New Year, New Shelf

On New Year’s Eve, I broke my book-buying hiatus and took home a total of five new books from Barnes & Noble and Half Price Books. My TBR (To Be Read) list is getting increasingly longer with new books! Still, this year, I am determined to make a dent in the piles that have been sitting unread on my bookshelf. Yes, even the “serious” books and – dare I say it – nonfiction. In 2020, all I wanted to read were comfort books – stories that would take me away from all the chaos in the real world, happy endings guaranteed. Life is still chaotic, but my TBR list is a little braver. This past month, I read two young adult novels (mystery and fantasy), two literary fiction novels, a memoir, a psychological thriller, and a romance. I’d say that’s a pretty good variety for the start of the new year! Here’s what was on my shelf in January, including three books I gave a 🌟 shining star:

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery

Plot: The three oldest Sinclair cousins and their best friend (collectively called “the Liars”) spend every summer together at the family’s private island estate. Although their parents and elders are bitter toward each other over competition for an inheritance, the Liars’ friendship stays true and endures the passing of the seasons – until a mysterious accident causes one of the Liars to question everything.

Thoughts: This book has stayed with me for a long time. I was hooked by the first page, even though I couldn’t really tell why I liked it. At first, I thought the author’s poetic language was excessive and pretentious, but it grew on me. I now think of it as very haunting and melodic. The same goes with the excepts of Cadence’s fairy tales – they felt random and out of place at first. But I grew to appreciate their orchestration in line with the main plot. Everyone I’ve talked to seems to share the same opinion: the ending of the book is where you find clarity in the story and where you feel the deepest connection to the characters. Although it wasn’t my favorite book by far, We Were Liars is one of the most unique and unforgettable young adult novels I’ve read recently.

For fans of John Green, Ellen Hopkins

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah 🌟

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Comedy

Plot: Trevor Noah, the current host of The Daily Show, was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother in South Africa during the apartheid, a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. In the early years of his life, Noah was shielded from law enforcement who posed a threat not only to him but to his entire family. As apartheid lifted, Trevor grew up in a society that posed new dangers and challenges to his identity on top of the inevitable awkwardness of growing up. In his memoir, he shares stories from his past with humor and heart but not shying away from the ugliness of apartheid.

Thoughts: Trevor Noah manages to create humor out of the most horrifying and desperate of life experiences. Not just humor – crazy, laugh-out-loud comedy. The “Go Hitler!” chapter almost had me in tears! However, you can also tell that Noah feels deeply indebted to the people (most importantly his mother Patricia) that raised him in a world where “colored” (black and white mixed) children were not allowed to exist. I never learned about the South African apartheid in school (possibly because it was not happening during my lifetime), so this book also provided an intimate yet comprehensive history of a country that enacted slavery, segregation, and gentrification all in one extremely cruel set of laws. Everyone can take something from this book – no matter their age, nationality, or the color of their skin. It’s educational, contemplative, and hilarious – go read it!

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 🌟

Genre: Literary Fiction, Drama

Plot: “Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. They are settling into the routine of their life together when they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit.” Summary taken from Goodreads

Thoughts: An American Marriage is not a happy novel – it leaves none of the despair of wrongful incarceration to be imagined. However, it is a beautiful novel told through memories and letters revealing how everyone involved is impacted by Roy’s sentence. An infinite thread of African-American family histories develops through exchanges between the three narrators: Roy, Celestial, and Andre. The tragedy is that everyone in the story is impacted by the actions of the culprit who is never discovered. They are broken and forced to piece themselves back together. However, if you read into things, nothing about Roy and Celestial’s love was perfect to begin with. Would these two passionate, independent people have suffered together regardless? This book will haunt me and sit in my soul forever because it reveals the harshest truths of love. Tayari Jones is an epic writer, and An American Measure is a treasure, a labor of love.

Shiver by Maggie Steifvater

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Plot: In the gloomy Minnesota town of Mercy Falls, Grace is attacked by wolves as a young girl. The lone wolf that saves her from the rest of the pack continues to show up in her life for the following ten years. Grace discovers that “her wolf” is Sam, a boy her age who transforms into a wolf when the woods in Mercy Falls turn cold for the winter.

Thoughts: Shiver was recommended to me by a friend as one of her favorite series from junior high. Reading it between “serious” books took me back to a place: the middle school library. Reading fantasy novels underneath my desk during science class. Wishing for a vampire/werewolf/wizard/dystopian-hottie boyfriend who’s also the lead singer of a band to take me away from small-town life. Browsing through merch at Hot Topic… Ah, that was a place. Even though it wasn’t a remarkable or very exciting book to me, Shiver definitely delivered young-adult-paranormal-romance nostalgia that I had no choice but to sink my teeth into.

For fans of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Ian Reid

Genre: Horror, Psychological Thriller

Plot: A young woman visits her boyfriend’s parents for the first time. As the two of them drive through his rural hometown on the way to his parents’ house, she contemplates breaking up with him and considers what it would be like to be single. The longer she spends in her boyfriend’s hometown the worse her grip on their relationship and reality becomes.

Thoughts: After finishing I’m Thinking of Ending Things around 2 AM on the same night I started it, I felt consumed with dread – a feeling that still comes back at times when I think about the book. IMO, a lingering sense of doom is what makes an excellent horror/thriller. I found myself unable to tear myself away from the story and the narrator’s neverending flow of deranged thoughts. It was like I was trapped in her mind – her doubts and fears became my own and somehow felt uncomfortably relatable to my own circumstances even though I felt normal and fine before starting the book. The only reason I debate giving this book a 🌟 is because of the way the book is broken up between the narrator’s thoughts and then commentary from unnamed individuals who are never really explained but I guess kind of help reveal the twist? Also, I liked it so much that I kind of wanted it to be longer. But the fact that Ian Reid intended it to be a one-night read is actually brilliant and something I didn’t know before reading.

For fans of Stephen King, Gillian Flynn

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Genre: Literary Fiction, Drama, Comedy

Plot: “In the midst of a family crisis one late evening, white blogger Alix Chamberlain calls her African American babysitter, Emira, asking her to take toddler Briar to the local market for distraction. There, the security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar, and Alix’s efforts to right the situation turn out to be good intentions selfishly mismanaged.” Summary taken from Goodreads

Thoughts: Hearing the plot of this book, I never thought it would be as funny and messy as it turned out to be. The novel centers around a young black woman named Emira who is unsure where to go next in life while she works as a babysitter for a wealthy white family. Alix, Emira’s employer, has insecurities of her own which she directs into smothering Emira with performative ally-ship. This novel made me reflect on my own insecurities and the ways I related to both of the protagonists: Alix’s obsession with the way others perceive her, and Emira’s struggle to find her own purpose while constantly comparing herself to her more successful friends. The other characters were appropriately wacky for the story – Briar was so cutely weird and curious in the ways only a three-year-old can be, Alix’s out-of-touch she-bosses were annoyingly self-involved, Emira’s friends were celebrating and snatching life up on every page, and Kelley…well, we all know a guy like Kelley. Kiley Reid’s first novel Such a Fun Age is a twisty good story about race, class, privilege.

Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 🌟

Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy

Plot: “First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince.” Summary taken from Goodreads

Thoughts: Between the cute and spicy romance in RW&RB (don’t worry, there’s a lot), are important messages about coming into yourself, finding your community, and facing pressure to either confirm or stay true to who you are. It is important to mention that Casey McQuiston is a queer author, so her characters aren’t gay just to be gay (hello, Carry On). Alex and Henry experience the roller coaster of coming out together in a modern society where their love could make history. Their references to art, politics, history, and pop culture fly at a breakneck speed, but that is also part of the fun. This love story is an optimistic look at what our country and world could be if we freed ourselves to love who we want to love. McQuiston dedicated this book to the “weirdos and dreamers,” and on behalf of all of us out there, I say “THANK YOU!” for this triumph tale of queer young love.

Trigger/Adult Content warnings (CONTAINS SPOILERS!) below

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We Were Liars: someone experiences amnesia after a traumatic event; mentions of alcoholism; arson; death; underage drinking; descriptive nightmares and visions of extraordinarily violent self-harm

Born A Crime: domestic violence; police brutality; descriptions of apartheid/race-based violence; a shooting

An American Marriage: abortion; mentions of r*pe; prison; graphic fighting

Shiver: extreme parental abuse; animal violence; a brief consensual sex scene between teenagers; mentions of self-harm

I’m Thinking of Ending Things: su*cide; su*cidal thoughts; violence; stalking; mental illness

Such A Fun Age: a few brief sex scenes, one between teenagers

Red, White, & Royal Blue: many consensual, explicit sex scenes; mentions of sexual harassments

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