Book Review: "Clap When You Land" by Elizabeth Acevedo

Elizabeth Acevedo's new book, Clap When You Land, is a novel-in-verse about family, grief, anger, and letting go.⁣

Camino is a teenage girl living in the Dominican Republic with her aunt, who works as a healer. Her father, who lives in New York, comes to visit every summer, and Camino lives for those visits. Yet on the day his plane is to arrive and she waits for him at the airport, she learns that his plane has crashed.⁣

Another teenage girl, Yahaira, lives in New York. Her father goes home to the Dominican Republic each summer, which causes a strain on his relationship with her mother. One morning she is called out of her class and told by her mother that her father’s plane crashed.⁣

⁣Both girls are grief-struck, devastated by the loss of their father. Camino has dreams of going to college in New York and studying medicine, and now isn’t even sure how she and her aunt will survive, especially as a dangerous man she has been protected from all this time circles closer.⁣

⁣Yahaira, who discovered a secret about her father before he died, feels guilty, angry, and deceived, yet doesn’t know how to live without her hero. She tries to push everyone away.

⁣When the two girls learn of each other, it is a shocking discovery of a connection that wounds but might ultimately save them both.⁣

⁣Clap When You Land is poignant, luminous, and powerful. Acevedo imbues her words with such vivid imagery and raw emotion. It didn’t quite hit me as hard as I expected it to given the subject matter, but it still was a book that will stick with me.⁣ Acevedo's two earlier books, The Poet X and With the Fire on High, are master works.

Book Review: "Happy and You Know It" by Laura Hankin

Happy and You Know It, Laura Hankin's new novel, is an insightful, humorous commentary on the pressures of motherhood.

Claire has impeccable timing: she gets kicked out of her band just before their meteoric rise to fame. Now, barely able to make ends meet and filling her spare time with alcohol, she’s forced to take a job as a musician for a children’s playgroup.

But as hellish as the job sounds, the wealthy mothers whose infants make up the playgroup take a shine to Claire. There’s Whitney, the group leader whose Instagram presence as a super-mom belies the anxiety and boredom she feels in her everyday life; Amara, who would rather be working than mothering but she still worries that her baby might be lagging behind developmentally; and Gwen, the know-it-all mom always happy to dole out advice.

Even though the women involve Claire in some of their activities, she envies their perfectly put-together lives. That is, until she realizes why everything seems so manageable, and discovers these women are hiding more secrets than Claire can imagine.

"Women had to grapple with a choice that men never did while remaining uncomplaining and generous so that they didn't nag their husbands straight into the arms of less complicated lovers. And now moms weren't even allowed to acknowledge how much work it all was anymore."

This was a quick, enjoyable read, one of those “sure, the rich are different but are they happy” books. There’s humor and melodrama and some sharp observations about motherhood and marriage and the pressures of trying to hold it all together.

Hankin has definitely written a fun and thought-provoking book!

Book Review: "Feels Like Falling" by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Kristy Woodson Harvey's newest book, Feels Like Falling, is an utterly charming book about second chances, friendships, and the families we choose as well as those we’re born into.

“...even when the chips are down, life can change in an instant.”

Gray has worked hard to have it all—marriage, a strong family, and a multi-million-dollar company. But when it all starts to fall apart—her mother dies, her sister takes up with an extremist preacher, and her husband leaves her for another (younger) woman—she wonders what to do. And then she inadvertently gets Diana, a local woman, fired from her job processing photos at the drug store.

Diana’s life is on the verge of falling apart, too, and losing her job may be the last straw. But buoyed by Gray’s guilt and her generosity, she’s able to get back on her feet while living in Gray’s guesthouse—and she proves equally talented at helping Gray manage her own life as well.

When an old love returns, it opens up a whole world of possibilities for Diana, while also pushing some secrets out into the open. Meanwhile, as Gray wrestles with her own challenges, she is presented with a romantic possibility far different from what she pictured, and she’s unsure of what to do.

This was such a fun, satisfying, totally engaging read. I warmed up to these characters immediately and started rooting for them, and I was so glad that while Harvey introduced some drama into the story, it never went off the rails like I feared it might. (I’ve read too many melodramas!!)

If I had any criticism of this book, it's that there was a gay character who entered one scene, threw out some stereotypical commentary, and then wasn't heard from again, so I don't understand what the point of even introducing him was. Additionally, there was some banter about whether Gray's assistant was gay, and everyone kept commenting that he wasn't, but they thought he was. Again, no point to that dialogue, so I'm not sure what Harvey was aiming for.

On Goodreads, my good friend Jen referred to this book as her pick for “the book of the summer.” Once you read it, you’ll see how accurate she is, as it's definitely a book you'll want to add to your summer reading list!

Book Review: "That's Not a Thing" by Jacqueline Friedland

Can a relationship survive when old love walks back in? That's Not a Thing, Jacqueline Friedland's new novel, has its own ideas.

Meredith is happy. She’s engaged to Aaron, a handsome pediatric neonatologist, and while her job as a corporate lawyer doesn’t quite satisfy her, it does give her financial security and the occasional chance to work on a human rights case. Sure, she'd rather do something more fulfilling, but maybe someday.

One night when she and Aaron are at dinner with friends at a hot new NYC restaurant, Meredith discovers the chef is Wesley, her ex-fiancé. Their relationship collapsed spectacularly four years before and left her reeling. It took a while for her to trust and love again, but Aaron seems so right for her.

Seeing Wesley again, however, reawakens her feelings for him, and Meredith is unsure what to do. And when she learns about the challenge Wesley faces, she makes a split-second decision that has significant ramifications for her, Aaron, and Wesley.

I thought this was a pretty fantastic book, and given what happens, it’s surprisingly not too maudlin. There’s a lot to think about here and how you would react in the situations that occur in the book. (I’m being more vague than the description of the book on Amazon and elsewhere because I didn’t know about some key plot points.) At the start, the book shifts narration between Meredith's relationship with Wesley and the present time.

The course of love never runs smoothly and that certainly was the case here. But That's Not a Thing was poignant and powerful, and romantic in its own way. And you've got to love a book that can deliver lots of emotions without leaving you a sobbing mess!

Book Review: "Breath Like Water" by Anna Jarzab

How hard will you push to achieve your dreams, and what will you sacrifice to achieve them? These questions are at the core of Anna Jarzab's Breath Like Water.

All Susannah has known for as long as she can remember is swimming. She dreams of going to the Olympics, a dream she felt even closer to when she won a world championship at age 14. But when her body starts to slow down and change as she gets older, she wonders if her chance is over or whether she should listen to her overbearing coach and push harder.

When a new coach comes to the swimming club, Susannah wants nothing to do with her, until she realizes that her unique training techniques may take her where she needs to go. It’s a delicate balance between self-belief and recognizing the limits of her body.

"I feel like I'm one person in the water, and another on dry land. Me on land is still hesitant and uncertain; having faith is hard for her, and so is letting go. But me in the water, the girl Beth found beneath the rubble? She's elegant and powerful and fast."

Meanwhile, when she meets Harry, another talented swimmer, she wonders whether continuing to push herself for a dream she might never achieve is worth not taking a chance to follow her heart. But Harry has secrets of his own which also threaten to weigh Susannah down. She doesn’t understand why she can’t have it all, but if she has to choose, what’s the right choice, not just for her, but for those she cares about?

This really was a thought-provoking story, and Anna Jarzab does a great job in making you feel the tension of Susannah’s choices. But at its core, Breath Like Water is powerfully emotional, as you ride both the highs and the lows that these characters experience.

I’m honored to have been part of the blog tour for this book. NetGalley, Inkyard Press, and Harlequin Teen provided me with an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

Book Review: "The Tourist Attraction" by Sarah Morgenthaler

You can’t trust tourists not to do anything...like make you fall in love with them.⁣ This is the moral of sorts in The Tourist Attraction, Sarah Morgenthaler's new rom-com.

⁣ FYI: I’m a sucker for sappy rom-coms, books set in Alaska, and dogs wearing outfits, so I was a goner here. There's also a moose in love with the smell of freshly baked bread. I mean, I was SUNK with this book before I started.

⁣ ⁣ Graham runs the Tourist Trap, a small diner in Moose Springs, Alaska that has become a huge tourist stop despite its limited menu and his less-than-stellar customer service. He’s one of many in his town who makes money off the tourists but doesn’t like the chaos and demands they bring.⁣

⁣ When he first meets Zoey, she’s nearly passed-out drunk in the diner and suffering from jet lag since she just arrived in Alaska. Since her friend abandoned her at the diner, Graham drives her back to the ultra-fancy resort where she’s staying, and it’s not long before he can’t get her out of his mind—despite the fact she’s a tourist.⁣

⁣ For Zoey, the trip to Alaska has been the dream of a lifetime. She’s spent all of her savings and planned everything down to the last detail—but she didn’t count on the sexy but grumpy local to get under her skin.⁣ Is she crazy to let him get to her? Should they start something that is sure to end when she leaves Alaska, if not before?

⁣ The Tourist Attraction was such a sweet, fun, sappy, slightly melodramatic book that I devoured. I loved the quirky and memorable cast of characters that Morgenthaler created (both human and animal) and hope to see them again in her next book, Mistletoe and Mr. Right, scheduled for release in October. (There's even a third book planned for January 2021!)⁣

Book Review: "A Good Marriage" by Kimberly McCreight

How much do we really know about the person to whom we’re married? How much do we care? These questions are at the forefront of Kimberly McCreight's new book, A Good Marriage.

When Lizzie met Sam, she thought she had truly found a partner in taking on the world. She’d be a prosecutor and he’d be a writer, both beating back injustice. But things didn’t work out the way she hoped. Now their relationship is filled with anger and guilt, and Lizzie was forced to take a job at a fancy law firm and work long hours.

One night at the office she gets a collect call from Rikers Island. An old law school friend whom she hasn't seen in years, Zach Grayson, desperately needs her help. He’s been arrested for the alleged murder of his wife, Amanda, at their Park Slope brownstone. He maintains his innocence and pleads for Lizzie to defend him.

It’s the last thing she wants to do, but she’s encouraged by one of the firm’s partners to do so. And as she starts to dig into what happened that night, she discovers that Zach and Amanda’s marriage wasn’t quite what it seemed, and neither are Amanda’s seemingly well-put-together friends and neighbors. Everyone has secrets to hide about their lives and their marriages. Even Lizzie herself.

For me, this book started SO SLOWLY that I really wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep reading. I get slow burn, but this took a long while to hit its stride. When it did, however, it took off. I honestly didn’t know what to think or what to believe, and even though I figured some of the twists out, I was still surprised by some of the plot, too.

I loved Kimberly McCreight’s Reconstructing Amelia, so I was eagerly anticipating this one. It’s definitely twisty and suspenseful, provided you have the patience to stick with it until it takes off.