Review 369: Big Girl

Big Girl by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a sad book. We have a young girl Malaya who is overweight, so is her mother. The focus of the book is on food and the weight, but also the family. It is told from the girl’s point of view, so there is not complete understanding of things. She seems to try to disappear, hardly talks about herself or feelings, things that happen to her.

The grandmother is a mean person, hardly says a kind word to her granddaughter only platitudes and focus on how large Malaya is, how she needs to lose weight and eat only a small amount of healthy foods. Unfortunately, she stays with her grandmother during the summer, so she is subjected to this meanness. 

Malaya worries about her parent’s relationship; she makes herself feel better with food. Her other outlet is drawing and art.

Later we see Malaya as a teenager, nearing the end of her high school. She is smart, been in a gifted school all through the years, but it doesn’t translate into anything we see in the book.

I kept wishing Malaya would speak for herself, would do more for herself. The few moments that she does is a shining light. 

Review 209: Libertie

Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book is about mothers and daughters. It’s told from the point of view of Libertie, the daughter. Her mother was born free and so light skinned she passed for white, although she never tried to, and went to college to become a doctor. Soon the civil war is here, then gone and Libertie is now a teenager and asks her mother too many questions for her mother’s comfort.

The push and pull between parent and child is evident throughout the book, as well as freedom, liberty, and perhaps the pursuit of one’s own happiness. Liberties is being trained and educated to follow her mother’s path of being a doctor, but she doesn’t have the passion. Her real passion is to be close to her mother. 

There is so much more going on in this book. Certainly this could be one to garner more out of a second, or third reading. There are layers of meaning and imagery, and a focus on the gods of Africa and Christianity. Of the many themes within the book the one that was most direct and spoke to me was the mother-daughter relationship. The misunderstanding of each other, of the generational differences, and sadly, the feeling of not being what the other wants or needs. 

This would be a great book for a reading group or discussion.

Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 152: Migrations

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a bit of a mystery in this book, and it’s about our central character’s life, Franny Stone. What happened in her past? She is obsessed with birds and since nearly all are now gone, she has taken it upon herself to follow the Arctic Terns migration from the north to Antarctic.

Franny certainly has a penchant for swimming in icy cold oceans. In the first pages she jumps into the cold waters to rescue what looks to be a drowning man. And her luck is with her as he turns out to be a captain of the fishing boat she was looking to join.

The book is dark and bleak, with nearly the entirety of animals gone from this world. The story is told by going from present to past and various points in the past. I really loved the part where she and her husband meet and grow to know each other. Fanny is one who leaves, and gets that wandering from her family. Franny is never easy on herself, and it seems to come out even more during her sleep while sleepwalking she can do terrible things, or nearly.

Despite how difficult the book was to read at times I did enjoy it. The language had a feel of poetry and it drew me in right away. I wanted to know what happened with Franny, her past, her family, and slowly it was revealed. This is not a long book, but it is on that can stay with you long after reading.


Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 136: Untethered

Untethered by Julie Lawson Timmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a slow build up. Around the half-way point it really started to take off, but even some of the characterization of the main character, Char, was hard to get a grasp on until closer to the end. There was a lot of “talking” between characters, like a full page from one character until the other spoke, not sure I’ve seen that before. Anyway, these long passages sometimes didn’t feel natural, and they hid the true feelings for some characters.

Not sure I liked the way the book came to a close, well the last chapter was fine, just what came shortly before. No spoilers here, so it’s slightly difficult to describe. I’m sure many will be okay with it, I just wanted more.

This is a decent book, not overwhelming or anything. There was a new look, for me, at how step-parents and step-families may behave. That alone was worth the read.


I received a free copy of this book at a library conference. I was not required to write a review, but felt like it and, of course, the above opinions are my own.

Review 135: Tear Me Apart

Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


When picking up this book I didn't expect much, but got even less than that. It was good for a quick read, but it was very predictable. Some of the relationships didn't seem all that real to me, it was off. The book was also much longer than it needed to be, some of the details were just not needed and so many pages could have been taken out. The end of the book talked about how this book took a long time to write, was rewritten many times, and I'm sure this version is a much improved one, but it needed more work.

I probably should have ditched this book, not finished, but decided to stick it out to the end. You never know with this genre if there's some weird twist at the end, or something that makes it all worth it. Not really here. There's an attempt at a twist, but wasn't surprising and wasn't all that much anyway.


I received a free copy of this book at a library conference. I was not required to write a review, but felt like it and, of course, the above opinions are my own.

Review 130: The Book That Matters Most

The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Going into this book I actually didn’t expect much, and didn’t know what the book might be about either. In the end, I enjoyed it.

There are two story lines, one of a mom mourning a recently ruined marriage, her husband left for a past girlfriend. The other is of the daughter, off in Paris ruining herself with drugs and illicit love affairs. She allows herself to be literally a kept woman in an upstairs apartment, much like the attic. The older man gives her everything and what keeps her is really the drugs. She thinks she’s in love, but gets bored or something, then after striking up other relations with boys her age she gets repulsed by the man. Eventually she leaves, but nearly overdoses and luckily the boy had called authorities. She detoxes in the hospital then actually does quit the drugs once clean, ends up at a bookshop.

The main thrust for the mother is the new book club she joined. Her best friend, a librarian, runs the group and finally she has time and wants to meet other people, be involved. And she has her own affair, but this time with a young man, he started it. The book club chose the books that mattered most to them for each month read, rotating people, which had been chosen on the December meeting.

There is loss, of mother, of the marriage, of her daughter a little, but that becomes resolved. Yet it isn’t too sad. The ending wraps up neatly, too neatly actually.

I received a free copy of this book at a library conference. I was not required to write a review, but felt like it and, of course, the above opinions are my own.

March 18, 2020 – Started Reading

March 18, 2020 – Shelved as: own-read

March 18, 2020 –

page 28

 7.82%

March 19, 2020 –

page 100

 27.93%

March 20, 2020 –

page 194

 54.19%

March 21, 2020 –

page 242

 67.6%

March 21, 2020 – Finished Reading

Review 117: Iphigenia Murphy

Iphigenia Murphy by Sara Hosey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Being 15 you don’t seem to have a lot of options. Yet the main character here, Iphigenia Murphy decides to change things. Her home life is full of abuse. If she isn’t ignored she’s being hurt in many different forms. Iphignia, or Iffy, has a plan and carries it out. She leaves to go look for her mother, her drug addicted, mentally ill, homeless mother that is likely living in Forest Park. So Iffy buys a tent, sleeping bad, food and other supplies and goes to live in the park as well, to find her mother.

Along the way Iffy meets other people and creates a new, weird life living in this park. No it isn’t safe, and she gets a benefactor who is worried about her and the dog Iffy adopts.

The time line in the book isn’t long, although three months in the life of a teenager is longer than it would be for me. Living in a tent in a park would definitely make it longer.

The people Iffy meet are other people who have problems as well. They have a fast bond and quickly trust each other. Perhaps this is what it’s like when you’re homeless, or seemingly without anyone else who cares about you.

Iphignia definitely had a hard life, but she changed it, actively figured out a way to change it, albeit in an unusual way. She is a strong young woman that grows stronger during the book.

The writing is decent. It felt like the book was stumbling a little in the beginning, but by the time Iffy was staying in the park for a while it picked up and the book read better.

This book feels like it may be for young adult, but it also is a troubling book. Then again sometimes teens are facing tough situations.



Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 82: Your House Will Pay

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book revisits one of the sparks that ignited the L.A. riots in 1992, a shooting of a black teenager (Latasha Harlins) in the back of the head by a Korean liquor store owner (Soon Ja Du). The shooter doesn’t serve jail time, claiming self defense. This race conflict between these two groups intensified during the riots. This is history. The book takes this history and brings us to today, with fictional characters, as Eva Matthews being the dead teen and Yvonne Park as the shooter.

The book takes place mostly in today, 2019, where Yvonne Park is now the victim. The novel is told in alternating points of view by the family members that were witnesses to the shootings, Shawn, the 1992 brother of Eva, and Grace Park the youngest daughter of Yvonne.

The book explores race relations, but more specifically the devastation of a shooting, in this case two shootings, and what it does to both families, both long term and immediately. There’s a lot packed into this book and the author did a good job in the form and writing. Perhaps there were a couple missteps, but they can be forgiven for the overall messiness of this subject. There are no easy answers, yet I feel there is some hope given here, in the end. And yes throughout as well, with Shawn Matthews wanting a simple life, with a regular job and family close to him. Something we can all identify and agree with, to get beyond the anger and have peace.


Thanks to Ecco/HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 79: Wild Game

Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me by Adrienne Brodeur
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a well written memoir. What attracted me to the the title was the relationship between mother and daughter, not being ideal. Wow, Adrienne Brodeur's mother did not know boundaries with her child. We learn that this poor relationship between mother and daughter did not start there, but was in a line of matriarchs. Brodeur captures the intensity and passion of her mother and their secrets. As she grows older and attempts to create her own self-identity, her mother balks. The pain is palpable.

I don't want to give anything away, as this is a powerful read. I applaud Brodeur for being self-aware and immensely strong to dive deep into family relationships and write this book. I can only imagine how difficult that task when there may be people who want to hide the stark truths.

A film version is already in development, and it's no surprise. Read this book before, it will be worth the time.


Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.