Here are my favorite books I read this month. These four book reviews are from books I highly recommend.
Book reviews time! Every month when I start this blog post I think about only the best books I read.
This month was easy! The four reviewed today are going to be my favorites for a long time. One of them will even be on the top ten list for the whole year!
Which one do you think it will be?
Finding Me by Viola Davis
A powerful memoir from Viola Davis. It’s gritty, brutally honest, heartbreakingly sad, and filled with love.
Ms. Davis grew up in extreme poverty, living in deplorable conditions that included drug abuse and neglect. Yet she always knew love. Love of her sisters and brother and her parents.
Going to school in neighborhoods where she and her siblings were the only black children, Ms. Davis suffered from racism, name-calling, and abuse from local children. School was her sanctuary and she loved her teachers. One story she tells is about the day she moved close to her teacher and the woman moved away.
She was sent to the school nurse who showed her and her sister how to bathe properly and change clothing every day. And yet she persevered through these conditions.
The question still echoes, how did I claw my way out? There is no out. Every painful memory, every mentor, every friend and foe served as a chisel, a leap pad that has shaped “ME!”
Her story continues with earning scholarships to attend college and acting schools. I loved the stories about auditions and what she went through to get parts. I highly recommend this book! I listened to it and suggest you do as well. Viola Davis is the narrator, of course, and her voice as she tells her story is wonderful. 5 stars!
Spare by Prince Harry
Harry’s version of the events of his mother’s death and the protocol necessary for her funeral arrangements is interesting. I also enjoyed hearing stories about the Queen and her relationship with Harry and his relationship with Charles and William. (Charles calls him “darling boy” instead of his name.)
Harry and the Queen were lovely together (British terminology) and I liked their playfulness. It’s a side of the royal family not seen in public.
It’s a long book but worth your time. 4.5 stars
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Tova Sullivan’s husband has died and she begins working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. She enjoys her tasks and the animals in the aquarium.
Her 18-year-old son, Erik, vanished on a boat in Puget Sound thirty years prior. Working and staying busy is a coping mechanism for her.
Tova meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus that lives in the aquarium. Marcellus is quite a mischievous octopus and regularly escapes his enclosure to move about the rooms. He is also quite a thief.
Add to the story Cameron Cassmore, a 30-year-old, who arrives in Sowell Bay. Cameron was abandoned by his mother as a child. His aunt raised him and now he has discovered he might have family in Sowell Bay. He takes a job at the aquarium and meets Tova and Marcellus.
Their stories and connections come together in such interesting ways.
I must also tell you that Marcellus has parts in this story in which he tells his perspective about his captivity and humans. He is funny, insightful, and a little sarcastic at times. He tells his point of view throughout the book.
It’s a funny style but it works! I loved this book. I also listened to this one and you MUST. The voice of Marcellus is amazing! 5 stars for sure!
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
Florida, in the midst of climate change in the near future, is being battered by hurricanes that gain more strength than ever before. People are moving away from the coast in droves.
Staying behind to continue his work as a lineman is Kirby and his pregnant wife, Frida.
As Hurricane Wanda approaches Frida goes into labor and a baby girl is born in the midst of tragedy from the powerful storm. Kirby, in the middle of the loss of family members, raises one son and the baby girl. The girl’s name is Wanda.
Wanda grows up watching neighbors and townspeople abandoning the area. A neighbor, Phyllis, takes her under her wing and teaches her survival skills. At some point, they discover that Wanda has evolved with the changing ecosystem and has a mysterious power (one I will not indulge).
This coming-of-age story follows Wanda as she survives despite the dangers all around her. The ending is perfection. 5+stars LOVED THIS BOOK!
These were my favorite books this month. You should try them all!
Books I also read this month:
- We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman – 4 stars
- Night Shift by Robin Cook – 3.5 stars
- Well-Behaved Wives by Amy Sue Nathan – 3.5 stars
More Book Reviews
In this post, for your convenience, you may find Amazon Affiliate links to resources. This means that Amazon will pass on small percentages to me with your purchase of items. This will not create extra costs for you at all! It will help me keep this blog running!
