Who hurt you, Kassandra Montag?

Trigger warnings for this book include: rape, sex trafficking, suicide, child abuse, dismemberment, violence, slavery, genocide.... I mean, pick a trigger warning, I guarantee it pertains to this book. Jesus. That was brutal.

Help...

I made it through postpartum depression with my son. Ever since then, I absolutely cannot read or watch or hear about traumatic things happening to children. It gives me awful anxiety, even if it‘s fiction.

Soooo..... I‘m 5 chapters in, I don‘t know if I can keep going with this one! Advice???

i had a few issues with character-overload, and believability/likeability. I kept silent-screaming “where are the adults?!?” Even the adults acted like children. But I guess a novel where the problem was solved calmly and logically wouldn‘t be a very exciting novel 😆

Alright - I‘ve tried to finish this book three times, I just cannot do it. You win, Cold Mountain. I give up.

“Drinking, drugging, sleeping around, it‘s all the same thing.

You have these lines you won‘t cross. But then you cross them. And suddenly you possess the very dangerous information that you can break the rule and the world won‘t instantly come to an end.

...And now every time you cross it again, it just gets grayer and grayer until one day you look around and you think, ‘There was a line here once, I think.‘”

Is that not the TRUTH??

I will read ANYTHING by Joshilyn Jackson. That woman can write a Southern page-turner like no one else. And she excels in writing a “deeply flawed heroine just trying to set things right...” well, usually. This was not my favorite of hers. Amy was just TOO flawed. Borderline unlikeable, unforgiveable, trending towards sociopathic. But this book is still so interesting and suspenseful!

I looove a good Historical Fiction. And this is historical fiction-meets-mystery-meets-romance. Very well done. Kept my captivated and broke my heart 💜

Charmin‘ 😊

I am suUuUuch a sucker for multi-generational family sagas. This was a combination of family saga and The Butterfly Effect - the effects of one small action have tremendous consequences even decades later. So well-written. *Italian Chef Kiss*

Warning: Do not start this book unless you want to stay up until 4am finishing it! I could not stop.

This book made me queasy - and I think it did so on purpose! The sickly descriptions of the heat, the odors, that infamous mutton broth... I felt claustrophobic and dreadful. Which is EXACTLY what Lizzie and Bridget felt waking up in that house every day!! It‘s a Pick for the imagery and the suspense, a So-So because it made me feel seasick.

A novel about female sexuality, written by a man... is about as one-dimensional as you would expect.

Please, read this book. The world would be a kinder place if everyone read this. She is so talented at earning empathy, without ever once asking for pity.

Oh my goodness, Trevor Noah can tell a story. How does someone take a story about a Bar Mitzvah and Hitler and make it ridiculously funny?? And what a story he has to tell. Read it for the stories, stay for the South African history and culture and empathy

I loved the descriptions of life in Mumbai. But I wish it had gone deeper into the emotions of forgiveness. If it were me, I would never ever EVER forgive a certain character for a certain act (no spoilers). Why did she?

This book reminded me that Love does not have to look a certain way, or fit into a certain construct, or have a certain ending, in order for it to still be Love. There are many ways to love someone. This was the story of love under circumstances that are bigger than love.

OK, so I read this one right after reading Tiffany Haddish's memoir, so maybe this is unfair of me. But...

Tiffany Haddish: "I was abandoned and abused and grew up in foster care and was homeless and I STILL grew up to be a damn delight."
Anna Kendrick: "My grandmother died when I was in my 20s. We weren't that close."

? I just think that if that's the worst thing that ever happened to you, you're not qualified to write a memoir yet.

"Was she the bird, or was she the cage?"

This book understands that Motherhood is often a paradox, and some questions are unanswerable. I absolutely loved it, loved the way it made me ask myself some tough questions about my own privilege and my own choices.

Now THAT is an opening line!!

Charles Lindbergh: what a dick!!

I finished it a few days ago, and I was so deeply touched, I can't make myself start another book. I need a lighthearted read as a palate cleanser. A reading rebound, a book booty call.

"Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage."

What a beautiful book. I'm a sucker for multi-generational sagas, AND for strong female leads. This has both, at their finest. Just beautiful.

I'm very conflicted about this one! I feel like the Nazi was the most sympathetic character. And Nazi sympathy is... not cool, to say the least. But maybe the author was trying to convey a "know your enemy" theme. Otherwise, this was a very compelling drama, very readable.

Just read that Viola Davis and Julia Roberts have signed onto the film version!

This is like a sweeter version of "Eat, Pray, Love," if it was renamed "Eat, Eat, Eat." A reminder that digging into the earth (and having a good meal) is good for the heart and soul. ??? (Photos from my garden!)

I wanted to punch literally all of the characters in the face. All of them. The little girl is exempt, because she's a child and a victim, but even she was pretty punchable at times.

I LOVE this one so far. A smart, cynical woman investigates the murder of a woman she believes to be dumb and naive. And must prove herself in a male-dominated workforce at the same time. This is how I picture her in my head 😍

I thought this was SO well-done, and ran much deeper than the cover would have you believe. The story about the sisters is just a doorway. Behind the doorway is a journey of discovering your origins. You know how there are things about you that you KNOW to be true, even though you can't fully articulate them? This book was about finding the words and the history to tell your own story. Loved it.

Mid-July checkin... I'm closer than I thought!
B: Everything Everything, The Whole Town's Talking, The Cutting Season, Dead Wake.
I: ... I'll get there
N: Hidden Girl, Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk
G: The Secret History, Room
O: Forty Autumns, The Girls, Those Who Leave And Those Who Stay

A beautiful story of finding reconciliation with your circumstances, your choices, your life. Read this on a Winter day with a blanket and a fire

.... In which Fannie Flagg explores Eastern spiritual beliefs in the afterlife!! Intriguing. As always, this book by Ms. Flagg was as sweet and satisfying as a bowl of peach ice cream. Read it for simple pleasure, with a side of metaphysical exploration, and enjoy!

Actual photo of me when the major plot hook unfolded in The Secret History. 😳 Donna Tartt is a master. The subtle but thorough character development, the imperfect underdog heroes, using Greek epigrams as allegories and foreshadowing?? I just can't believe I've never read this before, and I'm so excited to be reading it now!

*unpopular opinion alert* I immediately get turned off by the spinoff books... "If you loved Gone Girl, you'll go wild for (insert 'Book Kind Of Similar To Gone Girl But Not Quite As Good' here)." I felt like this was a pretty obvious attempt to pander to the Fault In Our Stars crowd. Not a bad read! But not a very original one either. #sorry

This book ripped me open. Right back to being an awkward preteen, both praying someone would notice me, and praying they wouldn't.

"I waited to be told what was good about me. I wondered later if this was why there were so many more women than men at the ranch. All that time I had spent readying myself, the articles that taught me life was really just a waiting room until someone noticed you — the boys had spent that time becoming themselves.”

Awesome surprise! I was expecting just a collection of tales about Aziz going on disastrous dates, told in his really funny fast-paced tone, and that would've been great too! I was not expecting empirically-based studies, historical trends, focus groups, and collaboration with social scientists. I would also not expect for those things make me laugh, but they did! Very pleased 👍

"Beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing." I took this to mean that behind a person's action, lies the reason for their action - the fear, the pain, the weakness, the love. But does knowing that someone only hurt you because they were scared and weak make it hurt any less?

Meh. Just meh. Got the Audiobook version, and enjoyed practicing my Australian accent more than I enjoyed the book. The reader uses like 6 vowels in the word "No." "Nauoooh." Fun to practice!

First of all, I loved it, the way the writing meandered luxuriously, exactly like a stroll through city streets. Second, it opened some fresh wounds for me. I want to apologize to Lillian (and the women of her generation that she represents). We almost elected the president who would make her proud. We almost won another battle for reproductive rights and equal wages. Almost. I'm sorry, Lillian. We let you down.

I can't do it. I made it 1/3 in, and just cannot force myself to witness the torture that is about to take place in this book. It's important to be educated about the darkest moments in history, but I can't do this to myself right now. I was having dreams about Nazis. No more Nazis before bed.

I love, I love, I LOVE the bingo reading challenge. Let's do this! #LitsyReadingChallenge

Amazing. Three generations on two sides of the Iron Curtain. Very poignant and intimate

Why does it seem like every murder mystery set in the South has to take place on a plantation?

YA with a mental health message. Very well-written! I really don't want to share any more than that, some reviews turn into Accidental Spoilers...

But for every good read, there's got to be a stinker. My #worstof2016: Burying The Honeysuckle Girls (ugh), Oh Dear Silvia (ughhhh), Double Exposure (wonderful premise, dull execution - how was this so dull???) and The Last Boy And Girl In The World (my #1 #threwitacrosstheroom)

My #bestof2016: The Goldfinch (still in awe), Lily And The Octopus (still in tears), Being Mortal and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. ❤❤❤

I did it! 50 books in 2016! 🎉Finished the year with Amy Schumer, funny and honest and beautiful. Get it, girl. #50books

A new Wally Laaaaaaamb... singing my happy reading song 🎷🎤🎺

Reminded of two wonderful things in this book: 1) Our lives are a garden, so mind what you sow and take care of your seeds; 2) a good lemon meringue pie is truly life-changing. Loved it.

Oh dear, indeed. I've read reviews that say this book finds heart and humor as it goes on, but it was so... hopeless for me. Blergh, is how it made me feel.

Further thoughts about Fangirl: this is the second Rainbow Rowell book I've read, where I've had the feeling of "she looks like me." Girls who look like me can be badass, and kiss cute boys, and learn to love themselves. I wish I had more books like that when I was 12. ❤️