With so much changing from day to day (a new anchorage! a new boat project! learning to speak a new language!), reading feels like the one constant that I have in my life. I read five books in November and enjoyed all of them, for once. See more details on Tell Me Everything, Call Me By Your Name , One Day in December, The World We That We Knew, and Don’t You Forget About Me below!
Tell Me Everything by Cambria Brockman was creepy...in a good way. Set in an idyllic Maine university town, it follows the college lives of six friends, with Malin, the narrator, at their center. The story jumps back and forth between three different times—when Malin is a young girl in Texas trying to stave off her bully of a brother, when all six friends meet during their freshman year of college and become inseparable, and when they’ve made it to senior year and their group is falling apart. Somebody in the group is a sociopath, and somebody in the group ends up dying. This was a pretty fast read and I’d definitely suggest it (thanks for the original recommendation, Ashley!).
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman is a love story, between man and man, man and family, man and Italy. I saw the movie when it was in theaters a couple of years ago and enjoyed it enough that, when a friend recommended I read the book, I was happy to comply. It’s a beautifully written story; Aciman’s prose transports you right to the lawn of an Italian villa on a hot summer’s day. The story focuses on seventeen-year-old Elio, who resides with his parents at their Italian home, and twenty-four-year-old Oliver, the American scholar who comes to spend the summer with the family to work on his book. There are a few shocking parts, all based on how Elio and Oliver want to be completely consumed by each other. Aciman does a good job of capturing the obsession and overanalyzing that comes with falling in love as a teenager, and what I assume what might come with struggling to understand your sexual identity, especially nearly forty years ago. The love that Elio and Oliver come to have it stolen, powerful, and a little heartbreaking. It’s a good book, and I’d recommend it, but don’t think it’s for everyone.
One Day in December by Josie Silver is one of my favorite holiday reads. I read it for the first time last year and fell in love! Am I cheating by including it on my 2019 Book List since I re-read it this month? I don’t care. I wasn’t writing reviews then, and wanted to read this cute story again and recommend it all to you. One Day in December is reminiscent of Love, Rosie or One Day—it tells the story of two strangers who had a spark and then spend the better part of a decade trying to not be in love with one another (he’s dating her best friend, woof). The characters are really likable, the story is fast-paced, and its set in London around Christmas time, so it’s the perfect holiday read. Go get it!
The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman is a beautiful book. One of my favorites of the year. The writing is beautiful. This novel follows the stories of four different people trying to survive the Holocaust and keep the ones that they love alive while they’re at it. While there is a slight element of magic to the book, it’s a compelling tale of humanity with themes of perseverance, love, and right versus wrong. I felt strongly invested in all of the characters’ stories and didn’t want the book to end. I definitely recommend!
Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane was a cute British rom-com, the lighthearted type of read I needed after being so emotionally involved with The World That We Knew. The story is about 30-year-old Georgina, who’s a bit of a mess, but a lovable one, and how she ends up being employed by Lucas, her high school sweetheart and the one that got away. The thing is, though, that Lucas doesn’t remember her. Or so he says. It’s a nice read, although a little scattered, and the author does go on a bit. Still, I liked the characters, and the theme of the story, and overall, I’d give it a thumbs up. It’s a cute, happy story that pulls on the heartstrings a little at the end.
I hope I’ve inspired you to pick up a book this month! If you’re looking for more recommendations, check out my reviews from the past few months:
September Book Review: The Camomile Lawn, Evvie Drake Starts Over, and Conversations with Friends
Happy reading!