft of history."  By that standard, Justice on Trial is simultaneously vitally important and somewhat deficient.  In the midst of a deliberate if disorganized Orwellian project to rewrite history in order to fit an ideological narrative, the simple recording of facts that defy the narrative is a worthwhile accomplishment.  Hemingway and Severino do more than simply restate facts, however, adding in an entertaining and well-deserved seasoning of snark that, unfortunately, will give their narrow-minded critics all the excuse they need to ignore the book entirely.

The Mistletoe Promise

The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans     273 pages

From Goodreads:

Elise Dutton dreads the arrival of another holiday season. Three years earlier, her husband cheated on her with her best friend, resulting in a bitter divorce that left her alone, broken, and distrustful.

Then, one November day, a stranger approaches Elise in the mall food court. Though she recognizes the man from her building, Elise has never formally met him. Tired of spending the holidays alone, the man offers her a proposition. For the next eight weeks—until the evening of December 24—he suggests that they pretend to be a couple. He draws up a contract with four rules:

1. No deep, probing personal questions
2. No drama
3. No telling anyone the truth about the relationship 
4. The contract is void on Christmas Day

The lonely Elise surprises herself by agreeing to the idea. As the charade progresses, the safety of her fake relationship begins to mend her badly broken heart. But just as she begins to find joy again, her long-held secret threatens to unravel the emerging relationship. But she might not be the only one with secrets.

Review:

This is such a cozy book, even though it contains some darker elements. The love story is sweet and romantic and it's a great read in the Christmas season.

The Last Time I Lied

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager     384 pages

From Goodreads:

Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their tiny cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. The games ended when Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin in the dead of night. The last she--or anyone--saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings--massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca implores her to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends.

Yet it's immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by memories from fifteen years ago, Emma discovers a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp's twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present.

And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.

I tried so hard to figure out “who did it.” Sadly, I was not successful, but I guess that just means that Sager made a compelling story that was unpredictable and new. This felt like a real story, it was so thrilling, page by page. Once the story returns Camp Nightingale, Sager really hits her stride and the story picks up and it’s difficult to put down.

Overall, it’s a solid mystery – I really enjoyed reading it, I enjoyed the suspense, and I really liked the writing. Sager is really talented and I’m interested in reading anything else he has written. I’d definitely recommend this to mystery buffs and anybody who is in for a thriller story.

Finding Baba Yaga

Finding Baba Yaga by Jane Yolen     144 pages

From Goodreads:

A harsh, controlling father. A quiescent mother. A house that feels like anything but a home. Natasha gathers the strength to leave, and comes upon a little house in the wood: A house that walks about on chicken feet and is inhabited by a fairy tale witch. In finding Baba Yaga, Natasha finds her voice, her power, herself....

A mythic yet timely novel-in-verse by the beloved and prolific author and poet Jane Yolen, “the Hans Christian Andersen of America.”

Yolen reinvents the classic tale of Baba Yaga with a modern twist, and poetry. I loved the texture of words Yolen created, mixing soft with rough, kind with unkind. You could really get a sense of Tash's turmoil, her sense of self. Her character growth is well developed, from afraid and weak to strong and confident under the Baba's tutelage. 

There are some wonderfully playful elements to this story, between Tash and Vasilisa, and even with Baba Yaga. Yolen plays with modern elements, like with Baba Yaga's upgraded house elements, but still keeps much of the traditional story, like Baba Yaga teaching the girls to fly with the mortar and pestle. All the fun, interesting bits of Baba Yaga lore are there for fans to see, but Yolen also does a good job of ushering a new generation of Baba Yaga enthusiasts into the story, giving time to explain some of the more traditional elements of Baba Yaga's story. 

I really enjoyed this book, and once again, Yolen really hooked me into this modern fantasy world.

Maid Sama!

Maid Sama! by Hiro Fujiwara     208 pages

"Misaki Ayuzawa is the President of the Student Council at Seika High School, formerly an all-boys school. Unfortunately, most of the students are still male and stuck in their slovenly habits, so man-hating Misaki really socks it to them in an attempt to make the school presentable to attract more female students. But what will she do when the sexiest boy in school finds out that after school, Misaki works in a maid cafe."

This was an interesting story - I'd seen a few of the anime episodes of this series and thought I'd read the manga. Not much is different. There is a creepy element to this type of story (I find Maid cafes to be creepy and quite sexist) so I didn't love the story. But I like reading a quick, humorous manga and I like the two main characters so overall it wasn't a terrible read.

Vox

Vox by Christina Dalcher     326 pages

"Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.

On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial—this can't happen here. Not in America. Not to her.

This is just the beginning.

Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.

But this is not the end.

For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice."

My overall thoughts are that this book, whose premise was so intriguing to me, didn’t go far enough to match my expectations. I wanted it to be so much more than it was. In some ways, it felt like Dalcher was trying to write a “Handmaid’s Tale” read-alike, but Jean just cannot live up to the standard of Offred. The story is too short and doesn’t really explore the world too much. Like with “Handmaid’s Tale,” Jean has little interaction with the resistance, in fact she didn’t even realize there could be one, and so much of the story is focused on Jean’s own reception of and reaction to the Pure Movement. Since I didn’t care for Jean, I cared little for her comments or feelings on the whole situation and so the book was really just me trying to figure out how this movement would be brought down, or if it even would be. So, would I recommend it? Yes, to those who like reading dystopias or are interested in feminist literature. But otherwise, I’d say people could pass on it and they wouldn’t be missing much.

Hurricane Child

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callendar     256 pages

"Twelve-year-old Caroline is a Hurricane Child, born on Water Island during a storm. Coming into this world during a hurricane is unlucky, and Caroline has had her share of bad luck already. She's hated by everyone in her small school, she can see things that no one else can see, and -- worst of all -- her mother left home one day and never came back. With no friends and days filled with heartache, Caroline is determined to find her mother. When a new student, Kalinda, arrives, Caroline's luck begins to turn around. Kalinda, a solemn girl from Barbados with a special smile for everyone, seems to see the things Caroline sees, too. Joined by their common gift, Kalinda agrees to help Caroline look for her mother, starting with a mysterious lady dressed in black. Soon, they discover the healing power of a close friendship between girls."

This book was not for me. Not only were the main characters unlikable, but the themes in this story seemed much too heavy to be geared toward young readers (now, I know, depending on where children grow up and what their sexual orientation is, or what their home life is like, this story isn't any worse than what they've experienced, but the way this story is written doesn't seem like it would bring a reader in, especially a young reader. The writing style, to me, doesn't seem as if it were written for the age the main character is, but this is my opinion). I will just say that I don't know what kind of reader I would ever be able to recommend this book to, because the story is challenging, the narrative is a bit all over the place, and there is not much of a plot.

Five Feet Apart

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott     288 pages

"Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?"

This was such a beautiful love story, told from the perspective of two teenagers with Cystic Fibrosis. Will and Stella couldn't be more different in their outlook on life, him wanting to stop treatment and life life to the fullest while he still can, she trying to hold everything together to get better so she won't hurt the people she loves. But when they meet, slowly they change each other for the better and they find love where they didn't expect it.

I found both Stella and Will to be well rounded characters and I liked them both. They both seemed believable and earnest in their feelings and the why of their feelings was explained well. I also felt that the relationships with side characters was strong, mostly between Stella and Poe. There was a feeling of real time spent together, their routines and inside jokes helped show just how much the knew and loved each other. Not much time was spent with other friend characters, like Stella's school friends or Will's friends, but the story was not long, so there wasn't much time to include these.

I think the parents were believable as well, though I do think it was a bit too good to be true for Stella's parents to <spoiler> have gotten back together so easily and quickly after Stella's long transplant</spoiler>. I do like that the parents were there and involved, rather than just being props to make the story move along.

I kept wondering how the story would end, since the prospect of CF being terminal suggests that one or both characters could die at any time. I am glad that the author didn't create a magical/unbelievable recovery for Will or made it so that both characters actually could be together in the way they wanted, as this would have taken away from the reality that this book is trying to convey. The ending is bittersweet, but also ambiguous in a hopeful way. Stella's and Will's stories are not quite over and you, the reader, are left to imagine what you think might happen to them.

Lastly, I very much enjoyed the author's decision to provide a very real portrayal of the lives of people with CF. I think many stories don't handle illnesses well, or attempt to use illness as a quirk to create a compelling or unique romance and end up using the illness as a tool or don't present it in an accurate way, thus showing that the inclusion of illness in the story is just to make it novel or provide a tragic reason that the two leads cant be together - I’m looking at you, Everything, Everything! From the way this book was written, really lovingly, I could tell that the author wanted to provide a positive story for those who have CF, that accurately represented their lives, and that would make them seen by the rest of the world. At no point in the book did I feel like CF was just a story tool or was used to add heightened drama. It was very real, eye opening, and moving.

I would highly recommend this story and I am very glad I read it. Anyone who loves teen romance stories or who want to read a book with compelling, well written characters should read this book.

Squirrel Days

Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper     256 pages

There comes a time in every sitcom actress’s life when she is faced with the prospect of writing a book. When Ellie Kemper’s number was up, she was ready. Contagiously cheerful, predictably wholesome, and mostly inspiring except for one essay about her husband’s feet, My Squirrel Days is a funny, free-wheeling tour of Ellie’s life—from growing up in suburban St. Louis with a vivid imagination and a crush on David Letterman to moving to Los Angeles and accidentally falling on Doris Kearns Goodwin.

I was so excited to see this book on NetGalley – I knew I had to read it. As a self-proclaimed Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fan, and as a St. Louis native, I knew I had to read Kemper’s book. And I am so glad I did! Kemper’s humor comes across in her writing so well. I giggled constantly while reading this book. Each chapter tells of a different experience or memory from Kemper’s life and she is very open and honest in her writing. She includes a disclaimer in the beginning of the book that her stories will be embellished – and there are plenty of moments where you can see this in action, and it gives the work an artful storytelling quality that I quite enjoyed, because really, everyone remembers things differently than how they happened. Kemper uses this to channel her humor and creates a scene that almost feels like you’re reading the scene of a movie. It was wonderful seeing all the bits and pieces that Kemper includes about St. Louis in her story. St. Louis is both a fairly large city and at the same like a small town (where you bump into people you know more often than not), so it often gets passed up when people consider major cities in the US. It was nice to get this little nod of recognition from Kemper. As she related bits about her childhood, I could easily picture the places she mentions and I got a little thrill every time. It was also amazing to hear a little behind the scenes tidbits from the shows and movies she’s acted in, like getting a little Office trivia. It was very cool to see things from her perspective about a show that I’ve watched so many times. She actually lived some of it! I would definitely recommend this to fans of the Office or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It’s also just a really funny book with lots of slice of life scenes that are made larger than life with Kemper’s humor and storytelling. A fun, quick read that’s worth picking up.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control. 

What can I say about this book other than that it is disappointing because it wasn’t even close to what I was expecting? If you look at the cover, if you read the book description, all signs point to YA Romance. But that’s where it gets you: there is no romance.

Some might protest: “Oh no, there’s the romance between Lara Jean and Peter!” or “Lara Jean and Josh!” But I say, “NO.” This is not romance. For one thing, a fake relationship does not translate to romance. Even when Lara Jean and Peter <spoiler>admit that they like each other</spoiler> that does not really equal romance. And nothing comes of it anyway. For another, you can’t even count Josh – he’s a periphery and nothing happens <spoiler>and don’t even count the fact that he surprise kisses Lara Jean and she sort-of kisses him back before breaking it off.</spoiler>. NOT ROMANCE.

What this book is really is just a hint, a tease, to get you to read the next book. The beginning says: buckle up, the characters are circling each other in a “will they/won’t they”! The middle says: nothing remotely romantic is happening, only wistful day-dreaming about romantic things. The end says: PSYCH! No romance, just a could-have-been and now it’s over, but IS IT???!!!

Now I have to read the next book to see where that takes me – and to figure out why in bloody heck there’s a THIRD book. Why is this love story a series? I couldn’t figure it out before I read this book and now I know why. Because, most likely, the romance won’t happen till somewhere by the end of the second book, but probably not until the third book. Is it worth the struggle? I’ll say yes, because this book is a light, easy read.

Proceed with caution if I haven’t warned you off yet: Lara Jean is not the greatest head to be inside. As if her name weren’t cutesy enough, Lara Jean is such a “baby girl” that she reads more like a 13 year old. This is perpetuated by her continuous use of the titles, “Mommy,” and “Daddy,” for her parents. I’ve never met anyone above the age of 10 who calls their parents mommy and daddy. It was really freaking weird and I could not get over it. Lara Jean also has no life – she hangs out with her sister(s) and her dad and she goes to school. The only other person she sees more is Josh (because he freaking lives next door!). She has a sort-of girl friend, Chris, but that doesn’t really count because a) they don’t hang out at school and b) Chris only pops up every once in a while or calls Lara Jean. They don’t frequently see each other enough to call them best-friends.

And then, of course, there’s Peter. The “love interest.” I say it in quotes because <spoiler>their relationship is based on a contract</spoiler> but also because there is absolutely no chemistry between Lara Jean and Peter. In fact, Peter is very much still hung up over his ex-girlfriend throughout the book. Even when he says he likes Lara Jean, I sort of don’t believe him because I just don’t see any proof of that in the text and that’s either the author’s fault or Peter is just a really terrible person. But I think, it’s actually kind of both.

I’m going to go on a side-tangent here (feel free to skip to the bottom for my final say on this book): Neither Peter, nor Josh, are good romantic choices for Lara Jean.

I’ll start with Josh because the reason is really short: he’s her sister’s ex-girlfriend. Even if the author might in future write a scene where Margot says, “Lara Jean, I really am completely over Josh and I don’t even care that you and he are in a relationship, in fact, go you! I’m your biggest fan and supporter,” I would not be down with this relationship. For one, <spoiler>Margot breaks up with Josh and clearly still has feelings for him. And he for her. I don’t really buy the whole, “Lara Jean why didn’t you say something before because actually I love youuuu,” thing. In fact, it makes Josh an even bigger creep because he seems to be in love with Margot and Lara Jean interchangeably. If I were Lara Jean (or even Margot, to be honest) I’d be constantly worried about who Josh is thinking of when he kisses me/does anything romantic with me</spoiler>. Secondly, Josh and Margot <spoiler>had sex</spoiler>. If I knew that about my sister and the guy I have a crush on, I think any feelings would immediately be doused. Just no.

Now, Peter. First of all, Peter is still into his ex, a girl he’s on/off dated for all of high school and some of middle. If that doesn’t spell trouble, I don’t know what does. Secondly, Peter continually treats Lara Jean badly. He continually makes fun of her, picks fights with her, and has very little to say positively about her. He’s also extremely vain/selfish, a fact which Lara Jean CONTINUALLY brings up. If she can see it, I don’t know why Peter becomes attractive to her because that seems a bit problematic, especially given her romantic notions. After a certain point in the book, Lara Jean starts saying, “He’s really not like that,” or “He’s actually a nice guy,” or something to that effect. What I want to know is, how has she come to this conclusion? Even though a good percentage of the book is her and Peter hanging out, I don’t really see him change at all from her initial perception of him: he’s a bro, he’s vain, etc. Either Han is just not good at showing character development or she wrote Lara Jean to be just like all the other girls Lara Jean complains about when in connection to Peter: Peter’s a charmer and he makes every woman fall in love with him. Which means that no, he’s not actually nicer than people thought, not as self-involved as everyone thought, he’s just really good at conning people. I’m leaning towards this one a little bit because Lara Jean often says things like, “If Peter asks, I’ll probably do it,” as in, Peter can convince her to do things she normally wouldn’t do. If that’s how it is, then no – Peter is a terrible choice for a boyfriend.

Final thoughts:

So, ultimately, this book is a giant tease – it hints at romance, doesn’t deliver, and then expects you to read the next book to find out. Also, both love interests are terrible and Lara Jean is so babyish it’s hard to imagine anything romantic happening with her in a way that wouldn’t be creepy because she seems like a 13 year old. It’s a fast read – mostly because I kept trying to get to the good part, but it never happened. Will I read the next one? Probably, because it’ll probably be just as quick. I know I might be setting myself up for more disappointment, but at least it will be over quickly. I don’t know who I’d recommend this to.

What's a Girl Gotta Do?

What's a Girl Gotta Do? by Holly Bourne     432 pages

HOW TO START A FEMINIST REVOLUTION:

1. Call out anything that is unfair on one gender

2. Don't call out the same thing twice (so you can sleep and breathe)

3. Always try to keep it funny

4. Don't let anything slide. Even when you start to break...

Lottie's determined to change the world with her #Vagilante vlog. Shame the trolls have other ideas...

This was probably my least favorite Spinster book, despite it being one of the most important books because of how directly it addresses sexism and what it means to be a feminist. I only disliked it because the level of angst and emotions was so high it was hard to get through. It’s never enjoyable reading about people going through a really rough patch in their lives, and what Lottie endures is quite rough. It made for difficult reading – as in, I would need to take breaks every once in a while, just to space out the emotional turmoil.

Overall, I will say that this book touches on important topics and I would highly recommend it to young, budding feminists. This book reads like an intro into activism and displays numerous ways that teens can get into addressing sexism or starting activist projects to address issues they are concerned with. I also like that Bourne does address the fact that this book doesn’t cover all forms of sexism. The blanket of sexism is wide and many books or projects that attempt to promote feminist ideals often get shot down, even by other feminists, if they aren’t intersectional enough or don’t attempt to cover all forms of sexism, even going so far as to play the “who has it worst,” game. Any attempts to address feminism, in my book, are important, and Bourne makes sure state that this book is an attempt to light a spark, which I think it does.

How Hard Can Love Be?

How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne     480 pages

Amber, Evie and Lottie: three girls facing down tough issues with the combined powers of friendship, feminism and cheesy snacks. Both hilarious and heart-rending, this is Amber’s story of how painful – and exhilarating – love can be, following on from Evie’s story in Am I Normal Yet?

All Amber wants is a little bit of love. Her mum has never been the caring type, even before she moved to California, got remarried and had a personality transplant. But Amber's hoping that spending the summer with her can change all that.

And then there's prom king Kyle, the guy all the girls want. Can he really be interested in anti-cheerleader Amber? Even with best friends Evie and Lottie's advice, there's no escaping the fact: love is hard.

This was a fun, summer romance read. Though it's considered the second book in Bourne's "Spinster Club," series, each book acts as a stand-alone, with a different girl at the center of the story. While there are references to events or people from the first book, you can read this one alone and it's just as enjoyable. I thought Amber was an interesting character to read - at times, she is very difficult because she has a lot of emotional baggage (and represses a lot of it), but there are times where you see her spunky, fun side come out and you get a sense of how strong she is as an individual, despite all the things in her life that might have broken her. This is a romance story, but this is also a mother/daughter story - Amber leaves England to spend the summer with her mother (albeit helping out at a camp that her mother and her step-father run). Her mother, a recovering alcoholic, is a difficult character to like - she continually pushes Amber away or deflects Amber's attempts to remember good memories or make new bonds. She often pushes blame away from her - but one of the things that makes this book a strong book is that Bourne doesn't shy away from discussing alcoholism, and how it affects a family. Amber is hurt that her mother is not living up to how she used to be, she's frustrated that her mom has never apologized for the terrible things she did while she was an alcoholic, or that she left her in England to start a new life, with a man Amber despises, in America. While Amber's feelings are valid, Bourne doesn't place all the blame on her mom, giving space in the novel to talk about alcoholism as a disease (one that is for life and that her mother must struggle with continually). It makes the story stronger, gives it an element of realness that doesn't let the reader shy away from. The romance in the book is light and cute and just what you'd want from a summer read. Kyle, the All-American Boy is handsome, nice, but think's he's totally boring. The growth that happens as Amber helps coax him out of his shell, and how he helps her see how amazing she is as a person, is the kind of mutually-beneficial relationship I'd like to see more often in YA books. They are adorable together and their exchanges bring a lightness to the novel that balances out the darker bits. The only nit-pick I would have is that whoever Bourne's editor is didn't seem to see fit to take some of the Britishisms out of the American characters speech. Often Kyle, Russ, or some of the other American characters will say things that are completely British, such as "at the weekend," "whinge," or even the exclamation of, "oi!" It's a bit awkward, as an American who never hears such terms said, read American characters saying those things. While this is not a deal-breaker, it is jarring and takes me out of the story every time I come across it. Otherwise, a solid read and I'll definitely continue on reading the rest of the series. I would recommend to any teen or young adult looking for a cute summer romance story (and doesn't mind a bit of drama of the serious kind, aka: alcoholism and broken families).

A Spark of Light

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult     352 pages

The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.

After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic.

But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester disguised as a patient, who now stands in the cross hairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.

This was a fascinating story, and well crafted, as it weaves together the stories of several lives as they intersect on one particular day at a woman's reproductive health clinic.

Some are there to get an abortion, some are there to get the pill, some are there because they work there, they are the abortion doctor, or that is where they receive they're gynecological exams. Whatever the reason, on this fateful day all their lives are thrown together when an anti-abortion activist starts shooting.

This story was a bit difficult to follow, at first, as it traces the story backwards. Immediately you're thrust into the story, amongst the hostages, the negotiator, and the gunman. It's always difficult for me when a story jumps back and forth between perspec

tives, and this story followed ten different people, and it jumped rather frequently.

The thing that Picoult is so skilled at is revealing the story, bit by bit, until all the pieces begin to come together, finally, into a whole, at the very end. And when you finally get a major reveal you've been waiting for the whole time you've been reading, often you end up making some audible sound, like a gasp, because you just didn't see it coming. At least, that's how it was for me, though not as strongly this time, as I predicted the sort-of big reveal before it happened, though not until I was at least half-way done.

The parts I loved about this story were the different character's stories and how they all fit together to tell this overarching story about abortion from all sides. Going into this story, you might just think it's a pro-live vs. pro-choice struggle. But there are so many facets that make up the abortion discussion, that aren't as often brought up. Picoult makes sure to touch them all. I learned so much just reading this book - and I highly recommend reading Picoult's "Author's Note," as well, where she speaks personally about her thoughts on abortion.

That being said, what kept this from being higher rated for me were the numerous times that this story felt less like a story and more like a "covering all the bases" blanket statement about abortion. As much as I appreciated all the information about abortion, sometimes the story element was lacking and a character became a mouth-piece to tell me a specific fact or point of view about abortion rather than me feeling link this was something heart-felt by that character. This story is definitely coming in at a time where these kinds of discussions are raging and abortion is painting a wide swath in a political landscape. This notion unfortunately colors my enjoyment of the story, a bit, as it feels like a PSA rather than a story.

But otherwise, I really felt like this was well done and is definitely up there in my list of favorite Picoult books. I would definitely recommend it to anyone because perspective is necessary when it comes to topics like these. Empathy is an amazing eye-opener, and getting an idea of what someone facing such a choice might be thinking or feeling or even knowing what their life is like is important and humanizing, a point that Picoult is emphasizing, underlining, and exclaiming with every word. So read it.

Not If I See You First

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom     310 pages

Parker Grant doesn't need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That's why she created the Rules: Don't treat her any differently just because she's blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart. 

When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there's only one way to react - shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough

on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that's right, her eyes don't work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn't cried since her dad's death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened - both with Scott, and her dad - the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken.

Parker Grant is one of my favorite literary characters now. She's funny, she's direct (read: brutally honest), and she's a fierce, loyal friend. I am so glad I got to read a book from her perspective. And she's blind, a fact that does not change how you read her as a relatable teen character. Lindstrom does a fantastic job of adding layers to this story - Parker's blindness is not there to make her special or novel. She's just a YA protagonist who happens to be blind. And I learned so much about what being blind means from Parker. That was a brilliant side bonus to this story. I will never forget what she has taught me. Having a close friend who is disabled, I can relate a lot to Parker's friends and that dynamic. Many times, it doesn't change how the friendship is - only things like how the world handles the differently-abled changes things, like making it more difficult for them to get around or people treating them differently because they have this idea of how they're supposed to be treated. This is brought up well in the book, often in humorous ways so it doesn't feel preachy or overly sympathetic (things that Parker would hate). The story is so well constructed, the characters develop and evolve, and there are some very sweet, touching moments about friendship in here, about how you can love your friends and lean on them when you really need to. It's a great story about friendship, among other things. It's also a high school drama, and there is lots of drama, but it never feels cliched or redone. Lindstrom is not telling this story just because it's his idea for a high school story. There are many levels happening here and the fact that it takes place during high school is just a fact, not the main purpose. I also greatly appreciate the use of this novel to show that differently-abled people can do amazing, extraordinary things that often people would think them incapable of. Parker runs track. And she's good at it and it gives her a freedom that many would think her unable to achieve. I love that this book shows that, it's such an important thing, aside from bringing diversity to YA. Because of this, I would highly recommend this book to everyone, adults included. And Parker is a great character - she should get more recognition.

 

It Only Happens in the Movies

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne     416 pages

Audrey is over romance. Since her parents' relationship imploded her mother's been catatonic, so she takes a cinema job to get out of the house. But there she meets wannabe film-maker Harry. Nobody expects Audrey and Harry to fall in love as hard and fast as they do. But that doesn't mean things are easy. Because real love isn't like the movies...

The greatest love story ever told doesn't feature kissing in the snow or racing to airports. It features pain and confusion and hope and wonder and a ban on cheesy clichés. Oh, and zombies... 

A part of me wishes that this book ended differently, but a different part of me knew it could only end the way it did and I'm glad Bourne chose to end it that way. The story is a beautiful monument to what is wrong with stereotype romance films and how, on the whole, these stereotypes warp society's way of experiencing love, expecting certain things, giving up others, letting things happen because love is the end goal.

Is love a choice or a feeling? When this question gets put to Audrey, she feels one way, but by the end, she recognizes that it isn't what she initially thought. Her character development is so strong in this book - I absolutely loved reading her. She begins the novel with a torn up heart - suffering from a teen, school romance gone sour - and on top of that, her own parents' bitter divorce has gotten much worse because her childhood home is being forcibly sold by her father to pay for his new family's lifestyle. Swearing off love, Audrey doesn't expect to fall into another relationship again, especially when it appears to come from the most stereotypical of sources. Harry's character is everything you'd expect out of a teen romance movie. Bourne did an excellent job, though, of building him into something that you could see Audrey accepting, the kind of guy who, despite being warned off by many, she falls for. Thus the romance ensues.

But Audrey's cinema class offers her an opportunity to explore what is wrong with Hollywood romances and to look at her own relationships with a critical eye. The book is full of amazing, stereotype-smashing scenes that really just make me love Audrey more. And the cast of characters is great, bringing the humor, the love, and the support that Audrey needs. This book wasn't what I expected it to be and so I understood why (view spoiler).

So yeah, a very well written book - despite my being unsatisfied with the end (it's not warranted, but as a rational human being I can accept it. I just like my romances to be...different). I would definitely put this in an anti-valentine display - Audrey's cinema project alone is a great example of anti-valentines protest. But I'd also recommend it just so people can read a genuinely well written female character. Audrey is flawed, but she is also strong, capable, and feeling. She makes mistakes but she also owns up to them and she does her best to be better. She tries. And I love her for it.

Am I Normal Yet?

Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne     434 pages

All Evie wants is to be normal. She’s almost off her meds and at a new college where no one knows her as the girl-who-went-crazy. She’s even going to parties and making friends. There’s only one thing left to tick off her list…

But relationships are messy – especially relationships with teenage guys. They can make any girl feel like they’re going mad. And if Evie can’t even tell her new friends Amber and Lottie the truth about herself, how will she cope when she falls in love?

Wow, this book was a roller coaster of emotions to read. Evelyn, or Evie, is just starting to lower her medication to combat her OCD symptoms. Wanting to experience a "normal" teenage life, she begins to make new friends and perhaps experience real romance for the first time. Except her symptoms start creeping back - only this time, Evie's not willing to admit they're back, afraid that she'll disappoint her family, that her new friends will find out and not want to be around her to deal with mental issues, that she will be "mental" for the rest of her life. Bourne did such a good job conveying the struggles someone might go through with this mental illness, drawing out the problems in our society with stigmas about mental illness, society's casual use of mental illness buzzwords, like "OCD" or "crazy," without realizing how much such casual use of these words might hurt those with actual illnesses. With the character of Evelyn, Bourne is able to bring a light to this issue while still constructing a teenage character with real teenage problems that traditional YA books attempt to highlight. Evie gets crushes, she has family problems, she worries about what her friends might think, all issues tackled in many YA novels. While highlighting mental illness, Bourne does not let it define Evie's character, still showing her in the same light as any other YA-driven novel. This story was so compelling - I felt things very deeply while reading Evie's character, and I especially enjoyed how feminism became a rallying cry for her and her friends, who start their own "spinster" club, to take back the word spinster and perhaps bring about a new, enlightened way of living in a world full of benevolent as well as blatant sexism. While the type of feminism discussed isn't as intersectional as I'm sure some would like, it is still an important component that most YA books do not even attempt to touch, so I applaud Bourne for bringing the topic of feminism, as how teen girls experience it, in this book. The narration was so witty and the cast of characters all felt well rounded and real. I am so happy I finally got a chance to read this book and I will definitely be recommending it to everyone.