Junie

“Junie” by Erin Crosby Eckstine
Published by Ballantine Books
 
I greatly enjoyed this historical fiction.  It is a story of pre-Civil War slavery, focused on house and stable slaves rather than those working in the fields.   As with any story related to slavery, there is some violence but it’s not a regular occurrence throughout the book.  Instead, there is more focus of the family dynamics of both slaves and owners as well as the relationship between the main character, Junie, and her mistress. At times it reminded me of “The Kitchen House”, which I absolutely loved.  This wasn’t quite up to par with that book, so I had to give it a 4 instead of a 5 but I did enjoy it and definitely recommend it.
 
Please make sure to read the Author’s Note at the back of the book once you finish reading it for an insight into her inspiration for writing it.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.  The book will be released on 2/4/25.
 
Finished 1/25/25 – 4/5 stars
 
#junie #erincrosbyeckstine #ballantine #netgalley #2025reads #genxreads
 

Bits and Pieces

 

“Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me” by Whoopi Goldberg
Published by Blackstone Publishing
 
Best audio I’ve listened to in a while!  I don’t know how the written book comes across, but the audio is like sitting down and reminiscing with her.  Her personality just shines through.  She even giggles a little when telling some stories.  I have a feeling some of the audio might be slightly improvised vs reading straight from the book. Regardless, it’s a great listen that I highly recommend.
 
Finished 1/22/25 – 5/5 stars
 
#bitsandpieces #whoopigoldberg #blackstonepublishing #2025reads #5starreads #bookstagram

Good Dirt

 

“Good Dirt” by Charmaine Wilkerson
Published by Ballantine Books
 
I loved this book from start to finish.  This is much more than a family drama.  It is their history, their legacy, and the bond that holds them together.  It is multigenerational, starting with a woman stolen and sold into slavery, continuing with the story of her son and his brother-in-law.  Then the current generation’s story is told in dual timelines – right before a family member is murdered and 20 years after.  And in the middle of it all is a family heirloom with a story of its own.  I loved the settings, the characters, the storylines, and the writing itself.  I highly recommend it.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.
 
Finished 1/19/25 – 5/5 stars
 
#gooddirt #charmainewilkerson #ballantinebooks #netgalley #5starreads #2025reads #genxreads #bookstagram

A Little Hope

 

“A Little Hope” by Ethan Joella
Published by Scribner
 
I’m surprised this book isn’t more well known.  The writing is truly beautiful.  Multiple times I would stop and reread a sentence because I enjoyed it so much.  It’s hard to believe that this is the author’s debut novel.  Granted, he’s a college English professor so he should know a thing or two about writing and it’s obvious he does.
 
This book has multiple storylines intertwined within a small town in Connecticut.  Initially it took me a minute to recall who was who when beginning a new chapter related to one storyline that would also reference a character from a different storyline, but it got easier over time as I got to know the characters better.  As the title suggests, the common theme throughout is Hope.  Whether it is dealing with a sickness or grieving a loss, each storyline contains hope for a better future.  There are heartbreaks but there is healing as well.  I definitely recommend this one.
 
Finished 1/15/25 – 4/5 stars
 
#alittlehope #ethanjoella #scribner #botm #genxreads #2025reads

Little Fires Everywhere

 “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng
Published by Penguin Press
 
This is a family drama, with lots of drama.  Essentially, every character has some form of past and/or current drama they are dealing with.  Some individually and some together with others.  The common theme across it all seems to be choices made and their consequences.  Is there always a definite right and wrong or is there simply the grey area in between? It makes you ponder what choice you would have made if in their situation. I greatly enjoyed this one – loved both the storylines and the characters.  I just felt that at times it was missing depth. Granted, I think when you have this many characters with storylines, it’s harder to add depth without making the book too long and drawn out.
 
Side note - I found it quite interesting that although the book is told in 3^rd person, the majority of the time the adults (except Mia and Bebe) are referred to as Mr. or Mrs. rather than their first names even though they have their own storylines.
 
Finished 1/8/25 – 4/5 stars
 
#littlefireseverywhere #chelesteng #penguinpress #genxreads #2025reads

More or Less Maddy

 

“More or Less Maddy” by Lisa Genova
Published by Gallery/Scout Press (coming 1/14/25)
 
I’m a huge fan of Lisa Genova so was excited to get my hands on this book.  I’ve read all but 1 of her books and they’ve all been 4 or 5 star reads for me.  This one fell a little short as a 3.5 star read though.  It just didn’t pull me in as much as her other books and I wasn’t able to connect with the characters in general.  I thought the storyline was good, character development of Maddy was good, and as a bonus I learned a little about bipolar disorder.  Although not my favorite Lisa Genova book, I still recommend it.  It’s a good story and might help you understand more of what those struggling with mental health challenges are going through.
 
Because I received an ARC, I’m not sure if there will be trigger warnings in the final print so please know there is a section discussing ways of committing suicide.  If that would be a trigger for someone, I wouldn’t recommend it to them.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.
 
Finished 1/3/25 – 3.5/5 stars
 
#moreoflessmaddy #lisagenova #gallerybooks #scoutpress #netgalley #2025reads #genxreads