All Books Considered

Slingshot  by Mercedes Helnwein Blurb from Goodreads : Grace Welles had resigned herself to the particular loneliness of being fifteen and stuck at a third-tier boarding school in the swamps of Florida, when she accidentally saves the new kid in her class from being beat up. With a single aim of a slingshot, the monotonous mathematics of her life are obliterated forever…because now there is this boy she never asked for. Wade Scholfield. With Wade, Grace discovers a new way to exist. School rules are optional, life is bizarrely perfect, and conversations about wormholes can lead to make-out sessions that disrupt any logical stream of thoughts. So why does Grace crush Wade’s heart into a million tiny pieces? And what are her options when she finally realizes that 1. The universe doesn’t revolve around her, and 2. Wade has been hiding a dark secret. Is Grace the only person unhinged enough to save him? Acidly funn...

All Girls by Emily Layden Blurb from Goodreads : A keenly perceptive coming-of-age novel, All Girls captures one year at a prestigious New England prep school, as nine young women navigate their ambitions, friendships, and fears against the backdrop of a scandal the administration wants silenced. But as the months unfold, and the school's efforts to control the ensuing crisis fall short, these extraordinary girls are forced to discover their voices, and their power. A tender and unflinching portrait of modern adolescence told through the shifting perspectives of an unforgettable cast of female students, All Girls explores what it means to grow up in a place that promises you the world––when the world still isn't yours for the taking. My Review:   As you may know, I generally love books set in boarding schools and this one is no exception!  In the vein of Prep , this boo...

You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld Blurb from Goodreads : A dazzling collection of short stories from the New York Times bestselling author of Prep, American Wife, and Eligible Curtis Sittenfeld has established a reputation as a sharp chronicler of the modern age who humanizes her subjects even as she skewers them. Now, with this first collection of short fiction, her “astonishing gift for creating characters that take up residence in readers’ heads” (The Washington Post) is showcased like never before. Throughout the ten stories in You Think It, I’ll Say It, Sittenfeld upends assumptions about class, relationships, and gender roles in a nation that feels both adrift and viscerally divided. In “The World Has Many Butterflies,” married acquaintances play a strangely intimate game with devastating consequences. In “Vox Clamantis in Deserto,” a shy Ivy League student learns the truth about a classmate’s se...

2016 End of Year Book Survey: (hosted by Jamie @ The Perpetual Pageturner ) Number of books I read:  232. Number of re-reads:  29. Genre I read the most from: Contemporary adult. Best Book I read in 2016?  See my lists  HERE  (YA) and HERE  (Adult)  and   HERE  (Debuts) tl; dr:   Dear Fang, With Love The Raven King Every Exquisite Thing   The Underground Railroad Book you were excited and thought you were gonna love more but didn’t? Eligible :(  I love CS and Jane Austen but this was not a good fit Most surprising (in a good or bad way) book you read in 2016? Undecided and The Hating Game - I was leery to read both and they ended up to be some of my favorites of the year! Book you pushed people to read? Undecided   and   Every Exquisite Thing Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016? Best series I started this year: IQ ...

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler Blurb from Goodreads : Pulitzer Prize winner and American master Anne Tyler brings us an inspired, witty and irresistible contemporary take on one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies Kate Battista feels stuck. How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and uppity, pretty younger sister Bunny? Plus, she’s always in trouble at work – her pre-school charges adore her, but their parents don’t always appreciate her unusual opinions and forthright manner.   Dr. Battista has other problems. After years out in the academic wilderness, he is on the verge of a breakthrough. His research could help millions. There’s only one problem: his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr, all would be lost. When Dr. Battista cooks up an outrageous plan that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, he’s relying – as usual – on Kate to h...

  "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine , that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating. Today, I am waiting on:   The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson From Goodreads : A captivating debut novel for readers of Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You and Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep, The Most Dangerous Place on Earth unleashes an unforgettable cast of characters into a realm known for its cruelty and peril: the American high school. In an idyllic community of wealthy California families, new teacher Molly Nicoll becomes intrigued by the hidden lives of her privileged students. Unknown to Molly, a middle school tragedy in which they were all complicit continues to reverberate for her kids: Nick, the brilliant scam artist; Emma, the gifted dancer and party girl; Dave, the B student who strives to meet his parents expectations; Calista, the hippie outcast who hides her intelli...

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld Blurb from Goodreads : This version of the Bennet family—and Mr. Darcy—is one that you have and haven’t met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help—and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray. Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs. Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master’s degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday-night outings she won’t discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane’s fortieth birthday fast approaches. Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the j...

I Love This Trope, Sub-Genre, Setting is a new feature on my blog in which I discuss a trope, sub-genre or setting that I love and tell you about books that are shining examples of said trope, sub-genre or setting.  Feel free to play along and please let me know about your favorite books in this realm and whether you like this trope, sub-genre and/or setting as much as I do! Today I am spotlighting the setting of:  Boarding Schools , which I would define as any book that largely takes place at a boarding school and, more often than not, in which the characters are full-time students at a boarding school! Don't get me wrong, I loved my family and I liked high school but I also always had these dreams of going to boarding school (specifically, on the east coast).  I think it's because boarding school seems like more of a precursor to college than regular high school and something about that independence appealed to...