Welcome to the Stacks
Fostering the love of reading, here are several reviews from myself.
Looking for grade-level recommendations for your kiddo? Click here
Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum
Star Rating: ★★★★
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I was finishing this book as I waited for a friend at lunch. She walked up and remarked, "Don't you just hate everyone in that book? They are all terrible!" and we laughed. It's so true--Bad Summer People is a great story about NYC people who summer at their shore houses and one summer there is a deadly mystery in their idyllic town. Drama ensues in this whip-smart novel that has you rooting for absolutely no one and loving the story at the same time.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I clutch my chest when I think of this book still. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. Evelyn Hugo is 79 years old, living in NYC quietly after spending earlier decades as Hollywood's leading lady. She decides to give a rare interview and picks a specific, unknown journalist. What happens is captivating, emotional, and heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. This book had me as a paperweight in a chair while I read it. I could not put this down and then mourned finishing it for days. Must read.
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The Lincoln Highway is a classic American novel. Many people told me they loved it and many people told me the opposite. I came to understand that Amor Towles is a polarizing author. And yet, I picked up the 600 page book and went for a drive down the Lincoln Highway with him. This story was a very slow start for me. But, the last 200 pages made up for it. What a beautiful story. If you're a fast reader, give this a try as it explores the complexity of the American dream and promise from several characters' perspectives.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Somtimes you just need a simple summer beach read. And Beach Read by Emily Henry delivers on that promise. A story about two authors, both stuck in their own writing ruts, who live next door to each other for a summer. A simple story about how they both overcome their writing ruts with some spiciness sprinkled in. Great and easy read for when you just want to escape into a book!
The Vicious Circle by Katherine St. John
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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A supermodel in Manhattan learns that her uncle has died suddenly. But, here is the catch. Her uncle is a famous self-help guru who lives at his "wellness center" Xanadu,located deep in the Mexican jungle. She learns that she has inherited his estate but has to visit Xanadu to finalize things with her uncle's wife. Part steamy novel, part cult drama, the Vicious Circle is a story that draws you in, wondering what each character is secretly desiring as you imagine the most beautiful place on Earth and how everyone will escape it.
Meant To Be by Emily Giffin
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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As someone who loves reading historical fiction, it's hard to read a historical fiction book set in the 1990s. Are we really there?! A tough pill to swallow. But, a great story! Emily Giffin does it again with Meant to Be. Loosly based on the love story of JFK Jr. and Caroline Besset, Meant to Be shows a glimpse inside the lives of a budding Camelot 2.0 that also ends in a heartbreaking way.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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My daughter chose The Book Thief for one of her summer reading books. I was interested in it as she read it, so I picked it up after she finished. This book is beautiful. A young girl living in Nazi Germany with foster parents befriends aa Jewish man her parents are hiding in the basement. The story is narrated by Death, which is so interesting as a character given the subject matter. But, it also becomes a character for which you have empathy for and even some respect in the end. This story is so moving and haunting and beautiful.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Lessons in Chemistry is in the running for top pick of 2022 for me! I related to Elizabeth Zott so much (if you are an Enneagram 1, you will too!). Set in California in the 1960s, Elizabeth Zott is a gifted research chemist who is incredibly self-aware (but also self-assured at a time when females were frowned upon for acting so) and also quite immune to the conventions of her time. This book explores the beautiful flaws of being a woman who is passionate about work when life takes a detour. I loved reading the imperfectness of Elizabeth's character and how she wrestles with her own feelings vs. what society expects her to feel about seasons of her life. The audiobook is fantastic and has an interview with the author at the end that is not to be missed!
Without a Hitch by Mary Hollis Huddleston
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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A great summer read! A hilarious account of a young woman's days and weekends working in the wedding and events industry for Texan elites. I laughed out loud so many times.
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Mary Jane - ahh, such a good book. I know there are so many coming of age stories but this one is my favorite. Mary Jane, raised in a prim and proper, county club member home is 14. She takes on a summer nanny job for a neighbor and ends up having an eye-opening summer to other ways of living. It's set in the '70s anf if you're of a certain age, your imagination will be filled with images while reading this great summer novel.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Star Rating: ★★★★
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Such a Fun Age is an interesting book. It is set on immediately diving into the plot, where a young, Black woman is wrongly accused of kidnapping while babysitting a white toddler. The story goes much further into the relationship Emira has with her employers from there and is not centered on this singular event. But, it does provide a satire of polite prejudices that are explored within the story. I enjoyed this story a lot, especially the sticky widget that is the transactional relationship of someone being employed in your home.
The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Star Rating: ★★★
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The People We Meet on Vacation was okay, but I couldn't help but think of how much it was basically a rewrite of When Harry Met Sally. It's cute, it's a light beach read, it's got some spicy parts...but it's just alright.
The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The Royals Next Door is a little more spicy than I usually pick up. But, it was a great fun beach read!
The audiobook was a saving grace so no one could see the title :)
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The Hate U Give is noted a YA book but it feels pretty heavy for my YA readers as of right now. When they are teens, I suspect it will be subject matter they can understand. Overall, I loved this book but it is not an easy read. But, I only had to read it. I don't have to live it. Imagine living this life as you read it. Because it is happening every day. It is all too common a story in our country.
The audiobook narrator is fantastic. A great job with tone and inflection and little character nuisances that I wouldn't have picked up on paper.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Star Rating: ★★★★
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My daughter wanted to read A Wrinkle in Time and I realized I had not read it myself nor had I seen the movie. So, I listened to it on Audiobook. Very cute story and one I probably would not have appreciated as a child, to be honest. A classic tale of about good vs. evil and the power of love but through a visually different story lens.
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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At first, I thought The Paper Palace was going to be about a mid-life crisis of a mom stuck in her life. Thank goodness I kept going! It's totally not that book.
It goes back and forth and all around the span of 50 years in a woman's life and her years spent at her family's cape house, the paper palace. Fantastic read.
Majesty by Katherine McGee
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The sequel to American Royals! A very fast read. Did not end how I expected it to or really wanted it to but still SO good and entertaining!
The Lion's Den by Katherine St. John
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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A friend recommended this book after I read The Last Mrs. Parrish and this book delivered! The Lion's Den is so good! Super light and perfect beach read. I enjoyed the audiobook while running errands and cleaning things and dreaming of being on a yacht...just maybe not with this drama! It was a great escape and Katherine St. John is brilliant in her visual storytelling.
The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
Star Rating: ★★
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If you're old enough to know Fatal Attraction and Single White Female, the first part of this book was definitely going that way. I was going to be annoyed if that's all this book turned out to be. The the script gets flipped and it gets interesting. But, then the ending fell flat (for me). It was just an okay book for me, personally.
American Royals by Katherine McGee
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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American Royals - what a fun, light, and engaging read!
What if American had a royal family? This book is set on the premise of George Washington being crowed King and American having its own monarchy after winning the Revolutionary War. Set in modern day, they are now looking forward to their first Queen after some modern rules were applied to allow a first born to be crowned.