Since promising myself I would make time to read more books this year (since I read approximately 4 books in all of 2019), I have been doing a SOLID job. I could have done better, pushed a little harder, but this month wraps of 18 total books of 2020. Much much better than 4.
1) I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick
★★★★ 4 out of 5 stars
Genre: YA Psychological Thriller, Fiction
Cool Tidbits: Subtle queer representation! A podcast transcript! An unreliable narrator! A back and forth timelines!
Review: This book was a twisty sea-side delight. Also, I believe that any book with a hand-drawn map at the beginning is going to be a great one. The narrator during the past tense chapters, Anna Cicconi, gave me major Black Swan vibes with her unreliable information, flashbacks, and black out moments. The reader is led down MANY potential scenarios, many moments that make you scratch your head and go hmmm, could this be it? I also loved the immediacy of the podcast transcript format. Subtle clues from prior chapters reveal themselves by the end, when you're hit with several plot twists all at once. I highly recommend for a YA mystery thriller!
2) Nine Perfect Strangers by Lianne Moriarty
★★ 2.5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Fiction
Cool Tidbits: 9 completely district points of view, queer representation!
Review: I love a lot of Lianne Moriarty books but this one didn't hit for me. I enjoyed reading it regardless, because I love her cheeky writing style & dialogue. The characters were interesting in their various reasons for being at a health resort and I really liked reading their points of view. BUT. The "villain" in this book had no substantial background for being as crazy as she turned out to be. The build up to her breaking point was not cohesive or understandable. The whole book also kind of dragged because the plot twist was not as exciting as it should have been. You can probably skip this one!
3) The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewers
★★★ 3.5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Graphic novel/Memoir
Cool Tidbits: So gay! So real! Adorable hand-drawn pictures!
Review: I read this book in about an hour. I really really loved it in an endearing sort of way. This is the kind of accessible book that I would love to have on my shelves as a middle school counselor. It was an easy read with a beautiful message - coming out is a process. It doesn't happen all at once, and it often doesn't happen just once. But when you open that letter, man, life can become amazing. I recommend this for a younger crowd specifically but as a 27 year old gay reading this book, I could still see my fragile & confused younger self in the earlier parts. This representation felt really, really good.
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