These are the books I read in August 2020 with a rating reflecting my opinion on them. I am leaving books not in English out for your convenience. At the bottom, I will be sharing some recommendations that fall under the category fiction, non-fiction, or non-fiction political. These recommendations are books I have not read myself, so proceed with caution as I cannot speak to their actual quality.
Read
Story Thieves by James Riley
Owen Conners lives a typical boring life until he sees his classmate Bethany jump into a book. Unraveling the mysterious power of fictional world, he gets much more than he asked for, from being held captive by a fictional magician to encountering the mysterious Nobody to taking a heroes place. This engaging and innovative book really grips you and doesn’t let go. A book for book lovers!
Normal People by Sally Rooney
I have a lot of complicated feelings about this novel. It was at times infuriating and a bit pretentious, but there was so much feeling in these pages I couldn’t help but be engaged. The mental heath issues were much more of interest than the at times petty relationship drama, hence why the college years were much more interesting and enjoyable to me. I even pulled out a pencil, underlining things and taking notes, something I rarely do. This is an odd novel and certainly one that aggravated me a little, but it did serve as great food for thought and for the soul.
Trans Mission by Alex Bertie
A very funny and heartfelt memoir centered around one man’s experience of being trans. It was a very emotional and engaging read and I loved the illustrations and general layout as well as the vast amount of educational material included. I was not particularly familiar with the author’s youtube channel, but highly enjoyed this blook nonetheless!
Story Thieves: The Stolen Chapters by James Riley
This second book in a series is weird and meta and funny and brilliant. The twists are clever and the world building fascinating. Can’t wait to read the next part!
Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye
Keller agrees to an odd dare: he has to date a person who asks him out every week. When Kai Sheridan asks him out, a whirlwind of events is set loose. It was all that you want in a rom-com, but that doesn’t mean serious topics such as homophobia, racism and forced outing aren’t a part of the story. This is a lovely tale to read for all, especially young queer folk. Because love is love is love.
Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed
A coming of age story about love, activism and politics. Not only is the relationship between Jamie and Maya very cute and well developed, but the politics and other stuggles they deal with are so detailed, realistic and engaging. This book drew me in and didn’t let go until the last page. The side characters are super interesting and I loved the queer representation as well as the honest and inclusive take on racism, anti-semitism and islamophobia.
Fear Street: Bad Dreams by R. L. Stine
A short scary story about a seemingly haunted bed. The mystery was interesting, but not that unexpected. The characters were a little bland and the final resolution lacked a little in pizzazz.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Read for VC Book Club, this is the first time I’ve read this classical dystopian novel, years after I first ventured other classics from the same time period. It was a thought-provoking experience. The tale of a man who is part of an oppressive system who realizes its totalitarian actions and rebels against it. The world this story takes place in is simplistic, just enough to work for the plot, most of the characters are similarly simple. But the language used by the author makes it all work together in the most beautiful way. Fahrenheit 451 justifiably is one of the classics for its beauty and its morals, for the sheer craft behind it. It was truly a joy to read.
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
A mysterious notebook appears in Dash’s favorite bookstore and starts off a grand adventure through Manhattan during Christmas time. It’s a sweet and engaging love story that’s as much about growing up, family and finding yourself as anything. Lily and Dash are both interesting characters as well as their family and friends and following their journey was super interesting! The only thing that bothered me was that sometimes their actions weren’t very easy to understand and some storylines in the background kind of fizzled out.
So You Created a Wormhole by Phil Hornshaw & Nick Hurwitch
Read for VC Book Club, this is a funny as well as educational book about time travel sure to delight every science and science fiction fan. The illustrations and layout of the book are delightful and the writing very accessible. Some rather complicated concepts are communicated in a digestible format and the references to popular science fiction movies and TV shows are myriad. A great read!
The Race by Richard North Patterson
The riveting tale of a Republican primary contest for the ages. Centered around Senator Corey Grace, this book dives deep into the nitty-gritty of politics and its impact on life. Central themes of how far people will go for power as well as racism, homophobia, media conglomerates, campaign finance violations, mental health, rape and addiction permeate this succinct yet dense novel. The twists and turns kept me throughly engaged, even if a few minor plot points felt stilted to me and at times the time skips and pacing were unpleasant.
The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
Brie is almost 16 and just died. From a broken heart. Now in the kind-of-afterlife, joined by mysterious fellow dead kid Patrick, she tries to make peace with her early and untimely death. Between exploring the afterlife, getting used to her existence as a sort-of-ghost, and visiting earth and her life on it, this is an emotional, intriguing and empathetic story about love and loss. A lot of good plot twists as well as the heartfelt handing of suicide in this book make it special, special enough to withstand Brie’s sometimes infuriating actions.
Timeless Adventures by Brian J. Robb
A detailed and affectionate look at the history of Doctor Who from 1963-2009, especially focusing on the reflection of political issues in the show. Each decade the show was on the air gets roughly a chapter. The chapters focused on the 60s and 70s are wonderfully detailed and give a great insight into the historical context. The 80s chapter is somewhat lacking, brushing over the historical events of the time assuming the reader is aware of them. Further the author’s personal experience is most reflected in that chapter, as he is very critical of that decade in the show’s history while not sufficiently arguing on a objective basis the merits of said critique. Overall while I was definitely critical about certain assertions of the author, I enjoyed this book a lot!
The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen
Caleb is a regular athletic teenager except that he can feel other people’s emotions. Adam is lonely, depressed and Caleb’s classmate. Their relationship blossoms through this book in the most beautiful way, mixed in between a heartfelt view at mental health, depression in particular, and the more fantastical backdrop of superpower-like abilities and secret organizations. Not only is this a great coming-of-age story, its portrayal of the pressures of high school, the benefits of therapy and healthy relationships was inspired. A sweet yet thoughtful story.
Camp by L. C. Rosen
It’s summertime and Camp Outland opens its doors again for 4 weeks of fun for queer kids. Randy has been a camper for 4 years, but this time is different. This time he’s Del, butch and sporty, all to win over his crush, Hudson, butch gay extraordinaire. Giving up his musical-loving, nail-polish-wearing flamboyant self is hard on Randy, but winning over playboy Hudson is all worth it. Unexpected by his friends, the plan seems to actually work, epic summer romance and all. Until the tension between Del and Randy becomes evident and Hudson turns out to be far different than Randy expected. Every LGBTQ+ person reading this will yearn for a camp like Camp Outland and will resonate with the themes touched upon throughout. It’s a lovely story filled with joy as well as an unflinching look at what it means to be queer, especially as a young person.
David Inside Out by Lee Bantle
David is a gay teenager desperately wanting to not be gay, who learns to accept himself throughout the book. I really wanted to like this book. There were some interesting and cute moments, but most of it was disjointed, uncomfortable, and unrelatable. Despite the shoehorned references to modern technology this story read like it is set in the 70s or 80s, the sexual content was uncomfortable and the pacing badly executed. David widely swings between internalized homophobia and self-acceptance to an extent that seems unrealistic. Sadly a disappointment.
Recommendations
Fiction
The Fourteenth Gouldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
“Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer.
Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far?
Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?”
Restart by Gordon Korman
“Chase’s memory just went out the window.
Chase doesn’t remember falling off the roof. He doesn’t remember hitting his head. He doesn’t, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name.”
Political
The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century by Scott Miller
“In 1901, as America tallied its gains from a period of unprecedented imperial expansion, an assassin’s bullet shattered the nation’s confidence. The shocking murder of President William McKinley threw into stark relief the emerging new world order of what would come to be known as the American Century. The President and the Assassin is the story of the momentous years leading up to that event, and of the very different paths that brought together two of the most compelling figures of the era: President William McKinley and Leon Czolgosz, the anarchist who murdered him.”
Injustices: The Supreme Court’s History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted by Ian Millhiser
“Few American institutions have inflicted greater suffering on ordinary people than the Supreme Court of the United States. Since its inception, the justices of the Supreme Court have shaped a nation where children toiled in coal mines, where Americans could be forced into camps because of their race, and where a woman could be sterilized against her will by state law. The Court was the midwife of Jim Crow, the right hand of union busters, and the dead hand of the Confederacy. Nor is the modern Court a vast improvement, with its incursions on voting rights and its willingness to place elections for sale.”
Nonfiction
True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray by James Renner
“When an eleven-year-old James Renner fell in love with Amy Mihaljevic, the missing girl seen on posters all over his neighborhood, it was the beginning of a lifelong obsession with true crime. That obsession led Renner to a successful career as an investigative journalist. It also gave him post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2011, Renner began researching the strange disappearance of Maura Murray, a University of Massachusetts student who went missing after wrecking her car in rural New Hampshire in 2004. Over the course of his investigation, he uncovered numerous important and shocking new clues about what may have happened to Murray but also found himself in increasingly dangerous situations with little regard for his own well-being. As his quest to find Murray deepened, the case started taking a toll on his personal life, which began to spiral out of control. The result is an absorbing dual investigation of the complicated story of the All-American girl who went missing and Renner’s own equally complicated true-crime addiction.”
No One at the Wheel: Driverless Cars and the Road of the Future by Samuel I. Schwartz
“Our time at the wheel is done. Driving will become illegal, as human drivers will be demonstrably more dangerous than cars that pilot themselves. Is this an impossible future, or a revolution just around the corner?”
The Congressional Report 