I was honestly surprised when I sat down to write this blog post and checked over my April reading stats. I thought I had read A LOT of books in April, and that I had rated them all highly. But as I look back at my stats, that is actually not the case!
Although I didn’t read any 5 star reads this month, I did read some books that gave me a LOT of food for thought. Here is a little breakdown of what I read:
And here are my reviews:
The Miracle at Speedy Motors
My Review: I continue to slowly work my way through this delightful series. Having grown up in an African culture, I find this series so comforting and like a little taste of home. I always kind of have to force myself to pick it up, but by the time I’ve finished it, I’m so glad I did! There isn’t much to go on for the plot, but reading the whole series just endears this group of people to my heart and I just can’t quit them!
Detained
My Review: This is the memoir of a child who fled Guatemala and came to the United States illegally to try to reunite with his parents, who were already in the United States. He was detained almost immediately upon crossing the border, and was kept in various detainment centers for months before finally being released to live with his parents. This is a powerful story and at times, it’s hard to read. The reality of what children are facing both in our country and in other countries is atrocious. I appreciated reading this perspective and understanding his story. However, I felt like the underlying issues of immigration were never addressed (which is fine!). Allie Beth Stuckey would call this “toxic empathy”- where one side of the issue is fully presented, without even an acknowledgment to the detriment of the other side of the issue. I felt like the book gave a wonderfully thorough perspective from the migrant’s side, and I would love to have a similar memoir from a child who lives in a border town, for example. Still, this was a good story and one that I would recommend reading, if the immigration issue is at all something you are passionate about.
The Crossover
My Review: This was my latest Newberry Medal read, and I really liked it! It is about a boy who is a twin and a basketball star, just like his Dad was. This young man is learning how to play on a team, how to be a good brother and how to navigate life as things change without his permission. This book was pretty sad because (spoiler) the Dad dies – but I loved how it was written in verse and it kept me engaged the whole time. I would love to read more in this series!
Meet the Newmans
My Review: This is the story of a family who has a sitcom in the 60s, and on this TV show they are portrayed as the perfect All-American family. People adore them and ask them for advice. But behind the scenes, they are a mess. The Dad is in a car accident and in a coma, one son is completely out of control, the other son is actually gay, and the Mom actually hates cooking and homemaking. Honestly, this one wasn’t for me. It was too feminist preachy, although I get that it was trying to portray a message about what it was like for women in the 50s/60s. I did enjoy the plot point about how they were the ultimate “influencer” family, but totally not a good example behind the scenes, but otherwise this one just wasn’t for me. I’ve heard several reviewers mention that if you liked Lessons in Chemistry, you might like this one. I didn’t enjoy either, so that seems to ring true.
Tiny Tweaks, Happy Life
My Review: This sweet book by Erin Port is all about how we don’t need to do a huge overhaul on our lives to have a better/happier life. Instead, we just need to focus on “tiny tweaks”- small ways we can improve to make a big impact. Nothing in this book was new or revolutionary to me, but it was a great little reminder and I found myself really enjoying every chapter that I read!
Yesteryear
My Review: Ok. Ok. So, when I finished this book and closed it, I couldn’t figure out how I felt. Did I love it? I don’t think so. Did I like it? Maybe. Did I hate it? Also, yes. And the more I think about it- I think I hate it even more. However, I do have to give the book points because I will never be able to forget this one. This is the story of an influencer (who seems to be based at the beginning on Ballerina Farms- but the similarities soon fall away). One day this influencer wakes up in the 1800s- still the same farm, same family, but a totally different era. The story flip flops back and forth between the two time periods until the very last two chapters when we have a big plot twist and the mystery of it all is revealed to us. Listen: these characters are UNLIKEABLE. Hateable, even. Every single one of them. There is not a redemptive arc in sight- not in character nor in the plot. And yet, here I am – still thinking about it. If you’ve read this one, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Homeschooled
My Review: Ah, another buzzy book that I had to get my hands on! This is the memoir of a young man whose mother seemed to really struggle with her mental health. She clung to her son as a “project” and really struggled to let him grow up at all. Around 4th grade, she decided that homeschooling would be the best option, and she kept him isolated and at home for 4 years. Strangely, she let his other brother continue on in public school, and she also let Stefan return to school in 9th grade. But during his 4 years at home with his Mom, he was both coddled and mistreated. He was not schooled at all, and I don’t even know if I would consider what happened to him “unschooling”. The book continues to chronicle Stefan’s life up until very recently as a grown man with his own family. I couldn’t really figure out if I liked this book or not. Stefan is now a huge advocate for more laws overseeing homeschooling, which is a controversial topic amongst the homeschool community – many homeschoolers prefer less government oversight and see that as one benefit of homeschooling. It gave me some really great food for thought, and this one could be fun to read and discuss if you are anywhere adjacent to the homeschool community.
I’m currently reading “The Gales of November” and “Lady Tremaine”. What are you currently reading?
I take issue with homeschooling regulations because I feel like even in poor Stephan’s case more regulations wouldn’t have helped as clearly even with his brothers in the system he clearly fell through the cracks. I felt the same way when I read Educated– she was in a state that had laws in place and her family ignored each and every one of them (right down to birth certificates!)…. so probably NOT the book for me to read! LOL. The Crossover and Detained sound really good though. I am starting to really enjoy books told in verse.
According to the Goodreads reviews, many people feel like this book should not have been called “Homeschooling”, because only about half the book deals with him being “homeschooled”. It’s not until the author’s note that he write about being an advocate for further laws overseeing homeschooling. The book was kind of confusing to me because at time it seemed like his mother was abusive, but the author never acknowledged or treated it as abuse- he seemed fond of his Mom and her treatment of him (???)
He seemed to blame a lot of the problems on homeschooling, but that was NOT the problem- the problem was his Mom’s mental health, and the fact that his Dad never stepped in to dissuade his Mom from doing strange things.
I completely agree with you- I don’t think that more laws/oversight will always help because those who want to avoid the laws are going to avoid them and those who want to do right are going to have to follow the laws, which they don’t need in the first place.
Yes, this book was similar to Educated, but I liked Educated much more.
If you do end up reading it, let me know what you think!