Fiction

Into the Uncut Grass / Trevor Noah, Sabina Hahn (Illustrator)

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Into the Uncut Grass
By: Trevor Noah, Sabina Hahn (Illustrator)
Genre: Fiction, Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 128 
Published: October 15, 2024
Publisher: One World
Dates Read: November 2, 2024
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Into the Uncut Grass is an illustrated fable about a young boy’s journey into the uncut grass beyond his home when he wants to escape his morning chores.

This book is filled with Trevor Noah’s humor, and after reading the small introduction from Noah in the front, the story itself kind of reads like a moment from his childhood.

Sabina Hahn’s illustrations are simple and cute and really capture the imagination of a child. This book really reminded me of both Pooh Bear and of course, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse.

I’m not sure what this is supposed to be categorized as – graphic novel, fiction, children’s… someone dropped “literary graphic novel” out too when I was reading reviews… regardless, I enjoyed it, it was cute.

When the World Tips Over / Jandy Nelson

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When the World Tips Over
By: Jandy Nelson
Genre: YA
Number of Pages: 528
Published: September 24, 2024
Publisher: Dial Books
Dates Read: September 16, 2024 - October 6, 2024
Format: ARC / Paperback

The Fall siblings live in Northern California wine country where years ago, their father mysteriously disappeared. Now Dizzy, twelve, bakes cakes, sees kissing, floating spirits, and wishes she was a part of a romance novel. Miles, seventeen, is a brainiac, athlete, and telepathic dog-whisperer, but he’s desperate to step out of being perfect. Wynton, nineteen, is an amazing violinist, but is set on a path of self-destruction he can’t seem to get off of. They all seem to be spiraling.

But then a rainbow-haired girl shows up. She may be an angel. Or a saint. But her showing up tips the Falls’ world over. Before anyone can figure out who she is, catastrophe strikes, leaving the family more broken than ever.

With a story filled with road trips, rivalries, family curses, love stories (with many layers), unsent letters, and generational trauma, this young adult novel peels back the layers of a family’s complicated past and present. 

This will definitely stick with me for years to come. And, I honestly don’t know how to put into words what I thought of this, because I’m in love with the entire Fall family (okay, there are a few I don’t like…) and their many, many layers of their lives. I just tried to explain this all to my coworker and the amount of time I said, “well but you find out this…” was endless.

It absolutely gave me East of Eden by Steinbeck vibes – the length alone, but also how good and overcome evil in the end is also a running theme in this novel too. Again, this is a long read, and it’s not one you can skim over either, because you want to take your time with it and immerse yourself in with these characters and this family. As much as I love to devour book after book, this one reminded me to slow down and to enjoy it.

Overall, this book is long and is a multi-sit read, but I can guarantee you will fall in love with at least one member of the Fall family after reading this!

The Kamogawa Food Detectives / Hisashi Kashiwai, Jesse Kirkwood (Translator)

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The Kamogawa Food Detectives
By: Hisashi Kashiwai, Jesse Kirkwood (Translator)
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 208
Published: February 13, 2024 (1st Published November 25, 2013)
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Dates Read: February 8, 2024 - February 10, 2024
Format: ARC / eBook

The Kamogawa Diner doesn’t really advertise much, there’s not even a sign outside it’s doors, but the customers who need to find them always do. You see, the Kamogawa Diner isn’t just a diner, it’s a “food detective” service run by the father-daughter duo of Koishi and Nagare. Filled with six different customers’ memories and dishes, follow the Kamogawa Diner uses their customer’s treasured memories, the pair are able to recreate lost recipes that provide links to vanished moments.

There’s two things that will most likely get me to read a book. One: be recently translated from a popular Japanese seller. Two: put a cat on the cover. The cat doesn’t even need to be the main focus of the book, a general cat will do just fine.

This is such a cute book – and a warm hug for those foodie book lovers out there as well. I can’t cook to save my life, but this novel went into detail about each of the dishes so it may be something someone could actually follow and make their own versions of the recipes.

Some of the stories I felt were a little drawn out, but they were people sharing a fond memory (or what they could remember of their memory). I’ve said this so many times, but Japanese literature has such an amazing way of capturing the human experience and I always enjoy reading translated work.

Overall, a wonderfully fun, hungry story about a food detective, a father and daughter duo who use their skill of deduction to help customers recreate that special dish from their memories. I can see a lot of contemporary fiction lovers enjoying this book, as well as those who’d like a shorter comfort read.

*Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Day / Michael Cunningham

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Day

By: Michael Cunningham

Genre: Fiction, Literary

Number of Pages: 273

Published: November 14, 2023

Publisher: Random House

Dates Read: January 29, 2024 - January 30, 2024

Format: Library Book / Audiobook

A literary fiction novel about a family on April 5 before Covid-19, the spring during the Covid-19 lockdown, and right after the world starts opening back up.

I struggled with caring for the family on this one. The only one I really cared about was the little girl, and even she didn’t seem like she would be real to me.

This is the first book of Michael Cunningham’s that I’ve read and I’m not saying he can’t write. In fact, he wrote these days in such detail, I felt like I was really watching the family while I read them. But, it was just something that was missing for me to actually care about the characters.

Maybe it’s still weird for me to read books about the pandemic quite yet.

This book wasn’t 100% for me, but it’s still good. And I feel like those who like reading about family dynamics and such will greatly enjoy this.

*Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic / Breanne Randall

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The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

By: Breanne Randall

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Number of Pages: 322

Published: September 19, 2023

Publisher: Alcove Press

Dates Read: December 16, 2023 - December 20, 2023

Format: Library Book / Audiobook / Paperback

Ever since Sadie Revelare was told about her four heartbreak curse that accompanies her magic, she’s never doubted the price wouldn’t be worth it. But when Gigi, her grandmother, is diagnosed with cancer and only has weeks to live, and her first heartbreak, Jake, returns after being gone for a decade, Sadie’s life feels like it’s unraveling and her magic can’t fix it. Even more, upon hearing about Gigi’s diagnosis, Sadie’s estranged twin brother, Seth, returns as well, uncovering family secrets that will tear her world apart.

Gigi has been the backbone to the Revelare family for generations, and with her death, Sadie must try with everything she’s got, to not only keep her family together, but her magic as well. As her feelings for Jake begin to respark, Sadie must decide if love is more important than her magic.

I don’t actively go about reading romance books, but this had the tagline “for fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls” and I decided to give this a shot. I absolutely called the ending pretty early into the book, especially once everything was established. Though I was a little confused about Sadie’s curse… I still am to be honest. Also – witches who go to a christian church? What?

Overall, the book was okay. The premise of it was excellent, but it fell short for me.

*Thank you Alcove Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Beautiful and the Wild / Peggy Townsend

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The Beautiful and the Wild

By: Peggy Townsend

Genre: Thriller / Mystery

Number of Pages: 304

Published: November 7, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

Dates Read: December 5, 2023 - December 12, 2023

Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warning: murder, death, rape, wilderness survival

Following her husband into the Alaskan wilderness after he “died”, Liv Russo ends up in a shipping container-turned-storage shed by her husband and his new lover. She vows to do anything to protect her son and escape. Carrying her own secrets, Liv must navigate the tough(er) world around her with the extreme weather, one bad incident away from starvation, and the dangerous wildlife. With winter’s arrival knocking on the door, Liv knows she must face her past and be sneaky in order to make it out alive.

I originally wanted to read this title because I was trying to step outside my usual reading comfort zone and also I wanted a book set in Alaska. This was… okay. It’s marked as a mystery but I guess maybe I don’t read enough mystery to know the feeling of a mystery (if that makes sense). Definitely felt the thriller aspect of it though, especially when it dealt with the survivalist parts of the story.

This book also went back and forth in time, but would still sometimes be in “Present” when the chapter would be marked as “Then” and that kind of threw me off a little bit.

I have such mixed feelings about this overall though, and I’m not quite sure if I’m going to be able to explain why. I both liked and hated the story and its setup, but I enjoyed the ending and how it was finished. It felt more of a survivalist story, but we still didn’t have a lot of survival stuff. I would have loved to know more about Rudy and what all he knew and understood about what was happening…

Overall though, I’m glad I read it, and enjoyed it quite enough. I feel like I will end up recommending this as a survivalist story moreover than a mystery though.

*Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

All You Need to Do Is Call / Kerri Maher

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All You Have to Do Is Call

By: Kerri Maher

Genre: Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 368

Published: September 19, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

Dates Read: November 25, 2023 - December 3, 2023

Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: women’s health care/reproductive rights

Who does a woman call when she needs help? Jane.

Jane is a women’s health organization composed entirely of women helping women with their reproductive needs – including illegal abortions. The women who run Jane lead double lives and All You Need to Do Is Call follows three of the members as they must make decisions that will change the course of all their lives.

I think nowadays it’s important to really know about our history and how we should try our hardest to not repeat it. But also, if stuff does get repeated, looking back and seeing how it was handled and managed before (usually in the underground).

This story is loosely based on the Jane Society from Chicago in the 1970’s and it was really nice to read about and learn how women were helping each other out as much as they could when society wasn’t. It was also nice to read about the different types of women that Jane brought together – both as in the members and the tidbits of information we got about those who used the service. We really got a look into the housewife’s role in a turning point of history.

Overall, I really enjoyed this historical fiction and will be recommending this to those who like historical fiction. This would also be a good book group read as it can bring up tons of discussion points for groups as well.

*Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

My Brilliant Friend: The Graphic Novel

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My Brilliant Friend: The Graphic Novel
By: Chiara Lagani (Author), Mara Cerri (Illustrator), Ann Goldstein (Translator), Elena Ferrante (Original author)
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 256
Published: October 10, 2023
Publisher: Europa Editions
Dates Read: November 3, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

This graphic novel is a coming-of-age story about two girls, Lila and Lenù and their complex, mostly toxic, friendship.

So, I haven’t read the original book or series, I grabbed this graphic novel to read to hopefully get a faster reading of the story to understand it better for my book groups I help manage. That being said, I felt like this was super condensed and I was missing pieces of the story – or rather, not getting the full intensity of it.

The art of this is intense and beautiful. I really enjoyed how dramatic it was – even if I wasn’t fully understanding what was happening, I could still get the intensity of it all.

Overall, I think this would be a good companion piece to the actual novel itself. Which means I still need to get my hands on that and read it and then possibly come back to this graphic novel.

*Thank you Europa Editions and Edelweiss+ for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library / Michiko Aoyama

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What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
By: Michiko Aoyama, Alison Watts (Translator)
Genre: Fiction, Japanese Literature
Number of Pages: 304
Published: September 5, 2023 (1st Published November 9, 2020)
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Dates Read: October 4, 2023 - October 6, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Everyone who walks through the doors of the small community library in Japan, has a desire to somehow change their lives. From a sales attendant who feels stuck in her job, to a struggling working mother who longs for the career she lost, to an artist who feels like no one will ever care about his drawings – they all get led to Sayuri Komachi, the reference librarian who loves needle felting. After having a conversation with them, Sayuri Komachi gives them a book list, all with a surprising book at the end, and a bonus gift. What they don’t realize is how much of a life changing conversation that would be.

I’m going to be honest, I kind of went into this a little blind. I saw it was for fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold and registered it’s about a library. I’m a librarian and I’m always interested in books about either libraries or books so I asked for an ARC on NetGalley without really looking too much into it. Because of this, I didn’t realize how the set up would be for the story going into it. The first story’s voice threw me off just a little bit because of how young she was. I didn’t know if I wanted to read a whole story with that voice – but obviously it changes with each chapter.

This novel is such an ode to libraries and librarians and how they can help transform people’s growth, no matter what stage in life they are in. This novel is so  heartwarming and touching that I feel like everyone would be able to connect to it on some level. I’ve said this before in my reviews, but Japanese literature just has a way of capturing the human experience in a way that never disappoints.

I’ll be highly recommending this novel to so many people. I can’t give this enough wonderful praise.

*Thank you Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Hush Harbor / Anise Vance

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Hush Harbor
By: Anise Vance
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 288
Published: September 5, 2023
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Dates Read: September 22, 2023 - September 26, 2023
Format: ARC / Paperback

After a young, black, unarmed teen is shot and killed by police, a revolution is formed in an abandoned housing project called Hush Harbor, in honor of the secret spaces their enslaved ancestors would gather. Jeremiah Prince and his sister, Nova, are the leaders, but their ideological differences regarding how the movement should proceed differ. When a new mayor with ties to white supremacists threatens the group and locks the city down, they collectively must come up with a plan of survival.

As much as I thought this novel would be about the revolution and protests and marching – this was mostly about an already established, what felt more like a commune, movement. This also focused on the personal experience of the members, especially Malik, who, at the beginning of the novel, was getting recruited right in the middle of it all.

The story was still good and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t what I was expecting going into it. Of course the issues with racism and white supremacy are the main focus of this book and the author did a wonderful job at writing those. I think I may have struggled with the writing style a bit. It would go from super formalic and dense to a whole page full of dialogue with no movement indication. It didn’t catch my emotions and though I was interested in the story, I didn’t care too much for the characters, minus Jeremiah’s story.

Overall, this was still a good story and an important one at that. The debut writings of this author still intrigue me to read more of his when the next release comes.

*Thank you Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review