For the month of October I seemed to be in a very female-driven book mode.  Ranging from a very serious (and true!) topic of how the Catholic Church turned orphanages into mental institutions for more money to Mindy Kaling’s book with funny anecdotes about the start of her career there is a variety to choose from.  I hope at least one of these books catches your interest.

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The Home for Unwanted Girls

Wow, this was such a good book and based on true events!  The story is told from the perspective of a woman who becomes pregnant at 15 years old.  Her parents make her give up her baby and stop seeing her boyfriend.  Obviously, the narrator never forgets about her baby and goes on a search to find her child.  The baby had been placed in an orphanage run by Catholic nuns which later is converted into a mental institution.  Tens of thousands of orphans were labeled as mentally retarded to be kept in these institutions so the Catholic Church could profit more from government funding.  Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse were prominent in these mental institutions and the orphans often used as guinea pigs in medical experiments.  The Church still denies these events ever took place – shocker!  It’s a powerful read that really makes you think about how often parents and religion think they “know what’s best”.

That Kind of Mother

I found this book boring and hard to follow at times.  The story starts with a mom having a biological child and during her struggles to breastfeed convinces the lactation consultant from the hospital to quit her job and become the family’s nanny.  The nanny surprisingly becomes pregnant herself and after a tragedy the baby’s future is in contention. The main topic of this book is raising an African-American child in a white family.  Although the story had opportunities to delve into interesting discussions of a multi-race family I found it jumped around too much and the main character irritating.

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake

A fun, easy read especially if you are from Wisconsin as the book takes place in Milwaukee and includes a ton of references.  The plot is basically the exact same as You’ve Got Mail but with a restaurant owner and food critic as the main characters.  When the restaurant owner has an awful day the food critic happens to come to her restaurant and writes a scathing review.  The two randomly meet at a bar (not knowing what each other does for a living) and agree to not discuss their jobs.  The food critic mentions he is not fond of Milwaukee and the restaurant owner offers to be his tour guide to change his mind.  Festivals, the State Fair, tailgating at a Brewer’s game are all mentioned as the tour of the real Milwaukee begins.  But what will happen when she finds out he is the food critic that shattered her business?  Yes, the coconut cake recipe is included in the back of the book.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

Way better than Amy Poehler’s book, Mindy has written a short, fun read that includes funny little stories from her childhood up to the beginning of her amazing career.  I found the anecdote about her trying out for a Broadway musical hilarious and the few dating stories she includes make her seem so down-to-earth. It was interesting to learn more about her role as a writer on The Office.  She is far more talented than I had previously given Mindy credit for. The book does include an excerpt of her second book which I still liked but I have to say the excerpt was the best part of the book – I would give it three stars.

Need more good books to read?  Check out my September Book Reads post!