Recent Reads November/December 2021
2021 is definitely the year that got me back into my love of reading! Between nursing school, planning a wedding/getting married, starting my nursing career, then buying a house and starting a family, reading just really fell to the wayside for me. In October of 2020 I decided to start a book club for my neighborhood, and I am happy to say that my reading has really taken off! Between book club, learning to love audiobooks, and just giving myself time to really dive into stories again, I went from reading four books in 2020 to reading SIXTY-FIVE in 2021! And when I say read, I mean finish - I have three I’m currently working on (yes, I read more than one at a time) that I started in December but am still working on this month - I will probably finish them all within the next week! Read on for my thoughts on the books I finished in November and December.
The Scent Keeper - Erica Bauermeister
I actually started reading this book in October, but it took me a while to get into. I was a bit confused at the beginning as to what the time period was, but that quickly became clear. This is the story of Emmeline, a young girl who lives on a remote island with her father who has a wall full of stored scent papers he creates. The stories behind the scents are a mystery to Emmeline, until one day devastation occurs and Emmeline is flung into the real world where things are even more mysterious than she could imagine. I was attracted to this book because scent is such a visceral sense - there is a certain mango-papaya mix that when I smell it, it vaults me right back to the old Rite Aid in the neighborhood I grew up in, smelling the new Jane chapsticks that came out and falling in love with a papaya mango one and then browsing all the teenybopper magazines looking for posters of Hanson; that time of my life was crucial to who I am as a person now, and the idea of being able to store scents just really resonated with me. This story is so much more than that, though, it’s about finding out who you are and the truth behind things that were once told to you. A very good read.
The Alice Network - Kate Quinn
This was a suggested book from my library app. The Alice Network follows the story of multiple women throughout WWI and WWII. Eve is a spy during WWI sleeping with the enemy for information. Charlotte is an unmarried pregnant girl who runs away from her family after WWII to look for a missing cousin. This story tells the tale of how both of their lives intersect through the atrocities of war. I really enjoy historical fiction from this time period, I’m not exactly sure what draws me in so much, but this is just another book to add to the list of stories of this era that I really enjoyed.
The Last Thing He Told Me - Laura Dave
This was my book club pick for November, and I absolutely loved it! This is the story of Hannah Hall, her husband Owen, and her step-daughter Bailey (whom she doesn’t get along with). On her way home from work one day, Hannah receives a note, and all it says is, “Protect her.” Hannah knows it is from her husband, and then finds out that his boss has been arrested by the FBI. Together, Hannah and Bailey go on a search to find out the truth, which turns out to be far from what they could have ever imagined. This book was truly a page-turner! I really enjoyed the development of the relationship between Hannah and Bailey, and the ending is quite bittersweet. Another recommended read from me!
The Last Mrs. Parrish - Liv Constantine
This was a recommendation through my library app, and wow, did this story take a surprise turn that I was not expecting!! You know the phrase “be careful what you wish for?” Well Amber Patterson sure learns that lesson the hard way in this story. Envious of the golden couple Daphne and Jackson Parrish, Amber weasles her way into their lives, with plans to become closer to Jackson. However, Amber has a past threatening to catch up with her, and the golden couple aren’t truly as golden as they seem. While not quite a thriller, this was definiely a novel that kept me guessing with every turn of the page! I really enjoyed this one as well.
Those We Love Most - Lee Woodruff
This book has been sitting on my end table for a months, an impulse buy a while ago that I just haven’t gotten around to until now. I bought it because the main character has my name, and also because it just seemed like it was going to be a good story. I started reading this on the train to work, and was choking back tears by the tenth page of the book. This is the heartbreaking story of Maura Corrigan and the tragedies and secrets her and her family have to navigate through. This was a gutwrenching novel, though I still really enjoyed it, as the story was just so real to me. I recommend this one, but know that you will need tissues when you start.
The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
I know I am so late on reading this book, and I am so glad I finally did. Yet another gutwrenching page turner, this tells the story of sixteen-year-old Starr Carter. Starr lives in a poor neighborhood, but her family works hard to send her and her siblings to a private school in the “nice” part of town. Starr has done well to keep both sides of her life separate, but when Starr is the only witness to her best friend Khalil, the walls between her two worlds come tumbling down. While I can never truly understand the experience of BIPOC, I feel this book truly gave a good look into the world of living in an underprivilged neighborhood. I don’t want to speak too much on this book because I obviously don’t want to misspeak in any way, just know that if you haven’t read this book yet, you really should. It is moving and raw and just such an important read.
American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins
So this book has been on my to-read list for a while, and I realized after reading it that there was a lot of controversy surrounding this book. It is the story of Lydia Pérez and her son Luca, and their need to flee their home in Acapulco due to cartel violence. While I did enjoy this book and found it to be a mesermizing story, I realize that many in the Lantinx community have issues with the fact that the author is not a part of that community and feel it is yet another case of white-washing in the entertainment industry. The issue goes a bit deeper than that, but I will leave it to you to look into the issues surrounding this book and decide whether it is something you feel you want to read. I will say that I did not buy this book, I borrowed it from the library, for what it’s worth.
The London House - Katherine Reay
Yet another bit of WWII historical fiction, The London House follows Caroline Payne as she is contacted by a former college friend regarding her family and a scandalous secret regarding her Great Aunt. Together Caroline and Mat travel to London to uncover the truth behind a decades old secret; was Carline’s aunt truly a traitor who ran off to marry her German lover, or is there more to this story? A bit of historical fiction and a bit of romance, this was a great read all around.
One Day in December - Josie Silver
This was our December book club pick, and what a perfect, easy read for the holidays! Laurie is on the bus on her way home when she spots a man, they make eye contact, and she instantly knows he is the one. Laurie, with the help of her best friend Sarah, spends a year trying to find him again, only to be devastated when Sarah introduces her new boyfriend, Jack, and it’s him. What follows is a decade navigating the intricacies of love, friendship, and wrong-time/wrong-place. The consesus with my book club was that the end was a bit rushed, but overall the story was heartbreaking, heartwarming, and a good, easy read.
Find Me in Havana - Serena Burdick
You know the saying don’t judge a book by it’s cover? Well, that’s one I have to remind myself after ignoring the fact that this book was on my reccomendations list for months but ignoring it because I thought, based on the cover, that it wouldn’t be up my alley. Boy was I wrong! This story is told from two different voices, Estelita Rodriguez, a woman who grew up in Havana and her journey to Hollywood, and her daughter Nina, a woman in her own right now, struggling to understand everything her mother did and sacrificed to live their lives. I’m glad I finally took a chance and listened to this one, because it was truly a touching story. The back-and-forth between mother and daugther really showed the misunderstanding that can happen in such a relationship, but it also showed the love they always had for each other.
Comfort Me With Apples - Catherynne M. Valente
This was another recommendation on my library app, and it was a bit bizarre (and a good example of why I am often hesitant to read/listen to recommendations). The story is told from the viewpoint of Sophia, who feels she was made just for her perfect husband, in their perfect home together. Or is everything perfect? There’s a bit of a Stepford Wives feel to the tone to the story, and it really took a turn I wasn’t expecting at the end. This was a quick listen (if I am remembering correctly it was less than two hours), and while it certainly wasn’t my favorite, it wasn’t awful, just a bizarre story that I was not expecting.
The Moonlight Child - Karen McQuestion
Sharon heads out into her yard one night to see a lunar eclipse when she notices a little girl washing dishes in her neighbor’s kitchen late at night. Not only is the time strange, but her neighbor’s don’t have a little girl. Sharon would let it go as perhaps a family member visiting, except when she allows a former foster child, Niki, to come live with her, Niki notices suspicious activity as well. Together, they embark on a journey to investigate what is actually going on in the neighbor’s house. This was an easy listen and an intriguing story.
The Printed Letter Bookshop - Katherine Reay
Madeline Cullen is a high-profile lawyer who is surprised to find that her estranged Aunt Maddie has left her bookshop, car, and home to Madeline in her will. When Madeline’s career takes an unexpected turn, she moves into her Aunt Maddie’s house with intents to sell off the struggling bookshop, but the friendships that form make Madeline question what she actually wants to do with life, and what actually happened between her parent’s that caused them to become estranged from her beloved Aunt Maddie. This was a great book, I felt that the characters really came to life and I could picture each one. I highly recommend this read!
Five Total Strangers - Natalie D. Richards
This was another suggestion that I was unsure of on my library app, but went with it anyway. Mira is a highschool senior who lives with her dad in California, flying to her mother’s house in Pittsburgh for Christmas. A huge blizzard puts a wrench in Mira’s flight plans, and she winds up hitching a ride with her seat mate, Harper. What Mira doesn’t expect is that three other stranded passengers will be joining them for the ride. At first Mira thinks they all know each other, but as their journey progresses, she realizes they are all strangers, and as weird things keep happening, Mira can’t help but feel uneasy about her fellow passengers. I haven’t read a YA thriller in a while, but this one really kept me guessing until the last moment.
If you’re interested in any of these books, feel free to click right on the title to purchase it. I am so happy to have really gotten back into reading last year. I am hoping to read even more books in 2022, and can’t wait to share my thoughts with you! How many books did you read in 2021? What books are you reading at the start of 2022?? Let me know in the comments below!
