August… what a month. It is always my least favorite month of the year, with school starting and the chaos that comes with that. But whew… this one was a doozy. It’s a good thing I had so many great books to serve as distractions from life.
I read a pretty wide variety in August, basically because I was just grabbing the first thing my hands touched when deciding what to read. A bit of nonfiction, a bit of adult fiction, a few YA… all pretty good (except for that first one lol).
Books are listed in the order they were read. For more mini-reviews, check out my What I Read tag.
Monthly Stats
- Total Books Read in August: 8 Books
- Total Authors Read in August: 8 Authors
- Total Pages Read: 1499 Pages
- Total Hours Listened: 31.5 Hours
- Total Books Quit: 0 Books
- Average Days Per Book: 3.875 Days per Book
- Average Pages Per Day: 48.4 Pages per Day
The Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt
In the 1940s and 50s, the Americans were in a race for the best weapons and to get to space the quickest. This book details the lives of the little known women computers who helped America achieve these goals.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
This is a story that needs to be told, for sure. I just don’t think I liked the way it was told to me. I listened to it on audio, and it was hard for me to follow the narrative (if there was one?). There were so many women involved in the story (the downside to nonfiction, I guess, is that you can’t cut people for brevity), and so many had the same names, and their stories were so interspersed between the intense science talk that it was hard to keep them straight.
I wanted to love this book but it fell a bit flat for me.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who enjoys science and math. Anyone looking for a story about the role women played in history.
The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune
Nick Bell is obsessed with the Extraordinaries, a couple of superheroes who live in his city. These superheroes appeared in the After – After his mother was killed, After his world fell apart. But when Nick decides he wants to try to become an Extraordinary, he begins to unravel the secrets of these superheroes.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I would not call myself a lover of comics and superheroes. I generally zone out during the fighting scenes, and I’m much more interested in their origin stories and the plot of these movies. So when I saw T.J. Klune (author of The House in the Cerulean Sea) had a YA superhero book, I figured I would give it a shot. And man… this book surprised me by a long shot.
I will admit that Nick Bell is… very annoying. I mean, he’s a teenage boy, he has a serious case of ADHD, and he is generally oblivious to everything going on around him. But once I started seeing his inability to read the room as a plot device, I was hooked. And surprised… although I had guessed how the book would end (again, many, many clues), there were still enough surprises in there to keep me hooked. I also LOVED Nick’s friend group. Queer and affectionate and snarky… everything I love in a YA novel’s group of friends. I will definitely be reading the sequel of this novel… the book doesn’t really end on a cliffhanger, but the epilogue was enticing enough for me to want to continue on.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who likes superhero shows (especially The Flash, with a nerdy but lovable main character). Anyone who is a fan of teenage snark. Anyone who likes coming-of-age stories.
The Library of Legends by Janie Chung
During the Japan/Chinese war in 1937, the universities must evacuate inland. One special group is tasked with carrying the Library of Legends, a collection of ancient mythology from the country.
Rating: 4 Stars
Who knew that China and Japan were at war for a few years before WWII officially started? Not I! I love a good historical fiction that will teach me about things in history I had no idea existed and this one… this was a good one. My biggest disappointment about this book was that it was billed as magical realism, and it felt less magical and more mythological, with very little “magic” touching the characters. I was expecting it to be more whimsical and magical and it was not.
Once I got past those expectations, though, I found the book enjoyable and easy to read. I cared about the characters and their relationships, and I was a bit sad to see it end. I’m definitely going to be looking for more books set during this time, though, because I know nothing about this time period and I want to learn more.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who enjoys historical fiction that’s not WWII. Anyone looking to learn more about Chinese and Japanese cultures. Anyone who likes mythology.
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
Lydia Bird’s fiance (the love of her life) died in a car accident months before their wedding. Since then, she has had trouble sleeping, so she was prescribed pills to help with that… except the pills transport her to a new universe where Freddie lived. Moving through the stages of grief, and trying to find acceptance with her new reality, Lydia must face these two lives she’s living.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
This is the case of a book that found me right when I needed to be found. I’ve been going through some grief-related things… not a dead fiance, but the grief of letting something go that I wasn’t quite ready to. And this book hit the spot… it spoke grief into existence and helped me find a way to cope with my own. I felt seen and heard, and I appreciated getting to watch Lydia process her thoughts.
There were a few bumpy parts that made me like… ok I can see why people may not click with this book. Lydia figures out the whole alternate-universe thing REAL QUICK and that made me pause and feel like… it’s kind of convenient. But I don’t mind a bit of cheesiness in my books, and I wasn’t planning on analyzing this book as a masterpiece in sci-fi anyway.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who likes character growth. Anyone who likes a bit of magical realism. Anyone who is grieving.
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
Talia is locked up in a girls’ “reeducation” camp, intended to reform her from her bad behaviors and put her back on the straight and narrow. While she and her father are living in Colombia, her mother and siblings are in the US, and all Talia wants to do is get back to them.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
“I haven’t yet figured out if by the place of my birth I was betrayed or I am the betrayer, or why this particular nation and not some other should be our family pendulum.”
This is a story of immigration, of separated families and deportation, of hope and loss over and over. This short book is so full of feelings. It was mostly flashbacks, looking at Talia’s parents and their journey, how they got to where they are now. But it’s also a story of her siblings and their struggles as undocumented immigrants living in the US, and as the sole person in the family who is in the US legally, having been born here.
It’s also about Talia’s struggle to find home, and not being able to feel at home in Colombia without her mother and siblings, but not sure she will feel like home in the US with a family she doesn’t really know. There’s so much depth to this story for it being less than 200 pages, and the writing is so beautiful.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who wants an authentic immigrant story. Anyone who wants to see the immigration story from a variety of perspectives. Anyone who is looking for a short, impactful read.
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
Evie has lost her faith in love after she discovered her father cheated on her mother. But when she finds an instruction manual for ballroom dancing in a little free library, she starts to see visions of people’s romances… and how they end.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
This book was so incredibly sweet and easy to read. It was definitely a YA book, and I feel like it lacked a bit of the depth of Yoon’s previous books, but at this point, I did not mind at all. Evie was so strong and set in her ways, and this cute boy comes in and sweeps her off her feet. What more could I ask for in a book?
Truly, there were moments where this book took my breath away, especially towards the end. I would never want Evie’s gift (or curse, I guess, depending on how you look at it), but I so enjoyed the way Yoon wrote the sneak peeks she sees into people’s love lives. All in all, this was such a quick and soothing read, and I was so sad when it was over.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who enjoys YA rom-coms. Anyone looking for a protagonist that sees growth and change. Anyone wanting a quick and easy read.
More Myself by Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys discusses her childhood, her rise to fame, and the experiences that made her into the powerhouse that she is.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I audibly GASPED when this audiobook started. Alicia Keys’ narration of this book is phenomenal… so lyrical and poetic. She has music interludes between chapter, and she brings in people like Jay-Z, Michelle Obama, and Bono to read an introduction before each chapter. Turning on this audiobook every day felt like hanging out with a best friend.
I thought Alicia Keys did a great job of bringing the listener into her world, and she balanced stories of her life with more inspirational thinking really well. I really, really enjoyed listening to this book.
Who Should Read It: Anyone looking for a great audiobook listen. Anyone who enjoys Alicia Keys.
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
Four women who live in the same apartment building in Gangnam detail their trials and struggles. Room salon girls, plastic surgery, tough childhoods, going mute… it’s all covered in this short novel.
Rating: 4 Stars
This was our book club pick for August, and I bought it immediately because THAT COVER. But also, I was intrigued by the look at Korean life, not from an immigrant’s POV but from the perspective of people who grew up and lived in that culture during contemporary times. It’s a perspective I haven’t read much of, and I was excited to see this story from so many points of view.
I do see why my book club didn’t like it so much (we haven’t discussed it as of me writing this review, but I have seen their ratings). I did mix up the characters a bit — four points of view when they are all roughly the same age and live in the same space can be confusing. But overall, I enjoyed this book. It was different, and while some of the characters were a bit… vapid… I thought the overall concept of this book was unique. It definitely didn’t have a solid ending; if you’re the type of person who likes their stories wrapped up nicely, you won’t like this one. But I felt like we were seeing a snapshot into the lives of these characters — almost like one episode in a TV series. I didn’t hate it.
Who Should Read It: Anyone looking to expand their reading. Anyone interested in the contemporary lives of people in other countries.
