FICTION
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Note: I’m putting this review at the top, out of alphabetical order, because it’s my favorite book of the month.
What a gorgeous book! Yes, it has some ghoulish subject matter, & as the title suggests, that’s what makes the colors shine all the brighter. Just wow… Patch & Saint’s friendship & the ways in which it shapes their lives is a gift to fiction.
“People talk about one life…one chance. But I reckon a single life is made up of a dozen or more roles and responsibilities. I can count the versions of myself like friend and foe. Mistakes are the detours that remind you of the true way, Saint. To love and be loved is more than can ever be expected, more than enough for a thousand ordinary lifetimes.” (287)”
The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
It took me a bit to get into the story because I had trouble following the shifting characters/chapters, but once I got it, I was hooked. The way Annie’s life & Cate’s book connect was a highlight, although the happy ending might have been a little too perfect, albeit satisfying.
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one reminded me a little of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I enjoyed it while reading it, but in retrospect, it had some weaknesses & won’t stick with me. That’s okay, not every book needs to stick.
“‘Everything is going to be all right. Or, if not, everything is going to be, so let’s not worry.’ … There is only the present. Just as every object on earth contains similar and interchanging atoms, so every fragment of time contains aspects of every other….In those moments that burst alive the present lasts for ever, and I know there are many more presents to live. I understand. I understand you can be free. I understand that the way you stop time is by stopping being ruled by it. I am no longer drowning in my past, or fearful of my future.” (325)
BANNED YOUNG ADULT FICTION
Note: The church where I work has partnered with a local independent bookstore to launch a book club in January 2025. At first it was “The Inner Child Bookclub,” focused on books for young adults. After reading & discussing a few books, the theme changed to “Banned YA Books.” We’ve been reading some great books!
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I first read this book when I was in 4th grade & it was my favorite. Rereading it as an adult, I was surprised at what did/didn’t stick in my child’s mind. I also didn’t like it as much as I did as a kid. I was impressed with the body positivity, which can’t have been common in the 1970s.
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book may be one of the best examples I’ve encountered of a story written so specifically that it becomes universally applicable. It’s a beautiful book!
“There are so many minutes and hours and days we spend taking life for granted, not feeling it so much as going along with it. But then there are moments like this, when the aliveness of life is crystalline, palpable, undeniable. It is the ultimate buoy against drowning. It is the ever-saving grace.” (193)
MEMOIR
This Changes Everything: A Surprisingly Funny Story About Race, Cancer, Faith, and Other Things We Don’t Talk About by Tyler Merritt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
What do race, cancer, & faith have to do with each other? A whole heckuva lot when they coincide in the author’s Black body. Merritt has a lot of good, important things to say, & some sections were a little silly (intentionally, to balance the serious subject matter) & a little TMI as they related to his cancer & its side effects, but it’s still absolutely worth your time. I recommend Merritt’s audiobooks, which sound like listening to a friend tell you his stories.
From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
In 2021, my family took a month-long road trip from our home in Northern California through the south to Kentucky, then returned home through the mid- and mountain-west. Since we’d planned to visit Nashville, someone recommended we also visit Memphis, specifically Graceland.
We found it depressing. Elvis had such talent but no precedent, no wise mentor to advise him, and the fame and money got him all twisted. We enjoyed Memphis, just not Graceland.
This book fills in some of the holes. It’s still tragic, and there are slivers of light shining through. Riley’s ability to see her family, & to see the good in them as they struggled to find the good in themselves, is loving, gentle, gracious.
I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook. Riley + Julia Roberts + excerpts from Lisa Marie’s tapes bring the story to life.
View all my reviews
