sfbookgirl's reviews
412 reviews

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. Not only did I learn so much about Dia de los Muertos, but I also loved Thomas’s writing and the development of their heart-warming characters. The main character, Yadriel, a transgender, Latino, high schooler, is determined to prove himself as a real brujo. With the help of his friend Maritza, he performs a ritual to become a brujo, but manages to summon the ghost of his recently deceased classmate Julian Diaz in the process.

While on the hunt to find out what really happened to Yadriel’s also recently deceased cousin, Yadriel soon realizes that he doesn’t want Julian to leave him for the spirit world just yet. Cemetery Boys is a culturally rich and beautiful narrative that tells the story of love, family, and friendship. I loved Thomas’s descriptive writing style that makes me truly feel like I am within the book's setting. This one is definitely a quick read and I encourage you to read it soon as Dia de los Muertos is November 1st! Cemetery Boy is truly a one-of-a-kind story that you don’t want to miss.
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Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s the book of the season and it’s become a brand of its own 😆 It took me ages to get through Rooney’s newest release which is most likely due to the fact that I was super busy and had no time to read. Beautiful World, Where Are You revolves around Alice and her friend Eileen who are good friends but live in different cities. We learn about their separate lives through both their individual narratives and between email correspondences with, of course, no quotation marks as it’s a Rooney book after all. 
 
This is definitely one of those books that you will have to read for yourself to decide. Did I like it? Yes? Will I read her next novel? Probably not. Rooney's newest novel is a book that talks about nothing and everything at once. I resonated with the characters' inner, panicked thoughts about the world’s environmental crisis and found it funny that this book is incredibly autobiographical. I’ve always thought Rooney was made to be some sort of mystery with her lack of social media presence and the vague events reflected in her novels. While it’s clear that Alice’s character is Rooney, I found that I learned so much more about her and yet nothing at the same time in her newest book. So there you have it, Rooney is still quite the mysterious woman. 
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One Two Three by Laurie Frankel

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challenging hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I didn’t know anything about ONE TWO THREE before starting Laurie Frankel’s newest release. All I was told was that I had to read it because it involved a library and honestly, I think that was all the information I needed before I started reading. In this story fighting for environmental justice, the Mitchell triplets in the tiny town of Bourne fight for their fundamental, human rights to clean water. There’s Mab, who just wants to get out of this town and get into college, Monday, on the spectrum, and the town’s “librarian” who refuses to let you select books yourself, and Mirabel, who has cerebral palsy and wants her shot at true love. 
 
While the story does drag a bit, I really enjoyed this character-deep dive set amongst an environmental justice story. While I am usually not the biggest fan of character-driven novels, I enjoyed reading from the triplets' different perspectives to understand their thought processes, aspirations, and connections to the small town of Bourne. It is definitely a slower read, but if you enjoy touching novels that highlight the beauty of small towns, this one is for you. 
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You Can Run by Karen Cleveland

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this fast-paced thriller! It was so difficult to put You Can Run down as there is not a single stopping point in which you can put your bookmark in and call it a day. The action truly never ceases. Jill, a CIA agent, receives an anonymous call that her son was abducted. The only way for her to get her son back is to automatically approve a security clearance for a new contact the CIA vetted. So of course, Jill approves the clearance but what comes next uproots her life forever. 

Jill later teams up with a Washington Post journalist who receives a tip about the CIA’s new source…coincidently the one that Jill approved. But maybe the CIA’s new source isn’t who they thought it was. You Can Run literally never stops as the reader follows Jill’s path to uncover who this new CIA source really is. I love how the author Karen Cleveland is a former CIA analyst and as a result, the story reads authentically. I now need to go back and read her backlist as I can’t get enough of Cleveland’s clever twists and turns.

Thank you Random House for a gifted copy!
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Sometimes I Trip On How Happy We Could Be by Nichole Perkins

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
I stopped giving memoirs a star rating but that isn’t to say that I really enjoyed Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be. I definitely did not anticipate the extent of sexual content Nichole Perkins includes in her memoir but found it refreshing to read about a woman who is so open about her sexuality. Perkins touches on and delves deep into her life as a Black woman experiencing mental illness, racism, and her ability to be so self-aware about both her flaws and her strengths. 
 
I am generally a big fan of short stories and I enjoyed how Perkins breaks up her memoir into several stories to mark key moments in her life. Perkins also writes about her experience attending an HBCU and why choosing to enroll in an HBCU gave her empowerment. Even if you haven’t heard about Perkins before, it’s worth picking up her memoir to learn about a strong woman who embraces the imperfect. 
 
Thank you Grand Central Pub for a gifted copy! 
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People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a turn of events! I went into People We Meet on Vacation with low expectations after rating Emily Henry’s first book, Beach Read, 2 stars ⭐️. Yikes. Henry’s second book, People We Meet on Vacation was an entire 180 for me. I absolutely loved the characters, the dialogue, the pacing…I loved it all. It goes to show you that you should not completely call off an author solely based on one book they wrote.⁣
⁣
People We Meet on Vacation is about Alex and Poppy, two friends who met in college and started a tradition of going on a vacation together each summer. After graduating, they mostly lived apart but made the effort to spend a vacation together each summer at a different location courtesy of Poppy’s job at a travel magazine. After having a falling out two years ago, Alex and Poppy reconnect and decide to visit Palm Springs together in an attempt to rekindle their friendship. But what ends up happening could be something more…⁣
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The Mismatch by Sara Jafari

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Mismatch is a modern-day love story involving cultural customs, dysfunctional family issues, and forbidden love. Recent university graduate Soraya Nazari thinks it is about time that she experiences life to the fullest. After being raised in a somewhat constrictive household of Iranian immigrants, Soraya decides to experience a budding romance with one of her old classmates, Mangus. 
 
But what becomes a casual fling turns into something more. The Mismatch also interweaves Soraya’s mother’s young adult life before immigrating to England. I found these chapters to be the most eye-opening and captivating. The Mismatch is an unconventional love story that I would say is more of a character study than a romance, but I still enjoyed the book for its insight into a culture unlike my own.
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Damage by Caitlin Wahrer

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Recommended by several book friends, I knew I had to get my hands on The Damage. Caitlin Wahrer’s debut novel is a solid small-town mystery with a twisty plot. Tony’s life is turned upside down when his younger brother Nick ends up in the hospital after being sexually assaulted. When Tony’s wife Julia, also Nick’s sister-in-law, finds out about what happened to Nick, she uses her professional connections as a lawyer to help Nick and Tony uncover the culprit.

The number of character’s initially thrown at me may explain why it took me until the halfway point to really get into the story. That said, The Damage takes on the often passed-by topic of male sexual assault and brings forward the emotional impact experienced by the main character and his family. The incredibly flawed characters allowed for a captivating story that is filled with tension, suspense, and uncertainty. Overall, a fantastic debut novel and perfect for fans of thrillers.
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When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

When the Stars Go Dark is perfect for fans of the HBO show Mare of Easttown. I am obsessed with the show and was excited to learn that When the Stars Go Dark has a similar mood. Plus, it takes place locally in the Northern California town of Mendocino. The brisk air and mysterious fog provide a perfect backdrop for a chilling thriller. Anna Hart is a missing persons detective in San Francisco but when tragedy strikes in her personal life, Anna flees north to her small hometown of Mendocino to grieve. There, Anna learns that a local teenage girl has gone missing and eagerly joins the case to assist the local authorities. 
 
The beautiful narrative of Anna’s experience helping to solve this case perfectly reflects the chilling vibes I experienced when visiting Mendocino a couple of years ago. While a thriller, I found that the purpose of reading the novel is not to find the culprit but to appreciate the writing of Paula McLean and its incredible character development. When the Stars Go Dark is definitely a quieter thriller, but a thriller nonetheless with a satisfying ending. 
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The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Plot is two books for the price of one! I enjoyed The Plot for its quick pace and its focus on the literary world. Jacob Finch Boner was once a famous author whose first book was an instant bestseller. Now working as an instructor for an MFA program, Jacob encounters a student named Evan Parker who arrogantly proclaims that he doesn’t need Jacob’s assistance because he has the best idea for a plot. 
 
When Jacob later learns that Evan died, Jacob does what any writer would do…he writes the book Evan never got the chance to write. While riding the high of his new success, Jacob receives a startling email with the note, “You are a thief.” I enjoyed reading snippets of Jacob’s aka Evan’s book throughout The Plot, but I suggest not going in with high expectations for Evan's "best plot ever." That said, The Plot was still a thrilling read that is set in a world avid readers will enjoy. 
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