September Reads

I'm kind of surprised that I read 6 books this month, but I guess I shouldn't be since one was a comic and one was a middle grade, and both were read in just a few hours. Also, I finished the Reading Challenge I was participating in, and am halfway done with the Bonus Round (even though I have no intention of finishing it)! Woot! One 5 Star read for me this month (the first of the year- I must have been feeling particularly emotional haha!), and the rest pretty mediocre, here's what I read last month: 

George - Alex Gino: 5 Stars

library e-book

I read this for banned books week and am so glad I did. This was such a sweet story! I really felt for George, a transgender middle schooler who wants to play Charlotte in the school play Charlotte's Web but gets pushback from... well, everyone except her best friend. I don't think I had the same courage she had back when I was her age but I wish I did, and a best friend that would push me to be my true self as much too. 

The Forgotten Girls (Suburban Murder #1) - Alexa Steele: 4 Stars
Kindle Unlimited

What a dark, twisty tale of the life of the privileged in Westchester County, NY where people will do ANYTHING to get ahead! This was a fast-paced story that I read in one sitting. Though I figured out "who dun it" pretty early on, I was still on the edge of my seat as a lot of crazies came to light once the investigation got started and I wanted to know more about the trinket left with each of the bodies. 

I really liked that there wasn't a lot of police procedural jargon bogging it down, and one of the suspects reminded me so much of Joan Ferguson from Wentworth. The only thing I wanted more of was the backstories of our MCs, Bella and Mack. But I was so happy that for once this is a book where our MCs did not fall in love just because they were partnered up! Huzzah! I'm not usually one for reading series, but I think I'll continue this one! 

Such A Fun Age - Kiley Reid: 3 Stars

library e-book

I think I'm in the minority, but I didn't love this one. This book could have been done at 20% - Black babysitter gets stopped at grocery store for being with a white toddler late at night, she doesn't want to talk about it afterwards, they give her a big fat check, the end. 

I hated Alix.  She just sucked as a person. "There was a point in time when—if someone was described as Indian—Alix thought it was funny to say, “Dot or feather?” That's not humorous, that's ignorant. I found myself thinking... is this [Alex/Alix] bish really hanging on to some embarrassing moment from high school? Also, it wasn't even that bad!! So you broke up! Ugh, she's so overly-dramatic.  And at 50% - she's seriously hyperventilating over an ex from high school... 15 YEARS ago?! She needs a life!

There were some humorous parts that I've also asked myself (and/or Google), like "Is Childish Gambino a person or a band? How do you pronounce the name SZA?" I really liked Kelley and Emira, but didn't agree with the ending at all. 

Gender Queer - Maia Kobabe: 3 Stars

library e-book

I think I found this one more interesting than anything else. I say "I think" because I didn't feel  much of anything after reading it. I'm very much of a "you do you" person and while it was eye-opening, I can't say I fully understand it- the themes, the pronouns, or the person. And I didn't feel like it had an ending, but maybe that's because the author is still living and figuring it out. I kinda felt like this after reading it: 

Beartown - Fredrik Backman: 3 Stars

library e-book

I know I'm in the minority with this one, but I just didn't love it. That being said, I'll probably still read the follow-up. This took me awhile to get into it which surprised me since it started with a gunshot. It may have been Backman's very descriptive writing style, or the topic, I'm not quite sure. I will admit this is the first novel I've read by him, so it may just take some time to get used to. Once "the incident" has actually occurred things speed up and while there were a lot of terrible townspeople to keep track of, I really came to love Benji, Maya, and Amat. 

The Whole Town's Talking - Fannie Flagg: 2 Stars
Netgalley

The only book I've read by Fannie Flagg was Fried Green Tomatoes, years ago, and I remember enjoying it it which is why I originally requested this book. And it sounded promising- A Swedish immigrant farmer starts up a small town in Missouri, orders himself a mail-order bride who turns out to be normal and quite amazing, and they're living life until eventually pass on, and then weird things start happening and it starts "the whole town talking." 

Except that's not what happens. Actually NOTHING happens, the entire book. It's like a day by day (and eventually starts skipping to decades, thank goodness) life of all the neighbors and descendants from those early beginnings up through today. It was excruciatingly boring, and there were far too many characters to keep straight. The only interesting thing was on the very last page, which bumped my rating up from 1 star to two.

Book Stats (previously /now)
Total number read: 44
Netgalley: 12 / 13
Owned: 5 /7 - no change
Non-Fiction: 6 / 7 
WOC: 10 / 11
Given Away: 28 / 29 - no change

Currently Reading: Woman Last Seen In Her Thirties - Camille Pagan

What are you reading?

Linking up with Steph and Jana!