The Upside of Falling

The Upside of Falling by Alex Light
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's a while since I read some fun young adult fiction. This one did not disappoint. It's cheesy, dramatic, and romantic. There's a love story (essential for most YA), parents that let the characters down, grades to bring up at school, etc. It was fast and entertaining.

Happy reading--

Attachments

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The only I'm sorry about with Attachments is that it took me this long to read it. Rowell has an ability to create such interesting characters that you can't help but root for. I loved a glimpse into the recent past when email filters felt like a new thing and directly addressing the IT guy was common practice among a few of us at work when we were using personal email on a work server.

This is not a perfect book, but it's a delightful book, and Rebecca Lowman is a great audiobook reader. You won't be disappointed.

Happy reading--

From Scratch

From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Loss, Food and Finding Home in the Sicilian Countryside by Tembi Locke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. It has everything I like from a love story to travel to delicious food. Somehow though, I was too caught up in the good title and the cute cover photo, and totally missed that this book is about Tembi's life after she loses her husband. Perhaps not anticipating that subject matter is what left me a little cold considering that I was experiencing the stress of my baby being in the NICU when I started the book. That said, it has the potential to be a compelling story and Locke does a good job setting the respective scenes. She certainly helps you fall in love with her Saro and makes you crave Italy in a major way. This is not, however, a book like Joan Didion's and many others that are eloquent explorations of grief. It's just a Texas girl who fell in love with a Sicilian boy, and how she navigated her own experiences after he went away.

I'd say read it or don't read it. It's probably more of a 3.5 star book, but not as essential as others I've read this year. Happy reading--

The Last Anniversary

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love Liane Moriarty - even her less amazing books still hold my attention. I ran through this one, totally hooked to find out about the Munro baby and whether Sophie would meet Mr. Right. I confess I wasn't as enamored with some of the characters in this story (Sophie being one of them), and it was a little disconcerting to read about a new mother who didn't connect with her baby as I was in my first days with a newborn. However, the first big twist was predictable, but the second more subtle twist was so clever and made it so the book is just shy of a four star read for me.

If you like Moriarty, this one is worth reading even if it's just to carry you over until her next book comes out. Happy reading--

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...Again

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With Aidan in the NICU, I needed a story that was familiar and where good would win the day. This, of course, fit the bill. Happy reading--

You're Not Listening - Round Two

You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate   Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't usually reread books so close to when I read them the first time, but I reread this one for a book club. I was a little less enamored the second time around, but the conversation especially during this social justice movement and during the pandemic seems even more important.

Pretty Things

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't usually read mysteries - Louise Penny being the recent exception. But the description of the book was intriguing. Still I was on the fence because I was days away from having a baby, and my reading time was getting short. Then the book opened with a well written and very creepy scene in Lake Tahoe, and I was hooked. The confused morality of who is in the wrong and who is in the right is cleverly constructed by Brown. My loyalties never fully shifted, but I didn't anticipate liking certain characters and hating others. Brown did a great job weaving her story, and now I wish that I was in Tahoe, albeit for a much more relaxed and less dramatic visit.

Read it-- it's like a juicy Access Hollywood meets a high school reunion meets contemporary fiction. How's that for a description? Happy reading--