Book Review: "I Killed Zoe Spanos" by Kit Frick

"It was an accident, but...I killed Zoe Spanos."

Twisty, compelling, and even a little creepy, Kit Frick's I Killed Zoe Spanos is a YA thriller worth reading. It'll hook you almost immediately, with well-drawn characters, lots of crazy twists and turns, and a mystery that keeps you guessing. Can you ask for much more than that?

Anna is looking forward to spending the summer in the Hamptons town of Herron Mills, where she'll be working as a nanny for a wealthy family. She's glad to be putting the rest of her life behind her, as she and her best friend Kaylee spent far too much time over the last year partying, drinking, taking recreational drugs, and hooking up with boys. She's ready for responsibility in this ritzy town, just before she gets ready to head to college.

Almost immediately after arriving in Herron Mills, Anna keeps hearing about her resemblance to Zoe Spanos, a local girl who went missing a few months earlier. Crazily enough, Zoe actually worked as a nanny for the same family Anna is working for now; in fact, the young girl in Anna's care, Paisley, wanted Anna to be her nanny because of her resemblance to Zoe.

The more time Anna spends in Herron Mills, the more she feels as if she's been there before, the more she feels a connection to Zoe. This can't be possible, of course, because she never met Zoe, and she'd never been to any of these places before. But why is she starting to remember spending time with Zoe and Kaylee? And why is it, when Zoe's body is found, that Anna confesses to her murder and the police believe it, even though her confession is clearly not true?

Frick knows how to tease out a mystery and she does it so well here. I'm so cynical when it comes to thrillers and mysteries, but I really wasn't sure how she would resolve things here. What is the truth? Who is lying? Was I missing some key connection? I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

I don't know that I loved the ending but it didn't ruin the book for me. There was so much I enjoyed about I Killed Zoe Spanos, including the weaving in of a true crime podcast, and it once again cemented how much I like Frick's storytelling. I'll be waiting for her next book!

Book Review: "You Brought Me the Ocean" by Alex Sanchez and Julie Maroh

You Brought Me the Ocean is a captivating, poignant graphic novel about a young man trying to figure out who he is.

For reasons he can’t explain, Jake has always been obsessed with the ocean, and with water in general. He's even constantly thirsty. He dreams of studying marine biology, which would require him to leave his New Mexico hometown and all of those who are close to him.

His mother has always been overprotective, perhaps because his father drowned when Jake was a baby. He spends all of his spare time with his best friend, Maria. She knows Jake dreams of going to Miami for college to study the ocean, but she hopes he’ll stay closer to home with her.

Lately Jake has been feeling strange. His feelings confuse him until he starts talking to a classmate, Kenny, who has always been bullied because he’s gay. The more time Jake spends with Kenny the more he realizes he’s been hiding a part of him for far too long.

The other thing he’s been struggling with is that strange things happen to him when he’s around water. He’s always had these distinctive markings on his arms—suddenly they’re giving him the power to control water. Is something wrong with him? Or is there a secret someone has been hiding?

I didn’t know that this was an origin story for Aqualad, but obviously that makes sense. I love superhero stories and love when they first start to discover their abilities. But the storyline of Jake’s sexuality really added depth to this book.

This is beautifully illustrated by Julie Maroh and well-written by Alex Sanchez. (I loved one of his books, Rainbow Boys, earlier this year.) Looking forward to (hopefully) another book in this series!

Book Review: "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig

Wow, Matt Haig's newest novel, The Midnight Library, was absolutely beautiful.

“...sometimes the only way to learn is to live.”

Nora has decided she wants to die. She’s just so unhappy and doesn’t feel like she or her life matter to anyone. She's disappointed everyone in her life, and she doesn’t think her death will have an impact.

She finds herself in The Midnight Library, which is filled with books that each contains a life Nora could have lived had she made a different choice or picked a different path. Some books even contain lives she never imagined.

With the help of an old friend, Nora explores the options the library offers her. But sometimes the choices aren’t easy to make, and sometimes a decision has ramifications she could never fathom. Ultimately, she needs to understand what living a life really means, and whether it’s worth fighting for, before the choices she makes or doesn’t make doom the library—and her—forever.

I loved this book so much. Matt Haig is an amazing writer (I also loved his How to Stop Time) and this is such a moving, thought-provoking book. Many of us have felt the way Nora has, so this book had particular meaning for me.

This is definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Book Review: "Majesty" by Katharine McGee

All hail Queen Beatrice of America!

Katharine McGee’s American Royals series returns with Majesty, the second book and another enjoyable installment. Beatrice has just been crowned Queen and is trying to figure out how to negotiate a role she has prepared for as long as she can remember, although she wasn't expecting to assume that role so soon.

Beatrice is the first woman to become Queen in American history, but despite living in modern times, there are some who only believe she can govern if she has a husband at her side. And her engagement is fraught with its own tensions.

As her family and the nation move through their grief, there are other issues causing stress—an employee who doesn’t seem to think Beatrice is ready to be Queen; her sister Samantha, who resists being “the spare” and resents Beatrice for so much more than that; and the tensions caused by desperate social climber Daphne.

I enjoyed this book and find the characters so engaging (except Daphne, lord). Because this is the second book there’s less background information about how everything works, which allows for more drama, tension, and character development. (That being said, I loved all of the background McGee shared in the first book.) I liked that a few of the characters really grew into their own in this book, and McGee introduced some interesting social issues into the mix.

I’m fascinated with the idea behind this series. Even when I struggled with some of the melodrama around the characters (which was a little repetitive from the first book) I just felt McGee’s storytelling was so enjoyable. This is a world I wouldn't mind being in, at least for a little while!

Can’t wait for Book 3, although a few people have said a third book isn't definite. Where do I start begging?

Book Review: "A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom" by John Boyne

A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom is a sweeping look at love, family, history, and destiny.

Have you ever read a book that you felt you couldn’t describe properly? That’s definitely the way I feel about John Boyne’s newest book. What I can say, however, is once again, his storytelling blew me away.

We start at the dawn of time, 1 AD. A baby is born to a warrior and his wife, amidst his father’s acts of violence. The baby has an older brother, who mostly resents him.

The story shifts as time passes, changing locations, names, certain facts, but the general thrust of the story remains the same, as if to say that what is destined will happen no matter who or where you are. We travel through history, getting glimpses of historical figures and events through time, all the way to the future.

At times this felt more like interconnected short stories than a cohesive novel. This was an interesting concept and I loved what Boyne has to say, that no event or emotion is unique to just one person. In the end, though, I don’t know that this worked for me as much as I hoped it would. But his storytelling transcended it all, so much like I felt about Fredrik Backman's Anxious People, the writing elevated the book, in my opinion.

If you’ve never read Boyne before, please read The Heart’s Invisible Furies, The Absolutist, and A Ladder to the Sky.

NetGalley and Hogarth Books provided me with a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

Book Review: "The Roommate" by Rosie Danan

Rosie Danan's The Roommate is fun and super-steamy, and it's built on a really interesting concept.⁣

⁣ Clara has spent most of her life doing the right things, making the safe choices, to avoid her scandal-prone family experiencing any more embarrassment. But when the man she’s had a crush on since childhood invites her to travel across the country, she throws all caution to the wind and moves to California.⁣

⁣ When she arrives, of course, she learns all is not what it seems. Suddenly she’s sharing a house with Josh, a handsome stranger. He seems to “get” her, which makes her a little uncomfortable, but they fall into an easy friendship/flirtation.⁣ She starts tackling her own issues, including overcoming her fear of driving and finding a job.

⁣ And then she finds out what Josh does for a living: he’s a porn star. A popular one with women, at that. But with his contract with his studio trying to force him down a road he doesn’t want to travel, he has to find a new plan. Surprisingly, it comes from Clara—how can women learn to have better sex? It’s an idea sure to gain traction, and one which Clara is becoming ever more interested in the more time she spends with Josh.⁣

⁣ As the project advances, the attraction between them deepens. But can scandal-shy Clara really imagine her family’s reaction if she dates a porn star? What if her crush finally comes to his senses?⁣ Is Josh willing to let his guard down?

⁣ I enjoyed Rosie Danan’s twist on a typical rom-com. Josh and Clara were two really fun and complex characters, and I liked that the book touched on both of their perspectives and desires. It definitely was thought-provoking and, as you’d imagine, pretty hot!!

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.