The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. As someone who is not a fan of contemporary unreliable narrators, I was eager to read a classic with an author doing it right. And what a masterclass this is! Even knowing the twist, it was such a delight to read and pulled me right in. Since I did know the twist, I also got to carefully inspect how Christie made it all happen. Separate post about Roger Ackroyd coming soon!
See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles. I was incredibly interested in this book when it was a family running a restaurant and how that might be embarrassing for the kids as they grow up, but once the dead child came into play, I was out. Maybe I’m just stubborn because in my MFA workshops, we were always taught to not to start with a dream and not to use dead/dying babies/children. It felt like a grab to be really emotional and powerful and just fell flat for me. It was a struggle to finish this one because I felt like the potential story just devolved into sadness and grief for this kid who was already overly cutesy and unrealistic when he was alive.
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict. Agatha Christie’s disappearance has fascinated me and I was eager to “learn” more about it through this fictional depiction. I love how it was handled with the different timelines and how that was structured, especially considering how it came together at the end.
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This was a re-read for me, but I’ve thought of the series so often since I read it in April 2016. When the author recently died, I knew it was time to read it again! I loved this first book so much. It’s wild to me that I originally read it before Covid, and now we’ve been through that and are possibly on the cusp of who knows what in the world… so it was really interesting to re-read it through that lens of what we’ve been through and what’s right around the corner. Series posted about in full (original read and re-read) here.
The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I’d previously read this series so I had vague memories of book two, but it really took me aback on a re-read for it to be a totally different set of characters in a totally different place, but experiencing the same time period. Once I got into it, I appreciated the drastically different interpretation of what happened, and it was well-written in terms of what happened to these characters, but I still think it’s an interesting choice that the writer used the same time period for a second book, even knowing that they’d come together at a later time in the third book. I guess it was easier to write a full second book about the different characters instead of trying to cram all the backstory into the book where he meets Miranda.
The World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I liked how this one brought together the characters from the first two, and while I didn’t care for how religious the second book was, at least it fit the characters. It seemed like everyone was forcibly religious in this book, even though Miranda and her family didn’t seem that way in the first. Not a big deal, maybe just passage of time and the author’s views changing so she put them in the book more? Either way, I think this was a really logical next step for the series.
The Final Episode by Lori Roy. I found this while searching Kindle Unlimited books to read during my free trial and the synopsis caught my attention. I really loved the writing and the way the story was told. I liked that I was never completely sure if I was “watching” slightly fictionalized episodes of the show or truly living what each episode showed from the characters' POVs as it happened. It doesn’t matter either way, but I thought it was an interesting way to think about what each option might have skewed in terms of the truth.
All Fours by Miranda July. I’m still thinking about this one… definitely going to write something longer about it in my September substack once I get my thoughts around it (and turning 40).
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. Going in, this one felt too familiar, like maybe I had read it and DNF before? But I couldn’t find proof of that, so I figured it just seemed similar to other YA true crime/cold case/podcast type books. I stuck with it and got completely obsessed. I thought one of the murderers was incredibly obvious and was surprised they weren’t a suspect all along, but the other took me by surprise. The ending was perfect and definitely made me eager to read the rest of the series.
Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell. I was drawn into this book because the premise was already so twisted that I knew the end had to make it even more so. It did, and I wasn’t totally sure what was coming, so that was enjoyable.
Kill Joy by Holly Jackson. This was a cute short story but I don’t think it added much to my appreciation for what I’ve read of the series so far. Not necessary to read overall, not awful to read, just… there.
Forever… by Judy Blume. This was a re-read (for the thousandth time I’m sure) because I want to watch the Netflix show and compare and contrast them. I think this really held up and honestly, I love it even more now as an older woman and parent. I think it does a great job of showing a realistic relationship and that sex doesn’t always lead to pregnancy and that breaking up isn’t the end of the world. Separate post comparing the book and the show coming soon!
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson. Second books usually feel like a placeholder between the first and third of a trilogy but this one held its own. I thought it was a really good mystery and I love how it pulled in some details from the first book that hadn’t even registered for me. For a teenager solving crimes the police can’t (or won’t), I feel like this is realistically written, especially considering emotions Pip feels after all she’s been through.
As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson. I thought this was a really satisfying end. The first third or even half maybe was VERY repetitive with what Pip was thinking and feeling regarding her trauma. I get that what happened is major and will change a person but for the sake of fiction, I think it could have been cut and handled better. It felt like Jackson was trying to meet word count with those sections. However, how Pip evolved feels really natural and I think the ending was just right. Separate post about the book series and TV show coming soon!
You Must Be New Here by Katie Sise. This one was tough for me to get into. I couldn’t keep the narrators apart initially, and even later on I couldn’t really remember who was who - I kept forgetting who Clara’s kids were and some of Sloane’s history got muddy for me. Overall, it was an okay read, but I feel like the biggest twist was Ben and Harper being siblings instead of married. The whodunnit was pretty obvious from the start.
The Last Pebble by Alex Horne. I love Alex Horne, the Horne Section, his adult books, what I’ve seen of Taskmaster, and this book came highly recommended from a friend. It was an interesting concept for sure, but I think it would have worked better as a novella instead of being as long as it was. It got a bit wordy and I think some children would lose interest with the wordiness and slow pace, then several major reveals all crammed in at the end. I would definitely read another children’s book by him, though.
