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I am back with the final edition of what books I read this past spring. While most of the books I usually read are lighthearted, these next 3 deal with heavier subjects. While there are still so many lighthearted moments in each, the books all showcase how depression and grief form in different ways. That we all deal with issues in different ways, and that is ok. From breakups to life-altering tragedies to infidelity, here are the last and final books of the spring.
*Read book reviews part 1
*Red book reviews part 2
Andy can’t get over his breakup with Jen. He can’t get over why it happened. What lead to the breakup. Why did he not see it coming. He goes over and over it in his head, reliving their relationship and the breakup. And it’s not just that- why is everyone around him grown up while he is stuck in a rut. Maybe if he has the answers to that question, Jen will come back to him.
4.5/5 stars
Review
Good Material being from Andy’s perspective I guess I was hoping for some sort of insight into the male psyche. Instead it seems men go through exactly what women go through during a breakup; the sadness, denial, anger, obsession, release. The only difference is that women have a community to lean on. Women have friends and family that they can easily express their feelings to over and over again. To work through the breakup with. Men on the other hand can’t talk to their friends about their heartache. This leaves Andy on his own to deal with his emotions; emotions he doesn’t understand and doesn’t know how to properly take care of. To me that was the most heartbreaking part of the book; that Andy never felt truly supported by his friends because he didn’t know how to talk to them. Over all I enjoyed the book. I could relate to Andy in ways of having a hard time getting over someone.
Helen Zhang hasn’t seen Grant Shepard since they graduated high school. Since that one tragic day that bonded their lives forever. Now Helen is a successful author with a tv adaptation on the way. When she flies out to LA to partake in the writers room of her book-to-tv series, she is hoping to not only succeed but to also make a fresh start. Grant is still trying to move on from the past. He knows he shouldn’t have taken the job on Helen’s show, but will open doors for him in his career. Can Grant and Helen pretend to get along enough for the show to succeed or will the secrets, and the tragedies, of their past ruin everything. How To End a Love Story is about second chances.
*trigger warning: grief and suicide
5/5 stars
Review
I thoroughly enjoyed this one! It’s a little Romeo and Juliet coded in a way. I loved that the book isn’t only about a slow burn romance. It’s about grief, self-esteem, stepping into your own, and going for what you want. I loved following along as both Helen and Grant had character development. Both had issues that they were still working on, and they found an unlikely support and understanding in each other. I think this book is really relatable in that we all feel insecure at times. That we carry things from our past that we do not talk about. It may not be to the degree in which Helen and Grant carry, but we all have things we try to work through. It’s also relatable in how grief isn’t linear. It can manifest in different ways. But besides the heaviness of the storyline, there is still lots of lighthearted moments; funny, swoon worthy, charming. It still has the romcom recipe we all love.
From the outside looking in Mizuki has the perfect life. Her husband has a good job, she has two adorable kids, and they live in a beautiful apartment in the heart of Tokyo. So why does Mizuki feel that she rather jump off her balcony than talk, or not talk, to her husband? Why does being the perfect Japanese housewife seem too much? When Mizuki meets the young, charming restaurant owner Kiyoshi, she starts to rediscovers herself. The self that she lost in marriage and motherhood. However, the further the relationship goes, Miszuki knows she much choose one life or the other. Fault Lines is about the preservations of self. Who we are vs who we used to be, and the life we actually want to live.
2/5
Review
I hate to give a book a bad review, but I did not enjoy this one at all. What I didn’t like about Fault Lines is how much Mizuki rambled. She would go into descriptions about one thing, then the next sentence talk about something completely different. I wanted less inner thoughts and more action. I thought the story itself was interesting, and I loved the Japanese culture aspect. Things also got more exciting towards the end. However, for most of the book I was bored by Mizuki’s rambling thoughts.