January 2021 Book Review

 It's time for my first book review of the year!!

I started January off with a bang by reading 10 books, yay! That will definitely help me get to my goal of 100. And lots of variety this month, I love when I don't end up being my own cliche of chick-lit only reading ha. I also had a lot of 4 and 5 star reads this month and many books that will help with my 2021 goals, so it was a great month! {Remember - find me on Goodreads, I love this app!}

Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting - This was an adorable start to 2021. The owners of 2 neighboring restaurants get off on the wrong foot but quickly figure out they are a good couple. I liked that there wasn't a huge relationship issue between the 2 leads - there was definitely a challenge they faced but it wasn't the traditional 'we misunderstood each other and got in a fight and now are we broken up or what' that happens a lot in chick-lit/romance. The characters were fun, the plot was cute, I highly enjoyed! Rated R.

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abe Dare - Holy smokes. This is going to be hard to top as best book of 2021. Adunni grew up in a small rural village in Nigeria with a mother who wanted her to get an education and give herself a louding {loud} voice. She faces SO MANY hardships on her journey but never gives up. Her spirit and hope were the heart of the book, and I had ALLLLL the feels while reading it. Just phenomenal.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller - And just like that, my non-fiction favorite might be clenched too! This is a memoir about Chanel Miller who was raped while unconscious at a party on Stanford's campus. I have 1 word to say about this book: WOW. This is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. Chanel is an insanely gifted writer! We read this for my 'regular' book club and I took so many screen shots to capture all the powerful things Chanel said about her experience and the aftermath. This book also made me think A LOT about the pressures society places on women to meet certain expectations and their treatment when they don't. As a mother of young girls, I struggled a lot with that. And as a mother of a young {white, privileged} boy, it also made me think a lot about how I want him to behave and treat women. An amazing, MUST READ.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Kambili and her brother, Jaja, live a privileged life in Nigeria...or so it seems from the outside. Being in their world was fascinating as they navigate having a religiously fanatical father who is viewed by the outside world as a hero but makes their private lives hell. This book was excellent! There were a lot of twists and turns I didn't see coming, and I really enjoyed it! I did feel like the ending was a bit abrupt, I would have liked a little more time with the characters at the end!

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - This story was told from the POV of a dog at the end of his life. He looks back on his family and the trials they went through. I thought this was a completely charming story...but then about 2/3 of the way through it took a big turn and I couldn't put it down!

Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum - This was the selection for the BFBC, and it was another excellent book that looks at the effects of systemic racism. I think every parent and educator should read this book - there was so much good information in it! It was pretty hefty in terms of content, but it wasn't too much to process which I appreciated!

I Will Plant a Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman - Trent and I read this book together, and he really enjoyed it! It's a woman's true account of surviving the Holocaust as being on Schindler's List. This book was written for middle grades, so it was a little less descriptive than I would have liked, but it was still a good book and a fascinating story. Trent said he would give it 4 or 4.5 stars while I wasn't quite that enthusiastic about it, ha.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner - I have a lot of mixed emotions about this book. It was such a sweet premise - people in a small town in England after WW2 where Jane Austen lived for a while work together to preserve memorabilia of hers. It was just really, really slow. The first 80% of the story felt really long, and then ALL THIS STUFF happened in the last 20% {and I might be generous with those percentages}. I loved how everything ended but wish the exciting parts could have had more room in the story! When it ended, my heart was very happy, and I was glad I stuck it out...but it was, at times, a slog.

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn - After watching Bridgerton, you guys knew I would want to read this Regency romance series. I mean I'm kind of surprised I hadn't heard of this before if I'm being honest! This has everything I love in a romance - set in England, set in the 1800s, Aristocracy, love story - BOOM! AND it's a series - 8 books! I will definitely keep reading the series.

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer - Well. I have read ALL things Twilight over the years. The whole original series, the short stories, the story where the genders are swapped, this story when it was just a leaked 100 pages. I love the world of Twilight! But this...was not good. Sigh. This is Twilight from Edward's point of view, and it was just SO long and whiny, ugh. I did NOT enjoy being in his head - a lot of the time I was skimming. I'm very sad about this! I will say it was fun to be back in Forks with some of my favorite vampires, but this story wasn't for me.