September Reads

 

I felt like I was in a reading slump for September. I only read 3 books and they were all sort of "meh" to me. A lot of my free time was also taken up by binge watching all 5 seasons of Schitt's Creek. OMG I am so in love with those people!!! That's usually me though..... I don't get into a show right away and then after hearing people rave about it I get caught up and see what all the fuss was about. BUT, let's get on to the books.

 

My Dark Vanessa by: Kate Elizabeth Russell

Thank you Harper Collins for this advance reader copy (January 28, 2020 release). When you see a quote from Stephen King on the cover of a book, you can't help be intrigued. Unfortunately, this fell flat for me. This is the story of 15 year old Vanessa who gets involved in a romantic relationship with her teacher. It affects her quality of life as she grows into her 20's and 30's. As formal allegations come out against this man, Vanessa has to also come to terms that she wasn't his only interest. She grapples with going back and forth between being a victim or willing participant.

 

Three Women by: Lisa Taddeo

This book received a lot of hype this Summer, so I picked it up at the library. After years of reporting, Lisa decides to tell the true stories of the sex lives of 3 women. Since our society is so focused on it being taboo for women to express what they want, I was interested to understand what this book was about. One woman was in a student/teacher relationship similar to the book I just read. One woman was married with kids and her husband no longer had interest in her so she looked up an old flame. One woman was in all the right social circles in an affluent area, but her husband wanted to bring other people into their relationship. I guess I expected this to be empowering to women, but it all just ended the way it is expected to end...... the teacher is never brought to justice for his crimes and the student is afflicted for life. The woman with the old flame has strong feelings for him which he does not return (however will participate in the physical portion). The affluent woman sort of enjoys the additional partners but truly seems to only be doing it to please her husband. I felt this book was hyped as the women being able to vocalize and get what they wanted but it ended up being all about conforming to the opposite sex yet again.

 

This Tender Land by: William Kent Krueger

This book was just released, but thank you Atria Books for sending me a copy. This book has been compared to "Where the Crawdads Sing" (which I loved) and similar to a recent read of mine "Before We Were Yours". Based on mistreated orphans during the Great Depression, Odie escapes the Lincoln School with his brother and two other friends in tow. They travel downriver in hopes of reaching St. Louis where Odie remembers an Aunt they might be able to live with. The trip is full of good and bad characters they meet along the way, all the while their previous captors in hot pursuit. The story was a bit slow for me at times, and then the end had a lot going on (some twists) and wrapped everything up pretty quickly. This was good, but just not as good as other books in this genre. But then again, I think I am just having an off month and I can't wait to break this slump in October!