November 2021 Books: Part One

November was a big month for reading. And when I say big, I mean BIG! So big that I decided I just cannot pack everything into one single blog post and I’ve decided to divide this month up into two parts.

I’m in between home projects, plus we had some sickness in our family that kept us home for a while and I also read over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend so all in all, I finished twelve books this month. Five of them were Christmas-themed books, so I decided to split up my review posts into non-holiday reads and holiday reads. Today I’m reviewing all seven of the non-holiday books I read this month – there were no dud reads for me and there’s a lot to discuss so let’s get to it!

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

The time has come for the Adler family, including twelve-year-old Edward, to complete their move from New York to LA. They board a plane in Newark along with 180 other passengers who all have their own unique reasons to fly to California. Unfortunately, halfway across the country, the plane crashes, leaving Edward the only survivor. This poignant novel alternates between the perspectives of various passengers during the flight and Edward in present time as he struggles to navigate his new life after the crash.

As a nervous flier myself, I was hesitant to pick up a book about a plane crash, but I found this to be an incredibly thought-provoking and touching story of life and loss (and did not make me more afraid to fly after reading). It was hard to put down and made me feel all the feels – sadness, despair, hope, it’s even a bit uplifting believe it or not. The characters are all so vivid and realistic! Seeing how others around Edward deal with the aftermath of the crash, watching Edward grow and cope, meeting the passengers and getting glimpses of their lives in the hours prior to the crash, it’s all just very raw and real and is told in a way that does not feel like fiction. This was a truly unforgettable read about loss, hope, and healing` that will stay with me for a long long time. Highly recommend!

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Concealed behind a false wall in a little shop on an inconspicuous back alley in 18th century London, Nella works as an apothecary. She dispenses medicines to heal . . . and also, occasionally, kill. She has vowed to never use her poisons to harm another woman, but while a young girl, Eliza, is spending time in her shop, a string of events unfolds that will change things for Nella and Eliza forever. In present day London, Caroline stumbles across a tiny vial along the River Thames that leads her on a quest to find answers – and the mysterious apothecary.

I absolutely devoured this book! It’s told in alternating perspectives from Nella, Eliza, and Caroline and while I didn’t find Caroline or much of her storyline to be especially likeable, I could not get enough of Nella and Eliza. I feel like I constantly have the travel bug in this seemingly-endless pandemic, but this book especially made me wish I could travel to Europe. Imagining 18th century London and the world where Nella and Eliza lived was so interesting to me! I did love the hunt that Caroline embarked on to find answers – it made me want to just pore over old maps and other archived documents in an old library somewhere. I was impressed that this was a debut novel, but at the same time, it was not without flaws for that same reason. I don’t want to specify my critiques too specifically to avoid giving anything away, but I’ll just say I think there were a few things that needed to be added, and a few that could’ve been left out, in order to make this a complete home run. All in all, it was still a really enjoyable read and I do recommend it!

Tightrope by Amanda Quick

After a haunting near-death experience, former trapeze artist Amalie moved to the exclusive celebrity town of Burning Cove and poured all her money into buying a mansion to turn into a bed and breakfast. Unfortunately for her, the mansion is the site of a previous death and when her first guest is murdered by his own robot invention, the mansion gets a reputation for being cursed. One person who doesn’t buy into the curse is Matthias – he knows that there was more to that now-missing robot than meets the eye and he’s determined to retrieve it. Though she suspects he has ties to the criminal underworld, Amalie has to decide if she can trust Matthias enough to work together (and explore their mutual attraction?) and find the missing machine before someone much more dangerous does.

Back in September I read another book from the Burning Cove series and enjoyed it well enough to try another book. In a lot of ways, this book felt very similar. There are overlapping side characters, the death in the first book I read was at the mansion featured in this book, and there was the same vibe of 1930’s Hollywood glitz and glamour combined with gangsters and danger. There are again a few plot details that feel a little far-fetched or side plots that felt unnecessary, but I mostly enjoyed the twists and turns. Even though I did guess some parts, it was still a decent read. I liked the dynamic between Matthias and Amalie (there are two or three fairly brief but steamy scenes that you can see coming and could skip if you prefer) and enjoyed seeing some of the same characters from the previous book I read. I think overall, this series falls in like a B+ range for me. I’m not hooked enough to continue to seek out more in the series at this point, but if I come across another Burning Cove book in the library, I wouldn’t mind reading it.

The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin

After all commercial flights from Salt Lake City to Denver are cancelled due to a winter storm, Dr. Ben Payne is able to charter a small private plane to fly around the storm and keep him on track to get back home in time for work the next day. There’s an extra seat on the plane so he invites Ashley Knox, whom he met in the airport and knows is trying to get home in time for her wedding, to join. Unfortunately, the pilot has a deadly heart attack mid-flight and crash lands in the middle of a vast wilderness. Ashley and Ben survive the crash, but Ashley has a fractured leg, Ben has broken ribs, they have no food, the winter weather is harsh, and they didn’t tell anyone about the charter flight . . . meaning no one else on earth even knows where to look for them. Ben slowly nurses Ashley back to better health and starts a long and harrowing journey to try and get them out of the wilderness, all while leaving messages in a recorder for his wife. As Ashley overhears his tender messages, she realizes that her own impending marriage feels like settling and there might be more out there for her – if they survive the wilderness.

I can’t believe I read not one but two books about a plane crash this month but again, this one didn’t make me feel more afraid to fly because of how specific the crash situation was. I also don’t generally like man-vs-wild survival stories, but I found myself slowly becoming more and more invested in this one. It was a little strange to have interruptions to the present time when Ben was reminiscing to his wife in the recorder on their shared past, but I got used to it. It also helped that the entire book wasn’t just trying to survive in the harsh wilderness – it was just long and suspenseful enough to be a convincing story without being too long that it started to drag. I hesitate to say more because while this was recommended to me by a friend, I also saw an influencer on IG recommend it and that person unintentionally said something that was actually a big spoiler for me. I don’t want to do that to you so I’ll just say: a book about a plane crash and wilderness survival is not usually in my wheelhouse but I did enjoy this one! I believe it’s also been made into a movie and I bet that would be an interesting watch.

Love, Comment, Subscribe by Cathy Yardley

Though she tried to get in with the popular crowd in high school, Lily Wang was firmly planted in a tight-knit group of friends called the Nerd Herd. Now ten years later, she’s a successful beauty YouTuber trying to make it to the five million subscriber mark and get noticed by big beauty brands. Also finding success as a YouTube gamer and prankster is fellow Nerd Herd member Tobin Bui. Though they drove each other crazy in high school, Lily realizes it could be beneficial for the growth of both their careers to team up for a series of crossover videos. When the first one goes viral, they realize they’re on to something and start to work closely together, causing them to realize they not only get along better as friends than they thought, but there also might be something more there too.

Usually I have a rule that a rom com should not be longer than 200-250 pages, but I am willing to make exceptions for the right stories and this book is one of them. It’s pretty long for a rom com but I loved it! I am not a YouTube watcher but it was really fascinating to get a look behind the curtain on how content creators work and all they have to do to achieve success in that world. It felt fresh and relevant and interesting. I also loved both Lily and Tobin and thought they had a really great dynamic (it does get rated R steamy at times). It’s a frenemies-to-lovers plot that also touches on important topics like mental health and figuring out what really matters in life. I was invested in from start to finish! I did get a little tired of Lily’s strange obsession with being popular but I loved their Nerd Herd friend group and was excited to find out that this was actually book one of a series (I think the next book will be published in early 2022) following that group of friends. I will definitely be reading more of this series!

I Hope This Finds You Well by Kate Baer

This past February I read and loved Kate Baer’s first book of poetry, What Kind of Woman, so I was very excited to read this book of her “erasure poems.” I believe this all started when she received a negative message from someone and specific words jumped out at her from the message. By whiting out other words, she kept specific words from the negative message and turned it into a poem. Over the years, she did this more and more and eventually, it became this entire book of poems. She has taken negative messages, positive messages, unsolicited MLM messages, and even some speeches from public figures, and turned them into really meaningful poetry. I meant to read this slowly and indulge in her words, but I found I couldn’t put it down and read it in a single sitting! I know I will return to it again though – it’s the kind of poetry that you can come back to again and again and get something different from it each time. I think even those who don’t like or naturally gravitate towards poetry will enjoy this short collection of work and I highly recommend it!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Written as a diary-style letter to an unknown friend, this book follows observant, socially awkward teenager Charlie as he navigates the confusing world of adolescence, including first dates, new friend groups, parties, substances, family dynamics, and much more. Charlie shares his life in a raw, vulnerable way that is poignant, relatable, and even nostalgic for the reader.

This book was written over twenty years ago and has been a movie for almost a decade, so I am definitely late to the game here. When another reader friend said she read it and loved it, I decided to check it out and I’m so glad I did! It is deep and moving, thought-provoking and memorable. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me want to hug Charlie and my own teenage self. The style of writing really makes you feel like Charlie is talking to you, and it pulled me right in from the beginning. Though Charlie is young, there are a lot of difficult subjects brought up, including abusive relationships, sex, drugs, suicide, and depression. I feel like the author does a great job of addressing each of these things through Charlie’s eyes in a way that feels true to how a teenaged boy would feel. It’s a quick read but it packs a big punch and I would recommend it!

WHEW!! What a month of reading . . . and I’m not done yet! Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of my November reads and all the festive Christmas cheer that came with them. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you’re reading and enjoying now – I’m always looking for good recommendations!