Young Adult
I accidentally read so much YA in January! And, for the most part, I enjoyed pretty much all of them. A Line in the Dark made for the perfect page-turner airplane read when I was flying back from a vacation in Florida on the January first. I love Lo's writing, the unreliable narrator, and the mystery of the story. I read a couple ARCs that aren't out yet, and both I would highly recommend! The Way You Make Me Feel is an awesome contemporary romance that also focuses on female friendship, father-daughter bonds, and finding identity. Meanwhile, Emergency Contact, by Mary H.K. Choi, is a slow-burning character study and sort-of romance about a college freshman named Penny and a young man she meets named Sam. It totally brought me back to my college days with how intense relationships could feel at the time, and the whole awkward transition from a high school teen to somewhat older but much more independent teen in college. If I were you, I would definitely pre-order it! Olivia Twist is another upcoming release that is a gender-swap of the classic tale of Oliver Twist, except Olivia is a young lady trying her best to leave her past life on the streets behind her, until she reconnects with the Artful Dodger. I don't know about you, and maybe this is a booknerd thing, but I always theorized that the Artful Dodger was super hot and this book only supports that theory. It's a fun historical that's plot-driven and a fast read.
Lastly, I finally got around to The Last Namsara, which I had checked out from the library and kept renewing because I didn't have time to get to it yet. The book initially appealed to me because there are dragons, and I did enjoy it, but it wasn't my favorite YA fantasy that I've read recently. The writing was pretty good and the world was intriguing, however I felt that both the world and the characters could have been fleshed out more. Overall, though, a solid debut. The Epic Crush of Genie Lo left me feeling similarly; I loved the mythology behind it (based on Chinese myths, in particular the Monkey King) and I thought the concept would have made for an awesome urban fantasy TV show. However, I just didn't connect with the writing style. It was a little too tongue in cheek for my taste, but I think readers who enjoy snarky urban fantasy would really like it.
Graphic Novels
I was in the mood for graphic novels in January, and I picked these up because my favorite kind of graphic novels is the sort that is sad, slice of life, and introspective. These pretty much fit the bill! Spinning follows the author's journey from a child figure skater to professional artist, and each chapter was broken down into a different skating move. I liked the simple art and was really drawn into the story. I'm Not Here is one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've seen in a long time. I loved every panel, and gg's style really resonated with me. It's sad, and short, and a good re-read.
Non-Fiction
Alison Weir's Queens of the Conquest was an excellent narrative history of the queens of England following the Norman conquest. It brought me back to my undergrad days (I majored in history with a focus on medieval England), and I was pleasantly surprised how much I remembered about the many queens named Maud. It was a good read, and I think she has more books in this vein coming out soon. Braving the Wilderness, meanwhile, was not my favorite. In fact, I kind of hated it and the saving grace was that it was short. I know everyone loves Brown, and I think she sounds like a really nice person who does put forth some ideas that can be helpful to people, but I just could not connect with it and I found myself ranting out loud quite a bit while reading this one.
Historical Fiction
This book was sooooo good! It was kind of a slow start, but basically it traces a fictionalized version of the life of Aemilia Bassano, who is often credited as the first woman in England to publish poetry for profit. The story follows her childhood, which was marked with tragedy but also encouraged in her a passion for the arts and for learning, up through her days as a courtesan, then wife, mistress, and eventual widow. I loved Mary Sharratt's writing, and there were some awesome moments of Elizabethan female empowerment going on that made me cheer. Sharratt has another historical fiction coming out soon called Ecstasy that I am 100% going to check out.
What I'm Reading Next....
Currently, I'm reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri as part of my Around the Year in 52 Books challenge. I also started and am slowly reading Mary Oliver's essay collection, Upstream: selected essays. I have a few ARCs downloaded from NetGalley that I want to start soon, and I also have a few other reading challenges that I'm working on. Overall, we'll see what I'm in the mood for in February. I'm thinking lots of romance.
What are you looking forward to reading in February?
Happy Reading!
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