May Wrap Up

# of Books Read: 10

# of Pages Read: 3,295

Favourite Book(s) of the Month: Starfish, The Secret History, The Travelling Cat Chronicles

Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker

I commend the author for giving the victims in this case a voice. I truly hope that this is the direction that true crime is going. It was so refreshing to get to know the women as more than just victims. Kolker also attempts to make the reader see these woman as more than prostitutes, and I think he accomplishes that. Keeping track of everyone was difficult at times, but I can look passed that simply because of how much I appreciate the angle that he took on this case. This is not your typical true crime- the case was never solved so there is no closer in the end.

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

I predicted that Starfish would be a five star read, and I was so right. This book is beautiful! I think that so many people will see themselves in this story and that is so powerful. It has some of the best mental health representation that I have ever read. It is a difficult book to read at times but it is also hopeful and inspiring. I can not believe that Starfish has less than 5000 ratings on Goodreads- more people need to read this!

William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Mean Girls by Ian Doescher

I picked this book up because I needed something light and fun, and this book, or should I say play, delivered. If your a fan of Mean Girls (I mean… aren’t we all) you need to read this! The Shakespearean twist on some of the iconic lines from the movie are just downright hysterical. It just gave me so much nostalgia and I wanted to rewatch the movie right away.

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

I think that Machado is brilliant and I will be looking out for more of her work. This collection reminded me just how powerful short stories can be. Sure, some stories were stronger than others, but I thought that each one had something important to say about women, sexuality, body positivity, etc. I wrote down so many quotes from this collection because many of them punched me in the gut. So powerful.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I finally read The Secret History after having it on my TBR for years and I freaking loved it! This book! It introduced me to a whole new genre- Dark Academia. I now want to read everything that falls in to that genre. This book was so atmospheric and dark. You know what happened right from the beginning and it is fascinating to see how the characters got to the point where they could do what they did. I was so intrigued by each and every character, and, even though they are horrible in many ways, I found myself attached to them. This book messed with my mind a little bit and I think about it all of the time.

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

Shout is an example of the power of memoirs. This book was so raw and honest and really hit close to home for me. If you were like me and loved Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, you must read Shout! It will make you appreciate not only Speak but Anderson herself all the more. It is truly inspiring how much she fought to get her novel in to the hands of the young people who needed to read it. She stood up against school administrators who wanted to ban her book. She also gets deeply personal about her own sexual assault, which I think is always so brave.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is a book that has been written for cat lovers. The author has perfectly captured everything that I love and appreciate about cats. In many ways, this book is just as delight as it is heartbreaking. I will warn you that you will need to have a box of tissues ready- I was an absolute mess by the end.

Killer Clown: The John Wayne Gacy Murders by Terry Sullivan

Well… this book has solidified my fear of clowns! John Wayne Gacy was pure evil and there were moments where reading this book made me very uneasy. While I thought it was interesting to here the details of the case from the perspective of someone who was part of the team who arrested Gacy, there were almost too many details and it felt tedious at times. The epilogue was perhaps my favourite part- it was compelling to hear how the case has continued to affected those who were responsible for his arrest.

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

I am making my way through all of Matt Haig’s books because I feel like he has a lot of important things to say. I found this memoir to be very vulnerable and it has given me an even greater insight in to the rest of his work. I will say that I feel that the first few chapters where he describes his depression in great detail may be triggering. It is important to keep in mind that this is just one person’s experience with depression and anxiety- everyone’s journey is different. I do think that a lot of readers will be encourage and find hope in his words.

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Note Dating by Christina Lauren

This book has one of my favourite tropes (friends to lovers) so in theory I should have loved it, but for some reason it just ended up being okay for me. I loved both Josh and Hazel as individuals but I am not sure how I felt about them as a couple. Part of me wishing they just remained friends and I do not know why! The ending was also questionable for me and I can understand why many people did not like it. I wish definitely read more from Christina Lauren though because they make great characters and I loved The Unhoneymooners so much.

May was a busy month for me. My publishing program started up again and I was out of town more than usual. I never seem to get any reading done when I am out of town. Am I the only one?

Have you read any of these books or are they on your TBR? What was the best book you read this month?