Bright Side by Kim Holden

Bright Side by Kim Holden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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I am not okay today, on any level, and this book is to blame.





I was even less okay last night, when I finished this.





And I'm already worried about tomorrow.




Book 244 read in 2018

Pages: 423

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a good read, and I put off reading it for so long. Jennifer Brown is an incredible Missouri author. The first work I read by her was Hate List, which is extremely emotional. I read it while teaching, and it's about school violence. I loved that book, as much as you can love a story that hurts in almost every way. And somehow, that put me off reading Brown's other stories. I figured that Hate List was a one time kind of magic, and that all of her other stories would pale in comparison.

I was so wrong, and I regret not reading this sooner, especially as it is set in Missouri (where I live). It's a story about the devastation after a tornado destroys a town. It follows teenager Jersey, through her loss, trauma, and grief, as she tries to rebuild a life after losing absolutely everything.

It's also very true to Missouri, in terms of setting and characters, both the good and the bad things.

I'm going to read the rest of her novels now, especially as I already own most of them. I'm glad I finally jumped this hurdle, so that I don't continue to miss out on a Missouri treasure.

Book 89 read in 2018

Pages: 288

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#BecRereads2018

This is such a gorgeous story about so much ugliness.

It was fascinating to read it again, knowing the outcome this time. Last time, I read it through crazy fast, without even setting it down. I was so captivated that everything took me by surprise, and I remember being an emotional wreck for hours afterwards.

This time, it was so interesting to go in knowing and to see it all coming at me, but it still played tricks on my emotions, especially as the audiobook has an excellent narrator.

This is one book that is really meant to be read more than once, even though I suspect a lot of people say the exact opposite--that the big twists would all be ruined. They aren't. Knowing the major twists left me open to really absorb all the finer details that I missed, misunderstood, or was guided to overlook on a first read.

Pages: 242

PREVIOUS REVIEW:
This novel. It wrecked me.

I don't know how long I sat after, clutching the book. Long enough that my fingers ached. Long enough that my voice cracked when I next spoke. Long enough that my soul cried a thousand ugly tears.

I want to call it gorgeous. The writing is. It's so very gorgeous, but I can't forget the hideous, gaping wounds the story left in my chest.

I picked it up intending to read only a chapter or two and ended up reading it straight through. I was unable to step away. Every page, every moment, compelled me to read forward. I didn't even care what got abandoned or ignored in my real life while I read. Because it didn't feel like any of it could have mattered, not in light of the paths I followed, the journey I endured. I still feel the heaviness on my soul. I can't shake off this story. It clings and begs to be remembered.

Did You Ever Have a Family: A Novel by Bill Clegg

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

June Reid is the sole survivor of an unbearable tragedy that grips the entire town of Wells, Connecticut. Shortly before her daughter’s wedding, a gas leak leads to an explosion at June’s house, leaving a bereft June and gossiping townspeople to make sense of it all. Directionless, June leaves Wells to drive across the country. Those she leaves behind whisper about what happened and if Luke, June’s thuggish boyfriend, was really responsible. With poetic language and through multiple perspectives, Clegg slowly reveals the narrative of a town touched by tragedy and the truth about those at its heart.

293 pages