Book Review: "My Friends" by Fredrik Backman

This book has been all over Bookstagram, and deservedly so. I’m a huge fan of Fredrik Backman’s, but I tend to love those of his books that are more serious and emotional. And he sure knows how to make me cry!

“Adults always think they can protect children by stopping them from going to dangerous places, but every teenager knows that’s pointless, because the most dangerous place on earth is inside us. Fragile hearts break in palaces and in dark alleys alike.”

You can obviously tell from the title that this is a book about friendship, but it is so much more than that. This is a story about loss, loneliness, the love we feel in our souls and the joy when that love is reciprocated. It’s also a story about rescuing those in need, even when you’re in need of rescue yourself.

In this book, as in his Beartown trilogy, some of Backman’s characters have known great pain, sadness, even hopelessness. Yet quite often, they still find the strength to endure, to experience joy, to love, even as their hearts are broken. That is one aspect that makes his books so meaningful and moving to me.

“He would often try to think that perhaps that has to be the case: that our teenage years have to simultaneously be the brightest light and the darkest depths, because that’s how we learn to figure out our horizons.” (I felt this quote in my soul.)

From the very first words in this book, I was reminded of a line from one of my favorite movies, Stand By Me. It goes, “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” (Substitute 14 for 12, and that summed up so much of what made this book special.) I have no doubt this will be one of my favorite books of the year.

Book Review: "The Last One at the Wedding" by Jason Rekulak

First things first: if you go into this book expecting another Hidden Pictures, you’ll be disappointed. There’s nothing really scary about this book, unless you hate daddy longlegs. It’s also much more of a family drama mixed with a slow-burn mystery of sorts, rather than a high-octane thriller.

The relative peace of Frank’s breakfast is disturbed when his phone rings. He is shocked to hear the voice of his daughter Maggie, with whom he’s not spoken in three years. He tries to apologize for what happened between them, but she’s not interested in rehashing that issue.

It turns out Maggie is calling to tell him she’s getting married in three months, and she wants him to be there. She’s marrying a man named Aidan, whom she’s known for only six months. Something about it doesn’t quite feel right, but Frank keeps his reservations to himself. When he receives a strange letter in the mail, his trepidations begin to grow.

The wedding will be a colossal three-day event held at Aidan’s family camp, a lakefront estate in the woods of New Hampshire. Frank is excited to spend time with Maggie, and get to know Aidan and his family better. But Maggie mostly avoids him, Aidan is nowhere to be found, and his father, a wealthy business tycoon, seems a bit shady.

The more time Frank spends at the camp, the more questions he has about the relationship between his daughter and Aidan, accusations that Aidan was involved in a tragic event, and Aidan’s family. Everywhere he goes, he encounters another strange thing, but he has no idea what the truth really is.

I think that Jason Rekulak is a really talented storyteller, and throughout so much of this book, I had this creepy feeling as I waited for the next shoe to drop. I’ll admit that some things really caught me by surprise, and I couldn’t put the book down.

Book Review: "Up All Night" by Annabeth Albert

After more than 20 years and two children, Sean’s marriage to his best friend has ended amicably, and he decides to return to his hometown of Mount Hope, Oregon, to fill in for a firefighter on maternity leave. He moves in with one of his oldest friends, Eric, to help him deal with the death of husband and help care for his four children.

When Sean meets Denver, the overnight cook at the local diner, the handsome, rugged man awakens feelings he’d always kept inside. And when their encounter turns physical, Sean is hooked right away, but Denver isn’t the type to want a relationship—or even put down roots anywhere.

As their hookups intensify and feelings grow stronger, Sean wants Denver to be a bigger part of his life. But Denver is getting ready to leave again before he gets burned emotionally—although his heart wants to stay with Sean.

While Sean has a fairly good relationship with his parents and a solid group of friends, Denver hasn’t let himself get too close to anyone. Growing up in foster care, he learned to tamp down emotional expectations and quash relationships before they hurt him. But being with Sean makes him feel good, although he’s wary of getting in too deep.

I felt like there were a number of issues in the book that were really glossed over. For one, Sean literally had sex and decided to come out—no anguish, no nothing—and that seemed odd to me. And second, Eric was raising four teenage kids who had come from foster care. Eric’s husband died, and yet for the most part, the kids had no issues. (And don’t get me started on the eleventh-hour appearance of Sean’s adult son.)

There’s intense chemistry and steam between Sean and Denver, and I enjoyed Sean’s circle of friends. I just wish the book was less disjointed and inconsistent. However, I am a fan of Annabeth Albert's books, so I may give this series one more try.

Book Review: "Sleeping Giants" by Rene Denfeld

Whenever I read a book by Rene Denfeld, I know that it will be both emotional and thought-provoking. Denfeld’s books often look at the most vulnerable or marginalized in society, and I’ve been a huge fan since her incredible debut, The Enchanted.

Amanda was adopted as a baby, but she had no idea that she had an older brother Dennis, who died years ago. In need of connection to her past, she travels to the remote Oregon town where he drowned when he was nine.

Seeing the memorial the community put up after he was lost to the ocean prompts Amanda to find out what happened to him. She meets Larry, a retired, widowed police officer, who wants to help Amanda find answers.

They find out that Dennis was living in a home for disturbed boys from the time he was four. While the home had at one point been well-regarded, the boys were subjected to a controversial and dangerous form of treatment, and several boys disappeared. The home is now in ruins, and those still around to remember things are fairly reluctant to share any details. And someone will stop at nothing to make sure secrets stay secret.

“They say inchoate memory, formed before language, is the worst of all, because it flies like bats in your bones: you cannot heal from what you cannot voice.”

The book shifts between past and present, following Dennis’ time in the home and Amanda and Larry’s search for information. This book made me cry—definitely check trigger warnings because it packs a powerful punch. But out of the sadness comes hope.

Book Review: "Like Mother, Like Daughter" by Kimberly McCreight

“Every mother I knew learned how to laugh at so many unfunny things. Like the realization I’d faced as the parent of a teen, and then a young adult: that you were expected to have endless empathy—but no vulnerabilities of your own.”

Cleo and her mother, Kat, have had a strained relationship over the last several years. She hasn’t forgiven Kat for her overreaction about guys that she has dated—including a drug dealer who sells to her fellow NYU students. But somehow, Kat guilts her into coming home for dinner one night.

When Cleo arrives, she finds the smoke alarm going off, food that has been overcooked to burnt, broken glass, and one of her mother’s shoes, with blood on it. What could have happened to her?

Despite a detective investigating Kat’s disappearance, Cleo decides to do some digging herself. She discovers that her mother isn’t the harried patent lawyer she has always believed, but rather the law firm’s fixer, straightening out matters for clients in ways that might not always be legal.

The more Cleo looks into things, the more secrets she uncovers, about her parents, the extent to which her mother has tried to protect her, and her mother’s job. Plus, it turns out that she was being blackmailed for something in her past, and Cleo was being threatened.

This was a twisty, emotional thriller, one I really enjoyed. It’s narrated by both Kat and Cleo, shifting from Kat’s teenage years to the events leading up to her disappearance, as well as what happened as Cleo tried to figure out her mother’s whereabouts. Another great read from Kimberly McCreight!

Book Review: "Darling Girls" by Sally Hepworth

When I’m looking for a book to grab me from the start and keep me turning pages until I’m finished (no matter how late it gets), Sally Hepworth is definitely an author I can count on. Her books are always filled with tension, mystery, and domestic drama.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were raised together in a foster home, and now, as adults, they remain as close as ever. But while they were lucky to have each other while growing up, that was the only fortunate thing about their childhood.

The girls were raised on an estate called Wild Meadows by their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. While she opened her home to the girls one by one, it wasn’t done out of the goodness of her heart, but rather out of selfishness and a need for control. Miss Fairchild had strict rules and an unpredictable temper that manifested itself in many cruel and damaging ways.

The girls were able to get away from Miss Fairchild, but years later, each still bears the scars of growing up. And when a skeleton is found under the remains of Wild Meadows, the investigation summons them back to the town where their nightmares occurred. Whose body was found, and how did it get under the house? Could Jessica, Norah, or Alicia have been responsible?

This is definitely one of Hepworth’s darkest books, and the scenes of physical and emotional abuse may be triggering. And while I think this book is being marketed as a thriller, it’s definitely more of a combination of mystery and domestic drama.

I really loved Jessica, Norah, and Alicia’s characters, as well as the intense bond they shared. It definitely helped lighten the heaviness of the book’s subject matter.

Book Review: "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver's new novel is an immensely powerful retelling of David Copperfield which follows a young man’s struggles while growing up in Appalachia.⁣

⁣ Wow. I’ve been meaning to read this for a while but figured I’d hold off until I had some time to really get into it. Kingsolver has really created a masterpiece.⁣

⁣ “If a mother is lying in her own piss and pill bottles while they’re slapping the kid she’s shunted out, telling him to look alive: likely the bastard is doomed. Kid born to the junkie is a junkie.”⁣

⁣ Damon arrives in the world in dramatic fashion, born in a trailer to a teenage mother addicted to drugs. His orange hair, inherited from his dead father, makes him stand out, in a corner of the world where standing out isn’t what you want to do. With his mother in and out of rehab, he finds a surrogate family in the trailer next door. ⁣

⁣ But Damon, or “Demon,” despite being too wise for his age, doesn’t have an easy life ahead. His story is one of abuse, violence, loss, being shuffled in and out of foster care, child labor, and so much more. This is not an uncommon story in Appalachia, especially in the midst of the opioid epidemic.⁣

⁣ I’ve never read David Copperfield, but that wasn’t integral to the story. And make no mistake—this is a bleak story; I’ll admit that it did get a little repetitive at times. But Demon is a narrator and a character I won’t soon forget.⁣

Book Review: "Watch Over Me" by Nina LaCour

Watch Over Me, Nina LaCour's new novel, is gorgeously lyrical and powerfully moving.

Mila has aged out of the foster care system, so she’s excited when she’s chosen for a teaching job on a farm on the Northern California coast. The couple who own the farm have been fostering children for years and are renowned for their efforts, so this is a real opportunity for Mila.

She is immediately blown away by the beauty and the solitude, and quickly connects with her student and the others on the farm. She longs to be part of a family again, to belong, to be wanted. Like anyone who has experienced the foster care system, she is wary of making mistakes, of doing something that might cause someone not to want her or like her any longer.

But the farm is also a haven for ghosts. While the ghosts mean no harm, they do provoke memories, and Mila starts to become increasingly haunted by the memories she has tried to leave behind. There are secrets few if any know, and as much as she tries to help her student deal with his own memories, she isn't ready to confront hers.

Watch Over Me is such a beautiful story of the toll grief can take on us and how it feels to be set free from it. It’s also a story about the family we choose and how powerful it can be to feel we belong, when we connect with others without guise or guile.

LaCour is one of my absolute favorite YA authors. There’s so much emotion and poetry in her writing, and she never fails to move me. Books like Hold Still, We Are Okay, and You Know Me Well, which she wrote with David Levithan (another favorite of mine), demonstrate her immense talent.

This book is a little more fantastical than some of her others, and at times I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I loved it all the same. Read this, and read her.