Happy Monday! I have today off work because I always take the day after the Super Bowl off. It’s my own special holiday! I am debating between using today to do my monthly 5K or get some things done around my apartment. I’m going to play it by ear and see how I feel!
Last week, I finished two books and both of them were five-star reads. There’s a really good chance they’ll make my favorites list at the end of the year, too. So far, February has been an all-star reading month for me! Here are the reviews of what I read:
Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson (★★★★★)
I couldn’t have loved a book more if I tried. It was the kind of book I just wanted to hug when I finished it because it touched me in such a deep way. Jade is a high school student who goes to a private school on scholarship. She has to take the bus to school because she lives in a different area of town, and deal with being one of the few Black students (and one of the few poor students) in her school. When she gets an opportunity to join Woman to Woman, a mentorship program for Black teen girls, she is paired with a mentor, Maxine, who will change her life for the better. This is the kind of book that places a sharp focus on Black excellence and Black joy without shying away from topics like racism, police brutality, the “angry Black woman” trope. It’s so well-written and beautiful, and I highly recommend it! (#ownvoices, print, Amazon)
Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian (★★★★★)
This YA novel was deeply impactful. It follows three friends as they navigate relationships, family, racism, and homophobia with the backdrop of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. Reza is new to NYC, having moved with his mother from Toronto to the home of his new stepdad. He’s navigating a new school, a new family, and his sexual identity as a gay teen while also seeing so many articles about AIDS and how being gay can be a death sentence for some. He meets Art, another gay teenager, and his best friend Judy on his first day of school and they quickly form a close bond. And then Reza starts dating Judy in an effort to remain closeted and stifle his growing feelings for Art, and things grow increasingly complicated for the trio. This book was a masterpiece that puts a new face to the AIDS epidemic: how it affected young, closeted gay teenagers who were seeing so many gay men die from a disease and how the public interacted with people with AIDS. It’s beautiful in its exploration of queerness, the way family can support you and disappoint you, which is something I am intimately familiar with, and I was just rooting for all three of these crazy kids from beginning to end. A must-read, in my opinion. (#ownvoices, audiobook, Libby)
What I’m Reading This Week
- Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian (e-book) – I am about halfway through this queer historical romance. It’s a slow-burn romance, which generally isn’t my favorite, but I’m actually quite enjoying it so far.
- Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell (print) – This book has been fascinating so far. The key takeaway is that just about every word that is supposed to be meant as derogatory slang towards women has linguistic origins that are vastly different than what the words mean to us today.
- When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton (audiobook) – I’m starting this novel on audio today. I read Next Year in Havana by Cleeton and really liked it, so I hope this one is just as excellent!
What are you reading?
How wonderful that both of those books are five stars! That’s an AMAZING reading week!
It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I’m very pleased!
My reading year is off to a really great start, too! I’ve read 3 5 star books and 7 4 star books, out of 13 books! I can’t put my finger on why it’s been a better year so far, though. I think listening to Currently Reading and Sarah’s Bookshelves Live has helped, though!
I finished Ann Patchett’s essay collection, These Precious Days, which I really enjoyed. And I’m close to finishing State of Terror by Hillary Clinton/Louise Penny. It was a slower burn initially but I’ve struggled to put it down the last couple of nights. I see Penny in the writing but the subject-matter is so different and definitely required the expertise Clinton brought. So I think it’s a good marriage of experts! I’m excited to see how it ends. Next up I am going to read “Wintering” in hopes it will shift my perspective about winter (I’m so over it right now) and then “Landslide” which is a book I heard about on either Currently Reading or Sarah’s Bookshelves Live, I think?
I was curious about State of Terror and wanted to wait until a few trusted sources had reviewed it before picking it up. But most people I know have raved about it so I’ll definitely be giving it a try!
Hooray for a strong start to your reading year!
Oh, those look good. I think often of the AIDS crisis; I was just a kid/ young teen when it was happening, but I remember it quite clearly. How devastating. I think I’ll read that book.
I remember how interesting I found it when I discovered that “slut” mean someone who was slovenly or a bad housekeeper!
I hope you enjoy Like a Love Story! It really put a picture to the AIDS crisis that I hadn’t previously considered.
Well, you have the right idea- take the day off after the Super Bowl! Super Bowl is always semi-ruined for me because it’s on a Sunday night, and Monday mornings are hard.
I trust your book recommendations- I’m reading another one of yours right now, Know My Name (although to be fair, I heard about it from multiple sources.). Anyway, these two sound good! My TBR list is way to long.
The Monday after the Super Bowl is always a hard day! It’s nice to be able to sleep in and take it easy. 🙂
Know My Name is incredible. What a talented writer Chanel Miller is!
So smart to take the Monday after the SB off! There is a “movement” to make it a “national holiday”, which makes me laugh, but since you’re a football fan, I say go for it. I imagine you’re loving the departure of a certain someone from TB…? (Though sorry about your team’s coach-related, um, stuff…)
Anyway! Books! I just read another super-positive review of Like a Love Story and… huh. Now I’m kind of tempted to add it to the never ending TBR… We shall see, but your reviews carry a lot of weight for me. 🙂
I wish they would just move the Super Bowl to Saturday! I get that Sundays are reserved for football but ugh, nobody enjoys that Monday after the Super Bowl feeling. (Well, those who don’t care about it at all, I guess, haha.)
Like a Love Story is just so good. I highly recommend it!