November Books

November was not a big reading month.  I was wrapping up the end of the trimester with grading.  We also did some BIG house projects this month, which took up a lot of time.  But I had read enough earlier in the year, so I knew I would still be able to reach my end of the year goal even with a light reading month.

#MurderTrending

A YA book, of course.  Ya'll, just get ready to see a plethora of YA books for the next three years.

This book is sort of dystopian.  Dee, a 17 year old, has been unjustly accused and found guilty of the murder of her step-sister.  She's sent to Alcatraz 2.0, where her death, at the hand of a band of crazy executioners, will be live streamed to viewers all over the country.

This book is really clever, albeit not amazingly written.  The book has twitter post scattered throughout it.  I wouldn't rush out to read this book, but definitely give it to your teen readers.

Anne of the Island

Oh, Anne girl.  I love to dive back into Anne Shirley's world, especially in the fall.  This book is about Anne's college years, her relationship with Royal Gardner, and then finally her reconciliation with Gilbert Blythe.

Nine Perfect Strangers

The new Liane Moriarty book!  Somehow I was magically second on the hold list at my local library.

I knew NOTHING going into reading this book.  I just knew that I love this author's books.  It was wonderful to read with no idea of the book, so I am going to do the same to you.

Just read it.  It was great.

What You Left Me

I have mixed feelings about this book.  It has a strange premise, and I didn't love the ending.  But I did enjoy the middle parts.

Martin and Petra are graduating from a huge high school and are somehow seated next to each other.  They have a flirtation and plan to see each other later, but Martin is in a horrible car crash and ends up in a coma.  While he's in the coma, he communicates with several friends through their dreams, including Petra.  

See what I mean?  Just a little strange.  I also didn't love that there was a big event in Petra's past that isn't quite dealt with.  It felt a little unresolved.

Odd One Out

Nic Stone's new book!  Again, I was lucky to get this book.  I walked in to get the Liane Moriarty book, and this was just sitting on the library shelf.

I loved Nic's first book, Dear Martin.  I was super pumped to read this new one, and it was just okay.  Odd One Out is about a love triangle between a straight male, his lesbian best friend, and a new girl. I liked that this book had lots of LGBTQ characters and there were lots of conversations around all of those issues.  I didn't like some more explicit scenes.  I also felt like Nic tried to be too trendy with the writing, and it came off weak.

Kingdom of the Blind

Let's end this month with a win.  Louise Penny is one of my very favorite authors.  I don't think I have ever pre ordered another author's books, but I've been preordering her new book since 2013.  She comes out with a new one every fall.

I won't do a synopsis, because you need to read the series.  You can skip the first one, Still Life, because it's sort of slow (although, once you know the characters, you will want to come back to it).  Just read her!  

And this book was great.  I was so happy with it.