What a great month for reading! The books I read in May were such amazing escapes. They drew me in and every time I opened the covers the world around me faded away.

The Mothers

The Mothers follows three black teens coming-of-age in a Southern California town. Reeling from her mother’s suicide, Nadia finds comfort with Luke whose football dreams were dashed by an injury. When their connection results in a pregnancy they face a serious dilemma, as Luke is the pastor’s son. Nadia becomes close friends with Aubrey, a religious and sweet girl living with her sister after a troubling relationship with her mother forced her out. The choices they make over the years bring them close and force them apart in important ways.

This book was recommended to me by a friend who shares my taste in basically all books, so I chose it for my month for Bon’s Book Club. It was fun to go into a book with almost no context, especially because I don’t read a ton of general contemporary fiction. This book delivered with engrossing writing and so much to think about.

Good

• Seriously her writing was so good. I loved how this book transported me. She uses words in such a fresh, new way. It’s hard to describe but it’s so good.
• I cared about the characters, even when they were being idiots. That’s important for me.
• The story is so sensitive, delicate, and careful. There are so many emotional layers to each event and you feel all the feels.
• In the past I have hated not knowing things (Nadia’s mom’s suicide is never really understood) but in this book I grew to appreciate the realistic nuance.
• The theme of  motherhood is presented in complexity throughout the book. No one is a very good mother, but in all different ways. You see the importance of mothers and the absence they leave.
• The community dynamic was important throughout the book and introduced some issues with judgment, gossip, community religion, age, and more.

Less Good

• This is a book about unhappy people so that can be a little draining.
• There isn’t really a “moral” or real consequence for many of the characters, which is frustrating.
• The sporadic narration of the “mothers” from the church was often confusing to me. It should have been more involved or removed completely.

Radical Acceptance

Tara Brach is a clinical psychologist and Buddhist teacher who specializes in facing our suffering head-on to achieve healing and freedom. Radical Acceptance is the practice of living with your fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, confusion, and guilt, while extending compassion and understanding to yourself even in imperfection. This book teaches you how to navigate powerful emotions and move beyond self-criticism to enjoy emotional freedom and progress.

I checked this book out immediately after a therapy session in which my therapist mentioned the phrase (guess who struggles with crippling perfectionism?!!!). It was very eye opening and helped clarify many questions and seeming impossibilities that I felt came with radical acceptance. Doesn’t accepting myself mean I’ll stop progressing? Actually, it doesn’t. This book was a little hippy and straight up weird at parts, but it was definitely a helpful tool for learning to feel my feels and practice self-compassion.

Good

• I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator was very soothing. The content is also very smooth, so it made for an easy listen.
• I really needed to hear that self-compassion would help me reach my potential, not hinder it. It was so helpful to understand that loving and accepting myself and what I’m feeling will benefit myself and others.
• I really love Buddhist teachings, even if I’m not a particularly compassionate person myself. I think the core of Buddhist teaching fit very well with the Christian concept of charity that we strive to embody.

Less Good

• There is a lot of weird, mystical shiz in this book. There are sections about people uncovering repressed memories, visions, weird sex stuff. Just be forewarned.
• It was probably 1/3 too long.
• I did not feel like her examples were relevant. She shares a lot of anecdotes about meditative retreats and living in a commune and I was just like ????

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Morrigan Crow is cursed, and part of that means she’s going to die at Eventide. So imagine everyone’s surprise when a strange man arrives with a bid for her to try for the mysterious Wundrous Society and safely whisks her away to a secret world. Morrigan now has to complete the Trials to gain a coveted spot in the Wundrous Society while living at her patron’s magical Hotel Deucalion. 

Ok, fam. Whenever people compare stuff to Harry Potter I just lose it. Nothing is Harry Potter. And just because it’s young adult fantasy doesn’t mean I like it. In fact, I’m not usually into fantasy at all! But wow if this wasn’t just delightful.

Good

• There are definite Harry Potter similarities but to me they were different enough to not feel like I was reading a rip-off.
• The characters are eccentric and diverse and so much fun. Probably even more so than Harry Potter. Jupiter is amazing, I love Hawthorne, Frank, Fenestra, Dame Chanda… just everyone.
• There are several good twists in varying degrees so that I honestly never felt like I knew what was going to happen.
• This is middle grades so it’s very easy and fast to read, but layered enough to keep your attention.
• Morrigan isn’t perfect, but she has enough personality to root for. I’m interested to see her growth and development.
• This book is all a big setup for an epic story and it’s so much fun. There are so many places this can go, so many developments to take, what even is Wunder???? I was left with so many questions but it makes me so excited!!!!

Less Good

• I have to freaking wait until October for the next one.
• It gets so frustrating that Jupiter is gone so much and never answers any questions.
• As with all middle grades books there’s this sense of bullying injustice that is super ridiculous. You kind of have to just push past it.

Letters to a Young Mormon

Adam Miller writes this series of letters on important gospel topics as if to a child who is growing up in the church, starting to develop spiritually. He covers faith, testimony, the temple, the body, sex, prayer, scriptures, and more. He shares his experience, his discoveries, his struggles, and his love for God and His Gospel.

If I had a time machine I would make Senior Year Danica read this, even if she didn’t completely understand. So much of my spiritual development could have been different, more robust, had I studied Letters to a Young Mormon as I encountered the Mormon Coming-of-Age Faith Crisis, temple preparation, marriage, and becoming a parent. But I am so so so so so glad I have this book in my life now, and to share with my children.

Good

• The chapters are short and succinct. They build upon one another, but you can take the topics as you need them and come back to the ones that fit your circumstance.
• I absolutely loved the meditative approach to the Gospel. Part of my gospel growth has been understanding just how personal the gospel has to be, and meditative prayer, scripture study, and Sunday worship totally resonates and gives me a path forward.
• It feels so good to have someone acknowledge that you can “know” and still be so uncomfortable and terrified and confused. That you can do everything right and still not feel that you ~get it. But that it’s ok and you can still ~get it in the future.
• The chapter on Sex is just SO FREAKING IMPORTANT. How is this not required reading for every parent, bishop, YM/YW leader, recommend-holding Mormon?!!! I just felt so relieved reading it. So relieved that I have that resource that I can use to talk about sex and modesty and our bodies with my daughters.
• It’s so short! So short. And only $10 at Deseret Book. Just a home run all around. Try to get the second edition if you can because he added a few chapters.

Less Good

• Honestly I just wish there was more.