We did it, baby! I have a Five-Star Trifecta for you today, and these books couldn’t be more different from each other!
Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson (★★★★★)
Audiobook • Libby • Nonfiction • 2023
Short synopsis: From historian and author of the popular daily newsletter Letters From an American, a vital narrative that explains how America, once a beacon of democracy, now teeters on the brink of autocracy — and how we can turn back.
I’ve been reading Richardson’s daily newsletter since the start of the second Trump presidency, and it has been a balm to my soul. She has such an accessible writing style, and I love the way she continually ties back what’s happening right now with our past. Shit’s been messy for a long time! This book was released in 2023 after the first Trump presidency, and it starts with everything that happened during that time and the impact it had on our society as a whole. Then, she brings you all the way back to the founding of the U.S. to explain how we got to where we are today. It’s not just because of Trump, but due to a system that was set up to slowly veer us toward authoritarianism. This book was excellent, and I think Heather Cox Richardson is one of the most important voices today.
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian (★★★★★)
E-Book • Libby • Historical Romance • 2023
Short synopsis: When a closeted reporter, Nick, is tasked with babysitting the bumbling heir, Andy, to a newspaper dynasty, an unlikely friendship blossoms into a forbidden romance that could cost them both everything in 1950s New York.
This book was the goddamn sweetest. Essentially, it’s a friends-to-lovers romance, but there’s also this coming-of-age element as Andy realizes he’s queer as he begins falling for his best friend. The setting was perfection, and you can really feel the grittiness of 1950s NYC and the very real consequences of being queer during that time. There’s a beautiful found family aspect to the story, along with some surprisingly affirming support from family members you might not expect. And how the love blossomed between Andy and Nick! I was basically a puddle of mush. They were so goddamn cute together, and I spent the entire book rooting for them to get their happy ending because they truly deserved it. Beyond the romance, there’s plenty going on. Nick is investigating a story about corrupt cops while grappling with the fact that his own brother is a police officer, and Andy is trying to learn the newspaper business before taking over from his father. All of these elements work together so well, creating a rich, layered story that never lost sight of the romance at the heart of it. I loved this novel so much, and was a little sad to say goodbye to Andy and Nick when I finished it.
James by Percival Everett (★★★★★)
Print • Owned (indie bookstore) • Literary Fiction • 2024
Short synopsis: Recasting a familiar American tale through Jim’s eyes, this novel follows an enslaved man’s desperate quest for freedom and family as he journeys down the Mississippi River with Huck Finn.
This book was straight-up brilliant. When I finished it, I just stared off into space for about 10 minutes, thinking about the plot and all the ways Everett plays with our assumptions about enslaved people. It’s deeply subversive, especially in how it explores the trope of the uneducated enslaved person. In this novel, James—and many of the other enslaved characters—are constantly code-switching to protect themselves: speaking with proper grammar around one another and adopting a simplified dialect around white people. As James himself says in the book, “White folks expect us to sound a certain way and it can only help if we don’t disappoint them.” Juxtaposing this with the way many Black people today code-switch in the opposite direction, yet often for the same reason—protection—is masterful storytelling.
This isn’t exactly a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I barely remember anyway. Instead, it gives Jim agency, history, and a voice. It reminds us that the stories we tell about history rarely capture the full scope of human experience because they’re often told from the perspective of white people. James challenges us to reconsider what we think we know about enslaved people and the assumptions we’ve absorbed from generations of storytelling. More than anything, this novel is a reminder that every person has an inner life. They have people who love them, ideas worth fighting for, dreams for the future, and a history worth remembering.
I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did because award winners don’t typically work for me. But Percival Everett is a phenomenal storyteller, and every accolade this book has received feels well deserved. This is a must-read.
What are you reading?
Wowza! Hooray for a spate of such fabulous books!
I need to read that first book in particular but I need to be in the right mind space for it. The 2nd one is intriguing! And I also read and adored James. It was so well done and such a page turner.
Right now I’m reading “A Far-Flung Life” which is by the author of “The Light Between Oceans” which is a book I adored. I like this book but there is a plot point that I have some issues with that is a major these in the book. I can’t say what it is but it’s a controversial decision to make. But I’m sticking with it.