Review | Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood // Trevor Noah

Love is a creative act. When you love someone you create a new world for them. My mother did that for me, and with the progress I made and the things I learned, I came back and created a new world and a new understanding for her. 

I picked up this book for a prompt because I somehow remembered that Trevor Noah was from South Africa. I didn’t know what I was in for. Because a lot of comedians will write memoirs and sometimes it won’t be funny and this book wasn’t funny. 

But it was the realest thing I’ve ever read. 

The way he describes navigating his life during apartheid after apartheid and all it entailed including an abusive stepfather, feeling like an “other”. There were things about his experiences that though unique were utterly universal. He didn’t fit in anywhere and he kept stressing that one must make a choice because race is such a large topic in the American Arena, it was refreshing to see racism from another point of view in another arena. He explained a lot of things that I personally had never heard of, so this book, while entertaining, was also incredibly educational.

The stories, while some funny, highlighted the struggles that most kids growing up face, although he had to do more because of where he grew up. He talks about his first crush and love and not understanding the intricacies of domestic violence and how to escape the hood and the concept is the black tax. After reading this and understanding what he went through I have a new appreciation for how he can stand up and make people laugh for a living. There’s strength in that.

It seems like all the circumstances fit together in a way that can only be God ordained. I don’t think there is a single thing in this book but I could say that I disliked. it made me laugh at all the weird situations he would find himself in, it made me cry when he was beaten down, it made me angry when I read about the injustice but at no point did I want to put this book down. It was an utterly singular experience that I would highly recommend to anyone who is going to pick up a memoir or pick up something from an author who is not from America.

There are three things that I learned from this book and (I don’t usually learn things from books) I learned that no matter how smart you think you are, your mother is smarter. I learned that language is the unifier of people and I learned that as long as you focus on the differences of the people around you, to you, you will always be alone. 

I thank Trevor for writing this and for getting out of the “Hood” and for giving hope that it can happen and it will happen if you believe in yourself and have a mother who never lets you get away with anything. 

2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge – A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America 
2019 ATY Challenge – A book related in some way to a TV show/series or movie you enjoyed 

Review | A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove // Fredrik Backman

Ove had never been asked how he lived before he met her. But if anyone had asked him, he would have answered that he didn’t.

It’s amazing. I’m astonished at how this book made me laugh, cry and then get frustrated that the book was making me cry. This is such a great book. This reads like different stories strung together by Ove’s thread. Ove was so lovable. Because he didn’t mince words; he was straight forward in all his dealings, had integrity, saw the world in black and white, in lines and numbers and the way that this book unfolds, shows the reader that there is truly a place for everyone in our world. 

I have nothing to say about the things I didn’t like, because everything was great. The way all of the characters were introduced was phenomenal. I loved Parvenah. She was stubborn and empathetic; strong and loving. I instantly fell in love with her character. The way he talked about his wife made me cry. I’ve never read a description of a significant other that wasn’t corny. This was so genuine and lovely that I tossed my kindle on the couch because it made me cry. 

This was a perfectly constructed novel; every inch of it took me out of myself and transported me into Ove. At the end of the day, and at the end of our lives, we are all a little like Ove. Wondering what the world will come to in our absence and doing our best to make our mark before we go. We are all a little stubborn, all a little passionate, all a little loving and maybe prone to anger but at the end of the day. Just good. 

I was told that this is very similar to Gran Torino. I’ve never seen the movie but I highly doubt it. This was something that I’m a better person for reading. Because of this great impact, I give this book a five out of five stars. I love this book but also hate it because it made me emotional. 

2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge – A book set in Scandinavia
2019 ATY Challenge – A book featuring an elderly character 

Book Review | Helter Skelter

Helter Skelter // Vincent Bugliosi

Wow. Just wow. 

It’s one thing to know about this through pop culture and our society’s recent fascination with serial killers but to know the intricacies of the case and how it was almost bungled is baffling. 

I know that the epilogue is outdated because Manson died in 2017 and Leslie Van Houten was denied parole again. There still has ever been something as heinous as this committed and for the reason it was committed. I didn’t know about the additional murders before and after the murder of Sharon Tate and Graham, so this was really interesting to understand. 

I didn’t know the measure of Manson’s belief system. I had heard about the Tate Murders and watching all the different movies and TV shows made about this time period made me see Manson’s failure as a musician and him murdering people who rejected him or didn’t help him with his career. I had no idea that he was talking about Helter Skelter as a race war between blacks and whites. 

Reading this I am both amazed and perplexed as to why the movie and TV depictions don’t include a lot of the more apocalyptical aspects of Manson’s belief system. It feels like the most important part. Or at least the most interesting part. 

This book blew me away. The detail was focused on the trial and the police investigation which makes sense because D.A Vincent Bugliosi was the prosecutor on the case. This book has sold me on reading more of his work in the future. I appreciated this viewpoint because very often it feels like true crime books, try as they might not to glamourize this behavior, they do. I have never been a fan of the books that discuss the crimes in vivid detail; the road to justice is the most interesting part to this. 

I am going to say 5 out of 5, the hardcore true crime fan in me highly recommends this book. 

2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge – A book about someone with a superpower
2019 ATY Challenge – 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme 

Rave Review | The Plea by Steve Cavanagh

Ever since I read Thirteen last year, I have been slowly going through the rest of the books. They are part of a series revolving around an ex-conman defense attorney with street smarts and a penchant for pissing off the wrong people. I’ve read them all out of order but I love that it doesn’t matter because we get a lot of backstory.

Short review: I loved it.

Long review:

#throwbookthursday! ARC Review | How Could She by Lauren Mechling

I finished this book by in December and I love it so much! So I thought I would revisit it and post my initial review!

So I finally finished this book and OMG. 

Things happen but it’s so interesting to truly look at what lies beneath the surface of a friendship. This is some of the best character development that I have ever seen. The novel centers around three women in media in various stages of their lives, though about the same age, their careers, and loves have taken them to different places. This is the story of what happened when they find themselves in the same city for the first time in a while. 

The novel starts out with a letter from Sunny. The woman who can be hailed a success from the outside, with her husband and art career. Geraldine is still in Toronto, nursing old wounds from a fiance who left her or rather made her leave him through his inaction. She is subletting Sunny’s place and this is the first hint that we get that the relationship, once equal, is now quite skewed. Rachel lives in New York City with her scientist husband and their two-year-old child, Cleo. She writes young adult fiction and still works for the same magazine that employs Sunny. 

As you read on, you start to see the cracks in their seemingly perfect lives. 

[ Nick, Sunny’s husband feels as though he is mostly for show and doesn’t care for her friends, accuses her of being unfriendly toward his sister and makes her take care of his daughter, Agnes, on the weekends he is granted visitation. 

Rachel’s finances are in the crapper and the magazine is going under and she is trying so desperately to stay relevant in an ever-changing media circus. Her husband is offered a job back in Toronto but Rachel sees New York City as the promised land even though it has done nothing for her except make her feel utterly unexceptional. 

Geraldine comes to New York and tries to make her own way, as she is starting to realize that her friends are not really trying to help her get back on her feet. They meet conspiratorially behind her back, keeping some big secret that comes out at the end of the book. 

Sunny and Rachel pity Geraldine for not making it out of Toronto sooner, for being dumped, for now having a burgeoning career but for all their pity, they don’t really want to help her. They saw what the breakup did to her and Peter, after the death of his mother, is sniffing around again. They want to protect her from backsliding into his arms. They vastly underestimate their friend. 

No matter how hard they try, they just can’t seem to happy for their friend. Downplaying her ideas, even going so far as to steal them for a meeting pitch. It ultimately goes nowhere but that really solidified to me that even though the novel was about friendship, it was also about frenemies and envy and society and FOMO and what it really means to be loyal.]

As for the writing, holy biscuits. I annotated this book because I found myself itching to underline so many beautifully written passages. There is something wonderfully calculating with every choice of word. I had my Merriam-Webster handy because I was constantly looking up certain words. I felt like I learned so much and I found a golden nugget on every page. I learned so much about these women. So complex and well-rounded and I just wanted to know more about what happens to them because Mechling made me care. 

5/5 stars. 

Sunday Spotlight | Rave Review| Little Voices by Vanessa Lillie

Little Voices is about new mother, ex-criminal attorney Devony Burges. On the same day she is wheeled into emergency surgery to deliver her child, her best friend is murdered. As she recovers from the birth of her child and her adjustment to motherhood, she tries to solve the murder of her friend. No matter what the cost.

This has to be one of the best thrillers I have ever read. Ever. And from a debut author no less. I am shook. Can I give it more than 5 stars? Of course I can. This is my review. 10 stars.

My favorite thing about thrillers is their ability to shock and scare the mess out of me. I love it because it’s extremely hard to do. This book surpassed my expectations by a long shot.

The beginning of the book rockets you into the worst imaginable position a pregnant woman can be in. Blood, emergency c-section, siren blaring, pain searing. My pulse quickened and forgot to breathe.

The most amazing thing about this book is that you WILL NOT figure out what is going on. I say this has someone who reads thriller/mystery/suspense almost daily. This book was formulated with the readers in mind. I loved being in the dark about what was going on. Taking this journey with Devony was something I will never forget.

Most thrillers I don’t think I will reread because the only thing they have going for them is the major twist at the end but there are so many nuances.

Our protagonist Devony is an absolute badass. There is no question she is playing in a man’s world. There is no question that there is corruption all around her, but she works as hard as she can for justice.

I loved all the different characters that Devony interacted with. They were gritty and raw. The writing style was reminiscent of Kimberly Belle. I know that I’ve already said it. I CANNOT believe this is her first novel!

If this is her out the gate, I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next!

Review | I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

I heard about this book back in 2018 when I was listening to My Favorite Murder, a podcast. (I no longer listen to it; it’s not that good anymore). These women were talking about this book in regards to the impact that it had on the investigation of the Golden State Killer and how he received that moniker. 

I didn’t realized how good it was going to be. It wasn’t just a book about the killer himself, who we now know through DNA evidence is Joseph James DeAngelo, aged 73, it was about her. She told stories about how she got hooked on it, was honest about how it affected her marriage to comedian Patton Oswalt. She recounted the murder from her childhood that started her down the path of being a crime investigator. 

Even though she is gone, dying in her sleep in 2016, the book was finished with the help of investigators and editors that Patton hired. The press conference for the book revealed this new name for the killer and that peaked public interest in it, but if you are looking for a behind the scenes look on how they caught him. 
This is not it.

She did not actually catch him, as we know, GSK was captured in April 2018. 

However, the writing is exquisite. Her stories so piercing. The way she relayed the evidence. The saddest thing was she wasn’t able to finish it, but the afterward by Patton had me crying. 

Even if you aren’t into this genre, there is something heartwarming about this. 

Which says a lot about her craft. 

Because this book is about a serial killer. 

2019 ATY Reading Challenge – A book from one of the polarizing or close call votes : A book that’s sad, depressing, devastating or dark

Rave Review | Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult is a book I have owned for a couple of years and never opened. Until now. This book written by a white author was about a black Labor and Delivery nurse who was accused of killing an infant because she was removed from his care by his white supremacist parents. You read that right. Heavy, I know. 

The reason I mention that the author is white is that writing from a black woman’s perspective is extremely hard if you have experienced it. There are small slights that you have to question all the time. Micro-aggressions muttered by colleagues, jokes made by friends, and because you don’t want to be THAT girl, you keep your mouth shut. I believe that Ms. Picoult did her research. Because I felt understood when I read Ruth’s story.

I believe this book did a fantastic job of putting together the differing perspectives and throwing curveballs at me that I didn’t know were coming. I don’t read this kind of dramatic fiction often but I think I’m going to start. As a black woman, I am very conscious about race, as a black woman in an interracial relationship, I am very conscious about race. I identified with Ruth who did all the right things and still got all the looks of her peers that she was going to be doing something wrong or that she wasn’t in charge. 

I think this book is designed to make you feel a little discomfort. I didn’t gasp with realization when Ruth got carded or got her receipt checked or when the manager followed her around the store in the mall. I nodded my head, knowing that these are things that I’ve experienced, but could never really explain because it wasn’t happening to the people around me. I understood when she questioned herself, whether a perceived slight was just an overreaction due to “sensitivity” or if it was in fact, discrimination.

Books like this look you straight in the face and tell you the truth. Sometimes it’s a hard pill to swallow. I think that above all, it was a very well written book and I recommend it wholeheartedly. 

Rave Review | Warcross by Marie Lu

So, I listened to this book and read the rest of it on Kindle and I just have to say that this book was very very well done. And yes I mean very very. a couple of months ago I tried to read Ready Player one and promptly DNF’d it. And so I was looking for another book that fit the LitRPG prompt of the popsugar challenge. I stumbled across this book through the Facebook page popsugar challenge and Boy, am I excited!. I rushed through this book oh, I was so excited that I put away other books to read this book. I would probably say that this is young adult / new adult, but this book was incredible if I can give it more than five stars I would. I was laughing, I was crying, I was uncomfortable. And every moment built on next, there are certain books that I’ve read that I feel could have been edited more, like certain scenes cut out or superfluous language but this book took me on a ride that I never wanted to get off of.

The function of every character was essential and it was so utterly beautiful. The syntax and diction felt unflinchingly honest and strict. This book was so beautifully constructed that putting it down was not an option. The tension was perfectly pitched and I was surprised. I was genuinely surprised at how expertly this story was weaved together. I have heard that the sequel is not as good as the first book and I wouldn’t be surprised by that (wow, I’m saying that a lot). It’s hard to replicate this.

I did notice so inconsistencies between the audiobook and the kindle version. There were different retorts. Like one time in the middle of one of the battles, there was a difference in what Tremaine said to Roshan.

I don’t know if that was because it was a difference in tone or what was trying to be conveyed. All I know is that I was shocked at every part, even though I knew what was going to happen. I think that the secret of that lies in how it was revealed.

In any case, I will be continuing with the series. I would recommend this to anyone who doesn’t normally read scifi or fantasy.

5/5 stars!

RAVE REVIEW| How to Love a Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I LOVED this book. I mean so much that I bought a physical copy after listening to it on Libby. As someone with Jamaican heritage, I was able to really get something out of this. It brought me back to my youth and I bought a copy for my partner because I felt that it was an accurate depiction of the nuanced facets of Jamaican culture. 

Things I liked: 
The writing was phenomenal. Each story had its own distinct voice and that’s not just because I listened to it, but because there was something that made them all different even though they centered around the same theme. I mean it was something to be admired because I found myself emotionally invested in every character, even though I was only introduced to them for a short time. 

Things I didn’t like: 
Nothing…

Overall / Final Thoughts: 
I feel like this is a true depiction of Jamaican culture. There is something here that can transcend that but it does a great job of explaining some of the traditions and expectations held by Jamaicans and it did so without making fun. It did so with elegance and grace and made me more proud of my heritage.

2019 POPSUGAR Challenge – A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter