January 2025
1. Not Nothing
Author: Gayle Forman
Length: 304 pages
Published: April 2025
Genre: fiction
Audience: middle grade
SUMMARY:
To say Alex has had it rough is an understatement. His father’s gone, his mother is struggling with mental health issues, and he’s now living with an aunt and uncle who are less than excited to have him. Almost everyone treats him as though he doesn’t matter at all, like he’s nothing. So when a kid at school actually tells him he’s nothing, Alex snaps, and gets violent. Fortunately, his social worker pulls some strings and gets him a job at a nursing home for the summer rather than being sent to juvie. There, he meets Josey, the 107-year-old Holocaust survivor who stopped bothering to talk years ago, and Maya-Jade, the granddaughter of one of the residents with an overblown sense of importance. Unlike Alex, Maya-Jade believes that people care about what she thinks, and that she can make a difference. And when Alex and Josey form an unlikely bond, with Josey confiding in him, Alex starts to believe he can make a difference—a good difference—in the world. If he can truly feel he matters, Alex may be able to finally rise to the occasion of his own life.
MY REVIEW:
This book first came to my attention when I met the author during a roundtable discussion at the NCTE (National Council for the Teachers of English) Conference in November. As I have mentioned before, I’m a sucker for a middle grade novel, and the concept of this plot was enough to hook me. I bought a copy and took it with me on vacation; however, my other book to me longer to finish than I anticipated, and so I ended up taking it back home to read first thing in January.
Overall it was a lovely book. The plot was enough to keep me motivated to read it, and I found myself cheering for the main character. Upon finishing, I had to reflect that it did not change my life in any way (as some other important middle grade reads have done), but I did appreciate how it could offer students a soft exposure to the Holocaust through a survivor telling his story.
2. Finlay Donovan is Killing It
Author: Elle Cosimano
Length: 384 pages
Published: January 2022
Genre: fiction
Audience: adult
SUMMARY:
Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.
When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.
MY REVIEW:
In one of my appointments with a medical professional, we began discussing books (I try to bring a book with me to all my appointments to avoid being on my phone. Sitting in waiting rooms, I realize what a rarity this is anymore. Everyone in waiting rooms is on their phones). I recommended a few to her, and she suggested this one for me. She was very clear to explain it was more of a “beach read” in terms of lightness. But in the cold, dreary, dark days of January, I find I am not in a place for a deep, difficult read, so I picked up Finlay at the library.
This was a quick, joyful read for me–exactly what I needed in January. I immediately recommended it to a handful of people who are similar readers to me. To me, this book is just a solid read. I found myself picking it up when I had five minutes to spare. I learned that it’s the first book in a series; while I’m not sure if I’ll read the entire series, she left book #1 with enough of a hook to catch me for book #2.
This book is an easy recommendation for me. Pick it up and I promise you won’t want to put it down.
3. We Can Do Hard Things
Author: Glennon Doyle
Length: 512 pages
Publication: May 2025
Genre: nonfiction
Audience: young adult/adult
SUMMARY:
Every day, Glennon Doyle spirals around the same questions: Why am I like this? How do I figure out what I want? How do I know what to do? Why can’t I be happy? Am I doing this right? The harder life gets, the less likely she is to remember the answers she’s spent her life learning. She wonders: I’m almost fifty years old. I’ve overcome a hell of a lot. Why do I wake up every day having forgotten everything I know?
Glennon’s compasses are her sister, Amanda, and her wife, Abby. Recently, in the span of a single year, Glennon was diagnosed with anorexia, Amanda was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Abby’s beloved brother died. For the first time, they were all lost at the same time. So they turned toward the only thing that’s ever helped them find their way: deep, honest conversations with other brave, kind, wise people. They asked each other, their dearest friends, and 118 of the world’s most brilliant wayfinders: As you’ve traveled these roads—marriage, parenting, work, recovery, heartbreak, aging, new beginnings—have you collected any wisdom that might help us find our way?
As Glennon, Abby, and Amanda wrote down every life-saving answer, they discovered two things: 1. No matter what road we are walking down, someone else has traveled the same terrain. 2. The wisdom of our fellow travelers will light our way. They put all of that wisdom in one place: We Can Do Hard Things—a place to turn when you feel clueless and alone, when you need clarity in the chaos, or when you want wise company on the path of life. We are all life travelers. We don’t have to travel alone. We Can Do Hard Things is our guidebook.
MY REVIEW:
As I now find myself commuting two days each week, I decided to add an audiobook to my reading repertoire. I have friends (superhumans, actually) who can juggle multiple books at the same time. This has never been me. So I decided to continue reading fiction in the physical form and listening to a nonfiction book.
I had heard good things about Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and this other (newer) book was available immediately through audiobook checkout at my library, so I decided to give it a whirl.
I appreciated the fact that this book was not based upon a heavy, difficult, intellectual subject. I’m not sure my brain wanted to tackle anything like that in January. Each time I listened to it, it felt like a mini-therapy session. It was like, “go you!” “love yourself!” “set those boundaries!” I felt encouraged and empowered. I cannot say that the book changed my life or even provided me with brand new information, but it was not a laborious task to listen to it or did it leave me feeling weighted or heavy after.
I will note this: the book is full of words of wisdom from a host of people. In order to give credit to their thoughts, their name is read. It’s at the end of quotes and at the beginning of dialogue, and it can get very confusing. I did wonder how it would read as a book when the reader has visual cues for all of this.
If you’re looking for an inspiring guidebook for your life, I would recommend it. If you’re looking for something to change your current path or offer you a brand new perspective on a topic, this one could take a backseat to others.
4. Atmosphere
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Length: 352 pages
Publication: June 2025
Genre: fiction
Audience: adult (LGBTQ)
SUMMARY:
Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.
Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.A
s the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.
Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.
MY REVIEW:
You know when a book appears too many times in your world to be ignored? This was my situation with Atmosphere. I don’t know when I first heard about it, but like many recommendations, it went onto “My Shelves” in my library app. And there it stayed.
But it kept popping up. Pictures of it. Reviews. People I knew were talking about it. So I finally moved it to a hold request, and surprisingly it came into my possession a few days later.
I have to confess I didn’t even recognize the author’s name. I was a huge fan of Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo when I read it a few years ago. And her other book, Daisy Jones and the Six, is also on my shelves list in my library app. I think that alone says something about Taylor Jenkins Reid as an author.
I absolutely loved this read. I was captivated by the instant drama unfolding in the first few chapters; it was enough to make me want to read the chapters on the backstories. I thought her style of writing was brilliant, giving me the story first and then making me care about the characters in the story (which did remind me of Evelyn Hugo).
The book carries a strong LGBTQ theme throughout the entire novel, so that might interest or sway some of you. But I thought it was brilliantly written; I am not much of a crier and I found tears flowing down my cheeks in the last pages. In short, this book is simply beautiful.
5. The Trouble with Heroes
Author: Kate Messner
Length: 368 pages
Publication: April 2025
Genre: verse fiction
Audience: middle grade
SUMMARY:
One summer.
46 mountain peaks.
A second chance to make things right.
Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn’s about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now.
Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he’s in big trouble for kicking down some dead old lady’s headstone. But it turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer…climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks with her dead mother’s dog, and they can call it even.
In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don’t care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn’s final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.
MY REVIEW:
When a beloved and well-trusted ELA teacher recommends a book AND gives you a copy to read…well, I just cannot pass up the offer. And I’m so glad I didn’t. What a read!
I have fallen in love with verse fiction. (I am so jealous of those who can write this genre and would love for the talent to write it myself, but that is another topic for a different newsletter). It’s so accessible, well-thought out, and honestly, a quicker read. In addition, I am absolutely LOVING what middle grade and young adult authors are doing in terms of including other pieces of text within their story: newspaper articles, recipes, etc. It’s simply creativity at its best.
This middle grade fiction novel in verse hits the mark. The story is worthwhile, we grow to care deeply about the character, and the setting was informative. Informative, you ask? Messner sets her story in Lake Placid, New York where her character must climb all 46 Adirondack mountains. As a result, we as the reader must climb all 46 alongside him. For me, while I had been to Lake Placid on a family vacation and had fallen in love with this quaint yet historically important location in our nation’s history (research both the 1930 and 1980 winter Olympic games), I know very little about the Adirondack mountains other than what I had seen from a distance, but after reading this novel, I told my husband (confidently) that we must add “becoming a 46er” to our bucket list.
Read this book. And when you’re done, bake one of the cookie recipes included and make place to become a 46er.
