A Re-Read Review: Malagash

Summary: The perfect blend of heartwarming and poignant, beautifully crafted.

I don’t typically re-read books, but it’s something I’ve been considering doing in an attempt to engage more deeply with the books I read. Malagash, which is one of my favorite books ever, was a great choice to start with. It’s short, so it was easy to commit the time to a re-read. It was also easy to go back over sections multiple times during my re-read. It packs a real emotional punch too. It’s the story of a young girl, Sunday, whose father is dying. It’s about grief and family and how her family in particular is coping with grief. Sunday is currently recording as much of her dying father as she can, with plans to encode his words into a computer virus so he can live forever. So, despite being short, there’s a lot here! There were universal themes to think about and delightful particulars that made me laugh and cry. If anything, I loved this book even more a second time around.

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki

Summary: This book was written in the same beautiful, dreamy style I loved in 1Q84, but the ending felt a bit less climactic and a bit less resolved.

In high school, Tsukuru Tazaki was part of an inseparable group of friends. Coincidentally, the other four students all had colors in their name and Tsukuru didn’t, a fact that he found significant because he also believed himself to be the most average of the group. About a year after Tsukuru moved away, his four friends cut off all contact with him and refused to explain why. When, many years later, Tsukuru meets a woman he cares for deeply, he realizes that he needs to understand what happened with his friends before he can move on and believe he might be loved by someone else.

Henna House

Summary: This was a beautiful, poetic, inspiring story. I loved both the rich historical setting and the exciting foreshadowing.

Adela’s father’s health is failing and he’s desperate to find her a husband. As a Jewish child, if she is  isn’t betrothed when her father dies, she will be take from her family to be raised by a Muslim family instead. Just when Adela is giving up hope, her uncle arrives with a handsome son and an aunt who teacher her about henna and the woman’s world her harsh mother has never let her be a part of. However, when Adela’s family is forced to flee to Aden, she will begin to discover herself only to be betrayed by those she loves.

This Is the Water

Title: This Is the Water
Author: Yannick Murphy
Source: from publisher for TLC book tour
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: Although I found the second person narration a bit distancing, I thought the author used this perspective very creatively for a writing style that was both beautiful and unlike anything else I’ve ever read.

Swim team mom Annie worries about her marriage and enjoys that one of the fathers on the team flirts with her, even though she feels old and even though he’s married to her friend. She worries about her brother’s suicide and whether or not such things run in her family. She worries that her girls aren’t confident enough and whether or not she’s done enough for them. But when one of the girls on the swim team is murdered and Annie discovers a secret which could help catch the man who did it, all her other worries seem trivial by comparison.

Return to the Beach House

Title: Return to the Beach House
Author: Georgia Bockoven
Source: from publisher through Goodreads giveaway
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: The short length of each story meant that parts of the endings were too pat or not resolved enough, but each story was emotionally moving and I was impressed that some dealt with difficult topics.

Return to the Beach House is more a collection of short stories than a traditional novel, with each section connected to the others by their shared location. Although this is a sequel, it stands alone quite well. During their stay at the beach house, characters are forced to confront the things straining their relationships. They learn to move on from loss, seek independence, trust in their friends, and maintain relationships in the face of devastating tragedies. More specific details are available in the goodreads summary.

One Plus One

Title: One Plus One
Author: Jojo Moyes
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: Yet another awesome read from Jojo Moyes, with unique but believable characters, lots of emotional ups and downs, and a fun plot.

“Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.” (Source)