How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don’t. Lane Moore. 2018. Atria Books. 224 pages. [Source: Public library.] Random scrolling in the Libby app led me to How to Be Alone, written by comedian, writer, and musician Lane Moore. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but the title caught my attention considering I enjoy my fair share of alone time. How to Be Alone, however, is less about the beauty found in solitude, ...
Clap When You Land. Elizabeth Acevedo. 2020. Quill Tree Books. 432 pages. [Source: Public library.] As the daughter of an immigrant and a man whose image in my mind is nothing like what society holds … this book touched me on so many levels. Acevedo amazingly highlights a family and its complexities. She pays homage to a tragedy I’ve never heard of (flight 587 ), expresses understanding, respect and honor to a religion that showcase...
New Year, New Ci. Nicole Falls. 2021. 269 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Usually when people say “new year, new me,” there’s a lot of personal agency at play. You know, someone wants a new job and they’ve started planning. Or they want to move and start shopping neighborhoods. Cienna doesn’t have that same fortune. Instead, her career and relationship implode unexpectedly, leaving her heading into the n...
Can I Mix You a Drink. T-PAIN, Maxwell Britten. 2021. Kingston Imperial. 144 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.] Every time I pick up this book, I hear a familiar refrain in my head after reading the title, “… and theeen, I’ma take you home with meee.” (“Buy You a Drank“) I expected nothing less than clever quips and ridiculous stories from T-...
Memorial Drive. Natasha Tretheway. 2020. Bloomsbury Publishing. 229 pages. [Source: public library.] Mother-daughter relationships are so often fraught. Mothers are often entrusted with raising healthy, whole adults and it seems daughters will find themselves raging against the strain of expectation and vicarious dreams. If they’re lucky, time will give them opportunity to reconcile the tension and benefit from an understanding of...
