Mini Reviews from July

2 Sentence Summary
Malcolm X’s life growing up, before the X. How he grew up eating dandelion soup, found himself in a big city, and finally behind bars, all when he was barely even an adult.

This was a read for my alphabet challenge, and a very very good one at that! What luck that I found it. I know very little about Malcolm X, and getting some insight into the life behind the well known figure added some intrigue and humanity. Love that the book is coauthored by his daughter.

2 Sentence Summary:
Perez illustrates how women are bafflingly ignored in every aspect of life and in every corner of the world. From product design, to safety tests, to things that are inherently female and should be obvious, we are ignored.

Holy crap y’all. I do want to write a full review for this, but it was just so exhausting and frustrating to learn about. HOW IS THE WORLD THIS BACKWARDS? HOW ARE WOMEN STILL SO IGNORED? The research and presentation is impressive and depressive. The audiobook is narrated by the author, and she knows exactly how to say her words, exactly when a little sly laugh in her voice can soften the blow. And kudos to her, because she never once blames anyone (read: men) for these issues. She works towards resolutions and identifies solutions best for all. So please don’t peg this as man-hating or anything so trite.

2 Sentence Summary:
An incredible investigation into how one aspect of language has roots in damn near everything. And yes, there are lots of puns.

I read this one years ago, but knew I would have forgotten a lot of it. I had. And my reread was a delight, as expected. What’s most amazing is how he covers so many aspects of life that all trace back to puns: biology, history, etymology, neurology, society, coffee shops… it’s truly amazing!

PS – a short post & pun I made about this book earlier this month 😋

2 Sentence Summary:
An story in alternating perspectives of a boy and girl who are an unlikely pair. And so as must happen, they find themselves wanting to be a pair.

I adore Tanaz Bhathena and nothing will change my mind about that after A Girl Like That. This more upbeat contemporary story was fundamentally different, but I still loved the similar shades I found. In the end it was more or less a familiar story. I’m a huge fan of the ending though; I appreciate things that aren’t forced.

2 Sentence Summary:
Jamie and Maya each end up roped into knocking on doors for their upcoming election. Apathy turns into passion, in more ways than one.

2020 is a fascinating year when political YA romances are so wildly popular, huh? I love it. This book got a lot of points largely just for it’s chance to set a trend, entertain, represent, and entertain. That’s a lot to ask, and it was done so, so well!!!

2 sentence summary:
Don’t be fooled: this is a sad book. Eleanor and Raymond accidentally save an old man, and continued forced proximity doesn’t always breed resentment.

I read a chapter when I first bought it and it was too sad. I’ve been pained seeing it on my “unread” shelf. I finally felt like I could handle it. And okay, this book turned into way more deep topics than I expected, but in a good way. It certainly wasn’t as lighthearted as I ever originally expected though. Oof.

PS: here are some thoughts I had while reading this book