Disclaimer: I received ARCs of Mothers and Other Strangers, Yesteryear, For the Love of the Grind, Love By The Book, This Is Not About Running, and Ghost Town from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links.
To be honest, I'm surprised that I read as many books as I did this month, as I was bogged down by family drama. But there's nothing better than a good book to take the mind off life! Plus, I had one DNF--a rarity for me. American Fantasy was another cruise ship boy band nostalgia story--similar to the one I read last month. I expected fireworks, but apparently they were all wet. Pun intended.
Yesteryear, IMHO, has been polarizing in the book world. Some love it (I did), and others hate it. Don't want to read it? The movie, starring Anne Hathaway, is currently in production. Did Love By the Book, a second novel from the author of Maame, live up to expectations? Maybe not, but it was still a darn good read.
I also read 2! running memoirs this month. They could not have been more different. Remember having to compare and contrast novels in high school lit? Think aging runner hitting her prime vs young phenom getting beaten down by big running. They were both compelling reads, and I couldn't have been happier to have prereleases of them in the same month.
As always, I hope you'll find something you like here. And let me know your thoughts!
Mothers and Other Strangers is a juicy multigenerational family drama centered around 2 young girls, Mae and Sydney, who have been best friends since forever. The parents are friends too, despite some really big secrets that not everyone is aware of. As the timeline progresses, the relationships fracture, and the girls grow apart. The story is told in alternating timelines as well as POVs. I didn't find that confusing, as the author does a great job of presenting the story and developing the characters. The writing is beautiful and the narrative compelling. Although it was a bit long, I wanted to see this one through to the end, and I'm so glad I did!
An ambitious so-called tradwife, Natalie, with a small social media following, aims to present her life as the perfect, organic life in
Yesteryear. But as with most things on social media, her life is all for show. She has modern appliances, nannies, and she hires a producer. Married to a wealthy son of a prominent politician, she becomes bored with him as he seems more interested in the cows than her. The novel alternates between the present and a period of time when Natalie finds herself living her yesteryear life in her house, circa 1850, as a pioneer woman with no modern conveniences. As she attempts to 'wake up' from this nightmare, the reality becomes more apparent. I don't want to share much more than this, because it was fun to go in knowing very little about this one; the plot twists were shocking and entertaining. I won't deny that it was fun reading about this very arrogant woman getting her comeuppance. What a crazy, wild ride of a book!
American Fantasy is the second book I've recently read about a nostalgic fantasy cruise. I sense a new genre. This story takes place on the aptly named American Fantasy, filled with middle-aged women excited to cruise with their favorite boy band from the 1990s. I expected hijinks and hanky panky, but instead, nothing really happened. I couldn't connect with any of the characters. DNF'd at 30%.
In
For the Love of the Grind, elite runner Sara Hall shares the story of her life as a wife, mom, and runner. Hers is a running family, as she is married to Ryan Hall, who holds American records for the full and half marathons. When he retired from long distance running, he became Sara's coach, helping her chase her dreams well into her 40s. I found her journey and her struggles very relatable, even as a recreational runner. She shares her trials as a parent raising 4 girls while training as a full time athlete. She leans into her faith for strength, but that evolves throughout the book and becomes less prominent in her story. Overall, this was one of the best running memoirs I have read. Her journey continues, though, so stay tuned...
A novel about female friendship,
Love By The Book is the story of Remy and her friends. Remy is missing her 3 childhood friends, about whom she's penned a successful novel. When the girls all go their separate ways, Remy is feeling unmoored. By chance, she meets a woman, Simone, in a bookstore, and despite Simone's best efforts to push Remy away, they develop a very unlikely friendship. The author mostly explores this relationship, although there are tangents into the women's lives, allowing the reader to learn more about each of them. For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the author's previous novel,
Maame, and I think that was a tough act to follow. But overall, this was a really good read.
I was familiar with Mary Cain's story from past accounts in
Runners World and
The New York Times as well as several memoirs written by other runners who were coached by Alberto Salazar. Mary was a gifted young runner who, as a child and teen, struggled with peers and other runners. As
This is Not About Running begins, the tone is bitter and angry as Mary recounts the alienation and jealousy she experienced from her fellow teammates, their parents, and the school track coach. Mary sounds bitter and angry, and I almost abandoned the book at that point. I'm glad I didn't. When Mary was still in high school, she signed with Salazar and Nike, which was the beginning of Mary's demise. In 2021, Salazar was banned for life from coaching following allegations of sexual and emotional misconduct. Mary shares the story of her time with the Nike Oregon Project and her struggles with her teammates. It's a sad but engrossing story of an uber-talented young woman who was taken advantage of by the adults she trusted and used for their own career advancement. When will the exploitation of women athletes end?
Tom Perrotta is always a good choice, and
Ghost Town was a quick, enjoyable read. A coming of age story, Jimmy is spending his summer vacation trying to figure out his life after losing his mother to cancer earlier that year. He ends up making bad choices, hanging out with some sketchy characters, as well as a girl with a Ouija board who wants to help him talk to his mom. The grown-up Jimmy, who is a successful author, narrates the story. There was one chapter in the middle of the story when grown-up Jimmy interjects something about his adult self, which, for me, interrupted the flow of the narrative. But that is my only complaint. The author captures growing up in the 1970s perfectly, and despite the heavy topic, I found this one to be an enjoyable read.
How was your month of reading? Have you read either of the running memoirs I've shared this month? How different their paths have been! I'm still boycotting Nike for the treatment of women athletes. Do you boycott companies based on their principles?
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.jpg "Love By the Book")
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