katetipp's reviews
88 reviews

I like this one a lot! Rowell created unique and dynamic characters as she tells the story of high school friends who grew apart and the connection that sustained them to come back together in their 30s. While it is a love story, the characters have solid individual arcs and and it was one of the only books I read this month that I had trouble putting down! 

I normally do not read YA novels but this one came highly recommended and was available on Libby. In the context of being a genre that is not my favorite, this was a pretty good book. A story about young love, regret, and the clunkiness of adolescence that follows boy-girl childhood best friends throughout their high school years. This book starts out with a flash forward that is not fulfilled until the end of the book and the story felt painfully slow in its development to the climax of the story which did not happen until the last chapter. There is a theme of depression in the book that I did not feel was well written and felt addressed too casually. The ending left me feeling angsty and sad. A really fast read with short chapters and while it was not a bad read, I am not the intended audience, which is no surprise, but I can see why it is a popular novel for YA fans!

Dr. Nicole LePera is very popular on social media (like 8 million IG followers?? which feels insane) I wanted to read this to understand more of what people seeking her work are learning.  She covers core therapeutic content about attachment theory, neurobiology, boundaries, etc. -  a decent overview and I would say very informative for people new to these concepts. While I do think it is important to consider a holistic approach and the mind/body/soul connection LePera does this is a way that feels more mystical than grounded in science, spirituality, or reality, even. Many people are wondering "how to do the work" so the branding of this messaging is certainly compelling. However, I do not think the book fully addresses this question (as there is no "one size fits all" answer). There are journal prompts at the end of each chapter but they felt short-sighted and lacking context. This book is not a replacement for therapy or other forms of relational support needed for healing, though the book does represent itself as such, even discouraging talk therapy to some extent. Bottom line - there is some helpful content and some not-so-helpful content and I think this book & its themes are best used as a complement to other forms of healing & growth. Probably would not recommend.

A powerful and dynamic look at slavery, particularly the experience of women in slavery. Miles is intelligent and artful and executed this book very well. She uses material artifacts (primarily a cotton sack passed down through generations) as a central theme and extrapolates various historical analyses about slavery in America specifically highlighting the perspective of Black women. A powerful look at atrocities that occurred throughout the country, particularly in the South, and the reverberation of both generational trauma and resiliency. This was a detailed and at times dense read and probably would have been best absorbed if I had spread it out over a couple of months. 

I very much enjoyed this family drama (my favorite genre). The book is a slow burn following two Irish- American families living in New York between 1970s-present day. Keane does an excellent job of discussing mental illness and addiction, unfolding in very real and nuanced ways and unfolding the ripple effects in families for generations. The book is relatively slow-paced but it did not feel that way; it was a page-turner for me and will read more of this author. Similar vibes to Claire Lombardo but felt there was a bit more depth to Keane's writing, especially in terms of mental health. Look forward to reading more!

A cute fiction story about a Southern town and what unravels when "controversial" books are banned from the local library and school. It is hard not to enjoy books about books & ways stories are meaningful to others. Also important to think about how books expand our worlds and help us think more critically. This book reads like satire so the characters did feel overdone which at times was unenjoyable for me. I felt like the author did communicate a serious topic with the use of humor very well.

A non-fiction work by Genova that gives an overview of memory and delineates between typical forgetfulness and cognitive decline/Alzheimers. Genova is a great author - Our brains are amazing and she talks about the nuances of remembering powerfully and relateably. I loved her summary of tangible steps to support cognitive health which of course are behaviors that promote overall mental & physical well-being. The therapist in me wanted more commentary on trauma & memory BUT this was not the purpose of this book and she tended to the neurobiology of trauma in an appropriate way. Lots of takeaways from this book about the making & retrieval of memories and education about what is normal vs. concerning. Highly recommend for all ages!

This is a sci-fi-esque story about the opportunity to know the length of one's life and how the power of that knowledge influences relationships and decisions. The story follows a cast of characters with interconnected lives, looking at both the macro and micro level response to knowing the lifespan of yourself and others. For some reason, I found this book hard to get through; it just did not grab my attention. I liked the overarching ethical question of "what would you do?", and I feel like the ending made this book worth reading, which is often not the case. Most of the story was only "ok", but the author did an excellent job of tying the story together and closing the book in a way that made it more memorable to me. 

I became familiar with Rebecca Godfrey after watching "Under the Bridge" and was sad to learn of her death. It is such a wonderful testament to the meaning of an author's work when loved ones come together to finish it and Jamison's commentary at the end was really lovely. This is a creative novel about a non-fictional character, Peggy Guggenheim, an art collector with a fascinating life, spurred by events that occurred after her father died in the Titanic sinking. The author(s) use core events & facts from Guggenheim's life and expound with on intricacies and details, using creative liberties to do so.  I did enjoy this book and the content inspired me to learn more about Guggenheim.  Trigger warning for physical & psychological abuse.

A story set in the 1950s is about a group of recently divorced women sent to a "ranch" while waiting for divorces to be finalized. The way Beaird highlights the implications of divorce-induced shame was thought-provoking to reflect on and the author did a good job of emphasizing how privileges of sex and socioeconomic status influenced the experience of divorce. But the storyline itself was very prolonged and set amongst a cast of generally unlikeable characters. I kept waiting for an "aha" moment that would help in understanding the main character, but it never came. Generally, I really wanted to like this more than I did; the concept felt promising but the execution did not land well for me.