September was a mixed-bag reading month for me! I had some hits and misses among the books I read this month. I also read two non-fiction books, which is pretty rare. One the bright side, one of these September books is an unexpected favorite of the year!
Here’s a short review of the books I read in September 2023:
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
5/5 stars
This is the book that completely captured my heart and attention as I was reading it. The premise sounds totally weird, but somehow it really worked and had me questioning if this “weird thing” could actually happen and how devastated I would be if it could.
A few weeks after Lewis and Wren marry, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis in which his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark, but he will retain most of his consciousness, memory and intellect. As Lewis goes on to develop the features and impulses of a shark, he struggles to make peace with the unfulfilled dreams he will have as a result of this condition. Wren also struggles with Lewis’s diagnosis and changes and the reader is given glimpses of her past in which she faced similar struggles with another diagnosis. Through it all, though, Lewis and Wren love one another deeply.
Shark Heart had me grappling with what my own response would be to this condition even though it is so incredibly far fetched!!! That, to me, is the sign of a great story!
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane
4/5 stars
I picked this book up through the recommended reads of Obama and it did not disappoint. I listened to it on audio through Libro.fm.
Small Mercies is set in the summer of 1974 in Boston just before schools are forced to desegregate and violence erupts. One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter goes out and doesn’t come home. On the same night a young black teenager is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. These two events seem unconnected until Mary Pat starts asking questions and searching for answers to what happened to her daughter.
This book was mesmerizing in its portrayal of criminality and power, and the dark heart of American racism. I was completely hooked.
The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
4/5 stars
I loved Ashley Audrain’s first novel, The Push, so I had to read this one as well! The two books deal with similar theme of the complexity of motherhood.
This novel follows four families in a small neighborhood. The Loverlys, at the center of the story, are waiting on their young son to wake up from a coma after falling from his bedroom window in the middle of the night. His mother, Whitney, refuses to speak to anyone. The Parks are the Loverleys’ best friends and the Goldsmiths are struggling to start a family of their own. Then there is the elderly couple who watch their neighbors go about their busy lives.
The Whispers takes place over the course of one week in alternating voices of the women in each family. These women are forced to face the secrets held within the walls of their own homes and the uncomfortable truths that connect them to one another.
This was a very typical psychological/domestic mystery surrounding family and motherhood in which no one is likeable and everyone is just a big, fat mess! The writing was propulsive, but I am honestly growing a bit tired of this type of story.
Losing Our Religion by Russel Moore
4/5 stars
The subtitle of this non-fiction read is aptly named “An Altar Call for Evangelical America“. It is written by former Southern Baptist leader and editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, Russell Moore. More is calling for repentance from a group that has chosen to value politics and an immoral man over the teachings of Christ which they say they believe.
This was a good read for me since I am 100% on board with the premise, but, honestly, I didn’t learn anything new and I’m not sure I was left as hopeful about the actual repentance of this group as Moore would like his readers to be. I respect the stands Russell Moore has taken and his bravery and honesty in writing this book.
Congratuations, The Best is Over by R. Eric Thomas
3/5 stars
Congratulations, the Best is Over! is a book of essays centered around mid-life, the search for community, and returning home. I listened to this on audio.
While I enjoyed these essays, I have to admit that I wanted to like this book more than I did. I think I listened to too many podcasts in which this book was hyped and it just didn’t live up to the hype for me. One thing that I need to remember about myself is that I don’t enjoy narrators who try to be funny or really think they are funny–it just never hits well. I do think I would have enjoyed this more in the physical book format.
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
4/5 stars
I loved this author’s first book, A Woman is No Man, so it was an easy decision to get this book in my Book of the Month box! Etaf Rum writes about the struggles of Palestinian-American women in such a striking way and the tackles that subject again in Evil Eye as she explores the expectations placed on these women, the overall meaning of a fulfilling life (one that we can all relate to), and the ways our past affects our present.
The protagonist in this novel, Yara, thinks she will finally escape and be free from her abusive family when she agrees to marriage, although her dream is really to be an educated, independent woman. Now she is a traditional wife raising two school-aged daughters, struggling to balance the expectations of taking care of her home and family while trying to work at a job where she is not valued. At the same time she is also struggling with the knowledge that her life is immensely better than the one her mother lived and struggled through.
After an incident at work, Yara is put on probation at work and must commit to mandatory counseling in order to keep her job. Yara feels as if her world is falling apart and in many ways it is–but in order to maintain her sanity and self of self, Yara must deal with her past and the mental health struggles of her present while putting up boundaries and standing up for her own independence.
I felt deeply for Yara while reading Evil Eye. I wanted the best for her and was left hopeful for her future in the end.
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
5/5 stars
This was a beautifully written, complex, insightful police procedural mystery set in a 1950’s small Minnesota town.
On Memorial Day as the town is gathering to honor the sacrifice of so many of its sons, the half-clothed body of the disliked and feared wealthy landowner, Jimmy Quinn, is found floating in the Alabaster River. It quickly becomes apparent that the man is dead from a shotgun blast and an investigation is quickly underway. Rumors begin to circulate about who the killer is and as suspicions and accusations mount the small town teeters on the edge of violence.
All of the characters in this gripping novel are incredibly well-written and seemed so real. The River We Remember was gripping and mesmerizing and I’m so glad I took my time savoring it!
The Power of Fun by Catherine Price
2/5 stars
Ugh–Once again, I failed myself in not remembering my own likes and dislikes as I selected this book for an audio listen. The Power of Fun was a follow-up to this author’s first book (which I did not read) How to Break Up with Your Phone. Her premise is that our tech-addicted lifestyles are preventing us from experiencing “real” fun. My biggest takeaway was her definition of fun as the magical confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow. I’m still pondering that and how it applies and whether I agree with that definition or not. The author spends a great deal of the book referencing her first book and her approach to fun was too scientific to actually be fun. This was a decidedly “unfun” book to read and I honestly regret the time I spent on it.
Thanks for joining me as I recap what I read in September…I hope to be back soon for October’s wrap-up post!