August was a great reading month for me! I managed to read two great books and reread the second book in The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy. Below are the 4 books I read in August!
My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
tw: sexual assault, suicide and drug use!
I really loved this book and I would definitely recommend it! It falls in the sad girl book genre! Isabel Rosen, a Jewish student at an elite college, starts an affair with her married English professor that affects her final academic semester! I love how time and setting plays a huge role in this story! It’s not during #MeToo movement but it’s during the Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton scandal!
I loved how different friendships were highlighted, especially the difference in Debra’s approach to feminism and Isabel’s keeping quiet to avoid causing problems because she had other problems (mostly financial) to worry about!
I would give it a 4 star because the story is so similar to My Dark Vanessa so I kept comparing the two books! My Dark Vanessa is one of my favorite books of all time so I felt like My Last Innocent Year was trying to replicate that story! Or maybe it was the same storyline but different characters? The professors died in both books and the setting was late 90s/early 2000s! I just think MDV had more self reflections from the victim and was just a way better book!
Maame by Jessica George ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
tw: loss of parent and depression
This is definitely the saddest book I have read this year! Maddie is a twenty five year old Londoner living at home taking care of her sick father alone while her mother is in Ghana and her brother growing his career far from home. Maddie is forced to take care of her father alone which affects her social life, mental health and financial stability. It really sucks that the burden of taking care of her father, home and their family is placed on the youngest daughter simply because she is a girl!
I would say that this book is divided in three sections: Maddie living at home, Maddie moving out of home and Maddie later finding a new home with a certain someone (no spoilers)! The first part reminded me of Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner as Maddie and Michelle both share their experience taking care of a sick parent. The second part falls under the young adult genre as Maddie experiments with drugs, online dating and sexual intimacy. The third part explores Maddie dealing with grief and setting boundaries on how much help she can offer to her family.
I truly related with some parts of Maddie’s storyline so so much, every page felt like “wait, is this f*cking play about us?” 😭😭
I also love that this book shows that there is no one right way to deal with grief as two characters in the story both lose their parents. I would give it a high 4 star because I felt like Maddie should have gotten better from her brother and mother. She deserved way more after all she had been through. My girl went through it in every chapter
I would recommend reading this book before it’s adapted into a TV series! It’s such a heavy and emotional book so it can be triggering.
It’s Not Summer Without You ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I can confirm that The Summer I Turned Pretty S2 made my July and August comforting and something to look forward to. I re-read this book because I am currently obsessed with the show and wanted to know what each episode will be about! I still feel like the first book is way better and Belly is so annoying in the book and the show! Just make up your mind and stop stringing these boys along!!
I also did a short Tiktok commentary on how wealth and elite education is portrayed by the different characters! I am forever Team Conrad! 😀✊🏿
Your Captivating Love by Layla Hagen ⭐️⭐️
This book was not my ideal romance novel! I do love reading romance novels to have a little fun escape but this one was a little bit boring and too explicit for me! Aspiring fashion designer meets a rich boy from a powerful family! We already know how it will end! It felt like a wattpad story! I did not enjoy it and would not recommend it! If I am being honest, I have already forgotten the plot because it was not that memorable for me.