November 2021 Wrap Up Pt. 1

I have read more books so far in November than both August and October combined!

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe - This is the book that broke the slump. Nora is a smart, sassy teen girl with a past no one knows about. She was raised by a con-artist mother who gave her a new name and personality every time they moved so she could con a new rich man. When mom fell in love with the worst kind of rich man, Nora became the victim. Her sister got her out, but not before she burned it all down. Now Nora is with her two friends at the bank to deposit the money they made for the animal shelter when the guy in front of them pulls out a gun and tries to rob the place. Unfortunately for him, he's not as good a con as Nora. This book was so much fun, while also being disturbing. Nora is exactly my favorite kind of heroine.

Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich - I was just hanging out in the workroom one day, when this delight caught my eye, just sitting on the new books self. I snatched it, took it home, and announced I would not be cooking dinner. I sat myself down and read. I laughed out loud the first time on page 3. Let's just say that one of the bail jumpers Stephanie is chasing is a professional mooner. People hire him for parties. I had a great time!

The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag - This is a graphic novel about a girl who hits her head and falls in the ocean and meets a girl. She thinks it's the concussion talking so she kisses the girl. The next day, the girl shows up in town professing her undying love and saying she's a selkie and she can only walk because of true love's kiss. She's weird and awkward and Morgan's girly girl friends make fun of her. Things happen. The end is good. I felt kind of meh about the whole thing.

In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, and Years After the 9/11 Attacks by Don Brown - This is another graphic novel, but non-fiction this time. This is spectacular. It is dealing with really heavy, horrible subject matter and is made for teens. There is a fine line to walk here between making light of it and making it a horror story. I think it did great! I learned a lot of things I didn't know about events after the incident. I was very impressed.

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff - I picked this up so I could squeeze in one more award book before the vote meeting. Read: it was short. It was an ok book. The main character and narrator of the story is the oldest girl of 4 kids. The youngest is a boy. They go to the English coast every summer with her dad's sister and now her boyfriend. This summer, her aunt's godmother is bringing her two sons to stay. The godmother is a Very Famous Actress, who can't be bothered with these two kids while they aren't in school. The older boy is charming and sweet and captivates them all. The younger one is dark and brooding and clearly hates the way everyone fawns all over his brother. Things happen. The twist is incredibly surprising. But it didn't make it a good book.

Under the Whispering Door by T. J. Klune - I finally got to read it! It's very good. Wallace Price is the worst kind of lawyer. Cruel, vicious, egotistical. You get the idea. When he finds himself at his own funeral wearing the sweats and flip flops he was in when he died, he is upset that the only mourners are his ex-wife, the three partners from the law firm, and a girl he doesn't know. They are not saying nice things about him. And the girl can SEE HIM?! She's a reaper and she's trying to take him to the Ferryman so he can cross to the other side. Wallace knows what probably awaits him there, and he wants no part of it. The Ferryman, Hugo, is a black man who owns a tea shop. The shop is haunted by Hugo's grandfather and his former dog. This bizarre little grouping deals with Wallace's horrible attitude and tries to bring him around to accept his situation. The side characters are awesome. The bit players are fantastic. The whole thing is just beyond compare. Even The House in the Cerulean Sea wasn't this blessed.

Okay, that's what I've read so far. I have 4 more award books in my possession from the library so I'd better get busy. I'm mostly excited to read them. The good news is, that by this time in the season, everything people are raving about are probably good bets that I'm going to like it. And 4 of the 6 books on this list are award books, so I'm picking up steam!