My Favorite Summer Reads!

According my Goodreads, I read 20 books this summer! I’m trying mix up my reading a little. I read some romance novels, some YA, and some pretty heavy literary novels. I even read some nonfiction, which isn’t what I usually reach for. 

It was wonderful, and since I am back at work, I thought it would be a good time to do some reflecting on my favorites. I listened to a lot of audio, but my favorites were all paper. Here are my favorite books from this summer, in no particular order! 

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah- I read this the last week of school, and it bled into the first days of vacation. This books is a beautiful portrait of a mother and son. And it’s hilarious! Everyone should read it. 

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang– this is the second installment of the Kiss Quotient, with the lens peered towards Khai, a minor character from book one. The Bride Test is charming, very steamy, and sweet too. I loved the social commentary mixed in, to add some depth. 

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan. This is a YA novel, and it rocked my world. A teenage girl named Leigh, an artist,  is dealing with the aftermath of her mother’s suicide. One evening, her mother visits her as a bird and talks to her. Leigh goes to Taipei to visit her mother’s estranged family to see if she can understand why the bird is visiting her. This is a really beautiful interpretation of magical realism (my fave!) a really important representation of depression. 


The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead- Timely, sad, and infuriating. As soon as this comes out in paperback, I would like to get this into the hands of students. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. This is a more challenging read. The characters are all pretentious, rich kids attending a private school in New England. Their love (obsession, really) of Greek classics has turned them into a weird cultish group that commits a pretty heinous crime. This is a meditation on evil and the conscience. I couldn’t put it down. 

What have been your favorite books this summer? 

Book Review: The Nickel Boys- Colson Whitehead

I have read a lot of books this summer. Like A LOT. But The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead has really stuck with me. It’s been about a week since I’ve finished it, and I haven’t been able to pick up another book yet. 

The Nickel Boys is set in Florida during Jim Crowe. A black young teen, Elwood is being raised by his grandmother with the aims to go to college. He also studies about and yearns to be a part of the Civil Rights movement. Yet, he ends up at an all-boys reform school, where all the boys are identified as the Nickel Boys. 

The young men at this school are abused physically, sexually, and mentally. Some were killed. What makes this story so tragic is that it’s based on a real school, Dozier School of Boys. Bodies of young men were recently excavated from a secret cemetery. Whitehead was compelled to write this novel after reading about Dozier. 

There is so much going on in this book. After he has been terrorized at the school, Elwood struggles with the message of his hero, Martin Luther King Jr. He can not reconcile loving his enemies with the torture he sees on a daily basis. Whitehead, to his credit, does not provide an easy answer. 

 I have heard people say they couldn’t put this book down. I had the opposite happen. I read the prologue then stopped and read an easy romance novel. Then I read chapter one and took a two day break. Finally, I kept a steady rhythm. My hesitation had nothing to do with Whitehead, who is a brilliant writer. It has nothing to do with the story itself, which is well-paced and has an interesting structure.  It had everything to do with the subject matter. 

Personally, I just kept thinking about the crisis at the border and the indignities currently being paid for by the U.S. Government. I think this is why this book was so hard for me to read. The cruelties are still happening. All over America.

If one of the functions of literature is to provide a mirror of our society, then Whitehead succeeds. The Nickel Boys is an unflinching stare. 

Summer Reads!

As a reader, summer time is my favorite time! I am home from school, and I get to catch up in my TBR list. I’ve read a bunch and listened to a bunch of books. Here are a few of them: 
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders- I love Saunders. I’ve read a couple of his short story collections, and I’ve been to one of his readings. He is hilarious and weird and his stories always have a haunting quality about them. 

This one definitely has the George Saunders thumbprint. No one else could have written this novel but him. It’s based off a kernel of history about Abraham Lincoln: when his son died, he would go visit him in the crypt. Lincoln in the Bardo takes place in the space between death and the afterlife. It explores grief, death, and expectations. And love. A parent’s love. It just broke my heart.

Structurally, this is one of the most challenging books I’ve read in a long time. I almost abandoned it more than once. In the end, it was with the struggle. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This is an older book. It came out in 1992, and there is plenty out there about it already. At first, I thought I may not be able to relate with all of the rich, prep school kids, but I was captivated almost immediately. 

How much evil are we willing to overlook in the name of self-preservation? How long does it take for our morals to be chipped away? What is the line between mania and genius? Between arrogance and intelligence? 

All of the literary allusions and references made this an even more interesting read. 

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

This was my May Book of the Month selection. 

Two police officers move in next door to each other. Their families intertwine until a tragedy occurs, creating an unbridgeable chasm. Eventually, two of the teenagers reconnect, attempting to see if Time is enough to heal. 

I love family dramas. This book checks that mark for me. I also liked the frank discussion of mental illness, and the changing attitudes about depression and it’s treatment. Keane does that very well. This book is a page-turner. 

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

I literally read this in one day. I started it around 8:30 and was done by 9. It was so good. I was captivated and enthralled. 

Towles seamlessly blends historical elements into the plot. This novel is set in 1930s New York City. Two young women meet a handsome, rich guy on New Year’s Eve, and it creates a whirlwind effect on their lives. Everything changes. As I read, I kept looking up different places, events, and people. The setting is so richly described; its the perfect background for the nuanced people in the story. 

The language is so rich  and textures. It’s clear each sentence was not written, but crafted. I highly recommend this book.  

Book Review: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Oh my goodness, y’all! I loved this book! It is so well written, in an episodic style. And it’s hilarious! All the exclamation points!!!

This literary nonfiction novel is the story of comedian Trevor Noah’s life growing up in South Africa, experiencing life under apartheid. The title comes from the fact that since Trevor Noah’s parents were black and white, his existence as a mixed child made him literally a crime. The social and racial categories during this time period are complicated. So was Noah’s childhood.

Structurally, the novel begins each section with some facts about South Africa and the culture of the time period. Then, he explains how those facts impacted his life. The novel is filled with anecdotes, often hilarious (his friends getting kicked out of the event that Noah was the DJ for), sometimes really painful.

The thread of the relationship with his white father is weaved skillfully through the novel. It adds an interesting layer to the text. Noah’s mother is shining star though. She is strong and complex and just powerful. As I read, I constantly googled pictures of her and his other family members.

As a teacher, the google factor is irresistible. I looked up the towns, people, and historical background. This text offers a lot to a teacher classroom. I think this text would fit fabulously in an AP Lang class. Noah’s life story is enough to hold the kids’ attention, but they would learn so much about racial relations and the effects of colonization.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone I know. In fact, I am currently working to get this book into the hands of kids at my school.

Book Review: Lot by Bryan Washington

There is something special about reading a book about your hometown. Lot by Bryan Washington is a love letter to Houston. Each chapter is named after a neighborhood or a street, most working class. Some of his descriptions were exact pictures in my mind, areas and street corners that I’ve seen my whole life. 

Lot is a series of short stories, most told from the point of view of a biracial gay man, building up to a coming of age story. Houston is the most diverse city in America. The constant battering of floods and hurricanes, the heat and mosquitoes, and the influence of immigrants from all over the world mixed with the Texas brag has created a city of survivors. Lot reflects that in Washington’s characters. 

About half of the stories are about a young man in the East End (the neighborhood I grew up in!), and his family grappling with abandonment, his identity as a gay man, and gentrification of their neighborhood. The other half are a cast of characters from various walks of life. My favorite is “Waugh,” which tells the story of young sex workers who live together to survive. One of them, the boss, finds out he has HIV, and the aftermath of the discovery is painfully rendered by Washington. 

All of these stories are painful. Yet, they are necessary. 

Daisy & Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I read this book in one day. 

It’s a super fast, plot driven read, and it’s perfect for summer. 

Two brothers, the Dunne brothers start a rock ‘n’ roll band. They add more members and become more popular, but older brother Billy remains the creative force in the band. 

Then comes Daisy Jones. She’s fierce, passionate, and gorgeous. She is not afraid of Billy, and they create musical magic. 

Daisy Jones is very well-written. The story is structured like a magazine article, with flipping perspectives. I was afraid this would get tiring to read, but it never does. 

This is a perfect beach read. It’s not super deep, but handles the conflicts in a band, a marriage, and even substance abuse pretty solidly. Reid is a great writer and can wrangle this story in an emotional, captivating journey. 

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Kindred, by Octavia Butler, first came on my radar a couple of years ago in a blurb about women science-fiction writers. Butler was an African-American woman publishing in a genre in the 1970s. That in itself is pretty revolutionary. 

I put it on my TBR list and noticed it started appearing on the AP Literature test as an option for students to write the free response essay about. I decided to order it and see if it’s a book we could consider adding to our curriculum next year. 

The answer is YES! 

Dana is a young black woman in 1976. She time travels from LA to Maryland, during the time of slavery, to find a young white boy drowning. She saves him by performing CPR only to have her life threatened by a man with a rifle. 

Dana and the boy realize their lives are somehow intertwined. She keeps returning back to the future, only to be snatched back in the past. Each stay becomes longer and longer, and her existence more dangerous. 

This book is a hammer. What makes this story so  complex is the themes and topics it hits. It talks about being a modern woman, about our interpretations of the past, about racial identity. It’s definitely science fiction, but it’s also realistic fiction. When Dana describes being on a plantation and the lives the enslaved people who lived their were forced to endure, it is impossible to not feel it in the bones. 

Although this was written 40 years ago, the ideas of Kindred still resonate. 

In teaching this book, I would have to have a conversation with students about language. Specifically about the n-word. People on the plantation used it, but Dana was quick to correct and explain why the word is no longer acceptable. Also, there is not a description of rape or sexual assault, but it is implied. This book does not adhere to the fantasy that a captive falls in love with her captor. The lines of what is acceptable is a consenting relationship are clear. 

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

“Soon you’ll learn that there’s no room for love in a woman’s life. There’s only one thing you’ll need, and that’s patience.”

This is an essential story. Rum tells the story of Arab women from Palestine who come to live in America. It tells the story of three generations of women, and the lives they lead. Lives built around marriage and taking care of the men living in their homes. 

It centers on a girl named Isa. As an older teen, her parents are obsessed with getting her married. They find her a suitor names Adam, and she goes to live with him and his family in America. She is hopeful for some freedom and maybe even love, too. This is not what ends up happening for her. 

After she gives birth to a daughter, she realizes that something needs to change. She searches for happiness. 

“She hadn’t realized it meant marrying a man she barely knew, nor that marriage was the beginning and end of her life’s purpose. It was only as she grew older that Deya had truly realized her place in her community. She had learned that there was a certain way she had to live, certain rules she had to follow, and that, as a woman, she would never have a legitimate claim over her own life.”

This is a brave story. The women suffer abuse, physical and mental. They are courageous and survivors. Just writing this story must have taken a lot of guts because Rum hits some heavy topics, and for a POC, there can be a lot of pressure to represent your culture in a perfect light. But Rum gets down and dirty, but that is because she is telling her truth. The truth that only fiction can tell. 

*** If any of you read it, I want to talk about it! Especially the ending!!! 

New Classics in Children’s Literature

I am finishing up a Children’s Literature course for my Master’s degree. Each week, I read and write about either a picture or chapter book. This has taken up a lot of my free reading this semester, but I have really enjoyed some of the kids’ books I’ve read. Here are my favorites:

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

This read is pretty damn heartbreaking. It’s also a gorgeous mix of fantasy and realism. Ivan is a gorilla who was stolen from the wild as a baby gorilla. He ends up living in a cage inside of a mall. He befriends a sad elephant named Stella and a stray dog too. A human girl, Julia, seems to be the only human who seems to understand him. Ivan finds his voice and makes himself understood.

You have to read the rest. And get those tissues ready.

 

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo 

This one is a masterpiece. It seems like a parable or a classic allegory. It’s just brilliant.

Edward is a China rabbit who is very focused on himself and his wardrobe. He tolerates the little girl who loves him. Many events ensue, and Edward travels all over the place, learning and growing with each new adventure. Under a lesser writer, this story could get pretty unwieldy, but DiCamillo keeps it tight and sharp. This novel is a gem. A precious gem.

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

This is historical fiction and man, it was a tough read for me. It follows a young teen named Annabelle. She lives in an idyllic small town with her loving family. There is an odd man named Toby who lives in the town, but all is well until a new girl moves to town. Betty hates Toby and tries to frame him for violent acts. 

This story is unusual because it’s for 4-6 grade, but it addresses many manture topics in age appropriate ways. It discusses PTSD, war, bullying, and even appropriate child-adult relationships. This book surprised me, and I loved it.

 

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

I pretty much sobbed by way through One Crazy Summer. Three sisters go to spend the summer with a mother who abandoned them when the youngest was born. They witness Oakland, California in the 1960s, a time of political turmoil. Their mother is an activist and artist, and the girls spend their days in a summer camp run by the Black Panther Party.

There are so many beautiful, empowering moments in this. The girls learn their voices, and they learn about clashes of cultures, old generation and new, and the complexity of the mother/daughter relationship.

For me, as an adult reading this children’s book, I learned so much. It made me reflect on my relationship with the women in my life, including my daughters.  I learned some history, and I felt like a I grew a little bit. And isn’t that the point of great literature?

Men We Reaped, by my favorite writer, Jesmyn Ward

When it came out about Junot Diaz, I was very, very… betrayed. He was my favorite living writer. I felt a connection to his words. I felt like he validated my experiences as being worthy to write about. I thought his writing was the perfect blend of funny, nerdy, and sharp. I had just been to a reading and book signing for his book, Lola. My daughters went, and I have pictures of them with him. After I learned about the allegations of him and even if Sherman Alexis, one of my other faves, I realized that there are other writers putting out stories that are not told from a problematic gaze. 

And I discovered Jesmyn Ward. I first caught the end of an interview with NPR, and I was mesmerized by the passage she read from Sing, Unburied, Sing. I noticed it one day in the library at school, snatched it up, and gulped it down. I read Salvage the Bones a few months later, and I loved it so much, I coerced a group of friends go read it too, and we had a one-time book club to discuss it. 

For Christmas, I received a copy of Men We Reaped. I finally read it over spring break, and I loved it. It is not an easy read,  but it is a necessary read. 

This book is a memoir. It is the story of Ward and several men in her life who died at a young age. It is a story that examines why young, black men in the South are dying tragic, sometimes violent deaths. It is devastating. I cried, and I learned. 

And I also realized that I am at a point in my life where I need women writers. I need women writers who are also POC. I listened to an interview where Toni Morrison discusses being free from the white gaze. I need that, and I need literature that is free from the male gaze too. 

I didn’t discuss the Men We Reaped a lot in this review. I recommend reading it, and I recommend all of Ward’s novels. Her work about racism and it’s long lasting implications are needed and necessary. Her work is an unflinching stare into the face of America.