Hey all!!! I cannot believe that we made it to 2021!!! 2020 has felt so long but also so short at the same time!! To end off the year I have my December wrap up, along with my thoughts and quick ratings. In no particular order, here we go!!
Faith Taking Flight
Julie Murphy
Blurb: Faith Herbert is a pretty regular teen. When she’s not hanging out with her two best friends, Matt and Ches, she’s volunteering at the local animal shelter or obsessing over the long-running teen drama The Grove. So far, her senior year has been spent trying to sort out her feelings for her maybe-crush Johnny and making plans to stay close to Grandma Lou after graduation. Of course, there’s also that small matter of recently discovering she can fly….
When the fictional world of The Grove crashes into Faith’s reality as the show relocates to her town, she can’t believe it when TV heroine Dakota Ash takes a romantic interest in her. But her fandom-fueled daydreams aren’t enough to distract Faith from the fact that first animals, then people, have begun to vanish from the town. Only Faith seems able to connect the dots to a new designer drug infiltrating her high school. But when her investigation puts the people she loves in danger, she will have to confront her hidden past and use her newfound gifts—risking everything to save her friends and beloved town.
Thoughts: Right off the bat, I really liked the diversity that this book brought by introducing a plus size main character. I know that it is kind of Julie Murphy’s specialty and it is extremely important especially when majority of the other books that are out there don’t have plus size characters at all. I have read Murphy’s books Dumplin’ and Puddin’ in the past both of which I really enjoyed, but for me this book missed the mark. I think that the biggest issue for me was that this book felt like it was trying to deal with a lot of topics such as drugs, fat shaming, dementia, kidnapping, etc, and as a result, the topics that were discussed felt pretty watered down. If Murphy had focused on two of those, the message would have been more powerful.
Grown
Tiffany D. Jackson
Blurb: When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields? Before there was a dead body, Enchanted’s dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey’s charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he’s dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted.
Thoughts: Similar to the last book I also read a book by Tiffany D. Jackson before, Monday’s Not Coming which I also enjoyed. I finished this book in one evening, but make no mistake, not because the book was a light read, but was because the book was so powerful that I couldn’t put it down. This book discusses sexual abuse and one thing that I thought could have been improved is that I thought Jackson downplays the abuse, by having Enchanted just go back to school after her tour with Korey was over. All in all however, I really recommend this book as a way to educate oneself and also as a powerful read.
The Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
Blurb: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…
A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction?if they don’t kill each other first.
Thoughts: This was one of my favorite reads of 2020!! Fun story, I actually purchased and read this book about two years ago, and didn’t really like it that much, but then when I saw everybody recommending it on bookstagram, I decided that I would give it another shot, and I am so happy I did. I thing that I wish happened was that I wish Inej and Kaz would have gotten together in the book! I recommend this book to everybody!
The Merciful Crow
Margaret Owen
Blurb: A future chieftain: Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.
A fugitive prince: When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses―and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.
A too-cunning bodyguard: Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?
Thoughts: I got about half of the way through this book before I stopped, so I don’t really have full context but I think what caused me to stop was that is was a little confusing for me and I wasn’t really in the mood for this book this month. However, I plan to finish reading this book in the new year.
The Thousandth Floor
Katharine McGee
Blurb:
A hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and dreams. But people never change: everyone here wants something…and everyone has something to lose. Leda Cole’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have touched. Eris Dodd-Radson’s beautiful, carefree life falls to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart. Rylin Myers’s job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will her new life cost Rylin her old one? Watt Bakradi is a tech genius with a secret: he knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy by an upper-floor girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web of lies. And living above everyone else on the thousandth floor is Avery Fuller, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.
Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book! It had the perfect amount of intrigue and really reminded me of the show Gossip Girl. Some of the futuristic didn’t really make sense and I also thought that this book was pretty similar to McGee’s American Royals, except that book is more YA. All in all though, this was one of my favorite reads in 2020.
Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie
Blurb: Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. One of his fellow passengers must be the murderer. Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man’s enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.
Thoughts: This book needs no further comment, it is such as classic at this point, I am sure you have heard of this book, watched the movie, or read it. I truly really enjoyed this book and the mystery. Fun story, in middle school, we had a mystery unit where we read And Then There Were None, and before we read the last chapter which revealed who was the killer, we all had a debate on who we thought it was. From then, I have been pretty hooked onto Agatha Christie and love her works and her background. Another favorite read of 2020!
