Wrap Up #3

Since I last updated, I've read 5 books.

The first was Still Alice by Lisa Genova. This was a fictional account of a 50 year old woman dealing with early onset Alzheimer's disease. The author writes from the woman's perspective, which gradually starts to be filled with mistakes and blank spaces where the woman had previously been able to remember. This was truly heartbreaking and well written. I gave the book 4 stars.

The next book I picked up was Everyone Knows You Go Home by Natalia Sylvester. The focus of this book is on the hardships illegal immigrants undertake to hope for a better life. A newlywed woman meets her dead father-in-law on the Day of the Dead. He tries to tell his story and gain absolution for hurting his family. I felt this was quite powerful and made me view illegal immigration in a different light. I gave it 3.5 stars.

Then I finally picked up a book I've been meaning to read for ages; Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This is a letter written to his son about what it means to grow up black in a racist America. He details the fear black people have that people in power will exert over his body, citing several examples of police killing unarmed black men. While the subject matter is important, I didn't like the overall writing style and the repetitive nature. It seemed more like stream of consciousness, which is a style I'm not a fan of. Overall, I gave it 3 stars.

After all those serious books, I was in the mood for something funny. I picked up The Humans by Matt Haig. This is a science fiction book about an alien coming to Earth in the body of a human who has just made a scientific discovery the aliens feel humans aren't ready to have. His mission is to wipe away all the progress and kill anyone who knows about the discovery. The alien doesn't know how to be a human which leads to some comical situations. While the first part is funny, the rest was a look into what it means to be a human. How humanity is primitive in so many ways but advanced in knowing the importance of love, family, and connection. I felt the ending was sappy but enjoyed it overall. I gave it 3 stars.

Lastly, I finished the memoir Boy Erased by Garrard Conley. This was his account of growing up in a strict Baptist family, figuring out he was gay, and going to conversion therapy to be "ex-gay." I related so much to this book as I also grew up in a strict religious household. I could understand his trying to accept himself and what that meant for his relationship with God and his family. The self-loathing, suicidal ideation, and all the other trauma that is a product of his conversion therapy was absolutely gut-wrenching. He also included things that didn't seem to be important to the story which made this feel too long though. I gave it 3.5 stars.