Almost October? Close enough.

I finished reading my last challenge book for September tonight, so I figured why not do my monthly update now? This was most certainly not motivated by the fact that I had no review ready and it was either this or skip posting this week. Nope, that wasn't it. Just really eager for this update.

I won't mince words...September was not a good month for challenge books. I Love You, Beth Cooper? Did not age well. I knew going into it that I probably wouldn't love it...but Jesus H. Christ. I should have looked harder for another book that fit the bill because yeesh. It wasn't great.

In a pretty entertaining twist, Joel never reads my blog, but he decided to read the last challenge update post. It's like he has a sixth sense for when I'm casting aspersions upon his reading preferences. Sorcery! Anyway, he read it and was like "I recommended that? Can I change my recommendation?" I would like to say he changed it to something better, but...he changed it to Your Money or Your Life which...look. I get it, I guess? But it's really hard for me to take a book seriously when it talks about breaking down your hourly wage and uses $10 an hour as the example, but then turns around and shares anecdotes about people who own multiple houses and shit like that. Don't pretend this advice will work for anyone and act like low income people can bootstrap themselves into financial independence when all your advice is clearly only intended for people with a lot of disposable income.

Anyway, as I predicted, Becoming Eve was the palate cleanser I needed. Abby's story is so compelling, heartbreaking but also inspiring, that I couldn't put it down. Coming from a high demand religion (read: cult) myself, I was grinding my teeth reading about all the ways she was forced to suppress herself by her family's religious practices, and I'm so glad that she was able to finally find a way to be herself. Abby is incredible.

Now, let's talk October. I should have thought ahead and put holds on books, because...everything is on hold? What the hell? I've got holds in now, and a couple books should be available soon, so these are the challenges I'm going with this month:

#21: Read a queer retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, folklore, or myth 

For this I'm going with Darling by K. Ancrum. I love Peter Pan and have read all kinds of fractured fairytale versions, retellings, etc, so I'm interested to get into this spin on it!

#23: Read a book by a disabled author

I had a couple options I was still trying to decide between, but I've settled on The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. Basically, a woman obsessed with math comes up with algorithms for everything and decides to apply her love of logic to dating. What starts out as a very straightforward plan, of course, does not go as expected. We'll see what happens!

Bonus! For #20: Read an award-winning book from the year you were born, I chose Maus: A Survivor's Tale, and after looking into getting it from the library I decided to buy it. I should get it soon, so I'm going to try to read it in October also. 

Twelfth - Janet Key

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆

Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆

Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Twelve-year-old Maren is sure theater camp isn't for her. Theater camp is for loud, confident, artsy people: people like her older sister, Hadley--the last person Maren wants to think about--and her cinema-obsessed, nonbinary bunkmate, Theo. But when a prank goes wrong, Maren gets drawn into the hunt for a diamond ring that, legend has it, is linked to the camp's namesake, Charlotte "Charlie" Goodman, a promising director in Blacklist Era Hollywood. When Maren connects the clues to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, she and her new friends are off searching through lighting booths, orchestra pits and costume storages, discovering the trail and dodging camp counselors. But they're not the only ones searching for the ring, and with the growing threat of camp closing forever, they're almost out of time."

I feel like in an alternate universe a less introverted Dewey is hardcore into theater, so this mystery centered around theater and moviemaking immediately snagged my attention. Add to that that the play involved in the story is Twelfth Night...arguably the best Shakespeare play? (Ok, fine, that's debatable, but it's one I like a lot.) Winner. And it didn't hurt that the cover art was pretty delightful. 

It was hard not to be all in on this one from the jump, and once I started reading, the characters sealed the deal. I felt Maren's frustration with her family situation on a soul-deep level, and even most of the side characters were so well-rounded and unique that I felt like I knew each of them. The little details included to make each person three dimensional and memorable were perfection. I mean, the coffee shop proprietor is literally in ONE scene, and for the rest of the book I was crossing my fingers she would show up again. That's some impressive writing. 

When it came to the plot, I have to be honest, I don't think I would have been able to unravel this mystery. But it was a delight to follow along as Maren and her friends pulled each thread, and the way the flashbacks to the past were woven into the main story, pulling back the curtain bit by bit for the reader and making you want to keep reading...chef's kiss. The suspense and tiny revelations just when you needed one made it really hard to put the book down! I thought this was really well written, engaging, and a delight from start to finish.

I Love You, Beth Cooper - Larry Doyle

No.

Just no.

September Challenge Update

Welp, I've had bronchitis for the last two weeks, but I'm finally on the mend, and here I am with another challenge update. Are you ready?

I finished all the books I said I was going to work on for August! Woohoooooooo! The Courage of Elfina was very good. An emotional read, very quick, and the illustrations are beautiful. Let's Talk About Love I even managed to write a review for, so check that out! And Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry was pretty great. The character development was on point, and I really loved getting into their world and getting to know each of them. All in all, my August picks were a win. 

Want some sad news, though? My hold for While Justice Sleeps came in early, and my sick-haze brain was like ok, yeah, check it out! And then promptly forgot that the hold had come in, so I DIDN'T READ IT! And then my hold expired, so I had to put it on hold again...and now the wait is twelve weeks. *sobs* It came in early last time, though, so I'm sure it will again. I'll finish reading it eventually. Anyway, on to September's challenges!

14. Read a book whose movie or TV adaptation you've seen, but you haven't read the book 

I chose I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle for this. This pick took a little digging, since I really enjoy torturing myself and reading the source material after I watch something that has been made into visual media, but I finally found something that satisfied the prompt (mostly because I didn't realize the movie was based on a book). Bonus, I guess, I watched the movie so long ago that I barely remember it, so I won't be able to compare it to the book and be disappointed in the adaptation!

16. Read a book recommended by a friend with different reading tastes

Sooo. The thing about this is that I keep a very small friend circle, and most of us have similar taste in books. Which meant I had to ask for a recommendation from my husband, who doesn't have reading "tastes" so much as every once in a while he'll read a non-fiction book written by some hopefully well-intentioned straight cisgender white guy about how to improve your life or how the guy became a success or one life-changing thing to get you to the top of your game. It's fine if you're into that sort of thing, but it's pretty much the opposite of what I gravitate toward...which I guess is the point of this whole challenge, but also kind of...not? At any rate, I've made my bed, so for this challenge I will be reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I've been mentally preparing for months, so we'll see how this goes.

17. Read a memoir written by someone who is trans or nonbinary

Excellent palate cleanser coming after the above two challenges. For this prompt, I'll be reading Becoming Eve by Abby Stein. I look forward to getting into this one!