Because there’s no way I’m going to finish any more books before the end of the month, here’s a quick rundown of my favorite March reads:
1. Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
My review
Five reasons to love it:
1. It’s FUNNY. I can’t remember the last time a purportedly funny book made me actually laugh out loud, and this one did multiple times.
2. It’s unabashedly feminist in a way that leaves room for intersectionality and inclusiveness.
3. The more personal chapters don’t detract from the book’s larger message, and a few–specifically the ones about her dad and her budding relationship with her husband–will make you feel all the feelings.
4. The author talks a lot about the importance of self-love and speaking out while also acknowledging that self-love is a process and that not everyone has the emotional energy to regularly make themselves a target for online and in-person vitriol.
5. Want a detailed, infuriating look at the implications of rape culture and the ways in which men are socialized to ignore it or deny it? Want to get angry in a way that also makes you want to fight back and work harder and change the system? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you want to give this book a shot.
2. The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
My review
Four reasons to love it:
1. Andie’s three best friends, their text chats, their traditions, and their histories. I’ve also had many of the same friends for most of my life, and this is the first book I’ve read in a long time that really seems to GET what it’s like to have been that close to someone for that long.
2. Andie and her dad don’t have a good relationship and haven’t been close in some time, which is why it was so rewarding to watch them both work at rebuilding their connection.
3. All the dogs. Why aren’t there more dogs in YA lit?
4. It’s my favorite type of summery book–a beach read with substance. The pool party scenes and scavenger hunt madness and sweet summer romance don’t detract from Andie’s struggle to re-evaluate her own future or re-assess her approach toward all the relationships in her life.
3. Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisely
My review
Five reasons to love it:
1. I’m smack dab in the middle of wedding planning hell right now, and this book made my neuroses and fears and questions feel totally normal.
2. The cute, if completely unconventional, love story.
3. The ongoing discussion of how tough it can be to reconcile ALL the societal expectations surrounding weddings with your own beliefs and priorities.
4. The art was so great. I don’t read many graphic novels because I don’t always find them accessible, but I honestly couldn’t imagine the author telling her story in any other medium without losing some of its poignancy.
5. More than one seriously funny story. Shoplifting the cat or moving the squirrel, anyone?
Have you read any of these books, and if so, what did you think? What were your favorite reads this month?