I am just barreling through my bookshelves lately. Once my pool opens up, y’all, it’s going to be insane! This month, I read 12 books. A total of 3,757 pages. Which is an average of 121 pages a day. So let’s get to it.
Girl Through Glass by Sari Wilson (286 pages). I do love a book about bunheads. In 1970’s New York, the New York City Ballet reigned supreme. And its director, George Balanchine, is legendary. Mira is 11 years old and ready to take on this competitive world. She meets 47 year old Maurice DuPont, a balletomane who becomes her mentor. As she rises through the ranks of the School of American Ballet, she is prepped to become one of the greatest dancers the company has known. Her relationship with Maurice intensifies, to the point that her life is completely upended. Meanwhile, in present day, Kate is a professor of dance. When a letter from her past arrives, she must return home to confront everything she thought she’d left behind. It was pretty good. I finished in 3 days.
The Herd by Andrea Bartz (318 pages). This was my book club box book. So yay for gifties! The Herd is an elite women only coworking space in New York City. Katie has applied for membership, hopeful that her connections to her sister Hana (one of the first members and the PR agent), her sister’s friend Mikki (also an original member and the graphic artist for the company) and her sister’s friend Eleanor (the founder) will help. But within one week of Katie’s application, and on the very day of a huge announcement, Eleanor disappears. As everyone starts to become a suspect, Katie and Hana start wondering what they did (and didn’t) know about their friend. I finished in 1 day.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (288 pages). Yes, I’m as surprised as you are that I’d never read this book. I knew this book had been made into a movie (which I had never seen until about a week after I finished the book. Thanks, Netflix. It was great!). A movie that was, until Crazy Rich Asians came along, the only American made, all Asian cast movie. But that’s about all I knew. So I’m not sure what I was expecting. What I was not expecting was a lack of a cohesive plot. The Joy Luck Club was 4 Chinese born women who now lived in San Francisco and played mah jong. They all had daughters about the same age. As expected, there was a cultural clash between the generations. But the novel itself is each of the women’s stories- both mothers and daughters. The only connecting story is of Suyuan Woo, who has passed away at the beginning of the novel, and her daughter Jing-mei Woo, who goes to China to meet the twin sisters her mother had to leave behind. Despite the fact that the stories were disconnected, I actually really liked the novel. I loved each individual story. I finished in 3 days.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (198 pages). Melinda’s freshman year of high school is not what she thought it would be. She is a complete outcast due to the fact that she called the cops on a party during the summer. But there’s a lot more to the story than just calling the cops. As the school year goes on, Melinda tries to come to terms with what happened and what that means for her. Turns out there’s also a movie of this novel. So you know that got added to my list! I finished in 2 days.
Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close (292 pages). Allegedly, at least according to the back of the book, it was about Isabella, Mary and Lauren, 3 women who feel like everyone they know is getting married while they are stuck- in dead-end jobs, in dead-end relationships, in dead-end lives. Honestly, there were so many “side” characters that I never really felt connected to the 3 “main” characters. Until the final chapter, it was never just about the three of them. Just like The Joy Luck Club, there was no one storyline- it was a collection of stories involving the same characters. Unlike The Joy Luck Club, I did not like this book at all. I finished in 3 days.
Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis (199 pages). This was a collection of short essays. The author is an Alabama belle who married a New Yorker and now lives on the Upper East Side. But she kept her Southern ways. Her motto? If you don’t have something nice to say, say something not so nice in a nice way. Which I love! The essays were just cute stories about her life- marriage, friends, remaining childless, etc. I finished in 1 day.
Puddin’ by Julie Murphy (428 pages). I accidentally ordered this book instead of Dumplin’ (after watching the Netflix movie, I really wanted to read it). This book is about one of the other characters in Dumplin’, Millie Michalchuk. Millie entered the Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant, despite her mother telling her she was too big, and got runner up! This novel is more of her story. Millie has dreams that are bigger than anything she’s willing to share with her family. But she has her good girlfriends, thanks to the pageant, and a huge crush! Callie, on the other hand, has everything going for her. Beautiful, popular boyfriend and in line to be captain of the dance team. But when a prank goes awry, Callie is forced to realize what really matters and is lasting in her life. As Millie and Callie strike up an unlikely friendship, they start to bring out the best in each other. It was heartwarming and sweet. I finished in 4 days.
Texts from Jane Eyre (and Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters) by Daniel Mallory Ortberg (226 pages). Yes, this book was exactly as the title leads you to believe. What if your favorite literary characters had texting? It was easy and funny. I found myself laughing out loud several times at the witticism of the texts! I finished in 1 day.
A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs (480 pages). The fourth in Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children novels. I remember not enjoying the third book as much, but loved the first two, so wanted to go back to the series. I liked this one a lot more. Jacob’s friends have arrived just in time to keep him from being sent to an asylum. And now that they aren’t trapped in the safety of the time loop, they want to explore modern day America. But when Jacob finds more secrets left behind by his grandfather, the children end up on a mission around the East Coast and through different time loops to track down a peculiar who has just realized her powers. Yes, all of this sounds super confusing if you’ve not read the other books! I finished in 5 days.
The Conference of Birds by Ransom Riggs (325 pages). In book 3, Jacob and company managed to defeat an evil peculiar and banish him to a collapsed loop, presumably dead. Now, it turns out that there’s possibly a way to restore a collapsed loop. So Jacob and his friends must race against the clock to stop the wights from achieving their goal. I finished in 3 days.
Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz (355 pages). I am unabashedly obsessed with Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler. It began back in 2015, when a little musical hit the stage. I became obsessed with the music and by extension, the story. So I started reading. Yes, a lot of what I’ve read has been historical fiction (because that’s what I love). But I can’t help it! This series was written by an author I already knew I liked. Despite the fact that most of her work is vampire and witch, this was amazing! And turns out, she was inspired by the musical. While some liberties were taken with history (Hamilton did not uncover the treason of Benedict Arnold, Eliza was not engaged to another man prior to marrying Hamilton), the book was a fun look at their courtship. I finished in 3 days.
Love & War by Melissa de la Cruz (362 pages). Alex and Eliza are newlyweds. Alex is trying to find his place in this new country now that the war is over. He’s establishing his law practice. Meanwhile, Eliza is finding her footing as a married woman. Additional liberties were taken in this novel as well (Alexander and Eliza had children almost immediately, while this allowed them to remain childless for a few years). Didn’t matter- I loved it anyway! I finished in 3 days.
This month’s favorite was...The Alex and Eliza stories. I love Hamilton. I love historical fiction. Win win!
