Book Blog #330: Happy Place by Emily Henry

 

Title: Happy Place

Author: Emily Henry

# of Pages: 388 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Chick-lit, Romance

Rating:★★★★☆

Synopsis: Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

Review: If chick-lit is rated within its own category, this is definitely one of the better ones. If I rated this as a regular book (if I didn't realize it was a chick-lit, I'd give it three stars).  

 The good: 

- I was cheering for things to work out between Harriet and Wyn, so the characters were at least somewhat likable. 

- The time skipping works. Chapters of Harriet’s past are interlaced with the chapters of “real life” (present day) of Harriet at the cottage. It was pretty easy to figure out which chapters were present day or not, and slowly discovering the past events that led Harriet to be in the situation she finds herself in keeps the reader coming back for more. 

- The book doesn’t just focus on Harriet’s romantic relationship with Wyn. I appreciated that the author Henry threw in some components of friendship and family in there. 

 The bad: 

- Too much monologuing. A lot of chick lit authors fall into the trap of having their characters spell out their history, their feelings, what makes their characters unique, etc despite that being uncharacteristic for a slice of life story. 

- There’s some pretty lame lines (that actually made me laugh out loud? So maybe it’s a good thing). This is mostly from Wyn talking about how he’s hard often when in convo with Harriet. 

- Since chick lit is a usually a depiction of a woman’s fantasy (hard emphasis on fantasy, in terms of it being unrealistic), the messages of following your heart and doing what makes you happy didn’t resonate with me. Characters “learning” these lessons and turning a leaf so quickly and willingly with minimal struggle made me truly believe this is an overly optimistic novel trying too hard to be inspiration. 

Nonetheless, it’s a quick and enjoyable read (the ending soured my impression of it, but I enjoyed the earlier parts of the story). I would recommend it for those interested in chick-lit.

Book Blog #329: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

# of Pages: 385 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most enthralling books I've read in a long time. 

This book has been on my radar for a while, but I never got around to reading it. Based on the title, I thought it was going to be a brainless romance that wasn't an urgent read. However, when I found this book on the "recently returned" cart at my local library, it felt like fate telling me to finally give it a try. 

Now I can't believe I waited so long to read it - it's really at the brink of being of a five star read. Emotionally, it's actually already there. I was fully invested in Evelyn Hugo - despite her ups and downs in her career and some morally questionable decisions, I couldn't help but cheer for her, hope that the next part of her story would take a turn for the best. 

As an actress back in the 50s, it is unsurprising that Evelyn's sex appeal and femininity are a large part of the success in her career and, unfortunately, is likely (in part) similar to many modern day Hollywood hopefuls' and stars' story. However, the reader can't help but admire how Reid wrote Evelyn Hugo to use these aspects to her advantage in navigating a man's world while still highlighting the struggles Evelyn endures from having to sacrifice parts of herself to protect those she loves. 

Evelyn Hugo's character is such a complex character because she encapsulates what many repressed group experienced in the 50s - 80s. From concealment of identifying as a part of the LGBTQ+ community, to women getting backlash from the public for the same "promiscuity" men get away with, to denying her Cuban roots to fit in more with the American image, the challenges Evelyn faces are only exacerbated due to her being a celebrity. Although this book covers a time period that seems still too recent to comfortably call "historical fiction," the tabloid's reaction to Evelyn Hugo's life actually serves as a powerful reflection on how much the United States has progressed in allowing people to proudly and publicly embrace who they are. 

So, why did I not give this book 5 stars? No, it's not because of the writing style employed in this book. One could argue that there is POV switching - the story is told from Monique's first person POV, but when Evelyn tells her life story to Monique, it's told in first person from Evelyn's POV (of course). This didn't bother me - Evelyn's POV is the predominate one in the book, and she's the one I wanted to hear from the most. Monique's sections were usually very short chapters that were actually nice breaks in the "present day" (2017). There are even letters and newspaper/tabloid clippings used to tell the Evelyn's story - while the execution might be cheesy/lazy in other books, it surprisingly worked in this one. 

The reason why I didn't bump this book to a perfect star rating is because of two factors:
1. Monique's character development fell flat for me. There are suppose to be parallels with Evelyn's life story and Monique's modern day (less dramatic, more relatable to the reader) life problems. However, Monique's section of the book is so small and insignificant that when she takes action inspired by what she's hearing from Evelyn, it feels more like a stroke of luck of a fluke when she succeeds rather than her truly growing as a person. 

2. I'm unlikely to want to re-read this book again. This isn't necessarily something I always factor into my rating, but for this book I likely will not enjoy future re-reads of this book nearly as much as I enjoyed reading it for the first time. A lot of the appeal comes from peeling the onion on Evelyn Hugo's life and while Reid makes some of the outcomes obvious (and one of the big plot twists is fairly predictable), the air of mystery is still what made me unable to put this book down. A second reading would not have that same experience and would more solidly place this book at a 4 star rating. 

Despite this, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It's a great read, and it's easy and quick to finish in a day or less. 

Book Blog #328: The Heavan and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

 

Title: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Author: James McBride

# of Pages: 389 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Mystery

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighbourhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows.

Review: This is somewhere between 2 and 3 stars. 

This book wasn't BAD per se. My problems with the writing style can be mostly chalked up to McBride making "artistic choices" that I don't enjoy. 

First, the most obvious: third person POV switching. This one is employed A LOT - every chapter. Third person story telling is already somewhat prone to some POV switching, but this one tries to cover everyone involved AND can time skip (either a bit before or a bit after the previous chapter's events). I got the classic "I wish I could hear more about the OTHER characters" feeling with some of the characters (such as Doc, Gus, etc.). 

Now, I would say that the third person POV switching did make the ending ~100 pages more gripping, and the ending is by far the best part of the book. However, this is more because the book becomes less-slice of life and more mystery, and there's actually PLOT PROGRESSION. 

Which leads me to my second major problem with this book - the author is a big rambler. There's a lot of TELLING rather than SHOWING the characters' background. McBride repeats some "important" details as if forgetting that it was already mentioned 50 billion times already. I wanted to scream "I KNOW already! Let's get a move on the rest of the story!" It wasn't even clear what this book would be about in the first 100 pages because McBride was introducing so many people - even at the end it's clear that McBride doesn't have a single protagonist for this book (is it Moshe, who is the focus at the beginning but less so by the end? Nope, likely no one person is the protagonist). 

Not having a clear protagonist DID mean that I ended up caring about a lot of characters (thus why I considered giving it 3 stars), but not everyone's story is nicely tided up in a bow by the epilogue, unfortunately. Unlike other mysteries where there ending is satisfying, this one left me feeling like there was still more story that could have been told, but McBride decided it was time to focus and end it at 389 pages.

I probably will not read another McBride book again. 

Book Blog #327: Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

 

Title: Land of Milk and Honey 

Author: C Pam Zhang

# of Pages: 240 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: A smog has spread. Food crops are rapidly disappearing. A chef escapes her dying career in a dreary city to take a job at a decadent mountaintop colony seemingly free of the world’s troubles. There, the sky is clear again. Rare ingredients abound. Her enigmatic employer and his visionary daughter have built a lush new life for the global elite, one that reawakens the chef to the pleasures of taste, touch, and her own body. In this atmosphere of hidden wonders and cool, seductive violence, the chef’s boundaries undergo a thrilling erosion. Soon she is pushed to the center of a startling attempt to reshape the world far beyond the plate.

Review: What a whirlwind. This could be anywhere from a 2 star to a 4 star.

I thought this would be a quick read, but the "abstract"/"artsy" writing style really slowed me down. I had to carefully read each passage to make sure I didn't miss anything amongst the rambling comparisons with food (be prepared for sex and food references to be intertwined - was not expecting to read about cooking and lesbian sex at the same time). 

I liked how the book tackles the topic of what dystopia our world would be in with climate change + pollution. I could really feel the desperation and despair, and the ending was much more readable and not too predictable. This made me consider even giving it 4 stars. However, Zhang also addresses topics such as rich vs poor, family, and identity which cluttered the story - I would have preferred Zhang to dive into one or two of these "deep" topics rather than try to address them all.

The progression of the plot slowed a lot in the middle - this already short book could probably be even shorter.

I don't think this book is worth the read. 

Book Blog #326: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

 

Title: American Born Chinese

Author: Gene Luen Yang

# of Pages: 233 (paperback)

Genre: YA, Graphic Novel

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he's the only Chinese American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, and he has hardly any friends. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with an all-American girl... Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. Adored by his subjects, master of the arts of kung-fu, he is the most powerful monkey on earth. But the Monkey King doesn't want to be a monkey. He wants to be hailed as a god... Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, and he's ruining his cousin Danny's life. Danny's a popular kid at school, but every year Chin-Kee comes to visit, and every year Danny has to transfer to a new school to escape the shame. This year, though, things quickly go from bad to worse...

Review: I started this book for the easy read (since it's a graphic novel), and I can't say there would be anything that would have prepared what was in store. This is not your cut and dry story of the Chinese American experience - Yang expertly uses three stories running in parallel to depict what it's like to not fit in and trying to be someone else for the sake of fitting in. 

I have actually seen images from this book a long time ago (specifically of Chin-Kee). I didn't make that they were from this book (which was recently made into a Disney+ series) until I started reading. This only added to my intrigue on where this book was going to go - why was a Chinese American author creating a strongly negatively stereotyped character?

Usually I don't like POV switching, and this book switches between the three stories from Jin's, Danny's, and Chin-Kee's POV. That being said, American Born Chinese is a great example of POV switching that is actually necessary for the story rather than used as a crutch for amateur writers. 

For a book aimed at younger audiences and the style/colors of the art leaning childish, it was surprising how crude parts of it were (think fart humor and of course the extreme depiction of Chin-Kee went from racist to him being a flat out terrible human being). I didn't mind it, and the immature humor did a good job to lighten the tone of the story.

It's a pretty quick entertaining read, so I would recommend it!