It was another good reading month! Here's what I've been reading this past month, not including another one of the Usborne Puzzle Adventures books from my childhood that I've been working my way through.
It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian: This was a delightful Regency-era M/M open door romance. All the characters felt authentic, as did the relationships between them. The audiobook narrator was excellent. I genuinely enjoyed this read.
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram: I really love this book, and I enjoyed the read more on rereading it. Khorram captures so many things in this book, from the day-to-day reality of living with (medicated) depression to the complicated experience of seeing your grandparents in person for the first time as a teenager and trying to figure out where you fit into their culture.
My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger: I wanted to like this more, and I liked it enough to finish it, but it wasn't really my cup of tea. Everyone has a heart of gold and talent oozing out their ears, and pursuing whatever you want — including women who have told you no — is both encouraged and rewarded. I can see why folks have enjoyed this one, but it wasn't for me.
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun: This is everything you could want in a queer romance plus everything you want in a holiday special. It's a second-chance romance wrapped in a side-plot fake-dating trope, with a realistic handling of mental health challenges and family trauma. The Portland setting, clearly written by a local, was the final touch that made this a delight to read.
The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie: This book was a wild ride! I didn't know what to expect, and I think it's fair to say that this one is unlike Christie's other mysteries in many ways, so I really didn't know where it was going. I found the ending quite satisfying, even if not all of my lingering questions were completely addressed.
The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts: I definitely would have loved this book as a kid: the supernatural elements, the air of mystery, the precocious girl considered strange by others who's trying to piece things together to get answers and find connection, the adult character who takes the kid as seriously as another adult. It was an engaging read that didn't quite stick the landing.
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger: This is not a graphic novel, but my 9-year-old was willing to read it with me, making this our first possible gateway book into reading standard chapter books together. It deals with the concerns of 6th graders — being seen as uncool, figuring out who like-likes whom, navigating the pressures of school culture — with an engaging through-line of trying to figure out if Origami Yoda is truly dispensing priceless wisdom or if he's just a hoax propagated by the deeply socially awkward kid who carries him around on his finger.
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson: Jackson had me guessing and trying to fit all the pieces together up until the reveal. I am more than willing to overlook the elements that didn't work for me in this one, as the main mystery/thriller plot kept me hooked the entire time.
Kill Joy by Holly Jackson: This prequel to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is essentially Pip's origin story: why she thought she might be capable of reaching a different conclusion about a murder than the police did, and why she decided to make that her senior capstone project. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I'd listened to it right after the original trilogy, but it was a fun, quick listen, and I'm glad I picked it up.
Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Hazeldine: Volume One, The Bad Guys in The One?!, Demon Copperhead, and Something Wild & Wonderful
Five years ago I was reading: The Next Evangelicalism, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Ten years ago I was reading: Lamb and One Hundred Names
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