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cover2covermom · 7 years

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As much as I love the holidays, I am always a little relieved to see them go. I am a creature of habit and routine, so the holidays really throw my schedule out the window. I was surprised that I managed to read 8 books this month!

Let’s see what I accomplished this month, shall we?

Books I read in December:

*Titles link to Goodreads

» The Book Club Murders by Leslie Nagel

Summary of feelings: I read this book for my book club’s December selection. I am not a fan of the cozy mystery genre, so I knew going into this that it probably wasn’t going to be the book for me. I was right, it wasn’t. I didn’t give this one a rating because I don’t necessarily think it would be fair since I dislike cozy mysteries…

» Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

*4.5 stars

Summary of feelings: This book was so much more than I was anticipating. There is so much going on in this one: racial issues, socio-economic issues, LGBT issues etc. etc. This was also my first time reading a book where there was a f/f romantic relationship with a main character! This book would make an excellent book club selection. The only reason I docked it half a star was because the ending felt a little abrupt. Full review to come!

» Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Summary of feelings: I think Jodi Picoult did a wonderful job with this book. She mentions in her author’s note that she was so scared to write a book about racism from a white author, but it is so clear here that Picoult really did her homework with this one. After reading The Underground Railroad last month and really digging into the history behind racism, Small Great Things really opened my eyes up to present day racism and white privilege. I cannot wait to review this one.

» The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

Summary of feelings: This ended being such a sweet read. The cover makes it look like this is a middle grade read, but it is actually an adult book. It gave me similar feels as A Man Called Ove, so if you read and enjoyed that book, you’d probably enjoy this one too.

» The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) by Lemony Snicket

Summary of feelings: I listened to the audiobook version of this one and I think I am going to re-read it in print form. Even though I thought the narration was wonderful, I felt that the background music and sound effects distracted from the story instead of enhanced it.

» George by Alex Gino

Summary of feelings: I absolutely adored this book. What a beautiful story that can be utilized to help children better understand transgendered issues. I would recommend this book to older middle graders (10+) and I would also recommend reading this book WITH your child. This book is an opportunity to open up dialogue between you and your child. I will explain more in my upcoming review.

» Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Summary of feelings: I am sad to report that this was more like 2.5 stars that I rounded up to 3. I am not sure what the issue was here. I listened to the audiobook version, which I thought was wonderfully narrated, but I had a hard time with this book. Had I not seen the Disney adaptation, I don’t think I would have been able to imagine this story in my mind… I am not sure if I just missed it or not, but it seemed like the world building was lacking. I was anticipating vivid descriptions of Wonderland, but I didn’t feel like I got that.

» And I Darken by Kiersten White

Summary of feelings: I know this one has pretty mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. I am a huge historical fiction fan, so this slower paced book was right up my alley. This book had lots of things going for it: a strong female main character, political drama, action, and romance. There were a few annoyances, but nothing that hindered my enjoyment of the book.

December Book Reviews:

Book Review: The Vault of Dreamers (The Vault of Dreamers #1) by Caragh M. O’Brien

Book Review: Since She Went Away by David Bell

Book Review: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Book Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Book Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #1) by Ransom Riggs