Year 4, week 2: Final Girls / Home Before Dark

 Two books this week, both by Riley Sager.

Final Girls
By Riley Sager

This book is by the same author I have read a while back, Riley Sager. Of the four books he has written, this plot sounded the most up my alley. 

The plot is about three "Final Girls," which is a term for the final girl at the end of a horror story that has made it out alive. 

I had high hopes for this one and I was kinda disappointed by it. I kept getting really mad at the main character and wanting to scream at her, in true scary movie fashion. Plus without giving anything away, the plot kinda kept pushing the readers down different paths and I kept guessing or figuring it out wrong. 

As a whole it was fine, just not as good as I hoped. 

Home Before Dark
By Riley Sager

This book is another written by Sager. The hubs and I read this together, as in he read it aloud while I nursed our little girl. It promised to be a haunted house story and we both agreed he wanted to hear it as well. 

This book is about a woman named Maggie Holt, and a supposed haunted house known as Baneberry Hall. Her family briefly lived in this house when she was five, and her father wrote a best-selling book about the horrors that reside within. Now she returns several years later, after learning that her father left her the house after he passed away.

For much of the book, I kept thinking of Netflix's version of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, which we had both liked very much. We kept wanting to rewatch the show. We're so excited to see what Netflix does with The Turn of the Screw, I hope it is good and not delayed by stuipd Covid. 

I think I was a little disappointed by the end but this has probably been my favorite Sager book I have read so far. I would recommend the book, especially since it's getting closer to Halloween, okay maybe it's not super close to Halloween, but I am so so ready for it to be Halloween. 

A note from the Hubby about this book: 

This book wasn’t bad, nothing mind-blowing, but a fun read. I liked how the book was actually two books: the story of Maggie Holt returning to Baneberry Hall, and the book that her father wrote about the house. Each chapter swapped between the present day and her father’s book. A good way to get ready for fall and Halloween season.

Year 4, week 1: Harriet the Spy

Hello, everyone! Time to begin year four of my book-a-week challenge! I can't believe our little guy is starting 3rd grade this week (virtually, but still counts). Also, our youngest little girl is now one! Crazy how time flies.

Anyway, here's the first book for my fourth year:

Harriet the Spy
By Louise Fitzhugh

The kids and I finished this book the day before my son’s classes started. I had never read the book before, but I vaguely remember liking the movie and starting a journal/diary after I saw the movie. Strangely enough, our five year old has started actually writing in a journal after reading the book as well. She had already been drawing photos like crazy in different notebooks we bought her, but now she says she's being a spy and writing letters and "words", even though she only knows how to spell a few words. 

If you don't know the plot of the novel, it's the story of a wealthy girl from New York City who is constantly writing in her notebook, and when all of her very accurate albeit not the nicest of observations come out, everyone gets upset. Harriet is very smart and well-spoken, but she's also self centered and gets herself into some scraps. 

The kids and I really enjoyed the book. We listened to the story in the car, and when we had to return the audio book to the library the kids were very bummed. Luckily we had a physical copy, so I read them the rest of the book. 

I would definitely recommend the book. 

Year 3, week 52: Mexican Gothic

Wrapping up year three!

This week's book:
Mexican Gothic
By Silvia Moreno-Garcia

This week's book was my Book of the Month selection for July. When I originally ordered it, I didn't really know what to expect, nor was I super psyched about it. I was wrong; I liked this book very much. 

It starts out like many other classic Gothic novels. Think the Bronte sisters, then think a little The Yellow Wallpaper and maybe a little Stephen King. The book has more twists and goes into more scary details than a classic Gothic novel did in the past. I also enjoyed that it was a book set in Mexico and told by an Latina woman. Female author and a person of color, score! 

I don't want to give away too much, so I'll only say a little about the plot. A strong-willed woman goes to visit her newly-wedded ailing cousin, and when she finally sees her, it turns out her cousin's new family and home are not what they first appear to be. I would definitely recommend this book.

Added note: I was going to ask my sister if she wanted to have the book when I was done, because she loves Mexico, and it turns out she is already listening to the audio book. 

Year 3, week 51: The Water Dancer / Between the World and Me

 Two books this week by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

The Water Dancer
By Ta-Nehisi Coates

This is another book for my book group. I listened to this back in January so that I could pass along my copy of the book to other members of my book group. 

This is the author's first try at fiction. That being said, it's a very historical fiction. Unfortunately, this novel was the second novel about this time in history that America had slavery that I read back to back, which made this a struggle to get through. January was also a rough time in our house because we were trying to figure out what was going on with our eldest child’s medication for his ADHD. 

I struggled with this novel being historical fiction, and I don't want to say supernatural or fantasy, but I don't have other words to use, while discussing the underground railroad. One of the main characters in the novel meets Harriet Tubman, which as you know was a very successful underground railway conductor, who due to her major head injury and her faith, always had feelings and felt she had messages of which path she could get people out of slavery. Her messages could be a form of supernatural, kind of like how the main character is gifted. 

The book was well written and it was picked for Oprah's book club, but I feel like I should reread it at some point because I may have not read it at the right time in my life to truly appreciate it. 

Between the World and Me
By Ta-Nehisi Coates

This is another book by Coates. This book was on a lot of lists after the death of George Floyd for people to understand racism or try to understand what being a person of color is like. 

The author writes the book as a letter to his son. The book is kind of an autobiography of being an African American male, from his life in poorer neighborhoods in the 1980's and 90's and some time at Howard University. It is very beautifully written and really paints a picture. I ordered the book from a bookstore that is independently owned by an African American woman, and I was glad to support her business, but it was a really quick read and they only had it in hard back so it was a little over priced to be completely honest. 

I would recommend the book if you are just now trying to dip your toe into learning about POC or some of the terrible and unjust issues that they are faced with everyday. 

Year 3, week 50: Jo & Laurie

This week's book:

Jo & Laurie

By Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz

Months ago, I saw an advertisement on my Facebook newsfeed about this week's book. The book was an alternative universe where the characters in the classic novel Little Women live different lives than they did in the novel. Almost before I read the plot, I knew I would want to read the book. I love Little Women, and from the title I was hoping maybe Laurie and Jo would finally end up together. It has always been my biggest complaint about the original novel. If Little Women had been written by a Bronte sister or Jane Austen, they would have ended up together. Jo always says she shall marry no one and just write for the rest of her days.

This novel is told between the two volumes that became the book Little Women. Jo has taken liberties with what was actually going on with her family and now she has major writer's block. I can't go deep into much more because I don't want to give any spoilers. I think the two authors did a great job of exploring more about the characters as well. They did their homework with Louisa May Alcott (the author of the original novel) and integrated stories and information from her life into the book. 

If you are a fan of Little Women, I would definitely recommend the book.