Category: Read This Book

I want to put the content warnings up front: violence, sexual assault and battery, abuse, child abuse, more violence, murder, infant death, and most importantly, the premise of this is that there is a pandemic that kills a lot of people, if not most people. Some of it is a little too on-the-nose, which is extra fascinating because this was first published in 2014.

In the prologue, we have an instructor who goes by the title Mother Ina, and there are six teenage boys referred to as scribes. Each year, a group of scribes is chosen to copy The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, which is actually a cycle of 19 journals. The bulk of this book is told via these journal entries and prose. The writer (the unnamed midwife) is a Physician’s Assistant at the University of California at San Francisco in the labor and delivery department. There is a fever caused by some kind of virus that is taking people out, mostly cisgender women and children. Live births come to a stop, including many stillborns, and the people who were giving birth usually didn’t make it either. The hospitals are overrun and people are dying in hallways. Like I said, this book is so on the nose that I clenched my jaw the entire time I was reading it.

Our protagonist succumbs to a fever while she is at the hospital. She wakes up maybe days or even weeks later to find everyone around her dead. Grabbing what medical supplies she can, like antibiotics, some birth control, and syringes, she heads to her apartment and quickly learns that it is not only unsafe but especially unsafe for women. She ends up disguising herself as a man and realizes she needs to get out of the city. There are just bands of men roaming around, almost hunting. At one point, she meets up with a group that has women in collars and chains and not in the kinky consensual way. She bargains for some time alone with the women, as if she is just a guy going to have sex with them, and she then tells the women she is also a woman and she gives them some birth control. So then she goes about like some man-murdering birth control vigilante and it is amazing, taking the lives of some men who are hunting women to keep them as sex slaves.

When two young sisters disappear from a Kmart parking lot in an ordinary town in Pennsylvania, it causes a media frenzy. Without any leads, the family hires Alice Vega, a PI from California who has gained a bit of notoriety for being able to find missing people with unnerving accuracy. Alice is professional, distant, and dogged, but with the police unwilling to cooperate with her, she needs a way in. She finds it in Max Caplan, a local former cop turned PI whom Alice engages to help her on the case, which is just as well — because this is far from a straightforward missing kids case, and both Alice and Cap will need to have each other’s backs to come out unscathed.

I love Louisa Luna’s smart and incisive writing style, and I was instantly intrigued by the characters, who aren’t perfect or even always moral, but they are ethical and they are motivated by all the right reasons: to find the missing girls. Cap is an interesting guy. He quit the police force after taking the fall for a mistake that wasn’t his, and now he’s chasing “cheats and skips” to pay the bills. He has a teenage daughter he loves fiercely, and while he’s not a bad guy, he is reluctant to get involved at first. Alice is an enigma — young, possessing single-minded focus, brazen but not stupid, and not afraid to break (more than) a few rules. Alice intrigues Cap as much as the case does, and it’s to both of their surprise that they work together as well as they do. Come for the intriguing mystery, stay for the fascinating characters! I was genuinely impressed with all the twists this book took, but I was just as entranced by the electric relationship between Cap and Alice — it’s not just sexual attraction (although there is a tiny dash of that), but it’s that delicious tension of two very unlikely people realizing that they need each other…and maybe they could be friends.

I devoured this one on audio, narrated wonderfully by Tavia Gilbert, and I immediately had to download the next two books, The Janes and The Hideout. These books feel like an American version of Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk series, and I think fans of Tana French who might want to give an American series a try would like it too. (And if you like the TV show Broadchurch, I think you’d like this one as well!) It’s got literary writing, fascinating characters, and vibes for days. I highly recommend all three books!

When Cece is a little girl, she contracts meningitis, which causes her to lose most of her hearing. The doctor gives her a little box attached to headphones that hangs around her neck. This device helps her hear, especially at school. El Deafo follows Cece through the years as she makes friends, graduates to older grades, and receives various upgrades to her assistive technology.

Bell illustrates her younger self as a bunny, which adds such an adorable quality to her illustrations. This graphic novel is geared towards kids, centering on the anxieties and fear of growing up or standing out. Cece struggles with friendships because most of her friends have no idea how to be friends with a Deaf person. They either talk too slowly, assume she’s unintelligent, or feel overwhelmed with guilt that they aren’t Deaf themselves. Bell handles the ableism that kids can experience from other kids so well. Her characters are complex and messy, just like real kids!

The title, El Deafo, comes from what Cece calls her superhero alter ego, the one who always stands up for herself and speaks out in the face of ableism that she experiences. We see illustrations of Cece as El Deafo, the brave hero who shows up just when Cece needs her most.

I’m always looking for more books about disability for kids, and El Deafo is just the ticket. I love the illustrations and how they portray the complexities of growing up Deaf. Graphic novels are often easier for kids to get into, and by telling her story as a graphic novel, Bell has made her story even more attractive to young readers.

Recently, an audiobook edition of El Deafo was released, and the audiobook uses a cast of narrators to create an engaging audiobook that captures listeners’ attention from the first few minutes. The editing of the audio mimics Cece’s experience struggling to understand what people are saying around her. It makes for an excellent listen for both adults and the kids in their lives.

Shireen Malik has just broken up with her girlfriend, Chris, and she is not handling the breakup well. Shireen’s parents own a donut shop called You Drive Me Glazy across from Chris Huang’s parent’s donut and bubble tea shop. Both sets of parents have taken the rivalry to really petty levels and they have no idea that Shireen and Chris were dating, much less broke up. Shireen’s best friend Fatima is in Bangladesh visiting family for the summer so while she tries to video call as often as possible to offer support, it’s just not the same as if she were back home in Ireland with Shireen.

While Shireen is still rattled from the breakup, she learns that she has been accepted as a contestant on the first-ever Junior Irish Baking Show. You Drive Me Glazy has hit a rough patch financially (business is decidedly not booming) and Shireen hopes that going on the show will help get her parent’s donut shop back on its feet. Being on the show is also a step in Shireen’s plan to someday open her own bakery.

Shireen is an incredible baker and there’s a real possibility that she could win at this competition but of course, nothing is that easy. Her ex-girlfriend Chris has also been accepted as a contestant and is quite determined to win. In addition, there’s Niamh, a rather cute contestant on the show who not only has her eye set on winning the competition, but also it seems, she has her eye on winning Shireen’s heart.

This book is an absolute treat full of delicious puns and sticky situations. Each chapter’s title is delightful and the names that Shireen comes up with for the exciting donut flavors at her parents’ shop rival the punny names Bob Belcher gives his burgers of the day in the show Bob’s Burgers.

Content warning for racism, fatphobia, microaggressions, and outright aggressive Tweets.

When the witch puts Floralinda at the top of the forty-flight tower, it’s not personal. She’s just interested in testing out her towers and filling each floor with a prince-slaying horror. Floralinda is assured that if she just waits for a prince to rescue her, she won’t be there too long, and she’s even given a few magical food items to last the wait. After watching one too many princes perish on the bottom floor, delicate Floralinda becomes convinced she’s stuck there for life — however long that may be. But when an unexpected ally turns up, Floralinda discovers she just might have a chance at rescuing herself, one floor at a time.

This is a novella that I desperately wished was a novel, that’s how much I enjoyed it. And it was on the longer side for a novella, thank goodness. This contains a lot of humor, which I’ve come to expect of Muir, although it’s a slightly different flavor of humor than what you’ll find in her Locked Tomb trilogy. Floralinda goes through quite the satisfying character transformation in this book, from a helpless and guileless princess who conforms to all the stereotypes of a soft, delicate lady and is quite clueless about the severity of her situation, to a hapless victim, to a reluctant fighter, and finally, a determined woman who relishes taking on the monsters on each level. There’s a lot of great stuff here about agency and autonomy, and facing hard things even when the odds are stacked against you. I was also incredibly amused by Muir’s ability to come up with 40 very different and compelling challenges for each floor, and it was honestly so fun reading about how Floralinda approaches each one. I finished this novella and wanted to immediately start it again, which is about the highest compliment I can pay a book!

During the holiday season of 2003, a postcard arrives at the Berest home. Anne looks at the back of the card and sees the names of her great-grandparents and their two children, all of whom died during the Holocaust. But who sent the postcard? And why did they include the names of her lost family members?

After seeing the postcard, Anne’s mom takes her aside and tells her the story of their family history, beginning in Russia during the early 20th century. Theirs is a sprawling story, filled with family members who move to countries across Europe and as far away as the United States, always looking for a safe place to call home.

Over the course of the next 15 years, Anne searches for the author of the postcard, trying to find out more about her family members’ last days. She goes to private detectives, handwriting specialists, and government archives. But she struggles to find anything that will tell her more about her ancestors.

The Postcard is an expansive book that takes you around the world, connecting stories from characters across time. In many ways, Anne is disconnected from her Jewish heritage. Her family isn’t religious, and hasn’t been for a few generations, so Anne is unfamiliar with many Jewish holidays and customs. But she is from a line of Jewish women, and she shares that heritage with her daughter.

I love a family saga that spans the course of decades. There’s just something special about seeing characters grow and change over the course of time that keeps me entranced for hours. Anne’s family is complex, constantly moving and adapting to new cultures. But Anne is disconnected from that history, intentionally so, based on her grandmother’s insistence on not talking about her family’s past. I kept turning the pages, hanging on every word, and waiting to find out what would happen next.

While I firmly believe that therapy is not necessarily for everyone, I have certainly recommended trying out therapy to countless people over the years. The thing is, if someone has never been to therapy they don’t really know what to expect, how it can help, how to even go about starting, and it all can be super intimidating. Shani Tran wrote this book to help address these questions and more. By the way, the “dope” in the title means cool, good, rad, etc. This book is not about recreational drugs.

The author, a therapist herself, aims to alleviate a lot of the anxiety that can bubble up around seeking a therapist, going to therapy, and even ending a relationship with a therapist. The book has thoughtful responses to many of the common misconceptions around therapy and helps readers try to recognize when they are or are not actually ready to start talking to a therapist. There are some dry but necessary bits on things like insurance coverage and what all the letters after a therapist’s name mean and the very important distinction between a psychiatrist and someone who does talk therapy (though, some psychiatrists do both). As someone who has helped multiple people find therapists, I can confidently say that her information on finding a therapist and more importantly, the questions you should ask them to see if they are a good fit for you are invaluable. There are logistical questions to ask as well as questions around values, religion, politics, therapeutic style, and more. Tran goes in-depth about the differences between therapists who have cultural competency versus cultural humility, and what marginalized folks may want to look for and ask about.

What I love about this book is the author doesn’t just stop at getting you in the door at a therapist’s office. She also describes what to possibly expect at a person’s first session as well as the myriad ways a person has power in how their therapy experience goes. Tran describes what a relationship with a therapist can look like and what expectations outside a therapy session can be like. She has chapters on trauma and forgiveness as well as closure and finishes off with some frequently asked questions. This book is a great read and a great resource.

Ari is a neurodivergent teen who doesn’t talk around other people, which means she’s often overlooked at school…until Luis Ortega notices her. Luis flirts with her and doesn’t mind that she’s mostly pretty quiet, and Ari likes the attention, until they have sex at a party and Ari becomes a laughingstock. Humiliated, upset, and confused, Ari cuts ties with Luis and tries to figure out how to get her life back on track when she receives a mysterious secret message: Luis has wronged a lot of people at her school, and now they’re banding together for revenge. Is Ari in?

I loved Reyes’ first book, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, and this is a great follow-up full of realistic and flawed characters. Even though Ari doesn’t talk a lot, readers are treated to her funny, sarcastic, and vulnerable first-person narration, allowing them to really get to know her. She’s hesitant to step out of her comfort zone at first, but the need for connection in the wake of Luis’s betrayal is strong, and she finds an unexpected but badly needed group of friends who treat her with respect and dignity. I also really loved that this is a book about consent, not just in the context of sex and physical relationships, but consent within friendships and in day-to-day life. It’s refreshing to see that modeled so clearly, and I think it’s really important. Ari also finds herself falling for a girl that she doesn’t expect, and that romance felt sweet and true, and was a nice counterbalance to the heavier themes of this book. Overall, this is another winner from Reyes!

If you’ve listened to Read or Dead, Book Riot’s thriller and mystery podcast, you probably already know that I ADORE S.A. Cosby’s writing. Ever since I read his second novel Blacktop Wasteland, I’ve picked up Cosby’s books as soon as they have hit the shelves. Cosby writes about rural Black communities in Northern Virginia. His slice of the small town sort of stories dig into working class people’s lives in such a unique way. His protagonists are always so fleshed out, so well-rounded and fascinating.

All the Sinners Bleed centers around Titus Crown, a former FBI agent who has returned to his small hometown to take care of his ailing father. It’s been one year since he was voted in as Sheriff, and things have been pretty quiet ever since. But when a Black shooter walks into the local school and kills a white teacher, the entire community is turned upside down.

Titus begins investigating the shooting, looking into the teacher’s life and uncovers horrific secrets that rock his community. The more he investigates the more horrified he becomes. What’s worse, his ex-girlfriend shows up, looking into the shooting for her true crime podcast. He might welcome seeing her again, but he already has a new girlfriend who lives in town.

All the Sinners Bleed is Cosby’s most ambitious novel to date. There are so many different layers to this story, and Cosby slowly peels back each one. He captures the complexity of the South in such a brilliant way, bringing forth both the best and the worst qualities of the South to create tension throughout the story. Without question, All the Sinners Bleed is Cosby’s best novel yet.

And just as a head up, throughout the entire story this novel contains detailed accounts of a school shooting and a discussion of sexual assault of minors.

Garland Moore used to be more of an optimist. She believed in true love and signs from the universe and finding everyday magic at any moment. She had a lovely marriage with the perfect guy, Ethan. When she and Ethan were at the airport for the honeymoon, rushing to catch their plane, Garland dropped a bracelet her sister Dara had made when they were kids. A guy picked it up and handed it back to Garland, where she was struck by a vision of sitting at a table with many people, across from this man, and they were laughing and sharing a moment. She shook it off and was on her way to have a wonderful honeymoon.

A couple years later, Ethan surprised Garland with divorce papers. A year after that, Garland had moved in with her sister Dara and was driving a rideshare when twin brothers became her passenger. They all hit it off really well and they told Garland that they bought their childhood summer camp and they’ve rebranded it as an adult sleepaway camp. Garland told Dara and they decided to take the opportunity to go that summer because it was something they dreamed of as children but never got the opportunity to do.

So this is where the story actually begins. Dara and Garland show up at Camp Carl Cove for its inaugural adult summer camp experience. Garland meets one of her cabin-mates, Stevie, in an incredibly awkward interaction. They decide to form a camp alliance and from that point on, you can tell they’ll be inseparable. When they go out to meet the rest of the campers, Stevie introduces Garland to her three brothers that are also there. They all went to Camp Carl Cove every year as children. When Garland meets Stevie’s brother Mason, she has quite a moment because Mason is the guy from the airport that had picked up her bracelet and she had that vision.

Stevie tells Garland she will do her best to hook her up with her brother but in the process, Garland finds that all she really wants to do has less to do with Mason and more to do with Stevie.