March Reads

 March was a month of heartwarming recommendations from friends with a dystopian type read mixed in.

Firefly Lane, by: Kristin Hannah

I have loved the books I have read by Kristin, and this one was no different. My friend Lisa gave me this copy and I wanted to read it before I watched the show on Netflix (which I still need to do). Two girls who could not be more different come together as friends in their teens, and the book spans through three decades of their lives set in the Seattle area (I enjoy books set there). A fun, but heartbreaking read as one of them becomes terminally ill.

Fly Away, by: Kristin Hannah

I borrowed this sequel to Firefly Lane from the library....... of course I needed to know how the story continued after Kate's passing. Her best friend and family spiral after the loss, and this got pretty dark at times, but I was happy with how this all came together after investing so much in these characters!

Inspection, by: Josh Malerman

After loving Bird Box and it's sequel Malorie, Josh is an author I will always be interested to read. I picked this hardcover up on the $5.97 table at Meijer. Josh is a Michigan native, so this story too was set in the state I live in and even referenced Milwaukee, WI which is near where I grew up. It details a community of boys - 26 to be exact (one for every letter of the alphabet) - who have lived in a tower in the middle of the woods since birth. Their D.A.D. started this "experiment" by getting babies from unfit parents, and believed that raising them without their knowledge of the opposite sex would make them the most academically superior humans on the planet. The opposite sex only leads to distractions and confusing emotions. But, as the boys reach puberty, they begin to question things and one of the staff in the tower does something that only encourages this. One boy in particular eventually learns of a second tower - of all girls - who have been living the same lies. Very original idea that made for a creepy read.

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, by: Ann B. Ross

My friend Andrea gifted me this first book in the series. Set in the South, Miss Julia is a proper church going member of society. She is left widowed unexpectedly and as she works through her grief with the whole town watching, a stranger shows up on her doorstep with a child fathered by her late husband that she knew nothing about. Over the next several days, she ends up becoming endeared to this mistress and child as she helps them through their problems all while learning to speak up for herself and not worry about what anyone else thinks.

Books to TV Shows

I mentioned that I'm meaning to watch Firefly Lane. I also want to watch Behind Her Eyes and Hillbilly Elegy, both of which I read a few years ago. Shows that I've been watching and are in mid-season are Big Sky (based on The Highway by CJ Box) and Clarice (expanding on Silence of the Lambs). Looking forward to The Handmaids Tale starting up the end of April...... are there any that I am missing?