SUYB February 2018

Happy Tuesday!! It's my favorite time of the month, time to talk about the books from last month!




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




Identical Ellen Hopkins



This is the most disturbing book I have ever read! Identical is about identical twin sisters. After a tragic accident their father starts sexually abusing one of them, Kaeligh, while the other Raeanne is in a self destructive path to deal with the pain of not getting attention from her father. But they have to unite to help each other out of their nightmares.

The twists at the end of the book!! I almost gave up the book, because the very graphic descriptions of the sexual abuse were making me very uncomfortable. But I had to finish it, because I needed to know how she was going to get help.

The end revealed two different twist, one that I figured out a quarter of the way into the book, and the second I figured out half way through the book. The end of the book wrapped up very quickly and too cleanly, and one part of the end made me very angry.

Final Question/ Thought : The mother in this book was the character I liked the least.

George by Alex Gino



On my goal to read more LGBTAQ (...)  books, I found this gem. George is about a boy who knows he is supposed to be a girl. This book was written nice and soft, does that make sense? It explored Georges feelings, and how even the most accepting people in his life found him to be "weird". But it was written in a way that wasn't judgmental of either character.

I got very angry at the teacher and at the Mom in the book, because as a Mom, I could not imagine ignoring my own child's pain and struggle.

Final Question/Thought: Georges brother really surprised me, he was the coolest brother.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid



I had higher expectations for this book, it was good, just didn't grab me like Refugee did. It was a great book, and a heartbreaking perspective, but I couldn't find my rhythm with the book. However, the following quote on the book stayed with me.

"When We migrate, we murder from our lives those we live behind"  

Final question/thought : That quote killed me.

We Are Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union


 
I was so ready for this book! This book is what a good celebrity autobiography should be, the growing up, the jobs before growing up, details of the movies she did, and the show she is doing now, and her current life.
 
I really enjoyed this book, and learned things too. I highly recommend this book!

Final Question/Thought: I have always thought Gabrielle Union was a stunning beautiful woman, and when we saw her husband in Miami Beach once, I could only think "OMG!! That's Gabrielle Union's Husband!"


The Power by Naomi Alderman



This was a sci-fi book, a genre that I don't read a lot, but this was one of President Obama's favorite books last year, and based on his other picks, I knew this would be a good one. It is amazing! In this book, women have developed the power to send electricity through their hands, and they quickly become the powerful sex. I have laughed, cheered, cried, and wished for that power. The end confused me, and felt rushed, but overall it was a interesting look at the change of power.

Final Thought/Question : I really wish I could shock people with my hands!


True Love by Jennifer Lopez



Ahh!! This book... I  needed a light read, and this was light and fluffy. Before I go further, I want to say that I became a Jennifer Lopez fan, the moment she played Selena. I bought the CDs, watched the movies, and fell off the J-Lo train somewhere around 2004.

I picked this up, because while reading Evelyn Hugo, I imagined the book was all about Jennifer Lopez, and that got me very curious about her life. However, this book was a disappointment. The writing was weak, the few words were empty and there were more pictures on this book than content. Even my son made fun of me for reading a "picture book". The book is heavy and glossy, with many beautiful pictures of Jennifer Lopez and her concert, but I wanted a story of her life, of how she got to be this amazing Latina Goddess. Instead, I got a fluffy piece on how she put her tour together.

Final Thoughts/ Question: I really wanted to like this book more.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celest Ng



I considered giving up on this book several times, I think I'm over dysfunctional families in books. Or maybe I'm over dysfunctional families for the sake of perfection... for me, this book was not worth all the hype.

I found Mrs. Richardson obsession with finding a flaw on Mia annoying. I can see that it was her character flaw, I just couldn't stand it.

That's all I have to say about this book.

Final Thoughts/ Question : I didn't get this book.


Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult



I was unsure about reading this book, something didn't feel write about Picoult writing from the perspective of a black woman. But I enjoyed some of the development, the story and the twist and turns. Ms. Picoult said she wanted to write a book about racism, and this was a good attempt.

This book deals with very heavy subjects, infant death, racism, and white nationalism. We lost my nephew as a newborn, so reading the parts about infant death was excruciatingly painful. But so were the parts about the white supremacy... especially as a Mexican woman.

Overall the book was ok, some of the characters on the book were too "on your face" stereotypes, and that made me cringe. The twist at the end was so far fetched, and the end was rushed. I wanted to see Ruth sue the hospital for discrimination and win.

I found an amazing review from Roxanne Gay here.

Final Thoughts/Question : I wonder if Ruth sued the hospital.


Next month I slowed down a little on books, I take a short break during Spring, because my brain needs more music in the spring.

Tell me about your books!


 



Comments

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed George. I really loved that book too, and I'm glad that there are starting to be more LGBT+ books for the middle school age.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  2. I loved Little Fires and SGT. Exit West was weird. Like almost too weird.

    I enjoy Ellen Hopkins's books.

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  3. I loved LFE, but I'm a sucker for a good family drama. The one Picoult book I read was about autism I think, and had similar reviews for being too "on the nose" (one person complained that the character had literally EVERY symptom of austism which is unlikely).

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  4. That's a lot of books! I read nothing. Identical sounds good but. ... is it gross to read about the abuse??

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  5. i really liked small great things when i read it. bummer you didn't love little fires everywhere, but i get it. Identical sounds horrifying and i think i will skip it lol. loved gabrielle union's book!

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  6. Ive had The Power on hold at the library for what seems like forever and I am only like #48 on 135 copies!

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  7. I've been sitting on Small Great Things for over a year.

    The Ellen Hopkins book sounds hard. Like maybe too hard?

    I love your thought about GU's husband. Did you see her tweet recently when the opposite happened to her?

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  8. I had the same thought going into Small Great Things about a white woman writing about racism. And I thought she overall did some things exceptionally well (the TJMaxx scene was spot-on) but agree the ending was really far-fetched. I didn't expect Piccoult to solve racism for us but the ending is something that is unlikely to be repeated anywhere. I also read this for my book club and it made some feel uncomfortable because they had to acknowledge their own bias/racism/prejudice and some women were dealing with it for first time because it was a Piccoult books. Thus, I am grateful to her for writing it and have highly recommended to virtually everyone because sadly most of the women would not read something by Roxanne Gay. Okay, enough there. I'm adding The Power to my TBR. I've seen it around but knowing that Obama liked it is all I need to know. That's lame, I know but I got to hold onto something. I adore Gabrielle Union and typically avoid memoirs but her's is one I plan to read.

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  9. As much as I loved Little Fires Everywhere, I appreciate your honesty in your review! I have We're Going To Need More Wine and Exit West on my TBR, and just added The Power- that's such a cool concept! If you liked George (and are on a mission to add LGBTQA+ books to your shelf), I think you'd like Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity by Kristin Elizabeth Clark.

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  10. That's a shame about the JLo book. I developed a deep respect for her after watching Selena and I even bought one of the albums back in the day (1999?). I loved Little Fires Everywhere, but realize that it's not everyone's cup of tea.

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  11. I enjoyed Small Great Things, but I agree that an ending with Ruth suing the hospital and winning would have been a better ending. I do have The Power and Little Fires Everywhere (for Erin's challenge) on my TBR. Enjoyed George too! Pam :)

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  12. I quite like J.Lo. We saw her in Vegas and it was awesome. Bummer that you did not like the book more. but it happens. The Power is on my TBR. :) XO - Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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