The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer

A special thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well colour me surprised!  I actually enjoyed The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo way more than I thought I would.  There were things that made me laugh, and things that moved me too.  I could have done without the lists, and most certainly done without the chapter on her stuffed animals, but other than that, I felt she was incredibly honest, and real.

Schumer shares with readers some truly painful experiences.  The way she lost her virginity was sad, horrific, and painful.  She was also in an abusive relationship that resulted in a few terrifying ordeals that left me feeling incredibly sad for her, but optimistic in that maybe by sharing her story, she gave someone else the courage to leave an abusive relationship.  My heart went out to her when she spoke of her father's MS, but she did take things a bit too far (poop story) and this was not necessary.  I could empathize when she wrote about her mother, and their volatile relationship—she has had to establish some pretty tough and firm boundaries.  Many mothers and daughters walk a fine line, and I really struggle to understand why women are so cruel to other women, oftentimes this starts out with criticisms from one's own mother.

I love that she is unabashedly a feminist.  She is also kind, smart, and doesn't make apologies for any of her failures or shortcomings.  Schumer works hard, and is of course funny.

"I know my worth.  I embrace my power.  I say if I'm beautiful.  I say if I'm strong.  You will not determine my story.  I will.  I'll speak and share and fuck and love, and I will never apologize for it.  I am amazing for you, not because of you.  I am not who I sleep with.  I am not my weight.  I am not my mother.  I am myself.  And I am all of you."

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

A special thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cora and Caesar are slaves on a cotton plantation in Georgia.  Like all of the slaves, she is treated horrifically, but even more so because she is also an outcast among her people.  Things are only going to get worse for Cora as she is approaching womanhood and is drawing unwanted attention from her owner.

Caesar, recently arrived from Virginia, tells Cora about the Underground Railroad.  She initially refuses Caesar's idea to escape, but then her situation becomes more dire, and the two decide to leave the plantation and head to the north.

The narrative follows Cora's journey—at each stop she is met with a different world.  She is also hunted by Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, and must navigate her way to liberation.  At times, this structure didn't work because the reader gets bumped around from place-to-place and between past and present.    

I wanted more from the supporting cast of characters, Whitehead does them a disservice by not developing them to their full potential.  Caesar is also underdeveloped, and at times, Cora.  There is a definite disconnect—would this book have been better in the first-person?  Whitehead certainly did his research, but I can't quite put my finger on it.  Maybe the research took over the plot?  The idea of an underground railroad was genius, but this component/concept was not fully explored.

This book was hard for me to rate, and at times, to read.  There was a lot of disturbing subject matter, and while this is a fictitious story, there were many Cora's and Caesars, and this story is important to tell.  I don't doubt that this novel will be the topic of many Book Clubs.

Final Girls: A Novel by Riley Sager

A special thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Dutton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ten years ago, a group of college friends went on a getaway to a cabin in the woods, and only one of them came back.  Quincey Carpenter was the lone survivor of this horror movie-style massacre at Pine Cottage.  The press has dubbed her as a "Final Girl" (a term that refers to the last woman standing in a horror movie).  There are two other women in this club: Lisa Milner, who survived a knife attack that claimed the life of nine of her sorority sisters, and Samantha Boyd, who survived the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn.  The women have never met despite attempts to get them together, they all want to put the past behind them and move on.  

On the surface, Quincey seems to be holding it together—she has a successful baking blog, an understanding fiancé, Jeff, and a beautiful apartment.  In actuality, she is using Xanax, and relies on the steadfast support of Coop, the police officer who saved her life that night in the woods.  She also has no recollection of what actually happened.  It is not until Lisa, the first Final Girl is found dead, and Sam, the second girl shows up on her doorway, that Quincey is forced to deal with the past and what actually happened that night.

Quincey invites Samantha, who now goes by Sam, to stay with her and Jeff at the apartment.  Sam begins to influence Quincey and she engages in some destructive behaviour which is completely uncharacteristic and her actions are threatening to jeopardize the "normal" life she has worked so hard to build.  Quincey begins to question Sam's motives—what are the truths and what are the lies?  Why after all this time did Sam decide to show up?  And why is she pushing Quincey to remember things she has blocked out?  Can she trust Sam?

I didn't fully buy in.  How could a complete stranger influence Quincey's behaviour so much?  I understand that Sagar was using Sam as a vehicle for Quincey to deal with the past and uncover what happened, but it was forced.  Unfortunately I had it figured out before the big reveal. 

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda

A special thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Canada, and Graydon House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rouda weaves a dark tale of marriage, betrayal, and deception in this page-turning thriller.  Readers are in the mind of narcissist Paul Strom, a handsome and successful advertising executive that is trying to have the "best day ever" with his wife—Strom is a combination of a character from "Mad Men" and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.  Paul is confident, charming, and thinks that every woman wants him.  

The story begins with Paul and his wife, Mia, leaving for a child-free weekend up at their lake house.  He's promised her that this will be the best day ever.  The couple say this phrase several times during the drive and the reader wonders what is going on with these two.  The tension is palpable and written as such that we don't know the extent of the problem, or if in fact these two even like each other.

Paul is an incredibly unreliable narrator, so narcissistic that he cannot read social cues or navigate relationships.  He thinks that women want him, when in fact he is actually stalking them and the attention that he bestows upon these victims is stalkerish and harassing plain and simple.  The comparison to Ellis' Patrick Bateman is there, although Paul is not quite as polished, and unlike Bateman, there is no likability whatsoever.

Rouda goes out on a whimper.  There needed to be more of a psychological throw down to amp it up to another star.  All-in-all, a great read for the summer and I would definitely recommend this book.

KAIRA ROUDA is a USA Today bestselling, multiple award-winning author of contemporary fiction exploring what goes on behind closed doors of seemingly perfect lives. Her novels include All the Difference, Here, Home, Hope, In the Mirror, and The Goodbye Year.  Her modern romance novels are set on beaches, including the Indigo Island series and the Laguna Beach series, also its own Kindle World.

She lives in Southern California with her family.  

Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo

A special thank you to Penguin Random House First to Read for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Michelle Kuo is a recent Harvard graduate that finds herself in a rural town in Arkansas as a Teach for America volunteer.  Wanting to make a difference in her students' lives, she is full of optimism but soon discovers how broken the system is.  Kuo tries a different tactic—she  uses quiet reading time and guided writing exercises as a way to instil a sense of self in her students.

Throughout her tenure, Kuo loses students for various reasons.  Some are as simple as truancy and others are harsh and stem from violence.  She also is inspired by some, and one of those students is Patrick who is fifteen and is still in grade eight.  Under Miss Kuo's attention, he flourishes.  However, Michelle is feeling incredible pressure from her Taiwanese immigrant parents to pursue other opportunities and ultimately leaves Arkansas after a couple of years to attend law school.

On the eve of her graduation, Michelle learns that Patrick has been incarcerated for murder.  Murder?  Patrick?  Kuo has incredible guilt and thinks that she is partly responsible because she prematurely left the school.  Determined to right the situation as best she can, Michelle returns to teaching Patrick from his jail cell while he awaits trial.  It is here that we get a sense of both of their characters.  Michelle doesn't waiver in her dedication, even when it appears as though Patrick has forgotten most of what she taught him.

In this moving and inspiring memoir of a teacher that didn't give up on her student, Patrick, Kuo shares the story of her mentorship of Patrick Browning and his incredible journey of self-discovery through literature and writing.  Kuo is also taken on her own journey as she is forced to navigate through several broken systems, racism, social standing, privilege, and relationships.

Friendship can come unexpectedly sometimes, and you never know your impact on someone else's life.  I highly recommend this wonderful story.  

The Best of Us: A Memoir by Joyce Maynard

A special thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Joyce Maynard, author and journalist, discovers true love later in life.  Before she met Jim, who we are told several times, has a great head of hair—I imagine Patrick Dempsey gets told this a lot too—Maynard believes she is done with marriage.  She is fiercely independent, but open to companionship and ends up realizing that Jim is more than a companion, he is her partner.

The couple has a whirlwind romance, and marry, only to have their years together cut tragically short.  Jim is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just after they celebrate their first year of marriage.  Raw, honest, and heartbreaking, Maynard doesn't shy away from sharing the ups and downs of marriage with the added strain of a terminal illness.  She courageously writes about Jim's final days—her writing is beautiful and reminds us that love is fleeting, as is time, and that both are a gift to the heart.