What I Read in April & Share Your Shelf #13

 Marilyn, Jennifer, Tanya, and I are so happy to be hosting this monthly link up (that goes live on the first Thursday of every month) dedicated solely to books and book reviews. Through this link up I've gotten lots of great ideas on what books to read next!

This seems to have been a month of books written in verse and a whole lot of middle grade/ young adult fiction at that but wow did I read some really powerful stories. I had no idea I would enjoy stories written in verse so much (in fact I often assumed I wouldn't like them and went out of my way NOT to read them).  I also lucked out that so many new books I've been anxiously waiting for came in at our local library and I've been reading up a storm. 

1. All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson-- Sage's 13 birthday will forever be remembered as the day her best friend died. Dealing with loss and grief and anger and sadness, Sage tries to navigate this new world without her friend. With the help of her grief group and some new friends Sage learns that grief is not linear that you can feel both happy and sad at the same time. It was such a powerful story and both sad and sweet and oh so touching. I listened to this book on my Libby app and had no idea it was even written in verse until I went to Amazon and looked at the setup of each section (since there are no chapters).

2. The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons-- I listened to this on Libby and enjoyed the slow, southern tale. For 15 years these college friends would gather together at a summer house and spend a week at the beach. When one of them died suddenly they took a long break from gathering together but this summer they are ready to try again. This summer of isolation was different with a new member in the mix; one that at turns annoyed and endeared herself to the group.

3. Alone by Megan E. Freeman--  Oh I just LOVED this book; when 12 year old Maddie wakes to find that the whole town has been evacuated she sets off to explore. With the companionship of her neighbor's dog Maddie sets off determined to survive one day to the next. She's scrappy and resourceful and I was just wowed by her fierceness and determination. Written in verse, I easily read this book in under a day.

 4. Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman-- It took me forever to read this book but I did enjoy it and I love the part in the middle with photos of Alan's actual journals complete with artwork as well as photos of Alan and friends throughout his life. Much of the actual day to day diary entries were so short and lacking in any detail that I felt a bit lost at times. I don't know the majority of names and places he references and it all felt a bit disjointed (as it should since he wrote and kept those diaries for himself and no one else). I almost felt a bit bad that they had been complied and printed for all to consume after his death since he seemed like a pretty private man for being a Hollywood star and yet I did enjoy the parts I did understand and don't regret reading it. I found that 1/2 way through I did feel like I was getting to know the real Alan and could differentiate his sarcasm from his serious heartfelt descriptions of friends and acquaintances.

5. Beg, Borrow, Or Steal by Sara Adams-- I've enjoyed the first two books in this series and was eager to pick up book 3. In this book, Emily is upset because her nemesis Jack is coming back to Rome, Kentucky. She can't believe her luck when he moves into the old abandoned house next door. To her surprise after some initial bickering and sparring the two start to become friends.. and perhaps maybe even more than friends! It was really cute.

6. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins-- I was so thrilled to get my hand on a copy of this prequel. Reading about Haymitch's experience in the reaping and the hunger games brought the whole series back in an instant. I just LOVED it! I recognized many of the names of people that Haymitch encountered and had somehow forgotten that he competed in a quarter quell year so there were double the players in the games. If you liked the series; I think you'll like this one too.

 7. Unlikely Story by Ali Rosen-- I had this one on my Kindle so I decided to finally start it. It was a cute story about a United States therapist that writes for an advice column that publishes in England. Never having met her editor she starts to realize that she might be falling in love with him from afar just based on the emails they send back and forth each week. Meanwhile the new man that moved in upstairs is driving her nuts with the renovations he wants to make and the fact that all the neighbors just seem to love him. I enjoyed this story but did think that, for a therapist, she was quite wimpy about working on/facing her own "stuff." 

8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak--  I listened to this book on audio and though I had attempted it one other time and quit, this time around I really enjoyed it a lot. Liesel has been through so much in her young life and started stealing books at the graveside of her brother (despite not knowing how to read). Her foster father takes it upon himself to teach Liesel how to read. The story takes us through her life, narrated by the grim reaper, as she steals more books and works with her family to hide a young Jewish man in their basement during the second world war. 

9. Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Book #5) by Elle Cosimano-- I find the antics of Finlay and her nanny Vero to be quite entertaining. In this book, a body has been found in Finlay's neighbor's yard and for whatever reason the police suspect Finlay's ex-husband as the murder. Afraid that the police will be digging further and not wanting them to dig too deep she decides to start investigating on her own to see if she can figure out who the murder is and get her ex's named cleared. This book was just as crazy and silly and fun as the other 4 and I easily read it in one day.

10. Away by Megan E. Freeman-- I listened to this companion novel to Alone one day while making cards. In this book we hear what happened with those people who were evacuated and sort of the "other side" of the story from the book Alone. It was a good book but I liked Alone a whole lot more. 

11. Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum-- So I felt rather silly that I never knew the movie was based on a book. I decided to listen to it on my Libby app since it was short and I have a soft spot for The Wizard of Oz after playing Aunt Em in our 4th grade school play (my teacher wanted me to play Dorothy but I broke my leg over winter break). It was definitely quite different from the movie/play that I remember and I think I would have enjoyed it more as a kid since I found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit. Luckily it was just a couple of hours long and I was able to check "in the public domain" off my 52 book challenge.

12. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie-- I started listening to this on my Libby app but I was having a hard time since the narrator mumbled so much. I picked up the book from my local library, skimmed through the first couple of chapters I had listened to, and settled in to finish it. I enjoyed it a lot. I had never read any Agatha Christie books before but it was a fun little who done it with lots of bodies that all somehow followed along with the words of a poem tacked up in all the guests rooms.

13. The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose-- I was thrilled to get an advance reader copy of this 3rd book in The Maid series through NetGalley! Recently released (on April 8th!) it is the perfect continuation to the story of Molly the Maid. In this third installment of the series Molly can't wait for 2 big events coming up; her wedding and a live filming of her favorite reality show Hidden Treasures. But when Molly brings an item in for appraisal on Hidden Treasures, she was unprepared for all the ways her life was about to change. Told in alternating time lines we learn what happens with Molly, her treasured item, and her friends in one time while also reading about her gran's life in an old forgotten diary she wrote for Molly before her gran died. I loved it!  

14. Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter-- I picked this up since it was the second book in a 2 book series I had really enjoyed but found that I honestly couldn't remember much about these characters. But while it is a sequel it reads just fine as a stand alone novel. Wes and Liz were high school sweethearts that broke up shortly after going to college when Wes' life completely fell apart. Now 2 years later Wes is back starting his freshman year at UCLA and hopeful to win Liz back. Liz hardened her heart after getting it broken her freshman year and when she spies Wes on campus decides to rope one of her roommates into a fake relationship so she can continue ignoring Wes.. until her job throws the two of them together and she learns that so much of what she thought was true wasn't.

 

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