August, 2020
August 1st, 2020, 2:09 p.m. - Some girl dies
31. Pretty as a Picture (Elizabeth Little)
Up next: Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why (Alexandra Petri)
August 7th, 2020, 5:28 p.m. - I have to start reading her Washington Post column
32. Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why (Alexandra Petri)
Up next: Safe (S.K. Barnett)
August 15th, 2020, 2:11 p.m. - Ladies and gentlemen, the most messed-up family in America
33. Safe (S.K. Barnett)
Up next: The House in the Cerulean Sea (T.J. Klune)
August 22nd, 2020, 1:59 p.m. - Don't you wish you were here?
34. The House in the Cerulean Sea (T.J. Klune)
Also, I've never wanted a happy ending more than I have for this book.
Up next: Weird but Normal (Mia Mercado)
August 29th, 2020, 2:31 p.m. - More! I want more!
35. Weird but Normal (Mia Mercado)
Up next: The Glass Hotel (Emily St. John Mandel)
Other than some dragging in the middle and trouble telling some characters apart, I really liked this. Little clearly did her research, and she subverts some movie tropes in a great way. The protagonist is awesome, there's some great dialogue, and there were a couple of things I never saw coming. Also, I would absolutely read a spin-off series starring the book's two Nancy Drews, Suzy and Grace.
Petri is just...so fricking funny. But she also shows her range in a couple of darker entries. I think she would be great at fiction.
Fine, not great, but to Barnett's credit, I didn't predict the last couple of twists. Mostly because they're too disturbing to think about.
This would be the perfect book for a class or book group discussion. There are so many themes to discuss: discrimination, not judging people, starting small to make a big change, finding happiness and love in unexpected places...
This was excellent and entirely too short. Mercado is just as funny as Samantha Irby, Alexandra Petri, and any other essayist I've read over the past few years. This book needs more publicity and recognition.