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Category: Book Reviews

Such A Fun Age – A Book Review

Is it “normal” for a parent to call her babysitter late in the evening for an “emergency” babysitting need?  Is it “normal” for a babysitter to be dancing with a young child in the aisle of the local grocery store late at night that should be in bed at that late hour?  This book gains your interest right away with these questions and more that make you want to keep reading.  Even more questions quickly arise as well…dive into Such a Fun Age – A Book Review with me!

The fact that the babysitter is black and the young child is white is revealed before you even begin the book.  What I found compelling in this story is while you know it’s going to dive into the controversies of race, you also learn a lot about what makes each of them tick, which has nothing to do with the color of their skin.  To me, this book covered different subjects, which I enjoyed!

Meet The Characters ~

  • Emira Tucker – Protagonist – Babysitter/Typist
  • Alix Chamberlain – Deuteragonist – Wife/Mother of 2/Emira’s employer
  • Kelley Copeland – Deuteragonist – Films the scene in the local grocery store/dates Emira
  • Briar Chamberlain – Emira babysits her/Emira’s favorite human/daughter of Alix
  • Catherine Chamberlain – Daughter of Alix
  • Peter Chamberlain – Husband of Alix
  • Zara, Josefa, Shaunie – Emira’s friends
  • Laney Thacker – Peter Chamberlain’s co-anchor
  • Rachel, Jodie, Tamra – Alix’s friends
  • Claudette – Alix’s housekeeper when she was a child
  • Robbie Cormier – high school athlete/classmate of Alix Chamberlain
  • Ramona & Suzanne – Laney Thacker’s friends
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The Plot ~

The story begins with Alix calling Emira late in the evening to take her daughter, Briar, to the store.  It was Alix’s attempt to get Briar out of the house and away from a bad situation occuring there.   Instead, they find themselves in a conundrum much worse than the current issue at hand.  They are now embroiled in the middle of racism at several different levels.

The book takes you back and forth from their current lives to their past lives.  Decisions and actions made in younger years deeply affect where they are today.  One might ask, “Well isn’t this the norm for everyone?”  My answer would be, “Yes, of course!”  However, this story weaves a tale of some very deep hurts caused to others that I believe most of us would always hope we haven’t been the culprit of.

Alix Chamberlain ~

Born as Alex Murphy, her family inherits a large sum of money and quickly go from rags to riches.  However, we all know the old saying, “Money doesn’t buy happiness.”  She makes a decision her senior year, that while many would agree with that decision, it still deeply affects the lives of Robbie Cormier and Kelley Copeland, who are her classmates.  She moves on after that sufferable year and becomes a blogger and influencer, branding her work with #LetHerSpeak…helping other women find their confidence.  Along with her work comes a new version of her name…Alix!

Emira Tucker ~

Finding herself struggling with life choices, Emira is 26 and is a typist and babysitter.  Meanwhile, her three friends have “real” jobs.  The problem with this is that Emira loves both of her jobs, however, neither one provides health insurance, and she is getting dangerously close to losing coverage under her parents’ plan.  Why does babysitting have to be considered anything other than a real job?  She’s more of a mother to young Briar than Alix will ever be.  The thought of not being in Briar’s life is so painful that she cannot bear to think of it.

Kelley Copeland ~

Kelley finds himself in the middle of systemic racism while doing some late night grocery shopping.  Always surrounding himself with friends of color, he is instantly aware of what is about to happen to Emira, so he films the whole occurrence.  While Emira is not interested in pursuing any legal action, they still become friends/lovers after a second chance meeting on a bus.

Kiley Reid does a great job pointing out that while sometimes our actions are well-intentioned, they can have a very different meaning to the person on the receiving end.  She helps us to see that racism does indeed exist and helps us to understand that we need to look at better ways to help bridge the divide.

With that being said, I felt like the relationship of both Alix (Alex) and Emira with Kelley Copeland was a bit of a reach.  The fact that Kelley randomly meets Emira in the store, while having such a strong historical tie to Alix was fairly unrealistic.  I kept waiting to learn that he set up that chance encounter…but this was not the case.  Nonetheless, this book flowed easily through some very hard topics that I feel will leave everyone contemplating daily choices and actions they make.  AND….that final paragraph was everything…Don’t you dare cheat and look ahead!

Discussion Questions ~

  1. Do you thing Emira made the right decision by asking Kelley to not release the video?
  2. What are your thoughts on Alix’s relationship with both of her daughters?
  3. Do you feel Emira should have already had a “real” job?
  4. How did you feel about Alix slipping extra money to Emira after the grocery story debacle?
  5. Do you feel that what happened in the grocery store would have gone differently if both girls were the same color?
  6. Do you feel Alix was overcompensating in her relationship with Emira?  Was she well meaning in her actions?
  7. Did you expect the connection with Alix and Kelley?
  8. Was Alex right in calling the police that night in high school?
  9. There are many uncomfortable moments in this book…can you relate with any of them?
  10. Do you think Alix was right or wrong to release the video?
  11. Do you carry any high school issues with you still today as an adult?
  12. Who do you think was better to Emira….Alix or Kelley?
  13. Is the fact that Alix keeps giving expensive items to Amira odd or only odd because they are of different color?
  14. What do you believe Emira will take away from her time at the Chamberlain house?
  15. Who was your favorite character in the book?   Why?

Other Great Reads ~

Have you read Lost Boy Found by Kirsten Alexander?  It’s a great read about prejudice, class and injustice that keeps you intrigued to the end.

If you haven’t read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens….it’s a must read too!

Conclusion ~

I read a lot of reviews before reading this book myself.  While I believe Kiley Reid navigated eloquently through some very tough topcis, I still struggled with some of the story line.   The biggest issue for me was Kelley Copeland.  I considered him to be the antagonist in this book, but I couldn’t quite relate to him as much as I would have wished.  In spite of this, I think it is a great read for many reasons!

Happy Reading ~

Mimi

 

 

 

Never Have I Ever – A Book Review

*Spoilers Included*

What happens when you have two strong willed women who are more alike than either of them wants to admit?  This is a question author Joshilyn Jackson used as the basis of the current book of our book club.  Book selections have been awesome lately, as I am giving a rating of 5 out of 5 for the second time in a row!  Are you curious why?  Dive into my latest book review of Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson.

This is my first book to read by New York Times Best Selling Author, Joshilyn Jackson.  Have you read any of her books?  Interestingly enough, this book is similar to my last review, The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark in that there are 2 main characters.  In the current novel, Amy would be considered the protagonist and Roux the antagonist….but what happens when the lines between good and bad cross?  Can one person be both a villain and a hero in the same story?  Hmmmm……

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The Lies I Tell – A Book Review

By the time you are saying nice to meet you, I’ve already known you for months.”  Creepy….am I right?  This line from Julie Clark’s novel stayed with me through the whole book.  In today’s times where information is so easily obtained by anyone who wants to take the time to do so….well, it just hit home!  The first book I have rated 5 out of 5 in a long time….find out why in my book review of The Lies I Tell.

Meg Williams has been in hiding for 10 years.  In that time she had numerous other identities…Deidra, Sandy, Amelia, Margaret, Melody & Maggie.  The list goes on.  Why so many identities?  Exactly how does she pull all of them so successfully?  While we don’t get to know all of those other pseudonyms intimately, we do learn a lot about why Meg has decided to come out of hiding after 10 long years!

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The Newcomer – A Book Review

Letty Carahan has found her sister, Tanya,  dead and is now on the run.  Making things more interesting is that she has “abducted” her neice, Maya, as well.  Did she actually find her dead or is SHE the murderer as Tanya’s ex is claiming?  As the story unfolds, we are left to decide who the actual murderer is.  See what you think as you follow along in The Newcomer – A Book Review.

The Newcomer is the 28th book that Mary Kay Andrews has authored but the 18th under this pen name.  Her pen name was inspired by the names of her children.  The change in name also found her writing in a different style as well, which found her hitting the New York Times bestselling author list!  Prior to this, she has written 10 mystery books under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck.

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The Last Flight – A Book Review

*Contains spoilers – Contains Book Club Discussion Questions*

How far would you go to save your own life?  It’s a compelling question that thankfully most of us have not had to think about.  However, the two main characters in this book do!  Both Claire and Eva are plotting ways to save themselves but both for different reasons.  Do they succeed?  Dive into my new post about The Last Flight – A Book Review.

Author, Julie Clark, does a fantastic job hooking you from the very beginning.  We quickly meet both main characters and then are taken back and forth between their lives in an easy flow of Claire’s frightening present day life and Eva’s tragic past life.   We get a small glimpse into their lives colliding early on but don’t fully understand how their “chance” meeting was actually meticulously planned early on.

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Change of Heart – A Book Review

Would you let your child be saved by a convicted killer?  Some immediately would say yes and some would hesitate due to the “evil” of that person and not wanting them associated with their child.  Jodi Picoult has consistently been one of my favorite authors.  Her books dare you to understand BOTH sides of very controversial issues and once again she has created a very thought provoking book.  Please be aware that my book review of A Change of Heart does include some spoilers.

June Nealon has faced a lot of heartache…more than the average person.  Through this book we meet numerous characters that all have a large impact on her life.  These people bring us face to face with prison life, child illness, organ donation, religion and capital punishment!  Whew!  That’s a book packed with a lot of controversial issues…don’t ya think?

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I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy Book Review

I’m in awe!  I really don’t know how else to sum up my feelings after reading, “I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.  My first thoughts go to the old saying, “You never know what goes on behind closed doors.”  While I have learned this to be true as I have gotten older, this memoir smacks you in the face with the raw truth of this saying.

Raising children creates many different situations as a parent that you never thought about when you first brought your sweet little baby home.  One of the biggest lessons that I worked hard to instill in our children was to always appreciate what they have and to not be envious when others have more.   Mostly  because envy isn’t good…but also because while things may look perfect from the outside, you never really know what families are dealing with on the inside.

Summary of I’m Glad My Mom Died ~

Jennette was a child star living her mother’s dream.  While most of us would think she was living a fairy tale life, Jennette explains that becoming an actress at the delicate age of 6 was never her wish.  The turmoil that unwinds over the years of her childhood were anything but happy, however, she was still too young to even realize this!

*This review discusses the topics related to “I’m Glad My Mom Died” without giving away all of the details.  I want you to read the book and come back and discuss it with me!

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Lost Boy Found by Kirsten Alexander – A Book Review

Lost Boy Found Book Review

In the current state of our world today, it was hauntingly helpful to read this book. As you dive deeper into this historic fiction, I’m sure you too will find a story of prejudice, class and injustice looming over you. The author had me completely absorbed with this novel which was inspired by the real life kidnapping of Bobby Dunbar.

Set in the early 1900’s, you first learn of a wealthy family, John Henry & Mary Davenport.  They travel to their summer home in Louisiana with their three sons. Four year old Sonny, the youngest of the family, disappears one night without a trace. Two longs years are spent hunting for their missing son while also trying to keep their family and marriage intact.

A boy is then discovered travelling with a tramp–a boy who closely resembles Sonny Davenport. Could this be the son they have been searching for all this time. Could this be the answer John Henry is looking for to bring happiness back to his wife?

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Where the Crawdads Sing-A Book Review

This book has been on many book club lists so I, of course, had to check it out.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book!  Upon starting, I had to stop and research the author, Delia Owens, wondering why I haven’t read her work before.  I discovered that she has been published before this work of art, but the earlier works were memoirs of her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa.

The first pages took me in with the descriptive style of her writing.  I immediately looked forward to understanding life in the marsh….and I could completely visualize it as she described it in detail.  As I ventured through the chapters, I felt love, pain, sadness and happiness.  I marveled at how this young girl grew into a strong and kind woman.  She faced many hardships, yet remained a very caring person to the wildlife around her.

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