Tag: fiction

Such a Fun Age

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Review:

Y’all, I try not to post reviews super far in advance of when a book is going to come out for publication. But I recently read an ARC of Such a Fun Age, and it was so good that I have to tell you about it now. Emira Tucker is a twenty-five year old babysitter for the Chamberlain family. When Alix Chamberlain call Emira late on a Saturday night to watch her toddler while she deals with a family situation, Emira picks up Briar and brings her to the grocery store for Briar’s favorite activity of perusing the nut aisle. A security guard sees African-American Emira with Caucasian Briar, and accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar. And so we enter the story, following the dual narratives of Emira and Alix as they navigate the complexities of race and class and privilege. This novel sucked me in from the first page, and I could not put it down. As a heads up, there is a solid amount of language and sexual content in this book – but it was also one of my favorite adult reads in a long time. Look for it in January 2020!

Favorite Passage:

“But she’d never say good-bye to Emira, which made it seem that Emira would never be completely free from her. For the rest of her life and for zero dollars an hour, Emira would always be Briar’s sitter.”
— Twenty-six
[This passage was quoted from an ARC; as such, it may change before final publication.]

What I Loved Most:

How can I choose just one thing? Reid wrote Briar’s dialogue in a way that was so on-point for the little ones I have in my life, which I feel like many adult writers struggle to do. But I also loved seeing Emira pour herself out for this little girl, filling in the gaps to make sure Briar knew she was valued and valuable. And I also loved seeing the accurate portrayal of the economic realities of so many people in my millennial generation – seeing Emira be in this job that she loves that just doesn’t pay enough/offer insurance/seem to be a viable long-term career option. So basically, I loved all of it.

Read this book if you like:

Examining the intersection of race and class, millennials, books that you binge in long sittings because you can’t put them down

Book Details:

  • Author: Kiley Reid
  • Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
  • Date of Publication: January 7, 2020
  • Age Recommendation: Adult
  • Check out Such a Fun Age on Worldcat to find it at a library near you!

Pretty Guilty Women

~ rachelbenzine ~ 1 Comment

Review:

During the weeklong celebration of the Banks wedding, a man dies. Four women each confess to the murder, saying they committed it alone. Ginger is trying to manage her three kids and husband during this vacation they can’t afford. Kate is desperately trying to get pregnant. Emily is planning to drink her unpleasant memories away. And Lulu is pretty sure that her fifth husband is going to leave her. Why would each of these woman confess to the murdering the same man?

Over the course of the novel, we flash back and forth between police interviews of the women who confessed, and the days leading up to the murder. Pretty Guilty Women is a compelling suspense story. It touches on crucial issues like familial relationships, domestic violence, and what it means to be a parent. Added bonus: the author lives in St. Paul – I am always pumped to rep local writers! Pretty Guilty Women comes out in September, and I see it being a huge hit this fall!

Favorite Passage:

“Detective Ramone: Ms. Brown, Lulu admitted responsibility for a man’s death this evening. Here’s a photograph. Do you recognize him?
Emily Brown: Well, she can’t have killed this man.
Detective Ramone: Why not?
Emily Brown: Because that’s the man I shot.”
— twelve

What I Loved Most:

I absolutely adore murder mysteries… but I don’t read many of them nowadays, because they tend to give me nightmares. This book had a mystery, and I was excited to know who the killer was – but it wasn’t the kind of book that was creepy or overly suspenseful or is going to make me freaked out to be in my house by myself. Pretty Guilty Women was a great mystery without the unnecessary scary factor.

Read this book if you like:

Mysteries, female friendship, trying to figure out the story before the end of the book, Big Little Lies

Book Details:

Internment

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Review:

In this YA dystopia set in America, we have decided to round up all of the Muslim Americans and put them in internment camps. The collective American attitude is that Muslims are a threat to our national security, and that we need to take this dramatic action in order to keep our country safe. Layla Amin in seventeen years old when she and her parents are put into a camp. She becomes the unlikely leader of a revolution within the camp, fighting for her freedom and what she knows to be right.

Internment is a call to action. It forces us to acknowledge the prejudices in our current society, and looks at what might happen if we continue down the path that we’re on. It’s urgent and it will motivate you to create change. I devoured this book, and highly recommend adding it to the top of your TBR list.

Favorite Passage:

“What’s that thing people always say about history? Unless we know our history, we’re doomed to repeat it? Never forget? Isn’t that the lesson? But we always forget. Forgetting is in the American grain.”

What I Loved Most:

Before I read Internment, I read Uprooted by Albert Marrin, which is a nonfiction book about the Japanese Internment Camps in WWII (check out my review of it here). It’s not that long ago that we forced all of the Japanese Americans into camps… and it doesn’t seem that far fetched that we would do it again. I love dystopias in general, but I have never read one that seems as plausible as Internment does.

Read this book if you like:

Dystopias, teenagers who create change

Book Details: