tiphoric

Fall is here! I can’t believe how quickly this year is flying by. 

It’s been quite some time but I am back with another reading wrap-up!This time I’ll be covering all my summer reads.

I just reviewed my stats on Storygraph and there are 8 completed books. I will try to go in order of all the books I finished starting with –

June:

Sunburn, Chloe Michelle Howarth

I was expecting to LOVE this based on what I’ve heard people say about it, but Unfortunately – this did nothing for me. 

I think teenage love and how melodramatic and obsessive a crush can feel was captured very well. however, the writing was a bit too flowery at times and I found myself rolling my eyes and deep sighing.

Then the second part of the book drags on and on and on and becomes repetitive as there’s no character growth or development from our main character.

I wish I could have a sapphic coming of age story where everything isn’t sad and homophobic.

Is This A Cry For Help?, Emily Austin

Meh. Not the best from Emily Austin. I had high hopes for this one as well since I really enjoyed the 2 books I read by her earlier this year (also lesbian librarian had my ears perking up) but a lot of nothing happened in this book.

Bad Cree, Jessica Johns

i try to drop quick reviews on my storygraph right after finishing a book if you wanna follow me 👀

July: 

Girl’s Girl, Sonia Feldman

Another coming of age, lesbian story.

As a millennial who grew up in the midwest, this felt so nostalgic at times. Ah, girlhood.

I liked that this read like the narrator is recapping her life as a teen and how she fell in love with her friend. i prefer this over reading directly from a TEENAGER’S BRAIN. I also liked the absence of homophobia and weird, super religious parents. We had the over-protective mom trope but she actually cared for her daughter, her daughter’s feelings and she wasn’t homophobic for the plot.

Pachinko, Min Jin Lee

Wow! What a ride. Shout out to my friends who told me to read this. This is a well written, multi-generational story, but I think it was trying to do a bit too much after the first half & I was ready for it to be over by around the 70% mark. 

That being said, I’m looking forward to seeing what she does in her next behemoth American Hagwon. I’ve already heard great things so far.

Lastly, the books I finished in –

August

Molka, Monika Kim

Oh this was not good. I really wanted it to be though so naturally I’m devastated. Honestly, I should have DNF’d.

Our Sister’s Keeper, Jasmine Holmes

Very original and definitely packs a punch. This is about Black women literally carrying the burdens of black men (well, everyone tbh) so that they can live an easier life & whew! I was not prepared. It is horrific and will definitely stay with me for a while.

I wish it was just a bit longer so that we could explore more of the characters. I’m so curious about the other Black women and their stories, but I think even without it, it still did a pretty great job with the storytelling.

I’m glad I finally got to read this after picking it for my Aardvark book box a few months ago. I’m looking forward to seeing more from this author. This is definitely moving to the top 5 of my favorite reads this year.

Sorry I Keep Crying During Sex, Jesse James Rose

I put this on hold on Libby forever ago & I don’t remember who recommended it but this was…. I don’t even know what to say. It definitely made me uncomfortable with the random 9/11 references and even though they explained why they included it, I still just don’t get it.

but other than that, the handling of losing a beloved family member, caretaking for them, watching them slowly waste away hit a little too close to home. i think out of all the grief related books i’ve read recently this one hit almost exactly where i needed it to. 

i also enjoyed the stream of conscious style of writing more in audiobook form. the author narrates & i think they performed it well.

that concludes all my reads for the summer! i’m currently making my way through the booker prize longlist. i’ll be sharing what i think about a few of them soon.

talk soon!