July 2021 Reads

Popping online briefly from being very offline this week to share my July reads! Would love to hear what you have read and loved lately!

When I initially read the premise and then introductory pages of "In Five Years" by Rebecca Serle I was admittedly skeptical, given that it seemed like it would be a straight-up woman realizes she should be with a different person type story. But the story went into an unexpected (to me) direction, focusing on the depth and complexity and love in friendship and allowing yourself to deviate from the expected and anticipated. I blazed through this book.

"The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano" by Donna Freitas made me feel furious over the pressure on women...to have children, breastfeed, follow one particular path. Though I didn't struggle in reading this at all, the jumping around of the nine lives story tracks was a little hard on my linear brain. I kind of wished I had kept notes on the tracks!

I am struggling with what to say about "The Other Black Girl" by Zakiya Dalila Harris without creating a major spoiler alert situation so I will just say I felt the cringe of this wonderfully written story, though the protagonist did not land where I wanted her to. Agh!

Whoo boy, "Something Wild" by Hanna Halperin. I was gripped by this book...I finished the final 50 pages by flashlight because I couldn't stop thinking about the story when I first tried to go to bed. AND, it was highly triggering in a number of ways given my life experience and the fact that I used to live in the neighborhood (East Arlington) where much of the story takes place. I highly recommend this read and yet, also, be warned.