January Reading Wrap Up
Phew, I thought January would never end! But if there is one upside to the endless days, it’s that I actually got a lot of reading in, and I thought I’d share what I read and loved over the month. Also, as a reminder, in an effort to spread my online presence around and build a platform in places not controlled by our new tech oligarchs, I am reviving not just this blog but my newsletter! The newsletter will be pretty low-key, just big bookish updates and my monthly reading round ups. If you want to sign up, you can do so here.
Now, let’s get into the books!
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
I listened to everyone rave about this book for the back half of 2024 and finally my library hold came in and all I can say is holy crap, you all were right. Not to be obnoxious, but this is defintiely a book that you want to go into knowing as little as possible, although I will give one big heads up for suicide ideation (and to a lesser extent, pet death, infertility, and grief). It’s about a woman who, in the wake of her divorce, goes to a beautiful Newport, RI hotel suite for a night and discovers that she’s the only one at this hotel that’s not there for a weeklong wedding, and is further shocked by an unconventional connection to the bride. The characters were all brilliantly rendered, and I just could not stop listening.
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
I’m a huge Kingfisher fan, mainly of her adult horror novels, but this lower YA fantasy standalone has a lot of the same wit and action as the adult novels I love. It’s about a world where some people have magic, but their magic is limited to very specific medium or skill. For our protagonist, its dough–which is convenient as she’s a baker’s apprentice. But when other magic wielders start disappearing and she becoms a target of a murderous villain known as the Spring Green Man, she finds herself on the run and soon her city’s only hope against an enemy that would destroy everything she loves. I adore the humor and the voice, and I really liked that this was a book about how one young person can make a huge difference–through their actions, yes, but also just by being brave enough to stand up for what’s right.
Just Do This One Thing For Me by Laura Zimmerman
Go with me on this for a second, but I think if you’ve ever craved a YA book that feels like Fargo, this is it. (Maybe I am the only one who has ever craved this? Let’s not dwell.) Drew is the responsible oldest daughter to an irresponsible con woman. She’s the one who makes sure her little brother eats right and get to school, and that her younger sister doesn’t get into too much trouble. She’s always reluctantly going along with her mom’s schemes, but when her mom takes off impulsively to Mexico for New Year’s and doesn’t return, Drew suddenly has to figure out not only how to keep her family together, but also keep anyone from finding out that her mom is gone lest her siblings be separated by social services…and that’s easier said than done considering her mom’s biggest con is about to blow up in their faces. There was so much I liked about this one: The chilly, northern Wisconsin winter setting, the very Midwestern-ness of the book, and Drew’s love for her family. The plot was also really compelling as more and more bad things happen. So yes, the Fargo vibes are there, but considerably less violent. (Although there is somewhat organized crime and a body, you’ve been warned.) I can’t think of much in YA that’s like it, but I was super into it!
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
I finally read this book, which has been on my TBR for years, and I kicked myself for not getting to it sooner. Claudia has just come back from spending the summer with her grandma and she’s a bit upset that her best friend, Monday, never wrote to her while she was away. But as school starts and Claudia gets back into her routine, she’s alarmed to find that Monday remains missing. And it doesn’t matter how many questions she asks or who she goes to, no one seems to know where she is, and what’s worse, no one is as alarmed as Claudia about her absence. This book is a long one (over 400 pages) but the chapters flew by because Jackson is so good at unspooling the story and amping up the tension. It’s clear something isn’t quite right, and since it’s Jackson writing, you can expect a big twist. I found this book as compelling as it was heartbreaking.
Live Laugh Kidnap by Gaby Noone
In the tiny town of Violet, Montana, a megachurch rules all and three teenage girls feel stuck. Genesis is a member of a commune that was in the news fifteen years ago for being a cult (they’ve since rebranded). Zoe grew up in Violet, and she’s working to get out of her hyper-Christian, hyper-conservative community so she can live freely with her girlfriend. Holly has been sent to Violet to live with her dad for the summer after getting in trouble back in LA. When the three girls’ lives collide, they come up with an audacious plan: They’ll kidnap the son of the megachurch’s pastor and use the ransom money to get out of dodge. But they’re wholly unprepared for the consequences of this plan. This is just zany enough of a premise (with a hilarious title) that I knew I’d love the book, and I was so right. I really like how different the three protagonists are and how they become friends despite these differences. I also appreciate that while this book is highly critical of megachurches that exploit its members and purity culture in general, it’s actually very sensitive and nuanced when it comes to believing in God–one of the protagonists is an earnest believer, and it provided a nice balance.
The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson
I finally got a copy of this mystery from the library, and I really loved it. It’s about two very different girls on the social spectrum living in the California beach town of Castle Cove, and it has definite Veronica Mars vibes–the setting has a social scene that’s highly stratified and there are dark things happening beneath the moneyed surface. Alice Ogilvie is a rich girl who disappeared without a trace the previous summer before showing up again, just like her favorite author, Agatha Christie. But ever since she’s been back, she’s been ostracized. Iris Adams is one of the working class locals, haunted by a recent trauma. She wants nothing more than to make enough money so she and her mom can leave Castle Cove for good. So Iris takes the duty of tutoring Alice because the money is too good…only Alice is more interested in investigating the recent disappearance of her former best friend instead of hitting the books. Glasgow and Lawson do such a great job of creating a really believable world in Castle Cove with a wide cast of characters, and I really enjoyed Alice and Iris’s unconventional friendship. I’m listening to the sequel now!
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
Margo is nineteen when she sleeps with her English professor and winds up pregnant. She decides to keep the baby despite having no safety net to speak of, and soon finds herself in way over her head with a newborn. Fired from her job, she’s feeling desperate and so she decides on a whim to start an OnlyFans. But finding financial success on the internet is not easy, so she soon turns to her dad, a retired pro wrestler, down on his luck and living with her and the baby. She applies the same principles of professional wrestling fame to her approach to her OnlyFans and is shocked when it works. But with more money comes more trouble. I really loved this novel. The characterization is brilliant, and Thorpe did some interesting things with POV, which I thought was clever. This was an empowering and deeply empathetic book, and I couldn’t help but root for Margo even throughout her naivete and her missteps. I also listened to this one in about a day, so know it was super compelling!
What did you read and love this month? Any recommendations for February?
