2018 backlog mini reviews

So in 2018 I got pretty behind on writing reviews for some of the books I read. I just never wrote a review, and the book has just been sitting on my review list since I read it. So today I thought I’d post some mini reviews for some of those books.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo: 3.5 stars

From Pulitzer Prize-winner Katherine Boo, a landmark work of narrative nonfiction that tells the dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the twenty-first century’s great, unequal cities.

This book was a really interesting read. “Narrative nonfiction” is such a good way to describe it: it’s nonfiction, but it’s told like a novel. I actually had to check a couple times that it was nonfiction because I forgot. It’s really well-written and compelling. I really felt for all the people followed in this book, and their stories are super interesting. Overall, my docking of 1.5 stars is because I have mixed feelings about books that profit of off other people’s suffering. On the one hand, it brings awareness to the people it is about, but generally it’s just the author who profits while the actual people don’t. John Green did a great series of videos on this book ages ago, which you can watch here. I would definitely recommend this book, though, if it’s on your radar.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: 3 stars

A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth.

This is one of those books I would have loved in junior high. I actually read a similar book in grade 7 and loved it. So I just know 14-year-old me would have loved this book and loved the twist ending. I think for 22-year-old me, though, it was just,,, okay? Like, there was nothing wrong or anything. The characters were interesting, the plot is interesting, the twist is good and interesting. I just didn’t connect with it. I think it’s a great summer read, though, and definitely recommend it.

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu: 4 stars

Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with her small-town Texas high school that thinks the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes and hallway harassment. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules.

This is such a great book, and such a good introduction to feminism. It tackles a ton of different topics, and I was surprised by the topics it covered. It was a little basic for me, BUT I recognize that that’s a me issue, and nothing to do with the book (I’m definitely not the target audience). The only reason it wasn’t 5 stars is because is because it was a little tropey, and I wasn’t a fan of the romance. But, I do think the romance allowed a lot of important topics to be covered. I definitely recommend this book.

So, those are some backlog mini reviews! Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Are they on your TBR? Let me know!

Thanks for reading! xx