I calmed down a little after the craziness of my March reading. April was a little busier but I still got 5 books in. I’m 12 books ahead of schedule – isn’t that awesome? Three years ago when I started reading 3 books a month I worried it was too much, and several times I didn’t hit my quota. Now I’m surpassing it almost every month and it feels so great. It’s such a core part of who I am and who I want to be. I really feel like I’m living in alignment with my values and desires when I make reading a priority.

This month I read three Young Adult Fiction, one nonfiction/memoir/parenting book, our Millennial Mormons Book Club pick. You guys know I like to be all over the map.

One of Us Is Lying

A nerd, Miss Popular, a jock, the rebel, and the instigator walk into detention. One of them never walks out. After the sudden death, the question of murder is raised and the secrets just start pouring out. Did someone have a motive to kill? What are each of these teenagers trying to hide?

This book came recommended along with We Were Liars and they have a lot of similarities – suspense, death, characters that draw you in, family dynamics, and never really knowing who anyone is or what they’re hiding until the very last page.

Good

• I actually loved the variety in the characters. Many different sides of high school, different families, different relationships.
• I’m a big fan of books that shift perspectives each chapter. They’re so easy to zoom through and just keep you reading! Getting pieces of the story from each person is such a great way to build suspense.
• I had predicted the murderer but did NOT predict the way it all came together. Definitely didn’t predict the ending, which is always fun.
• THE ENDING! I was reading it way late at night and got pretty freaked out honestly but in a good way. It ends on a pretty great adrenaline kick.
• This is your summer book, my dudes. So great for the beach or pool or vacation or late nights of reading.

Less Good

• The romances were a little cringey to me but that’s probably most YA fiction. It wasn’t a huge deal.
• There is swearing and some sensuality. And someone dies, obviously. Just beware of that sensitive content if you’re listening to it or want to find something to give a teen in your life.
• The whole premise of the murder – how, why, the process – is so over the top and ridiculous. It’s still a fun read but be warned.

Recommendation: Lovers of YA suspense or intense read-it-in-24 hours types. Definitely put this on hold for your next vacation.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

One day a box of unsent letters from under Lara Jean’s bed get sent to their intended parties. The problem? They’re love letters she never meant to send. The drama begins unfolding immediately as the boys she USED to love get the love letters she wrote to get over them. Lara Jean has to navigate the damage while learning to step up for her family after her big sister traveled away to college, not to mention deal with high school.

Highly and repeatedly recommended by Everyday Reading, I finally snagged this book and enjoyed it. It’s not going to change your life, but it’s light, fun, and sweet. It’s cotton candy! Another perfect summer read – I’m excited to read the other two in the series soon.

Good

• I really liked Lara Jean because she felt real and imperfect. She says and does things that are just dumb or obnoxious and you’re like “ok I was like that too.” She’s not some John Green totally unrealistic teenager who is secretly a trilingual art dealer or some crap. She’s real.
• The relationships with her sisters were also very realistic and sweet. Really the book is more about her family than it is her romantic relationships.
• The coming-of-age part of it was really great as she begins to navigate being the older sister when Margo leaves home. You watch her learn how to interact better with Kitty. I loved that. As well as the realistic distancing that can happen as you grow older and grow apart.
• The boys! They’re each different and fun. It’s a blast waiting to see how they’ll react to the letters and what it means for their relationships. And I loved watching her feelings evolve and change for Josh and Peter.
• I laughed out loud so many times. It’s just so light and funny.

Less Good

• The Josh-Lara Jean-Margo triangle was a bit much for me, honestly. It made it too hard to root for any relationship.
• I was absolutely engrossed for the first half and then slowed down. I didn’t really understand what was going on with Peter or Josh or Margo or where any of this was going. You kind of have to push through when it gets repetitive.
• I didn’t like her friend Chris. It felt random and unrealistic and just a weird addition to the book.
• Her dad is just such an empty shell. He gets basically no page time and has no discernible personality, other than being sweet enough to not arouse any tension. I have feelings about how parents get portrayed in YA fiction, so I guess I shouldn’t complain that he’s a good dad. I just wish there was more to him, more about him.

Recommendation: If you like light, fun romance and funny teen fiction. Excellent for a summer read and would make a fun audiobook road trip listen.

The Hate U Give

Starr is a black teen living in a rough neighborhood, but her parents have sent her to a nice (white) private school 40 minutes away. This means she lives in two worlds, as two versions of herself. One night her childhood best friend is shot by a white police officer while unarmed. Starr finds herself in the middle of it while all of her relationships are strained and tested by the aftermath. 

This book is something else. It’s such a timely and important take on race, privilege, crime, gangs, and the way we react when dramatic racially-charged events occur in our world. Yes, it’s fiction. But I have to believe that this incredible book, which shows so many different sides and perspectives, can really educate and create empathy across racial lines.

Good

• I really expected this to come out swinging with very heavy handed liberal/police brutality/racial bias/anti-white sentiment but I was pleasantly surprised and relieved. This is not a book about making white people feel guilty or absolving all African Americans of crime. It is simply a story about what goes on behind the 24 hour news coverage of the shooting of an unarmed black person in America, which unfortunately has happened often.
• This book masterfully weaves complexity into each character and situation. Starr has friends yelling “F#%@ the Police!” but her uncle is a cop. She is hurt and betrayed by Khalil’s drug dealing and gang ties but still aches for his unjust death. She feels the need to change herself to be Garden Heights Starr and Private School Starr. She wants support but not empty protest.
• Her parent’s relationship was beautiful and I loved them so much. The way her dad turned their lives around and wanted to create change in the neighborhood is such a beacon of hope that I believe exists in our communities.
• There’s a lot of humor and side eye. Angie Thomas writes Starr with such vibrant voice. I felt she was a real flesh-and-blood person standing next to me.
• I left it feeling more educated about why things happen the way they do after an event like this. It’s not that the rioting is ok, because it isn’t (and Starr agrees). It’s about understanding all the emotion and history that simply isn’t available to you through a CNN Breaking News story.

Less Good

• Lots of cussing and hard cussing. It definitely makes it feel more authentic and you get the intensity. I just wouldn’t recommend listening to this around people or letting anyone under maybe 17 or 18 read it.
• You have to face some uncomfortable realities. It’s often challenging to own your privilege and to see this whole other world – so different from my Mapleton, Utah white Mormon middle class upbringing. Overall this is good, but it can mean some discomfort.

Recommendation: Seriously everyone. Especially if you’re looking for something to help you be more #woke about modern day issues of subtle and overt racism, police brutality, and the “ghetto” rough neighborhoods where so many assumptions and stories begin.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Amy Chua is a “Chinese mother,” meaning she embodies the traditional Chinese way of parenting her two daughters. Her daughters practice piano and violin for hours a day, never earn grades lower than As, and obey every command happily. Well, in theory. Chua shares the successes and failures of her Chinese parenting as she faces the indomitable spirit of her youngest daughter. 

Chua’s book was received with outrage and disgust – she once told her daughters that their birthday cards to her weren’t good enough and they needed to try harder LOL. And you know what? She is nuts. This parenting is just so, SO intense it is totally ridiculous. But that’s kind of the point. She shares the bad, but also the good and how we learn from each.

Good

• I love and agree with the idea that we need to force our kids to do things, because things aren’t fun until you’re good at them and it’s not easy to get good at things! I really wish my parents had pushed me to stick with piano, though I totally understand why they didn’t.
• Chua says that it’s best to be more honest with kids because it shows them you trust them to handle it. I wouldn’t do it to her extreme, obviously. But I do think we communicate a lack of trust or belief in our children sometimes when we just tell them they’re great all the time. It’s ok to talk with them about high expectations and falling short.
• I love that she shares her evolution. I don’t want to “spoil” how things turn out or who wins the battle of wills, but I developed so much respect for each member of their family. Even if I still think she’s outrageous.
• The nice thing about studying a parenting style so completely different than your own, one you’re not every going to employ, is that you can do some really helpful comparison and introspection regarding your own parenting.

Less Good

• I felt anger, stress, and constant confusion reading this! Her parenting is just CRAZY. You can’t believe it. It keeps you reading but it’s not necessarily a feel-good read. Not exactly bad but something you might want to know.
• I expected more of a Here’s What I Learned and I still think it would have been a better book with that. She kind of ends with a “this is real life and it’s an ongoing story and it’s complicated” which is true and I get it. But come on.

Recommendation: If you’re looking for an interesting read on parenting and/or cultural differences in family dynamic this is just so endlessly interesting. I loved it as an ebook on my phone to dive in and out of.

Tattoos on the Heart

I read and reviewed this book last year but I loved it so much I added it to our list for Millennial Mormons Book Club this year. Just read it. Or listen because it’s the author reading it and SO SO GOOD. I love this book.

I’m in kind of a weird place with books right now. I’m not reading any that I’m obsessed with, but I’m still trying to read every day. I hope this week I can punch through a couple of them and start on some new ones to be excited about! There is value in reading some things that you’re not immediately stoked on, of course.

I’m currently reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, How to Celebrate Everything, The Mothers, SuperBetter, and Radical Acceptance. On deck I have The Royal We, The Princess Diarist, Letters to a Young Mormon, and like 4 more that I own so they’re always sitting in my To-Read pile making me feel guilty. Let’s get reading, folks.