Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was hysterical! Do yourself a favor and get a copy of the audio book of Furiously Happy.

The subtitle tells readers exactly what this book is - a funny book about horrible things. In this memoir Jenny Lawson holds nothing back about her daily struggles with a myriad of mental health problems. I laughed out loud and would enjoy reading anything else Jenny writes.

There are some scenes in this book that are heartbreaking to read through. Some readers may be sensitive to this story but most will find something to love about it.

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Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What is it to be someone with OCD? What is it to be a friend to someone with OCD? To love someone with OCD? Turtles All The Way Down gives a glimpse of what it's like to be all of these things.

This book is the typical John Green Formula. (Quirky characters, precocious teenagers, BFF who is funny and pushy and has the best lines of dialogue, parents who instill a lot of trust in their kid.) It wasn't my favorite John Green but it wasn't a bad read either.

There's a mystery and an adventure or two along the way but this is mostly character driven.

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Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a family drama that is heartbreaking but still filled with love.

Jojo and Kayla are siblings living with their grandparents. Their mother shows up at their home often but these kids are cared for by their elderly grandparents. When their father, Michael, is to be released from prison, their mother, Leonie, takes them on a road trip through contemporary Mississippi to pick him up. Leonie battles drug addiction. Jojo does his best to care for his young sister and himself during the trip while harboring ill-will towards his absent mother.

This is not a long story but a powerful one told in alternating points of view. This family is damaged in several ways. Mostly character driven, this is a book that will really take readers inside the lives of a modern family, for better or worse.

I found that I had to suspend my disbelieve for some of this story. Death and illness are addressed often, but the speaking to or seeing the dead is something that prevents me from falling in love with this book. The prose is strong, and I'm not surprise to find this on the 2017 Nation Book Award finalist list.



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Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian's Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to the Books in Her Life by Annie Spence
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Annie Spence is my new favorite librarian. She’s funny, helpful, and can hold my attention with stories about working in the library. This is the perfect book for bookworms.

For half of the book Annie provides letters written to books. They are witty and gratifying to read. Each letter is fairly brief so readers don’t have to get stuck on books they’ve never heard of or don’t want to read about. There are a lot of recommendations packed into her endearing letters. The second half of the book is more bookish goodies for readers. Recommendations for getting your spouse to read, excuses to give friends and family when you just want to stay home and read, and a variety of other type of recommendations fill the rest of the book. True crime? Got it. Romance? Yep. Biographies? It’s all in here. Must read for readers.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.

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Killer Choice by Tom Hunt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing an advanced copy of this book to review. Below is my honest opinion.

Gary and Beth Foster are a happy couple. They've been married for several years and are now expecting their first baby. Gary has recently opened a retail store with his brother, and life is good. That is until Beth unexpectedly collapses one day. After numerous tests it's discovered that Beth has a life threatening brain tumor. An experimental drug trial is available to them but will cost $200,000 - money they don't have. Gary is contacted by a dubious stranger who offers him the money they desperately need but with a condition. Gary must kill a man.

This debut thriller by Tom Hunt will have you flipping pages into the late hours of the night. The edge of your seat will become worn as you're following Gary in his quest to save his wife's life. There are twists and turns and things I didn't see coming in this book that kept it all exciting. I gasped out loud a couple of times, and my heart was pounding as I read through these pages..

One of my favorite parts about this book is that it asks the uncomfortable question - what would you be willing to do (or not willing to do) in order to have a chance of saving someone you love? Gary is a reasonable, moral guy and he's suddenly forced into a desperate situation. I'm glad this is fiction because I don't know that I could handle the pressure!

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The Guineveres by Sarah Domet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this book up only for the title (my daughter is also named Guinevere) and knew almost nothing about the plot of this book. Luckily this worked out for me and the book was good!

Four girls named Guinevere wind up at the same convent. They each go by a different nickname - Vere, Gwen, Ginny, and Win - so there is no confusion for the reader. Each girl has experienced some loss that has caused her to arrive at the convent, and each of their stories are eventually revealed. These four isolate themselves from the other boarders, depending only on each other for friendship. The girls eventually meet four unidentified, unconscious soldiers who are brought to the convent for care and the Guineveres each become obsessed with one of them.

I thought of this story as slow at times, but that's not quite right. It lacked a lot of the edge-of-your-seat action I love in books but that wasn't needed for this story. It was really hard to put down regardless. These girls are just that - girls. A lot of their choices reflect their youth and naivety. Vere, the narrator, reflects on their childhood while also filling in the reader on how the Guineveres see their actions and choices through their adult lives. The four girls are also victims of circumstance and readers will see these girls make the best of a tough childhood.

The ending of this book was unexpected for me and probably helped me change this from a 3.5 to 4 star rating. One of the parts I like most about this book was the historical time period. The time period is never revealed but there are enough hints that readers should be able to figure it out.

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Lies She Told by Cate Holahan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. The following is my honest opinion.

Liza is a best selling author, or at least she used to be. Her first book was a hit and the ones that followed haven't been well received. Now she's been given 30 days by her publisher to write another great book. She's got a lot of pressure to write the book, but she's got problems at home. She's also struggling to have a baby with her husband who has been less than attentive. That may be understandable, however, since her husband's best friend has gone missing.

Meanwhile Beth, the protagonist of Liza's latest book, is facing struggles of her own. She's got a newborn baby and has recently discovered her husband has a girlfriend. Liza and Beth's stories are told in alternating chapters.

This book is great for writers (or aspiring writers) to read. Liza's writing process is a big part of this book. Readers will see hints of how Liza's real life influences the story she's trying to complete before her deadline is up. The book was hard to put down and easy to devour in a couple of days. Even though I thought the book was very engaging I found it to be predictable at times. So I was really surprised to find a pretty big twist in the last few chapters. This story kept moving and was a great suspense read to wrap up the summer with.

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