The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin was a nice diversion. It moves quickly (though about 50% through it got a little dull, but then picked up again) and is mostly about Georgia’s relationship with her best friend, a gay doctor who is fired from the clinic where they work. The question is: is he fired because he’s gay, because he treats transgendered patients, or because he’s stealing drugs from the clinic. In between this story is the romance Georgia has started with a man she saved from dying on an airplane. I would have liked a deeper dive into the romance than the book gave, but overall, this was a good choice. I’d grab it if you are looking for something to take your mind off the state of the world.

I liked American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins despite the controversy. It’s the story of Lydia and her son Luca whose entire family is murdered by a drug cartel. She and Luca must flee Acapulco and make their way north to safety in America. It’s a fast-paced, hold-your-breath kind of read and a really interesting story. I didn’t adore it and I’m not sure why. Perhaps I need some lighter reading in this moment in time? I did really enjoy it, but it wasn’t a five star read for me.

I was so excited to find In Five Years on the shelf at the library the day after it was published. I was going to splurge and purchase this one, I was that excited to read it. And, it proved to be as good as I thought it was going to be! Described as perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Fine Day, it certainly delivered and was just what I needed right now. I read it in about two hours. Amazon says it well: “When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie…[nails] her interview and [accepts] her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, [she] goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan. But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.” I’ll leave it there. Grab it – it’s just the right kind of story to get your mind off what’s going on in the world.

I haven’t posted in while. No surprise, right?! It’s the busiest time of year for me at work and, well, the world right now. I have found myself watching WAY more Netflix while working than reading these days. And, it took me forever to slog through this one. While I was originally so excited to find The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedman in our Little Free Library, I almost abandoned it multiple times. I think I read a good review of it somewhere (Gayle, was it you?) and it seemed like a fun book to grab. And, while it was fun, there wasn’t much to it and I pretty much hated all the characters. Not a good way to enjoy a book generally. I did finish it, but wouldn’t recommend it.

I loved Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. It’s the story of a family who are moving cross country. Their plane crashes and the only survivor of the plane crash is the youngest son Edward. In alternating chapters, we learn about the passengers in the last hours of the flight and the new life Edward forges with his aunt and uncle. The only thing that made this book not five star for me was that there was no explanation for how he was the sole survivor of the flight. It was so unbelievable for him to walk away from the crash, that I had trouble getting past it. However, the story was touching and interesting and I really enjoyed it. Also, the cover was quite pleasing. 🙂

I have no idea where I read about Talk to Me by John Kenney. It came right away when I requested it from the library and seems to have been chosen as a fabulous winter read by Southern Living (!). It’s the story of a newscaster who falls quickly from grace because he is heard swearing on camera. I enjoyed Talk to Me, but I didn’t love it. It got a little bogged down in the middle, and was better at the beginning and end. Overall, it was a creative story, but not completely page-turning.

When I Was White is an interesting memoir by Sarah Valentine who believed she was the child of two white parents until she was 27 when her mother told her that the man she had known as her father was not her father. Sarah questions her race her whole life, and it is not until she is an adult that she learns the truth. I really enjoyed this book until about the last third, where I felt the story floundered. While the author herself was floundering, I felt that the whole truth about her father was never fully fleshed out. I found it hard to believe that she went as long as she did without probing further and demanding answers, since she had been aggressive with her mother earlier in her life. It didn’t ring true (though it must be since this was a memoir). I would still recommend this read, as I enjoyed it, but I liked the first two thirds so much that I found that last bit a disappointment by comparison.

Having just said in my last post that I wasn’t usually into YA, I just finished another YA selection that I enjoyed. This one, American Street by Ibi Ziboi, was loaned to me by a colleague because of my interest in Haiti. It’s the story of a mother and daughter who are emigrating to America from Haiti. While the mother is detained, the daughter moves in with her aunt and cousins and learns about life in America and Detroit in particular. While overall, a depressing tale, this was a good and interesting read, based in some part on the author’s own story.

YA is not my usual thing. However, I had received The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater as a gift and thought it was worth trying. It’s the true story of Sasha and Richard who both take the 57 bus home from school in Oakland, CA. Sasha is white and comes home from a private school along this route and Richard is black and comes home from the large public Oakland High. They are only on the bus together for eight minutes, but in that window, Richard sees Sasha in a skirt (Sasha was born a boy) and sets that skirt on fire. The story is told in short chapters from both sides of the story. Slater is a journalist and the book had a journalistic feeling and was a quick read. I enjoyed the book (I wasn’t familiar with the story beforehand) and would highly recommend it for adults and teens. It’s enlightening both about transgender issues as well as juvenile incarceration.

Speaking of Summer by Kalisha Buckhanon was on the NY Post Best Summer Reads list. Though I haven’t really enjoyed the other books from the list, I thought I woud give this one a go. It’s about twin sisters, one of whom goes missing under strange circumstances. This was a mystery with a twist and, while it was readable, I never really got into it and skimmed most of the way through. I figured out the mystery right before it was revealed. On the whole, this was OK, but not great. I guess I should give up on the NY Post!