October Books

I look forward to the Show Us Your Book Link up all month, and my list of books to read has gone out of control, but it makes me very happy.

Today I'm linking up with Jana and Steph for Show Us Your Books.

This month my books were hard, they dealt with difficult situations and difficult subjects. I'm going to need a funny book next month.

In The Country We Love by Diane Guerrero ( 5*/ 5)

This book was amazing! I didn't know anything about Diane Guerrero, other than the fact that she is gorgeous, and is in Orange Is The New Black. I started following her on Instagram and found that she had a book. My weak spot for celebrity autobiographies made me order the book from my library right away.

I learned that her parents were deported when she was 14, and the difficulties she went through on raising herself, living with help from family friends.  Reading the book felt like reading stories of friends and their stories of living in fear. I cried a few times, and would use any available moment to read the book. COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ( 5*/ 5)

This book is very relevant to the current times, and sadly, it had the sad ending that many live today, but it still broke my heart when it happened.

The book is about Starr, who witnessed her friend being murdered by a cop during a routine stop. Starr goes to a private school and has to go back and forth between the two different Starr personalities she has. This book is heartbreaking and made me question my own bias... which are always a harsh reality to face.

I hope to have my son read this in a few years.

Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance (3*/5)

A coworker heard me say that I was waiting for this book from the library, and she let me borrow it. I took turns reading it along with ITCWL,

This was an autobiography of the author who grew up on Hillbilly culture. He talks a lot about the domestic violence, and substance abuse of his mother. But the support and love from his grandmother helped him and save him many times. I know and understand that there is a lot of poverty, lack of jobs and lack of education for poor white citizens of the United States, and I do know feel learned more about this population in reading this book. I think I was expecting more of a history and more detailed information.


The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman (3*/5)

I picked up this book, because I saw the trailer for the movie. I didn't realize it was a Non-fiction book until I started it, I suppose that is a problem with electronic audiobooks.


The book was well written, but I had a hard time focusing on it. I couldn't find the rhythm of the story until well half way into it. I found their story to be amazing, and heroic, I cried a few times. And I'm still going to watch the movie.

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti (4*/5)

This was a random pick, and suggested by my library. This book had a very misleading tittle, as the book was about Hawthorn, a girl who finds out Lizzie Lovett is missing and becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. Some parts were a bit annoying, like when Hawthorn got Lizzie's job (from before she went missing) and friended Lizzie's boyfriend. The end was devastating, I was not ready for it. But I really enjoyed the book overall.

Quick read with quirky characters.


Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist (3*/5)

While scrolling twitter, I found a group called Diverse Book Club, and they had selected this book for November. This book is about Will, a teen who was born blind and is starting a new school. He develops a crush on Cecily, and soon after has a surgery to restore his vision. There were a couple of twist, one that was very Beauty and The Beast and very disappointing. Other than that, the book was light and an interesting insight on blindness.  


Did Not Finish

Witches: Salem 1692 by Stacy Schiff - I haven't given up in a book in a few months, I haven't read as far into a book and given up on it in a long long time. I got about 1/4 into Witches, and it just couldn't hold my attention.