April Wrap Up

I set out to read a bunch of stuff in April, you can see my TBR post here if you like.  I did pretty well.  I didn't get to everything, but I got to most of the stuff I intended to, plus a couple of things I didn't plan on reading.  I read or listened to 10 books total and started 2 that were on my list to read.  And I reviewed almost all of them, which is more of an accomplishment than actually reading the books.  Reading is the easy part, finding time to post reviews is the hard part.  I have a few more to review, but I'm almost caught up.  I'll update the links when I'm done.

Ebooks/ARCs I did read, I've put their goodreads links and links to all of my reviews below so you can go check them out:

• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
• My review
• I finished this and it was fantastic.  I highly recommend it.  I hear the audio version is fantastic as well.  
• Unbreakable by Sara Ella
• My review
• This took me almost a month to finish.  I'm sorry to say I didn't enjoy it as much as the first 2 books.  
• Kissing Tolstoy by Penny Reid
• My review
• This popped up randomly as an auto checkout from my library, which means they bought it on recommendation and I was next in line for it on the holds list.  This was really short and cute and I read it in a couple of hours.
• Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas
• My review
• This was a surprise release by Pen Douglas.  It just came out mid-April, and I was lucky enough to win a copy in a giveaway hosted by The Lovely Books.  I really like her work, and I've read most of her books but I don't think I've reviewed any of them, yet.  I think I read them before I started on this blog journey.  I joined the blog tour so I had to squeeze this in to April's list.

Things I meant to read but will move to May:

• Furyborn by Claire Legrand
• I started this but I haven't finished it.  It is much longer than I anticipated.  It is really good.  There are angels, elemental powers, spies, assassins, prophecies, so there's alot going on.
• Smart but Scattered by Peg Dawson
• I started this, but as I mentioned in my TBR, I didn't plan to finish it in April.  My goal was to start it.  I've read the first few chapters and I've learned quite a bit.  It has already give me some good insights into parenting.  I have 2 very intellegent children, but they both lack what I consider basic human skills.  I'm hoping this book can teach our whole family how work on those things and face the world more effectively.  So far so good.
• Lucky Charm and Charmed by J.A. Armitage
• I need to to get to both of these in May.
• Beard in Mind and Beard Science by Penny Reid
• I know I'm going to love these and I fly through them so they will happen very soon.  The next one in the series is coming out in July and I want to be caught up by then.
• Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi
• I keep extending my hold on this.  I really want to get to it.

Audio Books

I finished all of the books but one.

• The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
• I just checked this out today, so it is next up.
• Timekeeper by Tara Sim
• My review
• I really enjoyed this one.  I was expecting it to be about time travel, but there is no time travel involved.  Time control perhaps, but no travelling.  This has an LGBT male main character who fixes clocks and can feel and see time unlike us regular people.  I liked the premise and I'm anxious to continue.  My library just purchased Chainbreaker, and I'm currently listening to it now.
• One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake
• My review
• This was another random checkout.  I forgot all about this series until I saw the cover in the available now section and I grabbed it.  I really liked the first book, but you know how it goes waiting a year for the next book to come out.  The 2nd book was a great follow up to Three Dark Crowns and I loved being back in the world and getting to know the Queens better.  I put the 2 novellas on hold as soon as I finished but it looks like I'll be waiting a while until we find out what happens to the sisters.
• Every Little Thing by Samantha Young
• My review
• Sam is one of my favorites, but this isn't my favorite book.  I haven't loved her books on audio.  I think I prefer to read them on the page.  It was still good, but the romance in this lost some thing for me in the translation.  I think I'll stick to reading her books in print.  This is still a good hate to love romance, and still recommend it.
•   Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
• My review
• This isn't my normal type of book but I really did enjoy it.  It hits on just about every problem facing today's society.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.  
• Walk on Earth a Stranger, Like a River Glorious, and Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson
• My review
• I picked this up randomly because I heard Regan from Peruse Project talk about it and she said it was good.  I needed a new audio book an this was available so I took a chance.  I really ended up liking it and checked out the next 2 books.  The books aren't terribly long, but I really liked the Oregon Trail vibe.  The series follows Leah a girl who can sense gold during the California gold rush.  I really enjoyed the series.

Review: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Narrarated by Jennifer Lim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This isn’t typically the type of book I go for, but I really enjoyed it. I picked this up to fill a book challenge prompt for A book from a celebrity book club. Reese Witherspoon's book club picked this and Reese herself has raved about it and her production company is making it into a movie. This would fit several categories for the Popsugar reading challenge.

The book is very character focused, and at the center of everything is Mia. Mia is an artist, she and her daughter Pearl are renting a house from the Richardsons. At the very beginning of the book the Richardson’s house burns down, the fire is set by their youngest daughter Izzy. Izzy has decided to take matters into her own hand and make her family start over, while burning their house down seems to be a bit over the top, as the book unfolds and you see things from her perspective and the way her family acts, it makes sense. I don’t condone burning houses down to get people to see your point or make a change, but the Richardsons were snobby, privileged, and never took Izzy seriously. She wasn’t supported and they didn’t listen to her. They did a lot of things that were wrong because they were the right kind of people, and they didn’t think anything of it. The book then goes back in time to when Mia and Pearl move in and how the entire story is inter-connected.

The story mainly focuses on Mrs. Richardson, Mia, and Pearl and their interactions with the Richardsons. I would have liked more of Izzy, but overall I really liked how each of the characters was developed. You got to know each of their personalities quite well. The world building was pretty good to, Shaker Heights, Ohio is a suburb of Cleveland. It is the right kind of place where the right kind of people live, the Richardsons are the right kind of people. They have money, they went to the right schools, they know the right people, they have nice things. Mia and Pearl are not the right kind of people, they are drifters, never staying in one place for too long. Mia is an artist, only staying in one place until her inspiration has been exhausted. She takes abstract photographs that make her decent money, but she also works odd jobs to make sure she and Pearl have the necessities. They don’t have much, and they thrift shop. They are completely opposite of the Richardsons. Mia rents a house from Mrs.Richardson, and Pearl goes to school with the Richardson children quickly becoming friends with them. She is often at their home spending time with them. On the other hand, the youngest Richardson finds a connection with Mia. Mrs. Richardson and Izzy have a very strained relationship, so for the first time Izzy finds compassion and caring in someone like Mia and they click. She finds inspiration in Mia’s words.

Surrounding the family dynamics of Mia, Pearl, and the Richardsons is and adoption case for a Chinese baby girl. Mia knows the mother from work and the Richardsons are good friends with the couple who has been fostering the girl for months. Bebe, the baby’s birth mother was suffering post partum depression and being por and from China was unaware of support she was able to receive. She doesn’t speak English very well and found it hard to care for her child, so she left the baby at a firestation. The McCulloughs desperately want a baby, after many unsuccessful attempts on their own to start a family, they are this close to adopting the little girl when Bebe shows up wanting her baby back. Mrs. Richardson is not pleased that Mia is involved and supporting Bebe, and starts digging into Mia’s past. Mia has kept plenty of secrets of her own, and she is reluctant for Pearl or anyone to find out about her past.

This book talks about so many issues that face today’s society: parenting, childbirth, adoption, privilege (specifically white privilege), miscarriage, surrogacy, immigration, post partum depression, abortion, and probably other things that I’m forgetting to mention. I really enjoyed the way these topics were discussed especially because some of them hit close to home.


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