Waste of Space by Gina Damico

Irreverent. Hilarious. Surprisingly tender. That's how I would describe Waste of Space.

Ten teenagers are cast in a new reality show set in space. Sounds ridiculous––and it it! The whole book is written as a series of "documents" discovered after the show aired, as a way of explaining exactly how everything started to devolve and eventually fall apart.  It uses behind-the-scenes phone calls from the producers, scientists, and crew members; Camera feeds (both on and off-air); Private confessions; and cell phone recordings by the teens trapped in space.

While the ten teenagers are all stereotypically cast for maximum tension, it is the insane man behind the show's idea who got my attention. I love how author Gina Damico gave Chazz (the reality-show producer) an over-the-top personality. I laughed. I gagged. I was shocked. Surely no one is this crazy in real life, right?

Everyone on the ship is trying to win the final prize, but nothing goes as planned (Chazz will try to control this many, many times). What was supposed to be scripted and timed becomes real and dangerous and out of anyone's control.

While it was a heck of a romp, in the end, this was a story about trying to find our place in this world (or the next).

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

I have had Jennifer Egan's latest book, Manhattan Beach, on hold from the library since this spring and it finally arrived a week ago.  I loved several of her previous books: A Visit from the Goon Squad, Look at Me and The Keep. Egan has a way of opening up her characters, developing them into complicated, but realistic people.

Though set during the first world war, Manhattan Beach didn't rely on the usual tropes of battle and pain. Instead it showcased a father and daughter as they both are navigate how to survive when their worlds collapse.

As a child Anna adored her father, accompanying him as he visited men for his union job. But when her father suddenly disappears, Anna is left adrift. As an adult she gets sucked into the underworld her father disappeared into, looking for answers to her father's disappearance and discovering what local nightclub owner, Dexter Styles, knows.

This beautifully-written book was a fascinating story about at a headstrong women determined to succeed and the machinations of a desperate man determined to provide for his family––at any cost.

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy

Hot Milk follows Sofia and her mother, Rose, as they travel to Spain where they will see a new doctor who will hopefully be able to finally explain Rose's seemingly incurable illness.

Levy's writing provides deep insights into human nature and in this book she allows us into the mess that is Sofia's life. While in Spain, moving strangely as if in a haze through the hot, muggy landscape, she must navigate her depressing relationship with her dependent mother, all while encountering new people who also demand her attention.

This is a story, sure. But it is not light reading. Levy has drawn her characters and their every action with purpose, pointing readers to what underlies their motivations, insecurities and messiness.

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

The Breakdown. It is certainly a title with double meaning. When Cass sees the car broken down in the rain on the way home one night, she stops but does not get out to help. The next morning, a woman is found dead inside that very car.

Over the next weeks, Cass starts forgetting things. She begins to question everything and wonders if she also forgot something she did that night she stopped by the car.....

I appreciated the story structure Paris used to put this suspenseful tale together. I didn't figure things out too quickly, but was carried along by the mystery and was pleased when the clues started to connect. 

This is an easy thriller I would recommend to anyone who likes this genre.

Toot & Puddle by Holly Hobbie

Friends, even those who live together, can be very different. Such is the case with pigs, Toot and Puddle. Toot wants to see the world; Puddle likes to stay at home in Woodcock Pocket.

 (Woodcock Pocket: I love saying that aloud. So satisfying in the mouth).

Holly Hobbie's pictures are stunning, which is why I fell in love with these darling pigs. Their understanding of the sorts of differences we find in each other - and embrace -  is a lovely picture of friendship for young children.

I fell for her earlier books - before they became more brightly colored and eventually a tv series. I will advocate for the originals as my favorites by far.









You can find more of the original-style adventures with Toot & Puddle here:

Big Sister, Little Sister by LeUyen Pham

I fell in love with Big Sister, Little Sister because I am a big sister and I have a little sister. This book captures so much of what that experience is like. 

Pham goes between their two perspectives both in simple statements and amazing pictures.

According to the big sister, she is always right and always looks out for her little sister.  However, according to the little sister, she is always right and she doesn't need looking after. It was fun to hear my boys (big brother, little brother) identify with these girls in their sibling roles.

Pham's style of illustrating gives life to all of the facial expressions and body language that accompany interactions between sisters. Or siblings, period.

If you are a sister or have daughters or know what it means to have/be a sibling, this book is a gem.

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

Now that all three of my kids are older, I don't have the regular pleasure of reading picture books aloud.

I still love them.

Two nights ago I read Ada Twist, Scientist aloud to a friend's daughter,  three-year old Lily. I love that it encourages children to ask questions in order to understand their world. That's what a good scientist does, right?

As any good picture book should do, David Roberts' illustrations made Lily ask questions and look for clues in order to answer some of the questions Ada Twist asks within the story.

There are a fair amount of words (great vocabulary, too!) but even with Lily at age three, there was plenty to spur excellent conversation about the basics of what it means to be a scientist.





Andrea Beaty and David Roberts have other books about children pursuing career interests. Check out these titles as well:

Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

I only read Peace Like a River because a friend recommended it....even named his first-born after its main character, Reuben. Its soft cover art and even the title itself would not have drawn me to put it in my library bag on a normal weekly run.

Reuben, a pre-teen boy,  tells the story of how he, his father, and spunky younger sister all go on a journey to look for his older brother, who is on the run from the law.

I thought this book would be soft (like the cover) and perhaps too steeped in religious language (the title) to cover any grit there needed to be in a story involving death and law and love. While this story certainly errs on the side of "family-friendly" in terms of how it handled difficult themes, I was pleased that it still gave those themes the weight they deserved.

There are elements of magical realism that I struggled with throughout, but they become increasingly important to Reuben on their journey. I wouldn't add this title to my "best books" list, primarily for how the magical pieces are used in the culmination of the story (no spoilers, sorry).

Overall, I was glad to have read it. It was different than other books I typically choose in that it held onto an ideal worldview in the midst of tragedy. While this bothered me for much of the book, I still valued the story Enger shared through Reuben's eyes.

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

The Girl Before is the perfect psychological thriller set in a world of incredible technological advances. This felt like an extended  episode of Black Mirror.

Emma and Jane both have just experienced traumatic things in their lives and so when the perfect house comes available, they jump at the opportunity to live within its safe boundaries.

Never mind the odd questionnaire that accompanies their applications asking them about their personal habits and what they would do in ethically challenging situations.

Never mind the long list of rules they must obey in order to live there.

Never mind that no one seems to live there for very long.

The book follows both Jane and Emma's experiences living in One Folgate Street...and what we learn about the house and its architect will shock and keep readers enthralled until the very end.

The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

The Girl with Glass Feet is a beautiful, modern fairy tale.

Ida is slowly turning into glass and she has returned to St. Hauda's Land looking for a cure. What she finds instead is Midas, a shy boy who is determined to help her stop the curse that has made her feet heavy and fragile.

Shaw has created a world that hints at the horrible, but still seems beautiful and full of possibility, even in the face of the tragic reality of Ida's feet.

This is a love story of a different kind. It might break your heart, or it might give you a lightness of heart at the hope it provides for us.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

The Vegetarian falls into my "words as art" list of books, where the ideas presented are more important than what is actually happening in the story.

Translated from Korean, this book uses stark, beautiful imagery to capture how one woman's decision to stop eating meat effects those around her in devastating ways.

Admittedly, I think I missed some of the things Kang wanted me to see and understand. I closed the book feeling like I had experienced something profound but unable to express to my husband exactly what it was.  It certainly made me think about our bodies and what makes them beautiful/repulsive, both to ourselves and others.  I saw how our decisions can damage others, but also how our inability to express deep emotions can be more damaging still.

This was an intense examination of passion and commitment to what we believe we must do to survive.