Tag: mystery

Grown

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Then… Enchanted Jones is a high school student who dreams of being a singer. When super-famous R&B artist Korey Fields takes notice of her at an audition, she can’t believe her luck. Korey gives her his number, but tells her to keep it on the down low.

Now… Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands, and Korey is dead.

Grown is a riveting thriller that touches on power dynamics, racial identity, and our culture’s determination not to believe girls and women.

What I loved most:

Tiffany D. Jackson is an astounding writer. I love her books, and I tend to burn through them quickly – she writes the kind of stories that are next to impossible to put down. She depicts the cycle of abuse in such an engaging way, juxtaposing Korey’s violence in one minute with his sweetness in another. Honestly though, one of my favorite parts of this book was the inclusion of the text chain between a group of people that Enchanted hangs out with. Their reactions line up so well with how our culture tends to respond to accusations of sexual assault.

Things to be aware of:

With all of the aforementioned love for this book that I already stated… Grown is being marketed as a YA book, and I would not recommend it for (most) high school students. There’s extremely mature content in this book – sexual and physical violence are intrinsic to the story. The protagonist is still in high school when the narrative starts, and these are absolutely issues that are real for many high school students. However, I would exercise caution before handing this to a kid in high school.

Read this book if you like:

Mysteries, the entertainment industry, the #MeToo movement, calling out abuses of power

Book details:

  • Author: Tiffany D. Jackson
  • Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
  • Date of Publication: September 15, 2020
  • Age Recommendation: College Students to Adults
  • Look up Grown on Worldcat to find it at a library near you!

The Whisper Network

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Review:

All women are familiar with it. That low-key, “Hey, probably stay away from that guy” remark you hear from another woman. Because we’ve all been there, and we appreciate the heads up.

The Whisper Network focuses in on the experiences of three women who work at the same law firm. The man who is in line to be their new CEO is one of those guys that women talk about in hushed terms – but no one wants to be the one to speak up, get harassed by people who say they’re doing it for attention, and ruin their own careers. And when these women do decide to say something… they never imagined it ending up like it did.

This is one of those books where I finished reading it, and immediately grabbed my phone to text two friends to say “THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD YOU NEED TO READ IT.” I was hooked from the prologue, and devoured the book to the end. This is a highly recommended read.

Favorite Passage:

“So when we said that we would prefer not to have to be asked to smile on top of working, we meant that: we would like to do our jobs. When we said that we would like not to hear a comment about the length of our skirt, we meant that: we would like to do our jobs, please. When we said that we would like not to have someone try to touch us in our office, we meant that: we would like to do our jobs. Please.”
— Chapter Thirty

What I Loved Most:

The Whisper Network both whispers and shouts about the fine line women have to walk in the workplace. We need to be pleasant, but not overly nice so he doesn’t think we’re flirting, but we have to be warm enough not to be perceived as rude, but we want to make sure we’re not giving off the wrong signals… on an infinite repeat, day in and day out. It clearly addresses both the reasons why some women don’t say anything when they are harassed/assaulted/raped, and the reasons why some women do.

Read this book if you like:

Feminism, low-grade mysteries, #MeToo, Pretty Guilty Women by Gina LaManna

Book Details:

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: