It was another month with a lot of time at home resting, so another month with a lot of extra time to read! And it was a really good month for books, too – so many that I didn’t want to put down as I was reading them. I also got back on to my non-fiction groove, which I had fallen off of a little bit. It’s hard to even pick standouts, because so many were good. Martyr!, Moderation, Solito, Discontent, 107 Days… all excellent reads, and lots of others were juuust below these, too. Here’s everything I read in September.
Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
This YA mystery / thriller is set in the same universe as the author’s other books, Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first two. Lucy’s father died five years ago, and since then, she’s been bouncing between foster homes, eventually deciding she’s better off on the run by herself. When a man comes in to the diner she’s working at one morning asking questions about her past, she’s immediately suspicious, but when an unexpected emergency occurs, she has no choice but to trust him… for now. She starts to open up, but keeps one major thing hidden – the fact that she’s being followed. I’m not always a huge fan of thrillers, but I really loved this. It was deep and dark at times, but had really powerful themes about identity, and family, and belonging.
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Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
This book was such a standout for me – a truly incredible work of art. I’ve never wanted to discuss the ending of a book with anyone who has read it more than this one! I honestly don’t want to give away too much of the plot, because it feels like one of those books where the less you know going into it, the better! It follows Cyrus, a queer poet who has lost both his parents and is kind of floundering – he’s increasingly obsessed with deaths, and the concept of martyrdom. When he reads about an exhibit in New York, a trip there to meet the artist ends up unfolding in surprising and life-changing ways. Kaveh Akbar is a poet himself, and the story is interspersed with small clips of poems throughout. It’s so beautiful and unique – I just loved this, as did my whole book club. If you read this, message me so we can talk about it!!
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Wish You Were Her by Elle McNicoll
(Thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for my ARC!) This one was, unfortunately, a miss for me. It’s a YA romance take on Notting Hill and You’ve Got Mail with autistic representation – all things I should love in theory! In practice, though, it just didn’t work for me. Allegra is an 18-year-old megastar who is grappling with telling the world she’s autistic. She decides to spend the summer at her dad’s bookstore, where she meets Jonah – one of the bookstore’s employees, and, unknowingly, a man she’s been trading e-mails with. The concept is very sweet, but Allegra’s character felt both too old and too young at the same time, and for both Allegra and Jonah, it felt like they didn’t have much of a personality beyond “autistic.” I do, of course, always love to see more disability representation.
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Clear by Carys Davies
This was another book club pick, and really ended up surprising me with how much I enjoyed it! It’s very short – right around 200 pages – historical fiction set in the mid/late 1800s in Scotland. Ivar is the sole remaining person living on a remote island, and John, a minister, has accepted the job of traveling to the island and telling Ivar, basically, that he’s being evicted from the only place he’s ever known. When John gets there, though, a twist of fate leaves the two men (who don’t speak each other’s language!) spending a lot of time together in very close quarters. The end didn’t quite work for me, but the story was surprisingly moving, especially given how little the two men can communicate with each other. It really made me think.
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Gwyneth by Amy Odell
I’m not a huge Gwyneth Paltrow fan, but I really enjoyed Amy Odell’s biography of Anna Wintour, so I wanted to read this one, too. It was really interesting, and I felt like I learned a lot about Gwyneth, her life, her career, and how it all came together to make her the household name that she is today. I thought it treated the Goopiness of it all really well, too – critical in a nuanced way, and not snarky! I do wish Gwyneth had let her friends be interviewed for this, but it was interesting nonetheless.
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Exit Lane by Erika Veurink
(Thanks to 831 Stories and Netgalley for my ARC!) This is kind of a spin on When Harry Met Sally – Teddy and Marin are college classmates who meet after graduation, when their mutual friend sets them up with each other for a road trip to New York City, where they’re both moving. Sparks might be flying, but Marin wants to start fresh in the city… so she decides they shouldn’t trade contact information. Somehow, though, New York isn’t quite as big as it seems, and the two of them bump into each other a few times over the years. They have to confront the age-old question – can a man and woman just be friends, and in their case, is that what they really want? I loved this and flew through it – it felt messy and real in the best way.
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Not My Type by E. Jean Carroll
This is a memoir from E. Jean Carroll, the woman who sued Trump twice, and won twice, detailing her time during both of the cases. I honestly found it fascinating – she talks candidly about her sexual history, what it was like for her during the trials, and how the sexual assault had long-lasting, far-reaching impacts on her life. It’s also funny – she has a dark sense of humor – and she sprinkled in fun details like her wardrobe for both of the trials, which I loved. This was a revealing peek behind the curtain, in my opinion!
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Moderation by Elaine Castillo
A friend recommended this to me, and I wasn’t sold at first, but I was taken aback by the end at how moving I thought it was. Girlie is a content moderator at a social media app when she’s given the chance to jump into a new role – a moderator in an immersive, virtual reality historical playground/amusement park that the company is launching. The pay raise is immense, which means a lot to Girlie, who helps support her mom and her extended family with her income. While the job itself is isolating, Girlie’s world starts to slowly open up the longer she’s in her new role, and the closer she starts to get to her boss. This is part commentary / satire on the tech world and it’s many startups, and part romance, and altogether spectacular.
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The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell
(Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for my ARC!) This is a sweet if not predictable take on an Austen story. Tess and Hugh are co-stars in a new adaptation of Northanger Abbey, and not surprisingly, are polar opposites. Tess is coming from a soapy tv show, and Hugh is a serious actor, trying to stay in character at all times. When a freak weather event transports them back in time to Jane Austen’s village, their acting skills are put to the test as they have to convince everyone they fit in while also working to find a way back home. It was predictable and had some plot points that were extremely convenient, but in this case, it’s more about the journey than the destination, and the journey was a fun one!
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Solito by Javier Zamora
I had this book on my list for a long time now, but I’ve been putting it off because I knew it would be tough to read – I wasn’t wrong! It chronicles the author’s own immigration journey as a nine-year-old boy from El Salvador to the US with a group of strangers and a “coyote” guiding them. It is incredibly difficult to read about the fear and uncertainty he went through, traveling with no one he knows, just wanting to be with his parents again. Everyone should read this – there’s nothing like reading the details of one person’s story to be reminded of the humanity of immigration.
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The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson
(Thanks to Libro.fm for my copy!) Lewis is a stereotypical struggling artist – a painter who hasn’t seen any real success in his life, trying to live up to the legacy of his artist mother, who recently passed away. One day the British Museum contacts him, inviting him to be part of an exhibition – only when he gets there, it turns out they actually want him to work with them in a very different way. It turns out Lewis is a descendant of a painter who created a series of works called The Macabre – paintings that are magical, and have the potential to be powerful. But for the power to be harnessed, someone needs to go into the painting… something that Lewis, as a descendant, is able to do. Lewis knows there must be more to the story, though, and he’s racing against time to figure it out. I enjoyed most of this, but there was a moment near the end that felt very “after school special” that took away from my enjoyment overall.
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The Salvage by Anbara Salam
(Thank you to Tin House Books and Netgalley for my ARC – this will be out on October 7!) This is a super moody, vibey, atmospheric historical mystery / thriller. It’s the 1960s, and Marta is a marine archaeologist who is certified to dive to wreckage sites and recover materials. She’s been hired to recover artifacts and the body of a local legend on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. During her first dive, right as she’s about to head back to the surface, she thinks she spots a body. She starts to develop a relationship with a local woman, Elsie, while trying to hide the secrets of her crumbling life back home, all while strange things start happening around her on the island. Marta isn’t sure if she’s being haunted by her secrets, the island’s past, or just her own paranoia. I found the ending predictable, but honestly, I didn’t mind – it was such a moody, confusing (in the best way) journey to get there!
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Discontent by Beatriz Serrano
(Thanks to Vintage and Netgalley for my ARC!) I loved this darkly funny little book! It’s short – under 200 pages – but packs such a punch. Marisa is a marketing executive in Madrid, who spends her days figuring out how to do the least amount of work while still making it seem like she’s invested. She dreams of never having to return to the monotonous existence of an office job again, and has pretty severe anxiety around just being in the physical office. Her worst nightmares come true when she learns there’s a mandatory off-site team building retreat… and she’s being asked to lead a session. If you’ve ever worked in an office and felt dread on a Sunday night, I think you’ll enjoy this! The ending was a total whirlwind of surprise after surprise, and really delighted me.
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107 Days by Kamala Harris
This is a blunt, honest look by Kamala Harris of the 107 days between Joe Biden stepping down as the democratic nominee and election day. I found this really hard to listen to at times – it’s sad to think about what could have been, and who we could have leading the country right now. I did really appreciate, though, how open and honest this book was, in both the little moments and the larger ones. I felt more like she was telling a friend about everything that went down, and I liked how diary-like it felt. I’m also glad it ended on a message of hope – I think that’s something we could all use more of right now. I listened to this on audio, and definitely recommend that!
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