”For There She Was”

The best books I read in 2019.

They were all amazing and moved me a great deal.

My top 3 were The New Me, Convenience Store Woman, and Freshwater.

I can’t get over how pretty. Also, I have been trying to cut down on drinking during the week, and having “better” wine on the weekends, so just note this is ORGANIC wine I’m trying. I think I’m healthier already just typing that out.

Black Light: Stories by Kimberly King Parsons 4⭐️

Pumpkin Beer Pretzels 🤩 I’ve never made pretzels, but it was easy and delicious. I encourage everyone to make them. A perfect fall treat :)

Recipe below: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/pumpkin-beer-pretzels-with-chipotle-queso

The Book of X by Sarah Rose Etter 5/5 ⭐️

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi 5/5

I haven’t read a YA novel in a few years, but as soon as I saw Emezi was publishing one, I immediately picked it up. And it is truly a gem. Our protagonist Jam discovers Pet, a creature who reveals it’s hunting a monster that lives in her best friend’s house. Since monsters were eradicated from society years ago, Jam struggles with what to believe and how a kid is supposed to deal with the responsibility of great knowledge. Outside of creating a beautiful fantastical world, there are so many real-life topics Emezi writes here that young people need to read: exploring your own sexuality and gender, having healthy friendships and romantic relationships that are not “conventional”, recognizing and dealing with sexual abuse, and how to deal with crimes such as these as a young person... These topics are pretty rare in YA fiction, but Emezi writes them so well! They exist in their novel organically, just as they exist in reality. I underlined so many sentences (just like I did in Freshwater). Emezi has a way to introduce a story you can’t stop thinking about while they incorporate difficult situations that you want to work through alongside the characters. I can’t wait for what they publish next.

“Forgetting is how the monsters come back.” ( p. 20)

Ps: I love how my puppy chewed my book up, but not the text because she knew how excited I was to read it.

Starling Days by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan 5/5

LOVE LOVE LOVE. Everything about Starling Days is wonderful and perfect. Mina’s relationship with depression is refreshingly realistic, which in turn makes the novel hard to read at times as she thinks and acts in ways that felt very familiar. To lash out at those you love, to feel numb on the most important days of your life, to feel like your body begins to shut down and betray you, to know that deep down no matter how much you want to get better, you’ll always have this illness that’s inexplainable to those without it. I can only imagine the strength it took Buchanan to write this. We need more fictional characters with mental illness because it’s so common and because fiction is one of the best ways to find a perspective other than our own. I believe this book will provide such a perspective to its readers, and that makes this a very special and important novel. Beyond that, Buchanan writes with colorful lyrical prose (much like her debut novel), drawing you in between Mina and Oscar’s worlds seamlessly. I appreciate that Buchanan chose to write from Oscar’s perspective as well, which allows readers to see Mina’s illness from the viewpoint of a confused and frustrated loved one; however, there is a distance between the reader and Oscar that isn’t there with Mina, possibly encouraging us to listen carefully to her story? I’m sad I’m finished because I so looked forward to opening this up the past couple of days. Buchanan continues to amaze me, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Very Nice by Marcy Dermansky 4/5 ⭐️