babewithabookandabeer's reviews
340 reviews

Thank you Hogarth for my Netgalley copy of HAPPINESS FALLS by Angie Kim, out 8/29/23.

I still haven’t read Miracle Creek by Angie Kim which made waves around Bookstagram a few years ago. But I saw rave reviews, so I was very excited to read her sophomore novel early. Unfortunately, I was a little let down! It potentially had to do with my expectations of the book, which I hate putting on books and authors, but alas, sometimes it is subconsciously inevitable.

In Happiness Falls, a father goes missing and his family starts to desperately search for him, leading them to uncover things they never knew about him or his son Eugene, who was with him when he went missing and has a rare genetic condition called Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.

It started off SO strong. The first few chapters hooked me right away. But the book struggles with pacing and I got bored very quickly. First, it is one narrator (Mia). She is logical and rational and honestly, kind of an annoying brat. She is a very frustrating narrator and I think the book suffered by having ONLY her POV. I would have loved to read from the mother’s POV as a mother trying her hardest with a disabled child and the other brother. Hell, maybe even the police officer in charge of the case. Anything to get out of Mia’s head for a bit.

The book is great at offering research around Angelman syndrome and people who are considered by many to be ‘nonverbal.’ I really feel as though I learned a lot and I’m grateful for that. Angie Kim clearly did her homework on the condition, therapy techniques and struggles both from the perspective of Eugene and his caregivers and it made for a fascinating backdrop to a story that wasn’t as ‘thrilling’ as I expected it to be. I also very much enjoyed the musings of being biracial in a primarily white suburban setting as a Korean-American, working with law enforcement during COVID-19.

The book focused too much on the father’s obsession with a ‘happiness quotient.’ I won’t say too much in fear of spoiling, but it was so repetitive and unnecessary and I don’t think it aided to the overall story as much as it should of, considering it was kind of the basis of the entire metaphor behind the creation of the story.

Lastly, I hated the ending. I really hated it. After spending so long with the story (it is 400 pages), I needed it to give me more closure and satisfaction. All to say, I will still read more of Angie Kim’s work! She is a great writer. I also am a little of an outlier looking at other reviews, a lot of readers raved about it! So give it a shot if you like linguistics, a slow mystery unraveling, and want a unique book with fascinating disability rep.

Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel

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5.0

Thank you Bloomsbury Publishing for my edition of STILL BORN on Netgalley, out on 8/8/23 and shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023.

When I first started Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel (translated by Rosalind Harvey), I didn’t know if I was going to like it or hate it. It follows two women, Alina and Laura, exploring one of life’s most consequential decisions asked of women over and over and over… should I have children?

As I’m nearing thirty as a single woman who is career-driven and fulfilled in many ways, it’s a question I am forced to reckon with every single day, every month and after every failed Hinge date. This book was very personal to me and while I found myself reeling with more questions than answers, I have to say... I loved it and didn’t want it to end. I wanted to know more and more of Laura and Alina’s thoughts, and flaws, and questions, and decisions. I wanted to be a part of their lives. I wanted to have a cup of coffee with them. I wanted to go on a long walk and ask them how they are. No, really, how are you?

Neither woman has built their future around the prospect of a family, but when Laura makes the drastic decision to be sterilized, Alina decides she is now drawn to the idea of being a mother. Complications arise with Alina’s pregnancy and she is forced to make a difficult decision, one that only a mother can make. Laura becomes attached to her neighbor’s son, whose mother is dealing with deepening depression. Both women are forced to reckon with the complexity of their experiences and their emotions. Just like the synopsis says, it truly does dissect the contradictions that make up womanhood. To be a woman is a more profound and depth-defying experience than it is to just be human. It’s something you can’t put into words, you have to live it, well… unless you’re Guadalupe Nettel.

The Lookback Window by Kyle Dillon Hertz

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you Simon & Schuster for my Netgalley ARC of THE LOOKBACK WINDOW by Kyle Dillon Hertz, out 8/1/23.

Even though I have rewatched Law & Order: SVU 17 times, I did not know what a lookback window was. A lookback window is a set period, usually a year or two, where a victim of abuse is permitted to file a claim no matter when the abuse occurred. Basically, it affords survivors who were previously prohibited the opportunity to file a claim due to the statute of limitations.

This book follows Dylan, who spent three years as a victim of sex trafficking at the hands of a disgusting man named Vincent. With a police investigation that initially went nowhere and years of unresolved trauma, Dylan has to make a decision when a lookback window through the Child Victims Act opens a period where he can sue his abusers, even now that the statute of limitations for the crimes perpetrated against him have run out.

This book is SO hard to read. Trigger warnings can’t even prepare you for what you will read. I had to put the book down on multiple occasions and take a lap around my house. It is triggering in every sense, it leaves you with a horrible taste in your mouth and reminds you how brutal and cruel and unfathomable humans can be. It follows Dylan as he has to ask himself…

Can you look back and move forward at the same time?

Does money represent justice after the filth and shame Vincent put him through?

Does pain from his past have a price for his present?

Can his love for his fiance live within the same body that is riddled with shame and trauma and guilt?

Can clarity be found in the back of a bar, a bathhouse, a bond fueled by trauma?

This book is one of the best I have read in a long time. Its subject matter, story, characters and prose are that of literary greatness. While it is hard to read, it is worth it to see how Dylan comes out the other side of the lookback window. Just know that it is not an easy journey. You never stop rooting for Dylan, but he is a victim of abuse and he does not shy away from pure self-destruction. Can you believe this is a debut? Because I sure can’t. Pick this one up, but only if you are ready to wonder if justice ever really gets rid of the hurt.

Beach Read by Emily Henry

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced