This Is What Happy Looks
Like
Jennifer E. Smith YA
Synopsis from Goodreads:
When
teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie
O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a
witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun,
except for their names or backgrounds.
Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for
his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to
in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with
an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's
spotlight at all costs?
THIS! This is what YA romance should be like. No sex.
No grit. Not chock full of foul
language (Actually, there was none). Instead, a sweet, fun story of first
loves. I couldn’t help but like Ellie
and Graham from their first email exchange.
They are funny and sarcastic and just cute. I enjoyed the story that developed and was
excited to know there was a novella sequel.
Which I promptly read.
Happy Again (This
Is What Happy Looks Like #1.5)
Jennifer E. Smith YA
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Ellie
O'Neill and Graham Larkin fell hard for each other when a misspelled email
address unexpectedly brought them together. Now, over a year has passed since
they said goodbye with the promise to stay in touch, and their daily emails
have dwindled to nothing. Ellie is a freshman in college and has told herself
to move on, and Graham has kept himself busy starring in more movies, as well
as a few tabloid columns. But fate brought these two together once before—and
it isn't done with them yet.
While I
didn’t love this one as much as the original, I did feel there was better character
development. I liked checking in on
Ellie and Graham while I felt the reconnection scenario was a bit
far-fetched. A fun follow-up.
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates Non-Fiction; Social Commentary
Synopsis from Goodreads:
In
a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history
and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi
Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history
and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a
falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black
women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today,
threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to
inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all
honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its
burden?
Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to
answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son.
I’m going
to be honest. I didn’t make it far in
this book. Not because it wasn’t
interesting or because I didn’t desire to read it. The reason is simple: I have two little ones who aren’t affording
me much sleep these days. My brain is
fried. And this is definitely a book you
need your brain sharp and engaged for.
So I gave
it a shot. And now it’s back on my To
Read List. My hope is that I can try it
again in the new year. I think it’s relevant
and important.
Help, Thanks, Wow
Anne Lamott Non-Fiction;
Self-Help; Spirituality
Synopsis from Goodreads:
New
York Times-bestselling author Anne Lamott writes about the three simple prayers
essential to coming through tough times, difficult days and the hardships of
daily life.
It is these three prayers – asking for assistance from a higher power,
appreciating what we have that is good, and feeling awe at the world around us
– that can get us through the day and can show us the way forward. In Help,
Thanks, Wow, Lamott recounts how she came to these insights, explains what they
mean to her and how they have helped, and explores how others have embraced
these same ideas.
Completely
irreverent with some good nuggets tucked in.
I think I would have enjoyed this book infinitely more had I read it as
opposed to reading it. The author reads
on the audio, and I found her voice rather grating.
I do like
the overarching theme that the only prayers we need are “Help!,” “Thanks!,” and
“Wow.”
God, I
need help with something. Be it a health
issue or a job issue; relational or world encompassing.
Thanks, God! For all of those things that we should be
appreciative of in our lives as well as His grace and forgiveness.
And then “Wow!” For those moments when we are bowled over by
the majesty He has created and sustained.
Help. Thanks.
Wow. Good foundation for your
personal communion with God.
