After my impressive 2017, where I read a total of 50 books, I decided that 2018 needed a balance of tv and books, so I set my sights a little lower, and settled on 15. Let me tell ya - It was tough! It literally came down to the day. But while I did read some pretty good books, I fell short of completing my reading challenge by just one book. Alas, there's always next year...
All descriptions are copied from Goodreads.com. If you have an account, be sure to add me! I will link my account at the end.
Here's a list of what I read, and what I thought of those reads:
1. True Things About Me by Deborah Kay Davies
Description: One ordinary afternoon in a nameless town, a nameless young woman is at work in a benefits office. Ten minutes later, she is in an underground parking lot, slammed up against a wall, having sex with a stranger.What made her do this? How can she forget him? These are questions the young woman asks herself as she charts her deepening erotic obsession with painful, sometimes hilarious precision. With the crazy logic and hallucinatory clarity of an exhilarating, terrifying dream, told in chapters as short and surprising as snapshots, True Things About Me hurtles through the terrain of sexual obsession and asks what it is to know oneself and to test the limits of one's desires.
My Rating: 1 *
This book had a lot of potential, but fell short. The plot itself was enough to keep me reading, but I felt no connection to the main character, which made it hard to even feel anything for all of the horrible life choices that she made - and there were a lot of them.
2. The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
Description: In this poignant, hilarious and deeply intimate call to arms, Hollywood's most powerful woman, the mega-talented creator of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal and executive producer of How to Get Away with Murder and Catch, reveals how saying YES changed her life - and how it can change yours too. With three hit shows on television and three children at home, Shonda Rhimes had lots of good reasons to say no when invitations arrived. Hollywood party? No. Speaking engagement? No. Media appearances? No. And to an introvert like Shonda, who describes herself as 'hugging the walls' at social events and experiencing panic attacks before press interviews, there was a particular benefit to saying no: nothing new to fear. Then came Thanksgiving 2013, when Shonda's sister Delorse muttered six little words at her: You never say yes to anything. Profound, impassioned and laugh-out-loud funny, in Year of Yes Shonda Rhimes reveals how saying YES changed - and saved - her life. And inspires readers everywhere to change their own lives with one little word: Yes.
My Rating: 5 *****
I adored this book! It resonated with me a lot more than I expected it to, and I found myself feeling brave and energized. Shonda is hilarious, relatable, and empowering.
3. Stargirl (Stargirl, #1) by Jerry Spinelli
Description: A celebration of nonconformity; a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularity--and the thrill and inspiration of first love. Ages 12+Leo Borlock follows the unspoken rule at Mica Area High School: don't stand out--under any circumstances! Then Stargirl arrives at Mica High and everything changes--for Leo and for the entire school. After 15 years of home schooling, Stargirl bursts into tenth grade in an explosion of color and a clatter of ukulele music, enchanting the Mica student body.But the delicate scales of popularity suddenly shift, and Stargirl is shunned for everything that makes her different. Somewhere in the midst of Stargirl's arrival and rise and fall, normal Leo Borlock has tumbled into love with her.In a celebration of nonconformity, Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularity--and the thrill and inspiration of first love.
My Rating: 5 *****
I agree with everyone who says this should be required reading for middle or high school kids. The insight is incredible valuable. It showed you what it felt like to be an outsider, how easy it was to become one, and just what it does to a person to not have anyone else.
4. Love, Stargirl (Stargirl, #2) by Jerry Spinelli
Description: LOVE, STARGIRL picks up a year after Stargirl ends and reveals the new life of the beloved character who moved away so suddenly at the end of Stargirl. The novel takes the form of "the world's longest letter," in diary form, going from date to date through a little more than a year's time. In her writing, Stargirl mixes memories of her bittersweet time in Mica, Arizona, with involvements with new people in her life.In Love, Stargirl, we hear the voice of Stargirl herself as she reflects on time, life, Leo, and - of course - love.
My Rating: 5 *****
I liked this book better than the original. It was so pure and innocent, and so very lovely.
5. In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It by Lauren Graham
Description: In this expansion of the 2017 commencement speech she gave at her hometown Langley High, Lauren Graham, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood, reflects on growing up, pursuing your dreams, and living in the here and now. “Whatever path you choose, whatever career you decide to go after, the important thing is that you keep finding joy in what you’re doing, especially when the joy isn’t finding you.” In her hilarious, relatable voice, Graham reminds us to be curious and compassionate, no matter where life takes us or what we’ve yet to achieve. Grounded and inspiring—and illustrated throughout with drawings by Graham herself—here is a comforting road map to a happy life.
My Rating: 5 *****
I love Lauren Graham. I'm talking top ten favorite people of all time, so obviously I loved this book. It felt like a letter she had written directly to me, and she is so inspiring, witty, and fun.
6. Odd Child Out (Jim Clemo, #2) by Gilly Macmillan
Description: How well do you know the people you love…?
Best friends Noah Sandler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable. But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol's Feeder Canal, Abdi can't--or won't--tell anyone what happened.Just back from a mandatory leave following his last case, Detective Jim Clemo is now assigned to look into this unfortunate accident. But tragedy strikes and what looked like the simple case of a prank gone wrong soon ignites into a public battle. Noah is British. Abdi is a Somali refugee. And social tensions have been rising rapidly in Bristol. Against this background of fear and fury two families fight for their sons and for the truth. Neither of them know how far they will have to go, what demons they will have to face, what pain they will have to suffer.
Because the truth hurts.
My Rating: 4 ****
Although this book is the second in a series, it can be read as a standalone, which is how I read it. This book was really fun to unpack - I really wasn't sure what took place, and found myself wanting to race through it to figure out how (or why) Noah died. I was surprised by the ending and thought it wrapped up well.
7. Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running from Madness by Suzy Favor Hamilton
Description: The former middle distance Olympic runner and high-end escort speaks out for the first time about her battle with mental illness, and how mania controlled and compelled her in competition, but also in life. This is a heartbreakingly honest yet hopeful memoir reminiscent of Manic, Electroboy, and An Unquiet Mind.
During the 1990s, three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton was the darling of American track and field. An outstanding runner, a major sports apparel spokesperson, and a happily married wife, she was the model for an active, healthy, and wholesome life. But her perfect facade masked a dark truth: manic depression and bipolar disorder that drove her obsession to perform and win.
For years after leaving the track, Suzy wrestled with her condition, as well as the loss of a close friend, conflicted feelings about motherhood and her marriage, and lingering shame about her athletic career. After a misdiagnosis and a recommendation for medication that only exacerbated her mania and made her hypersexual, Suzy embarked on a new path, and assumed a new identity. Fueled by a newfound confidence, a feeling of strength and independence and a desire she couldn’t tamp down, she became a high-priced escort in Las Vegas, working as “Kelly.”
But Suzy could not keep her double life a secret forever. When it was eventually exposed, it sent her into a reckless suicidal period where the only option seemed out. Finally, with the help of her devoted husband, Suzy finally got the proper medical help she needed. In this startling frank memoir, she recounts the journey to outrun her demons, revealing how a woman used to physically controlling her body learned to come to terms with her unstable mind. It is the story of a how a supreme competitor scored her most important victory of all—reclaiming her life from the ravages of an untreated mental illness. Today, thanks to diagnosis, therapy, Kelly has stepped into the shadows, but Suzy is building a better life, one day at a time. Sharing her story, Suzy is determined to raise awareness, provide understanding, and offer inspiration to others coping with their own challenges.
My Rating: 5 *****
WOAH. This book was shocking. Not just in a provocative way, or just because I spent at least 25% of the book wondering just how in the world her husband let this go on... but because I learned a lot about bipolar. Suzy was so open and honest. It was really informative and insightful to learn about bipolar from a real life example rather than text-book style. I definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about mental illness and how it affects the person and their family.
8. In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
Description: In a dark, dark wood.
Nora hasn't seen Clare for ten years. Not since Nora walked out of school one day and never went back.
There was a dark, dark house.
Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen do arrives. Is this a chance for Nora to finally put her past behind her?
And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark room.
But something goes wrong. Very wrong.
And in the dark, dark room....
Some things can’t stay secret for ever.
My Rating: 4 ***
Overall I liked this book, but as a thriller/mystery, not a horror story as it was marketed. There was nothing horrifying about it, other than the awful characters throughout. I found myself not liking any of them, and not trusting them either, which helped add some appeal to uncovering the story of what happened.
9. Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
Description: What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. . . .
My Rating: 4 ****
This book was really good! I read it in a weekend, which is impressive considering it's over 400 pages. But it was just so good! The story is told in two timelines -- one being the past and one being the present and by both the mother and the daughter. At first, it seemed a little too jumpy, but only a few chapters in, I was hooked. It took me a while to figure out what exactly happened, and while I guessed most of it early on, the unravel was still really satisfying.
10. The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn
Description: Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.
Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.
What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.
My Rating: 4 ****
This book got off to a very slow start.... It took well over 50 pages before it really got my interest, but because it got such good reviews from other readers, I pushed through. I'm glad I did, because the ending was jam packed with twists that made powering through the beginning well worth it. The ending was shocking and there were small shocks along the way that I also didn't see coming.
11. That Summer by Sarah Dessen
Description: For fifteen-year-old Haven, life is changing too quickly. She's nearly six feet tall, her father is getting remarried, and her sister—the always perfect Ashley—is planning a wedding of her own. Haven wishes things could just go back to the way they were. Then an old boyfriend of Ashley's reenters the picture, and through him, Haven sees the past for what it really was, and comes to grips with the future.
My Rating: 3 ***
I wasn't really attached to this book or its characters, but I was still pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't a story about falling in love. It was actually a story about family and the bond that they share. I will say that it's not Sarah Dessen's best by far, but it is one of her early books, so I won't let this discourage me from reading more of her books in the future.
12. A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of the Columbine Tragedy by Sue Klebold
Description: On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Over the course of minutes, they would kill twelve students and a teacher and wound twenty-four others before taking their own lives.
For the last sixteen years, Sue Klebold, Dylan’s mother, has lived with the indescribable grief and shame of that day. How could her child, the promising young man she had loved and raised, be responsible for such horror? And how, as his mother, had she not known something was wrong? Were there subtle signs she had missed? What, if anything, could she have done differently?
These are questions that Klebold has grappled with every day since the Columbine tragedy. In A Mother’s Reckoning, she chronicles with unflinching honesty her journey as a mother trying to come to terms with the incomprehensible. In the hope that the insights and understanding she has gained may help other families recognize when a child is in distress, she tells her story in full, drawing upon her personal journals, the videos and writings that Dylan left behind, and on countless interviews with mental health experts.
Filled with hard-won wisdom and compassion, A Mother’s Reckoning is a powerful and haunting book that sheds light on one of the most pressing issues of our time. And with fresh wounds from the recent Newtown and Charleston shootings, never has the need for understanding been more urgent.
My Rating: I don't even know how to rate this book!
This book was incredible. I spent the majority of it in disbelief that the mother of the one the killer's could even write this book. But her compassion and dedication to education and prevention were so abundant throughout the story that she did such a great job of balancing her love (and loss) of her son Dylan with the other lives that were lost that day. This book was really insightful and could make a huge impact on preventative measures that are desperately needed in today's schools.
13. Bird Box by Josh Malerman
Description: Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.
Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it's time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat--blindfolded--with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?
Interweaving past and present, Bird Box is a snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.
My Rating: 5 ***** I loved this book! I read it in less than 24 hours because I couldn't put it down and needed to know what happened that left Malorie alone with two young children, and why on earth she was heading down the river. Like always, the book was better than the movie, as it explained more, was filled with more suspense, and didn't add in an unnecessary love story.
14. I Don't Want to Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz
Description: A harrowing, remarkable poetry memoir about one girl's struggle with anxiety disorder.This is a true story of growing up, breaking down, and coming to grips with a psychological disorder. When Samantha Schutz first left home for college, she was excited by the possibilities -- freedom from parents, freedom from a boyfriend who was reckless with her affections, freedom from the person she was supposed to be. At first, she revelled in the independence ... but as pressures increased , she began to suffer anxiety attacks that would leave her mentally shaken and physically incapacitated. Thus began a hard road of discovery and coping, powerfully rendered in this poetry memoir.
My Rating: 5 ***** I read this book in less than a day - only partially because of the time-crunch. IT WAS SO GOOD. I relate to Samantha and her anxiety, and the way she described certain things and experiences were so relatable to how I feel. Her writing is beautiful, and this book has moved into my Top Twenty.
My 2019 Reading Goal is 25 books... Fingers crossed we make it! Follow along with my reading journey by clicking here ---> Melinda Worsfold - Goodreads Profile