

Educated by Tara Westover
I've spoken previously about my love of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I even had the immense honor of being able to interview her for Book Riot last year, shortly after the release of the film adaptation of her book. For years now, I've had a soft spot for that "Young girl neglected by her family makes good" trope. So the moment I first read a blurb for Educated by Tara Westover, I knew it'd be a love for the ages.
I listened to this on audiobook, and while I concer


The Girl and the Grove by Eric Smith
I think the best YA is simply lovely, while grappling with some of the heavier topics in today's world. And The Girl and the Grove by Eric Smith is masterful in accomplishing both of these objectives. From the start, the reader is invested in Leila and her struggle to allow herself to belong somewhere. As she begins to discover just how connected she is to the rest of the world, we also see just how nuanced her character is. Racism, non-traditional families, adoption, depress


The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton
We all know that that mass incarceration of people of color is a vile epidemic. We hear of black men being arrested for small infractions while white men guilty of the same thing walk free. But even more disgusting is the number of innocent men of color paying the price of other's misdeeds. In The Sun Does Shine, Anthony Ray Hinton discusses his time as an innocent man, jailed doors down from the electric chair as he got glimpses into his own bleak future. However, Hinton nev


I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michel
I'll Be Gone in the Dark has gotten a lot of buzz lately. Because the spoiler of all spoilers occurred for the world on April 25th, 2018... the Golden State Killer was identified and arrested. Much celebrating occurred but it was one woman whose tireless work was lauded all over social media, that of Michelle McNamara. Some could say McNamara was the Golden State Killer's final victim. Run down by her hunt for this elusive rapist and killer, she fell victim to a lethal combin


An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
This is, thus far, my favorite book of 2018. I read this in a single sitting, which I have been unable to do since I lost my mind and hand a child. So that should tell you something about how masterful this novel is. A heartbreaking look at how racism and the prison industrial complex ruins lives, Jones gives voice to the innocent and his family during his unfair incarceration. A brand new marriage destroyed, two lives upended forever, An American Marriage is a commentary on


Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of WWII by Liza Mundy
After the year we've had, I've found myself called to true stories of bad ass women being bad ass women and getting zero credit for it. So the instant Code Girls came out, I knew I'd be reading it. These women were geniuses, largely responsible for our wins in WWII, yet so many of them hold their secrets to this day... while their male counterparts write books about their bravery and derring do. Liza Mundy has an amazing capacity to cram a lot of information into her stories,


All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis
Given our current political climate and the rage coma I've been in since last November, I've been actively avoiding dystopian fiction. Which is saying something because usually it's my main jam. But I just couldn't bring myself to read horror stories that were just WAY too close for comfort. However, a friend recently read All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis and the moment she told me of the concept, I knew I needed to read it immediately. And if you know me, you k