Welcome to Litsy!

I didn‘t like this as much as The Great Believers, but to be fair it‘s very different.

Bodie is a podcaster who focuses on true crime. She also teaches, and she‘s asked to teach a 2 week seminar at her high school, the NH boarding school where her former roommate was murdered. Of course she dips into whether that case was solved successfully.

This felt realistic with cancel culture and abuse and murder of women as a strong theme. Also 90s ⬇️

I'm several hours in and still questioning how reliable the narrator of this story is.... I'm really enjoying it, quite suspenseful, although I can also see how criticisms of the length and at times meandering opining by the main character could be valid.

This novel tries to be a lot of things, and it is, but it feels like there is a lack of pacing because of it. A worthwhile read, but I suggest lowering expectations for the "mystery" aspect, and allowing the reflections on how we co-exist to be front and center.

This book took forever for me to finish. I am not sure why: it is smart, thoughtful and well written. A woman returns to her alma mater to teach a mini course about podcasting and revisits the death of her roommate.

I have been puttering all day in anticipation of @dabbe 's arrival and now it is time for a little Prosecco/reading break.

Trying to catch up on reviews. This is a very different story than Makkai‘s previous book—The Great Believers. A story that has a lot packed in it—maybe too much. A woman returns to her private high school to teach about 2 weeks but ends up dealing with her past time there, including what may have really happened to a girl murdered during their senior year. Ties into our obsession with true crime & brings up racism & violence against women. 4 ⭐️

I have mixed feelings about this one. It was a bit slow and I found the protagonist a little annoying. I‘m also not thrilled with how it ended. That being said, it was interesting enough for me to finish it.

#Read2025

Last night I got to attend a reading and book signing with Rebecca Makkai. She was so charismatic and lovely. She gave incredible answers during the Q&A about her writing process, particularly how she determines POV in her books. I‘ve read two of her novels, but now I can‘t wait to read more.

My 1st read of the year was a doozy! I couldn't put this down. During Bodie‘s time in boarding school, her roommate was murdered but she thinks the wrong man was imprisoned. This worked so well because of the intimate writing & POV of a 40-year-old. There's a maturity & distance that most boarding school books don't have. I loved that she was flawed & dealing w/her own marriage issues in addition to the main plot. It felt more realistic. So good!

What a great holiday collection Amy, thank you so much! I‘m excited for all of these books, and the notepad is really cute. As you can see Venkman was quite interested in the hot chocolate, but I‘m not sharing that or the truffles. The card is gorgeous, so sparkley! Thank you my friend ❤️

😳😳😳😳😳

#HexesAndCrows
#HauntedShelf
#Recommendation #StandAlone

@CatsAndBooks

@TexReader
@LibraryBelle
@TheSpineView
@RedXOHearts
@Light_Of_Aether
@Charityann
@PuddleJumper
@Yuki_Onna
@JulieClair
@TripleM80
@Deblovestoread
@Addison_Reads

=31 points

I really enjoyed this one…
#TBR #Wordsearch
#HexesAndCrows
#HauntedShelf

@CatsAndBooks

@TexReader
@LibraryBelle
@TheSpineView
@RedXOHearts
@Light_Of_Aether
@Charityann
@PuddleJumper
@Yuki_Onna
@JulieClair
@TripleM80
@DebLovesToRead
@Addison_Reads

= 71 points

Spent the morning reading in bed, drinking coffee ☕️ and cuddling 🧡🖤

#HexesAndCrows #WordSearch
#HauntedShelf

@CatsAndBooks

@TexReader
@LibraryBelle
@TheSpineView
@RedXOHearts
@Light_Of_Aether
@Charityann
@PuddleJumper
@Yuki_Onna
@JulieClair
@TripleM80
@DebLovesToRead
@Addison_Reads

=16 points

#HexesAndCrows #WordSearch
#HauntedShelf

@CatsAndBooks

@TexReader
@LibraryBelle
@TheSpineView
@RedXOHearts
@Light_Of_Aether
@Charityann
@PuddleJumper
@Yuki_Onna
@JulieClair
@TripleM80
@DebLovesToRead
@Addison_Reads

=61 points

#WordSearch so far for #HauntedShelf

#HexesAndCrows

@CatsAndBooks

@TexReader
@LibraryBelle
@TheSpineView
@RedXOHearts
@Light_Of_Aether
@Charityann
@PuddleJumper
@Yuki_Onna
@JulieClair
@TripleM80
@DebLovesToRead
@Addison_Reads

=106 points

19-21 July 24 (audiobook)
An addictive story told through letters written to an ex-teacher 30 years after a student was murdered on the campus of a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire.
Perhaps a little predictable but still riveting. Reflecting on how difficult the high school experience was for many in the early 90s, even those who seemed to have everything going for them, is fascinating. Hopefully things have improved for our kids.

I'm a bit speechless. And emotional. And just... processing.

There is so much to unpick here and I am unequal to the task!

Tremendous mystery novel with dark academia vibes that is strongly rooted in reality and explores issues of race, class, privilege, exploitation, and power dynamics.

Manages to be both a pulse-raisingly compulsive whodunnit and a nuanced, highly-charged political discussion (think Yellowface / Such a Fun Age).

Wow.

Bodie is on her way to Granby to teach how to make podcasts and movie history to some of the school students. The only this is that Bodie herself was a student at the school a long time ago and then her roommate was murdered. So returning to Granby has Bodie thinking about then. Then one of her students in the podcast class decides to look into the murder as well.

Will this reveal anything new? Did they catch the right person all those yr ago?

"We didn't have to drop everything to watch then, which was the usual expectation...

What bothers me now is those boys internalising GIRLS AS AUDIENCE, there only to act as mirrors, to make their accomplishments realer."

?????? 100%

#pop22 - recommended by a librarian @Branwen my wonderful librarian buddy!!! 🫂💕

I am loving this so far. Wasn't sure what to expect, because I went in without reading anything about it, but am thrilled that it's looking like DARK ACADEMIA!!!!!!

@Megabooks @jenniferw88 @BarbaraBB @KarenUK @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @MissHel @AshleyHoss820 @Ruthiella @OriginalCyn620 @BookBelle84 @graciouswarriorprincess @WJCintron @Branwen @BarkingMadRead

My first exposure to Makkai, certainly won‘t be my last. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

April #doublespin (Kindle Read)

I enjoyed this despite it being a slow read. I live on a boarding school campus, so it was extra interesting to see that perspective through the MC‘s eyes. I needed to know who the killer was and it felt a bit like a true crime novel itself.

This was a slow burn but very worth all the layers unfolded in this dark academia, murder mystery the story revolves around and is narrated by Bodie a true crime podcaster, she is asked to teach a class at her alma mater that brings up her past time at the school and a mystery of its own that has haunted her much was wrapped up in this story and brings so much to light on many topics but was so well written
#MarvellousMarch#Readaway2024

Podcaster Bodie returns to her former boarding school and wades deep into the murder of her former roommate.

Rebecca Makkai was just such a lovely person! I'm glad I got the chance to meet her and tell her how much I love her work! 🥹💕📚

Last night was the Rebecca Makkai author event at my local bookstore! It was for sure the most chill author that I have ever attended! There were only about 30 people there total, and I got to sit in the front row! She talked for a little bit, read from the tagged book, answered questions, and then signed everybody's books! This was actually my first time at this bookstore since it opened, and I'm already obsessed! 💕📚

FRIENDS, I HAVE THE MOST EXCITING BOOKISH NEWS EVER! 💕📚💕📚💕📚

On February 21st a bookstore near me is hosting Rebecca Makkai! AND I'M TOTALLY GOING! 🥰 I'm not sure yet if she'll be signing books or if it's just a talk, but either way I'm so hyped for this! I Have Some Questions For You was one of the best books I read last year!

I liked this, it‘s not what I expected. Some parts felt a bit long and flat, but I liked the MC -imperfect as she was in many of her actions & responses, her reminiscence of high school around the time period was sometimes cringingly familiar. Bodie Kane returns to teach a journalism course at her old high school, her students investigate the death of her roommate there in the 90s, through the lens of more social awareness in the BLM & #metoo era.

It‘s a low pick for me. Great Believers is one of my very favorite books, so I had high expectations for this one. It was ok but not a top pick. I liked the insight into the criminal justice system & how hard it can be to actually free an innocent person. How police were under pressure from the family & school to find a suspect. Bodie Kane starts to question the death of her former roommate when she goes back to her former boarding school to teach

I was really looking forward to this book, but it‘s a pass for me. It was way too long and drawn out. Nothing happened for so long. It pulled you in with the premise of a murder and finding out what really happened and then just drug on for so long about so much that really didn‘t enhance the story. This needed to be cut down by a lot and refined. It just wasn‘t for me.

I‘m fascinated by the mixed reviews of this one. I enjoyed it, and while I can see that some elements were unnecessary, it never felt bogged down to me. The audiobook narrator is great. It touches on a lot of issues, but what I liked most was watching Bodie‘s perspective shifts as she uncovered new-to-her details of the people and events surrounding the murder of her boarding school roommate. #auldlangspine

I couldn‘t put down this story of high school misfit Bodie Kane returning to her boarding school alma mater as a teacher. As Bodie reflects on her time at school and finds herself re-investigating a classmate‘s murder, Makkai adroitly plumbs the depths of traumas big and small. I was captured by the mystery but it‘s the deep dive into violence against women, validity of trauma, cancel culture, and justice system bias that will stick with me.

Good. Definitely could‘ve been shorter. The lover was an unnecessary character unless I missed something there. Solid enjoyable read.

I understand the mixed reviews about this book but it did work for me. I enjoyed the meandering of the various storylines. Especially the main one, about the murder of Thalia in 1995. Bodie was her roommate and is now a true crime podcast host, who returns to their former boarding school to teach a class. She has to face the past and the maybe wrongly conviction of Omar for the murder.

Thalia Keith, a teenaged boarding school resident, is murdered after her performance in that year‘s musical. One of the few black staff members on campus is convicted and has served years in prison. Bodie Kane a tangentially involved student has been obsessed and, now an adult, has an opportunity to right wrongs. Set in the “me too” climate. Adults acting like bumbling teenagers. I almost bailed. At least the end wasn‘t neat. Not her best work.

I bail at p168.Maybe I should hang in there?Makkai addresses sexual assault,femicide&how terribly normal it is(she lists numerous cases).The story is engaging, well written, with complex characters. But to me it‘s overwritten &what made me throw in the towel -because it‘s too much! - are the subplots (the narrator‘s husband and lover). Not interested in that at all. I might get back to it or read her short stories but right now - nope.

This is so good, a Secret History for the 21st century. Absolutely dove down the rabbit hole of this fantastic propulsive fevered novel.

Soft pick.

I liked the plot, but there was so much unnecessary things in here; it could have been shorter. Also, the word “said” is used way way too much.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#botm

“It was easier to believe she was lying than that lightning loves a scarred tree.”

Wow! I‘ve seen mixed reviews for this one but I thought it was well plotted, compelling and the right parts mysterious and thrilling. So good! #BookspinBingo #BOTM @TheAromaofBooks

A true crime podcaster goes back to teach a class at the elite New England boarding school where she was once a student, only to revisit the case of a murdered classmate that she had long since considered solved. A great critique on true crime as a genre (though I do love it), and on the way communities can be complicit in violence even when they are not aware they‘re doing it.

I am reading I Have Some Questions For You and always like to have at least one Litsy post for every book I read (true goal is a Blurb/Quote/Review for every book!! You, too?) and I also want to show everyone my pies. This is a No-Bake Watermelon Pie and it was SO good! Happy last week of August 2023!
#CaresPieShow #ILovePie

Laps done, new pool book begun . . .

1. This week! Today for my younger kid, Thursday for my young-adult kid, and Saturday for me. I'm already exhausted. How long until winter break?

2. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai.

Thanks for the tag, @The_Penniless_Author !

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

1. For my oldest, it started July 10 (Montessori); for my youngest, it started August 10 🏫 ✏️
2. Tagged! Read recently and really liked it 👍🏻
Thanks for the tag, Randy! @The_Penniless_Author #Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView
I‘ll tag @Amiable @Librariana @dabbe 😊

I thought this was good & ambitious, but a low pick because the length of the book, with the story being extremely drawn-out, isn't really worth what little it finally ends up saying about most things. This is an "issues" book, but for a terminally online person like me it feels like a rehash of a twitter thread or an online article, without a satisfying payoff. Litfic writers doing genre shouldn't be afraid to go big with plot like Birnam Wood!

4🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟