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[45] Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
Fiction / Contemporary Women, recommendation from Stephany

Synopsis: Marisol Ferrera travels to Cuba from Florida in 2017 to fulfill her grandmother’s last wish to have her ashes spread in the country of her birth. Marisol expects to feel a connection to Cuba, since she’s Cuban but has never been there, but she’s surprised to find secrets from her grandmother’s past, deep feelings of conflict about her family fleeing Cuba in 1959, and love.

Review: I loved how much I learned about Cuba’s history from the twentieth century and in to the twenty-first from this book. It’s amazing how much history a fiction book can teach you when it piques your interest enough to get you to look things up! History is a big part of this story, but the main stories are alternating timelines between Marisol’s time in Cuba in 2017, and her grandmother, Elisa Perez’s, time there in 1958 and 1959. Both stories are of love – for your family, country, and partner – and revolution. I liked Marisol and Elisa, and their stories, but it took me so long to read this book that I never felt like I loved it or had to know what happened next. The ending felt too easy and I would have liked an epilogue. There is kind of another book in the series and I wonder if it will mention what’s going on with Marisol. Also… reading this totally made me want to rewatch the opening of The Fate of the Furious, which is set in Cuba.

Recommend? Eh, sure

[46] A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Death & Dying, Work Book Club

Synopsis: Conor O’Malley’s mom has cancer and isn’t responding to treatment, his dad left them and started another family in the states, and he’s getting bullied at school. But none of that has him on edge as much as the recurring nightmare he has each night. So when a monster wakes him up he’s not scared – at least he’s not having that nightmare again! – until the monster demands the truth.

Review: Wow. This story. It’s incredibly moving, and taught me a lot about dealing with emotions when a loved one is terminally sick. Conor is thirteen and thinks he’s behaving how he should – being super helpful with his mom, and insisting over and over the next treatment will work. But he’s a shell of himself at school, never reacting to the bullying, and has a strained relationship with his maternal grandmother, the only other family he has in England. He’s clearly not okay, but maybe he can learn how to process his emotions from this monster. (Bonus – I really appreciated what a fast read it was – just over two hours.)

What’s interesting about this book, and somewhat confusing from some of its titles, is that this story was an idea by author Siobhan Dowd, but she died from breast cancer before she could write it. The story was already contracted to Walker Books, and when Down died, the editor at Walker Books, who was also Patrick Ness’s editor, asked him to write it based on the work Dowd had already completed on it.

Recommend? Yes! This story is so touching.

[47] Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
Fiction / Contemporary Women, recommended on Sarah’s Bookshelves Live episode 53

Synopsis: Daphne Berg and Drue Cavanaugh were best friends in middle school and high school, then had a huge falling out that made Daphne realize Drue was never a good friend. Daphne left her in the past, and six years later, has a life she loves – she lives with a roommate who’s a true friend, babysits kids she adores, and is a plus-size influencer on Instagram. When Drue comes back in to her life to beg her to be a bridesmaid in her high profile wedding to a reality star, Daphne absolutely wants to say no, but falls back in to her old habits of being pulled in by Drue’s charm.

Review: I could not remember what this book was about when I got it from the library. I was just so excited to have a hard copy to read, I jumped right in, without refreshing myself with the dust jacket synopsis. I’m glad I didn’t. It was more fun to go in not knowing as much; I like surprises when I’m reading. And this is a fun read – definitely a brain candy beach read. It starts out with a lot of back story (and ugh, a real cringe-y diet culture moment with Daphne’s grandma that reminded me how much I hate diet culture, blah), then the pace really picks up at the wedding. I liked Daphne – she felt real. I was hella annoyed she told Drue yes and helped her with so much wedding stuff, but Daphne is nice, and very forgiving. I’d like to check out more books by this author! I liked that this was a fluffy read but still had me thinking about relationships (with friends and parents), forgiveness, and privilege.

Recommend? Yes