Gone Camping - A series of brief reviews

That's right, I've gone camping! This will be me this weekend:

Since I'm off in the wilderness, I figured I'd share a bit about some of the books I've finished recently, rather than a full review of one book. Hopefully this retreat to the wilderness will mean plenty of reading time so I'll have reviews for the weeks to come! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this series of brief reviews.

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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky and Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia

I loved both of these, and I can't wait for the final book in the trilogy. For fans of Rick Riordan, his "Rick Riordan Presents" imprint is doing a great job of amplifying voices like Kwame Mbalia's and sharing legends and folktales that often get less attention than things like Greek mythology. This trilogy features African legends, and it was such a delight to have these stories brought to life through Tristan's adventures. Plus the cover art. 😍 Perfection.

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Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

Corey is away at school, just days from returning home to Lost Creek for winter break, when she learns that her best friend, Kyra, has died. When her mom breaks the news, she suggests that Kyra may have died by suicide, but Corey is suspicious, and after She returns to Lost Creek, the more time she spends there the more convinced she becomes that something terrible happened to her friend. I'll be honest, the plot for this story was a little predictable, but it was still delightfully eerie, and I give it bonus points for its laid back LGBTQIA representation.

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Three Dark Crowns tetralogy by Kendare Blake

I posted about this for my first Books and Bites post, but that was before I finished the final book, so I wanted to shout out the entire series now that I know for sure it's excellent from start to finish. This tetralogy is a roller coaster, and it gave me a lot of feelings! Also, I have to give props to Kendare Blake for her character development. Amazing.

✍    ✍    ✍

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

C-c-c-c-c-c-combo breaker! I took a break from my typical YA and Middle Grade reading after watching the first season of Firefly Lane on Netflix to read the book, because I did not want to wait for a second season to find out about the cliffhanger we were left on. Of course, my attempt at circumventing the suspense backfired because, SHOCKER, the book was vastly different from the TV show! I know, who would ever have guessed? I have enjoyed Kristin Hannah in the past (hi, Nightingale), but this book didn't do it for me. I don't want to spoil anything for people, but Kate's storyline was a huge bummer for me. Apparently there's a second book in this series, but I'm passing on taking that journey.

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Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

The combo was already broken, so I figured I would sneak this one in as well. It's narrative non-fiction about a therapist, weaving together her experiences therapizing other people and her experiences going to therapy herself. I thought this was a lovely book, and it made me cry a lot more than I expected it to, in happy ways and sad. I highly recommend it.