February Wrap Up

Well, I guess my February TBR was too ambitious knowing that the new Mario game was coming out too.

I only read 4 books this month but they were all enjoyable so that's great.

First I read Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker. This was a fascinating look at a family with 12 children, in which half were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Their DNA helped advanced research into schizophrenia and also gave a look at how the healthy siblings were affected. I gave it 5 stars. 

Next I picked up The Second Mango by Shira Glassman. This was a fun fantasy book I found out about from a list saying it was similar to TJ Klune's writing. This was a fun romp about a lesbian princess looking for her love with the help of a cross-dressing knight and her dragon/horse. It was fun, hilarious, touching, and even surprising. I gave it 4 stars.

Because I was in a slump, I wanted a page-turner so I chose No Exit by Taylor Adams. This follows a college student who is on her way to visit her mother when a snow storm forces her to pull off at a rest stop. She discovers a child being held in a cage in one of the other cars and tries to figure out who is the kidnapper. I liked it but felt it went on a bit too long and became unrealistic. I gave it 3 stars.

Lastly, I picked up our book club pick which was The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels. I fell in love with this book and the main character Brian who is dying of AIDS. It is set in the 1980s and a young gay man who has AIDS goes back to his rural conservative home in Ohio to die. He faces all sorts of criticism, rejection, and downright hate. It was incredibly moving and I gave it 5 stars.

So, two 5 star reads in a month is really great. I think it helps make up for the fact that I read so little.