The Nickel Boys

 
“The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead
Published by Vintage Books (Penguin Random House)
 
This book was hard to read but definitely worth the read.  It’s painful, depressing, heartbreaking, and yet important too.  It takes place in a boys reform school in the 60s, where a teenage black boy is sent for being at the wrong place and the wrong time.  The abuse these boys had to endure was horrific.  And what makes it worse, is knowing that although this story is fictional, it is based off actual events that happened at an actual school.  So, although a difficult read, I feel it’s an important read to shed light on the past, to try to prevent it ever happening again in our future.
 
Finished 7/13/25 – 4/5 stars
 
#thenickelboys #colsonwhitehead #vintagebooks #penguinrandomhouse #2025reads #genxreads

The Little Liar

 
“The Little Liar” by Mitch Albom
Published by Harper (HarperCollins)
 
“The Book Thief” has Death as a narrator.  “The Little Liar” is narrated by Truth, and it is so well done.  I absolutely loved every part of this book and in reading it, learned more about the Holocaust that I was unaware of.  This story begins and ends in the Greek town of Salonika, the town with the highest percentage of Jewish population of all the cities the Nazis destroyed.  It started with about 50,000 Jewish citizens prior to WWII and was left with a mere 2,000 afterward.  I’m glad the author decided to share this story, for people like me, to learn about how this part of Greece was so strongly affected.  And he did so in such an interesting way.  I highly recommend you pick it up to read.  And if you are an English teacher, I think it would make for great assigned reading.  Not just for the story, but for the writing and the discussions it could provoke. 
 
Finished 7/11/25 – 5/5 stars
 
#thelittleliar #mitchalbom #harper #harpercollins #5starreads #2025reads #genxreads

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

 
“All the Ugly and Wonderful Things” by Bryn Greenwood
Published by Thomas Dunne Books (St Martin’s Press)
 
The 1^st half of this book introduces you to a sweet and innocent relationship between a young girl in need of an adult in her life to love and take care of her and a man is his mid-20s who does just that.  The 2^nd half of this book takes an uncomfortable turn.  At one point, I truly didn’t want to keep reading but I did because I needed to know how this troubled young girl’s life turned out.  She had such a horrible childhood, you just wanted her to find true happiness and safety.  It’s well written and I gave it 3 stars, but I have such mixed feelings about it that I don’t know that I can recommend it.
 
Finished 7/9/25 – 3/5 stars
 
#alltheuglyandwonderfulthings #bryngreenwood #thomasdunnebooks #stmartinspress #botm #2025reads #genxreads

The Unraveling of Julia

“The Unraveling of Julia” by Lisa Scottoline
Published by Grand Central Publishing
 
I had to suspend some of my beliefs in reality to enjoy this book, but enjoy it I did.  There is romance, mystery, and a touch of the spirit world.  She is an auto-read author for me, but this is not my favorite of hers.  I loved the setting and some of the characters, but there were times I just felt it unrealistic and frustrating in that an area was not investigated that to me, would have been one of the 1^st places I would have gone at the time (can’t say more to avoid spoilers).  Overall, it was a good read and kept me very entertained, just not as believable as some of her other stories.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.
 
Finished 7/8/25 – 3.5/5 stars
 
#theunravelingofjulia #lisascottoline #grandcentralpublishing #netgalley #2025reads #genxreads
 

Finding Grace

“Finding Grace” by Loretta Rothschild
Published by St. Martin’s Press
 
Chapter 1 had me hooked and chapter 2 had me crying.  Overall, it was a predictable romance, but I truly enjoyed it (and I don’t read a lot of romance).  Actually, it wasn’t completely predictable.  I was expecting one twist that never came.  I really liked the characters and the development of relationships, although one character completely frustrated me, but I’m pretty sure that was supposed to be the case.  I also felt there were a couple plot holes, but it didn’t take away from the storyline.  For a debut novel, I think the author did great.  I definitely recommend it.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.
 
Finished 7/6/25 – 3.5/5 stars
 
#findinggrace #lorettarothschild #stmartinspress #netgalley #2025reads #genxreads 

The White Crow

 
“The White Crow” by Michael Robotham
Published by Sphere UK
 
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the 1^st in the series.  I like the main character and the dynamics surrounding her relationship with her family, but I felt the storyline was slower this time around and not as smooth. If this series continues, I think the focus needs to be much more on the main character and the cases she’s involved in, and less involvement with her criminal family.  They should be a side story, not part of the main plotline.  I enjoyed it but I think it is much more mystery than thriller.  If you are looking for a mystery, I would recommend it.  But if you are looking for a good thriller, this isn’t it.  There just isn’t a lot of suspense throughout, just at the end.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Sphere UK for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.
 
Finished 7/4/25 – 3/5 stars
 
#thewhitecrow #michaelrobotham #sphereuk #netgalley #2025reads #genxreads