Katie

Wow. This was beyond fantastic. I read it straight through. I want to know every main character from each of these stories. I was especially interested in the intersections between blackness and whiteness that kept happening in the stories in unexpected (to me, at least) ways.

Some of this was a little pat but other parts were so incredibly true that I couldn't help giving it five stars.

I'd read two of these stories already in the New Yorker, but they were just as good the second time around. Brings historical events home in a way that history never could.

This was good. Short, a little cliched. I assume there are going to be sequels, but I'm not sure if I'd read them. I appreciated the overarching metaphor, but the literal battles weren't my favorite thing to read.

I didn't love every one of these poems, but some I really, really loved. Where it Begins is a masterpiece, and I loved the Italian ones and some of the How to ones, too. These weren't as clever and easy as Billy Collins, who I've been reading a lot of lately, but they were rewarding in their own way.

A fun and powerful read.

3.75? 3.5? This was a very fun read, as is everything by Elinor Lipman!

It's been a long time since I've read just a plain fiction book by a white woman. But this was a good read to get me through the weekend before the 2020 presidential election! It's very absorbing without being too stressful. I think it raises some really interesting questions about motherhood, but does ever answer them.

I think it's been about 25 years since I read the first book in this series, but reading this reminded me all over again why The Thief is one of my all-time favorite books.

Oh, man. This was so good! I am already very attached to the characters. I love how right and wrong aren't 100% clear in this book, at least not yet. Can't wait for the sequels.

This book was written in a fairly dry and scholarly way, but, boy, was the content fascinating. I learned a lot from this short little book, and it made me curious to learn more.

As with many books written by people who are well-known to their followers, this one felt a bit disjointed and hard-to-follow. At first I thought it was going to be Vilson's life story, mixed with his thoughts on teaching, but then it just felt like it devolved into a series of random essays about teaching, many of which might have been taken from his blog posts and which had a whole bunch of context/back story that was missing for those of us who don't follow him on Twitter.

The ending of this book felt both anticlimactic and deeply moving. I feel like Emezi took such loving care of Vivek, the character. Very glad I read this.

This was a lot of fun, though I wish there was more dog. :) The chat conversations are often hilarious. Spence is a great, underused character. The portrayal of chronic illness rings true.

I really enjoyed getting to know these two boys and their families. I especially appreciated the relationship between Ari and his mom. It's always nice to know what's going on in the head of the other person in the conversation. :) I wasn't thrilled with the ending–it seemed unfair that the narrator turned unreliable all of a sudden.

This was great. Wonderful characters, hard struggles. I had trouble with all the romantic relationships in it being abusive, but I guess that's life.

Some of these stories were great, others were too esoteric for me to get any meaning from them.

I loved that this wasn't black and white. So much gray! I'm a sucker for any book with an adorable, intelligent kid, so that made this read especially enjoyable.

This was a lot of fun. I laughed out loud many, many times. There were plenty of sad parts. I want to read more EB White and maybe some Smith, too, though I get the feeling his real self came out more in the letters than in his published writing.

I read this in one sitting. Loved the story, loved the main character. The ending was a little abrupt, but didn't ruin the book for me.

This was a beautiful book, and a beautiful way to memorialize a horrific event.

I loved reading this! I've always been fascinated with Canyon de Chelly, and I'm so jealous of the time the author spent there. I'm also incredibly impressed with how she has lived her life–her courage, her thoughtfulness, and her willingness to try so many different ways of living. I'm looking forward to the upcoming three volumes!

I'm not normally a huge fan of books that jump from generation to generation and character to character, but here this was done in such a way that you didn't lose your connection with the original characters, which I appreciated. I learned a lot more about an experience I knew nothing about–the experience of colonized Koreans (by Japan). I didn't love how one character seemed almost magical, and could make anything happen. Maybe that's really what being rich can do, but it seemed too convenient. I loved getting to know the main character and following her long life.

You definitely have to enjoy telling instead of showing to enjoy this book. I learned a lot of history I didn't know too much about, and enjoyed following the likable and honorable and strong characters through their long and complicated lives.

I enjoyed this, but it wasn't special/amazing/wonderful enough to get 5 stars. The characters were great and I enjoyed getting to know them. I wouldn't say it was 100% believable, but the characters' stories certainly made a point.