Accelerated Reader: Volume 3
Can I just say that I adore the category name “Accelerated Reader” as I was obsessed with ARC (did anyone else’s school call it that?) in 4th and 5th grades. I won a lot, nbd. (I did not come up with the name, props to Elizabeth.)
“Whisper Network” by Chandler Baker
3.75 stars
This was Reese’s Book Club pick for July, and I read it in a day or two while I was on vacation. It’s seemingly a great vacation read, but also an excellent commentary on the challenges office politics pose to women. This story also just happens to include a murder mystery and a #MeToo scandal. The book is worth reading for the commentary on modern feminism alone, although it doesn’t necessarily have a thesis or point except that women have to stick together. (No argument here.) Most of the men in this book suck, which I didn’t mind.
“All Fall Down” by Jennifer Weiner
3.75 stars
I’ve read so many of Jennifer Weiner’s books and I really enjoy her writing. This is the story of Allison, a well-off working mom in her late 30s from the Philadelphia suburbs who finds herself hooked on painkillers. I thought Weiner did a great job demonstrating 1) how easy it is to become addicted without realizing it and 2) the denial that often accompanies addiction, even once one enters rehab. I did wish the protagonist’s husband and friends were more fleshed out, but that could also have been a narrative tactic to showcase just how “in her own head” Allison was during her addiction. Worth reading.
3.75 stars
I’d never read Doree Shafrir’s writing, although I’m familiar with her podcast, Forever 35. This book follows Mac, a tech startup founder, as his mindfulness app TakeOff (…wow) becomes the greatest new thing in tech. We also meet Sabrina, who, in her early 40s, is one of the oldest TakeOff Employees; Katya, a tech journalist looking for a big scoop; and Dan, Katya’s mentor who also happens to be Sabrina’s husband. This book is basically a hilarious takedown of millennial culture (we can be the worst sometimes), and most, if not all, of the dudes in this book suck, so I suppose we’re finally getting some realistic portrayals of men. There is even a #MeToo moment, which, for a book published in 2017, seems oddly prescient. A fun read.
“Normal People” by Sally Rooney
4 stars
Everyone seems to be obsessed with this book. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t change my life like several of the cover blurbs promised. (Maybe I’m not as deep as I like to pretend I am. Oh well.) We meet Connell and Marianne toward the end of their junior year in high school (or whatever the Irish equivalent is), and follow them through college as their paths continue to cross in different ways. We find out about their home lives, how different they actually are compared to how they portray themselves to their friends, and witness a lack of consistent communication between the two protagonists, which was frustrating. This book is ultimately about an awkward, somewhat depressing relationship between two people whose lives are constantly intertwined.
“Rouge” by Richard Kirshenbaum
3.5 stars
For those who don’t know, I work in the beauty industry. So, when I saw that a fictionalized version of the Helena Rubenstein/Elizabeth Arden rivalry was hitting shelves, I knew I had to read it. Josephine Herz and Constance Gardiner become rival beauty tycoons in the 1930s, and the novel follows their careers (and rivalries) for the next several decades. It’s a fun, glitzy look at the beauty industry that doesn’t ignore historical context like McCarthyism. You’ll definitely enjoy it if you have any interest in the beauty industry.
“Two Can Keep a Secret” by Karen M. McManus
3.5 stars
Every now and then, I like to read YA novels because, why not? Ellery and Ezra move to a small town to live with their grandmother, whom they barely know. Returning to their mother’s hometown is made even more difficult due to the fact that their mother’s twin sister was murdered as a teenager and the case is still unsolved. Of course, as soon as Ellery and Ezra arrive strange things start happening… There are plenty of plot twists here (I was a bit surprised by the final reveal!), and the author did a great job making sure her characters were not just diverse, but largely free of stereotypes that often accompany such diversity.
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