February 2019 Book Reviews and Recommendations

Another five-star book recommendation is included in this month’s book reviews! I also gave Erik Larson another chance and read a book before I check out the movie. See below to check out what I read for February.

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A Simple Favor

This book is supposed to be a thriller but the heart-pounding never happens while reading it. The plot of A Simple Favor is that a woman disappears and her best friend and husband start to form a closer relationship while the search for the lost woman continues. When the facts of the mystery start to not add up the reader understands the basics of what really happened right away, unfortunately. The characters are incredibly unbelievable and part of the book is written as blog posts which I found annoying. Although some plot twists are surprising I would say this is a book worth skipping. Maybe the movie is better?

This Is How It Always Is

A fantastic book about how a family (originally from Madison, WI!) handles having a young transgender daughter. This Is How It Always Is covers some really hard topics surrounding gender identity but in the context of a family trying to do what’s best for their child. But in the end, parenting is often just guessing and trying your best hoping that everything will turn out okay. Everyday tasks that you never even think of have to be addressed when having a transgender child. Where should the child use the bathroom? How do you handle getting in pajamas at a sleepover? I absolutely loved this book, highly recommend!

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is an interesting story about an African-American woman who moves to Philadelphia with her husband and ends up having twelve children. There is a chapter from each child’s perspective at different times in their lives and at different times in the world. Difficulties with homosexuality, mental illness, physical illness, and the hardships of staying in love when life doesn’t turn out how you expected are all themes throughout the book. Not a page-turner but I liked it.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Madness, and Magic at the Fair that Changed America

So much better than the book I read last month by the same author, The Devil in the White City is a fascinating story surrounding the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The book is full of awesome historical tidbits and tells of the architects (and landscape architect Olmstead) who built the Fair. Interspersed throughout the book is the story of a serial murder who takes advantage of his proximity to the Fair and how he got away with so much for so long. While reading this book I loved learning about everything that came out of the Fair such as the Ferris Wheel, Shredded Wheat, and possibly even the inspiration for Disney World. The history plus mystery makes this book a unique read.