August Reading Wrap Up + Giveaway

Holy moly - August was a seriously insane month for me. But nothing compares to the craziness of the last week. My little family and I live about 30 minutes away from where the eye of Hurricane Harvey first landed. We evacuated on Thursday, and sat watching the TV, hoping that our home would still be here when we returned. I feel so incredibly blessed that our home was somehow miraculously unscathed besides minor fence damage. My heart and prayers go out to all of the people who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey #Texasforever.

Reading Wrap Up August 2017

When Dimple Met Rishi
Sandhya Menon

amazon // goodreads // library

2/5 stars : ( I feel like I have unpopular opinions about this book, but I also agree with the most common opinion I've read about "When Dimple Met Rishi" - it's cute. It is! It's super cute, and that totally saved the book for me. But once I got past the cuteness, I felt like the writing was pretty sloppy. Huge storylines, like the reason Dimple and Rishi are even at Insomnia Con together, are dropped with little explanation. The biggest unexplained moment to me, was Rishi's brother staying with him for weeks in his dorm room- why?! It helped the story - but outside of that it just really didn't make sense and distracted me as a reader.


We Are All The Same
Jim Wooten

goodreads // library// amazon

3/5 stars - I recently read "We Are All The Same" and it is just such a good book that touches on so many of the reasons why I *love* non fiction so much. Not only is "We Are All The Same" incredibly touching - the book tells the story of a young South African boy born with HIV who is taken in by an adoptive mother, but you also learn so, so much history about South Africa and AIDS- but not in a boring text book way, of course! The author intertwines the stories together so while you are learning about Nkosi and his adoptive mother Gail,  your understanding of the AIDS epidemic increases and vice versa. Non fiction books like this are also great because it gives the reader the chance to catch up or refresh their knowledge on a topic- for me, the AIDS epidemic, apartheid, etc. started a little before my time, it was incredibly enlightening to be able to get a full history of these important topics while also enjoying such a touching story as well! Click the link to read my blog post about "We Are All The Same" where I list Five Things I Learned by reading "We Are All The Same". 



The Thicket
Joe R. Landsdale

goodreads // library // amazon

3/5 stars - While it would be easy to blame only reading five books this month on Hurricane Harvey, hands down - I blame it on this book. "The Thicket" started out really strong! It had such an interesting and unique premise - boy loses parents to smallpox, and then his grandfather is murdered and his sister is kidnapped, in order to get his sister back he assembles a rag tag crew of the son of a former slave, a midget, and an ex prostitute. The writing was great and Joe Landsdale convinced me that that rag tag crew had a chance. AND THEN NOTHING. The middle of this book dragged for me like few books have and took my rating from a 5 to a 3, bummer.



The Upside of Unrequited 
Becky Albertalli

goodreads // library // amazon

4/5 stars - I grabbed quite a few YA books on a recent library trip- it was totally unintentional, but I was also totally cool with it! YA is a genre that I rarely read before joining the book blogging, tubeing, stagramming world, but now it is *everywhere*. Especially this book, as of late - and I totally understand why now! I could gush about this book and the possible lessons it can teach readers for a while. I am working on a full review write up for it, but it is taking me forever because there is just so much good to say! Long story short, if you have been looking for a new YA book to love - pick this one up!


Stay With Me
by Ayobami Adebayo

goodreads // library // amazon

3/5 stars - The premise of this book totally sucked me in! "Stay With Me" is about Yejide and her husband Akin. They live in Nigeria, and although polygamy is customary there, the two decided that was not for them...their family had other plans. When Yejide and Akin are unable to get pregnant, Akins family forces him into another marriage. Yejide is understandably hurt, mad, frustrated. All of the feelings. And without giving too much away, that's where the story begins! I gave this book 3/5 stars- it was fascinating to view such a relatable situation in America play out in another culture. However towards the end of the book as other plots gained momentum I was disappointed that the more intriguing storyline took a backseat. I still really enjoyed reading this book, and recommend it to other adult fiction lovers- especially those that enjoy books related to family issues.

I received a copy of "Stay With Me" from the publisher, A.A. Knopf, in exchange for an honest review. They were was also kind enough to send an extra copy to giveaway! Interested in entering!? Click the video below and follow the instructions are click here for the Rafflecopter link!

And that was my reading wrap up for August. An okay month as far as pages and books read, but a little underwhelming as far as stars awarded. What did you read in the month of August? Let me know by commenting below- I'd love to read some winners in September : )