After a couple of years considering joining Book of the Month, I finally did it! I was so excited to get my first blue box. Picking my first book was not easy, but when I read about a new book that is a reimagining of Jane Eyre, I couldn’t say no.
When I heard the title The Wife Upstairs, it definitely reminded me of Jane Eyre and for good reason. The Wife Upstairs is a contemporary reimagining of Jane Eyre set in the American south, Birmingham, Alabama to be specific. I’ve always loved Jane Eyre. I read it once in my twenties at my mom’s insistence that it was an amazing book (she was right!). Then I read it a couple more times in college while studying women in literature and English literature. Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite protagonists. In a time when women, especially young ladies, were expected to be silent and compliant, she was vocal, independent, and brave. Realizing that The Wife Upstairs drew inspiration from this classic and personal favorite, I couldn’t wait to start reading.
Continue reading “My First Book of the Month Pick: The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins”
It’s hard to believe it’s March already! The first couple of months of 2021 turned out to be…shall we say…challenging? Of course I realized that things weren’t going to change drastically overnight with the turning of the calendar page, but I had high hopes for some return to normalcy. I do think we’re getting there. It just takes time. I’m going to cling to my optimism throughout the year and allow my faith to give me hope. And the year hasn’t started off all bad. I had 
Fortunately, I finished the month strong with Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti. This was my first read from Caletti, but I’m excited to see that she has many more books available. Girl, Unframed was a typical yet unique YA novel. All the elements were there – teens, first loves, relationships, drama. But the setting and the dynamic of the parent/ child relationship is different from most, which created an intriguing background for the story.
Seriously, though, today is day five of quarantine, and I might be starting to go a little stir crazy if it weren’t for my books. I plan to keep reading and posting reviews because I think we all need a distraction and something to look forward to, like new releases!
I don’t know about you, but nothing makes me want to read a book more than someone telling me I can’t or shouldn’t read it. Maybe this is why I love banned books so much. I just have to know what all the fuss is about! Today’s review is of the newly released Don’t Check Out This Book! by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise from Algonquin Young Readers. The book is an illustrated novel for young readers in grades 3 through 7. As the title suggests, it’s all about fighting censorship and corruption.
Over the last year or so I’ve really developed an appreciation of graphic novels. To be completely honest, I didn’t really “get” graphic novels when I initially discovered them a few years ago. They looked more like comic books than novels and they were packed with illustrations and very little text compared to other middle grade and YA novels. But I’ve come to discover the value of graphic novels on multiple levels.
Kaitlin Scirri