A Series of Brief Reviews - Part 2

I started a new job in the middle of November...new system, new type of librarian, so much new! I then promptly, two weeks later, got sick. And have been sick ever since. So...that's fun.

While the silver lining to having been sick for over two months now means plenty of time to sit around and read while I lack the energy to do much else, the obvious downside is...well...I lack the energy to do much else. Even, sadly, review books.

I am in the middle of reading an ARC of Maurene Goo's upcoming book, Somewhere Only We Know, so a full review is in the works. Until then, hopefully this will tide you (all my many readers) over.

Becoming - Michelle Obama

Look...real talk? I don't understand anyone who dislikes Michelle Obama. You don't have to love her the way I do, but straight up not liking her? Seems impossible. The woman is incredible. So is her book. Read it.

Little Paris Bookshop - Nina George

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz so boring. I gave it a hundred pages, then gave up. DNF.

Track - Jason Reynolds

Alright, I actually read Ghost quite some time ago, after I got it as my Summer Reading prize, and I loved it. Then I had to wait forever to get the audiobook for Patina, and now I can finally say that I have read (er...read/listened to) the entire quartet, Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu. And shock of all shocks, they are amazing. It's Jason Reynolds, was there ever any doubt? 

I have to give a special shout-out to Sunny, my personal fave and an anthem to all the weird kids out there. I loved Sunny so much, and he is the character little weirdos deserve to read about and see themselves in. You guys, this book. It's perfect. I love the entire Track series, but Sunny's story is my favorite. The narrative is shared in the form of Sunny's diary (do NOT call it a journal. It is a DIARY.), and at first although I loved Sunny as a character, I didn't know if I would enjoy the format, but oh my god. It was so perfect. I listened to the audio, and the narrator just...WAS Sunny. Guy Lockard brought to life the way Sunny manipulates sounds and his unique and wonderful quirks, and my love for his narration only grew when I found out that he and Jason Reynolds grew up together. Listen to the audiobook, and do yourselves a favor and listen to Jason Reynolds and Guy Lockard talk about Sunny and the rest of the track series after. So beautiful.

Furiously Happy - Jenny Lawson

If you have ever struggled with your mental health and felt alone, feel alone no longer. Thank you, Jenny, for opening this dialogue, reassuring us that it's ok to be fucked up, and reminding us not to compare ourselves to the shiny people. I didn't realize how much I needed this book until I started reading it and couldn't put it down.

American Panda - Gloria Chao

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents' master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies.

With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can't bring herself to tell them the truth--that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.

But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?"
I can't get over how much this book made me feel. I expected it to be good, but I did not expect it to stir up so many different emotions. I both couldn't put it down and had to take a break between chapters to sort through everything, so most of my day yesterday was a weird yo-yo of me reading a chapter, closing the book and holding it while I sat there and felt things, and then opening the book back up.

I loved getting to know Mei and being able to see the similarities and differences between her culture and upbringing and my own, and I loved even more that Mei got to do the same thing after observing her friends' relationships with their families in comparison with her own. This story wasn't just Mei learning how to be true to herself, it was her realizing that what she had experienced as Taiwanese culture was only one interpretation of that culture, and that there were lots of ways to respect her parents' customs while still being who she was.