I did something exciting!*
*Exciting given the very limited amount of exciting things available to me at the moment. Don’t actually get too excited.
Last time I bought a bunch of books, I challenged myself to try to pick a few out that I thought my friend Elise would also enjoy. (Hi Elise!) I sent her a few options, and she picked one that caught her attention. I bought us both copies and eagerly awaited hers to get to her, two states away. And now we’ll be able to read it together!
This might seem like a little thing, but it’s something I’m super looking forward to. Since we live hours away from each other, we don’t get to see each other much. We have other ways to keep in touch and have over the years since we met in college (even when I was across the world in Korea!). Now, though, we’ll have another little way to connect.
Our reading habits overlap some genres, but we also branch out into different directions. While my head is firmly in the clouds of fantasy and magic, Elise has introduced me to some really thoughtful and beautifully written books that she fell in love with. Because of this, it was a fun challenge right from the start to find something that she and I would both enjoy. A little piece of proof like “hey, I know what you like, I gotchu!” (100% platonic though 😂).
She now has her copy, and mine is up next after I finish a library book I’ve been waiting for. Isn’t it always right when you have something else to read that those books come through? *eye roll* I’m excited to chat about the book with her, and have high hopes for the book itself! Looks for a follow up post on our thoughts after we both finish it up. 😁
The Chosen Book
Summary:
After their daughter Maribel suffers a near-fatal accident, the Riveras leave México and come to America. But upon settling at Redwood Apartments, a two-story cinderblock complex just off a highway in Delaware, they discover that Maribel’s recovery–the piece of the American Dream on which they’ve pinned all their hopes–will not be easy. Every task seems to confront them with language, racial, and cultural obstacles.
At Redwood also lives Mayor Toro, a high school sophomore whose family arrived from Panamá fifteen years ago. Mayor sees in Maribel something others do not: that beyond her lovely face, and beneath the damage she’s sustained, is a gentle, funny, and wise spirit. But as the two grow closer, violence casts a shadow over all their futures in America.
My Book Joy 