To Read or Not To Read

I wish I participated in that challenge where you read a loved one's/friend's favorite book, because I would absolutely cross this one off for Zach (hi Zach! I hope I do this review justice for you). Pet was a super fast-paced, engaging, genre-bending read. With stunning imagery and powerful command of language, Akwaeke Emezi immerses readers into Jam's and Pet's world of acceptance and angels, and what it really means to rid the world of monsters. Akwaeke Emezi makes their young adult debut with Pet on the inaugural Make Me a World list. A 2018 National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" honoree, their adult debut, Freshwater , continues to receive critical acclaim, following rave reviews from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal , the New Yorker , and the Los Angeles Times , among others. Their sophomore adult novel, The Death of Vivek Oji , is forthcoming in 2020 from Riverhead Books. Born in Umuahia and raised in Aba, Nigeria, Akwaeke currently resides in...

There's a reason why this book has been read for years, loved, and, now, adapted to film. Diving candidly into the truth of growing up, Judy Blume excellently distills the young female mind into Margaret's narration in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret . An absolute must-read for all girls on the edge of adolescence, it's the kind of book I wish I'd read earlier, but that I'm glad I had the chance to read eventually.  Judy Blume, one of America's most popular authors, is the recipient of the 2004 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of beloved books for young people, including Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (which celebrated fifty years in 2020), and novels for adult readers, including Wifey , Summer Sisters , and In the Unlikely Event . Her work has been translated into thirty-two languages. Visit Judy at judyblume.com or follow her on Twitter @JudyB...

Lily Chu's The Comeback , a celebrity-romance, drama-packed novel about love, family, and life. It's a book with a fun, exciting premise, one I was looking forward to diving into. Unfortunately, the book itself is unable to deliver on its more exciting points, making for a frustrating read.  Lily Chu lives in Toronto, Canada, and loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late reading a good book. She writes romantic comedies with strong Asian characters. You can find her online at lilychuauthor.com or @lilychuauthor.  Ariadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: that's the way she likes it. If she's going to make partner in Toronto's most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times. But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Esp...

A book swap with Meghan led to me having this book in my hands, and what a ride it was! Beginning with a pretty innocuous concept—a vampire trying to sell a haunted house enlists the godson of Death to help eradicate the forlorn spirit— Masters of Death turns into quite the complicated, nonlinear narrative. While I enjoyed the nonlinear structure and the voice, the lack of explanation about the immortal game and the deliberate vague nature of the stakes surrounding it frustrated me as a reader, to the point where it hindered my enjoyment of the narrative overall.  Olivie Blake is the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six , Alone with You in the Ether , and One for My Enemy . As Alexene Farol Follmuth, she is also the author of the young adult rom-com My Mechanical Romance . She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, goblin prince/toddler, and rescue pit bull. You can find her online at olivieblake.com .  Viola Marek is a struggling real estate agent, and a vampire...

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is devastatingly beautiful, the type of book with sentences and a construction so wonderful that you kind of wish, in part, you'd been able to write yourself. But of course, only Ocean Vuong could have achieved it all with such precision. Ultimately, the beauty of the blend of poetry and prose made me wish for more of what Roxanne Gay calls, "more substance to hold all that style."  Ocean Vuong is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds and the New York Times bestselling novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous . A recipient of the 2019 MacArthur "Genius" grant, he is also the winner of the Whiting Award and the T. S. Eliot Prize. His writings have been featured in The Atlantic, Harper's Magazine, The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times . Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he currently lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.  On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous  ...

Lucie Waldon's second novel, From the Jump , is a cute, relaxing read, the perfect vacation companion. Between South Africa and California, Liv and Deiss really do travel the world to get outside their comfort zones to figure out who they are to one another. While a perfectly engaging read, there were just a couple of holes that kept me from entirely enjoying the story.  Lucie Waldon is a writer with her head in the clouds—literally. A flight attendant based in Washington, DC, Waldon spends her days writing from the jump seat and searching the world for new stories. She is also the author of The Layover . You can find her online at luciewaldon.com , or on Instagram @AllAboutThat_Lace.  Liv Bakersfield is used to living her life in "shoulds." Be fit. Be financially responsible. Be your best self.  An overworked graphic designer, she's stretched so thin that she's about to miss yet another vacation with her beloved group of college friends. But when Liv finally deci...

Anyone who knows me well knows I love the movie Titanic , but my fascination with this tragedy began before I first watched that movie. I've loved Titanic stories for as long as I can remember, so I was really looking forward to finally picking up The Girl Who Came Home . Unfortunately, I felt like this novel focused too much on the fascinating real-life details from Titanic , rather than digging deep into the heart of the cast of characters that was attempting to bring those details to life. Hazel Gaynor is an author and freelance writer. In March 2009, after a fifteen-year career in corporate training and development, Hazel swapped the boardroom for the kitchen table, where she has been writing ever since. Originally from Yorkshire, England, she now lives in Ireland with her husband, two children, and an accident-prone cat. This is her first novel. Contact Hazel on Twitter @HazelGaynor or visit her online at HazelGaynor.com .  Inspired by true events, the New York Times bestselli...

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me perfectly renders the imperfect nature of growing up. Freddy Riley is navigating a breakup (kinda? it's complicated!), and while her world is rendered in beautiful, bright detail, Freddy is muddled by what her life should be. Framed by a series of email correspondences Freddy shares with an advice columnist, she learns how to be the main character in her own life. And, as Rainbow Rowell says, you will definitely want to break up with Laura Dean by the end.  Mariko Tamaki  is a Canadian writer of comics and prose. She is the co-creator with Jillian Tamaki of Skim and of Caldecott and Printz Honor book This One Summer . Mariko also writes about superheros for Marvel and DC Comics.  Rosemary Valero-O'Connell  has done work for DC Comics, BOOM! Studios, CAPY Games, and Mondo Tees, among others. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators NY and shown in galleries both locally and internationally. You can find her onlin...

Rainbow and Gabi do it again in the third installment of Fangirl: The Manga ! Bringing the second half of the novel to life, Gabi and Rainbow dive even deeper into the emotions of Cath's tumultuous college experience and start to bring to life the backstory that started it all. This installment only has me more excited for the conclusion of this stunning visual adaptation!  Rainbow Rowell  lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her family. she is the #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  Attachments, Eleanor & Park, Landline,  and  the Simon Snow Trilogy . Her comics credits include Marvel's  Runaways  and  She-Hulk,  and the graphic novel  Pumpkinheads . You can visit her online at rainbowrowell.com . You can find more of my reviews of her work here . Gabi Nam  is a South Korean artist who has lived abroad in Japan and France. She self-publishes her work in South Korea and specializes in the black-and-white man...

Achingly romantic, Love Lettering has won a spot on my list of one of the best reads I've had all year. Romance at it's absolute best, Kate Clayborn weaves a story of romantic, platonic, and familial love, creating a story that feels bigger than itself. A love letter to NYC to boot, Love Lettering  has absolutely everything a romance reader wants, and more.  Double RITA nominee Kate Clayborn lives in Virginia, where she spends her days reading and talking about all kinds of great books. Kate loves to hear from and connect with readers—follow her on Twitter, on Instagram, and on Facebook. Visit her online at kateclayborn.com to sign up for her newsletter. Find more of my reviews of Kate's work here .  Meg Mackworth's hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing custom journals for her New York City clientele. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Knowing the upcoming marriage of Reid Sutherland and his polish...

Reading Jesse Q. Sutanto's cozy mystery feels like receiving the warmest of hugs. Full of the humor Sutanto is known for, the found family trope that readers like me can't get enough of, and a mystery that will keep you guessing just like Vera, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is a must-read for the cozy vibes this fall.  Jesse Q. Sutanto is the award-winning, bestselling author of adult, young adult, and children's middle-grade book. She has a master's degree in creative writing from Oxford University, though she hasn't found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. The film rights to her women's fiction title Dial A for Aunties  was bought by Netflix in a competitive bidding war. Her adult books include Dial For Aunties , Four Aunties and a Wedding , and Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers . Her young adult books include Well, That Was Unexpected , The Obsession , and The New Girl . Her middle-grade books include Theo Tan a...

This literary look at true crime had me hooked! Makkai is a great storyteller, and I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time while reading hoping to figure out who murdered Thalia and how Bodie Kane's, the main character's, personal problems would be resolved. Despite this, I was left feeling pretty unresolved about several things, which may or may not have been the point.  Rebecca Makkai is the author of the novels The Great Believers , The Hundred-Year House , and The Borrower , and the story collection Music for Wartime . A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, The Great Believers  received an American Library Association Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, among other honors, and was named one of the Ten Best Books of 2018 by The New York Times . A 2022 Guggenheim fellow, Makkai is on the MFA faculties of the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe and Northwestern University, and is th...

Jenny Jackson's debut novel is a study in character that had me entranced within the first three chapters. Honest and vibrant as the blurbs promise, I was immediately hooked and didn't want to put the book down until I knew how it all ended. A searing look at privilege and class, Jackson examines intergenerational wealth through the stories of these three women, and you might find this more heartwarming than you may think! Jenny Jackson is a vice president and executive editor at Alfred A. Knopf. A graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing Course, she lives in Brooklyn Heights with her family. Pineapple Street is her first novel.  Darley, the eldest daughter in the well-connected, old money Stockton family, followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood but giving up far too much in the process; Sasha, a middle-class New England girl, has married into the Brooklyn Heights family, and finds herself cast as the arriviste outsider; and Georgi...