Four Corners by Wally Rudolph

This book had me adding some interesting searches to my Google history. (Think: What is cheeva? Why would a drug user drink bleach?)

We follow thirty-seven-year-old Frank as he sets off on a road trip through the Four Corners of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico with his twentysomething girlfriend, Maddie, both heavy drug addicts (though Frank is trying hard to kick his habit) and his friend's young son. The reason for their trip is that Frank's best friend, Ben, went on yet another bender, and returned to his father's house where his dad was holding Ben's son. Ben's father was threatening to revoke Ben's custody because he didn't feel that his son was in a good enough state to be taking care of a kid. Unfortunately, Ben's dad had some pretty serious issues of his own, the least of which was that Ben's former girlfriend was now his dad's current girlfriend. It's messy. So Ben essentially steals his own kid and turns up on Frank's doorstep, much to Maddie's dismay.

Frank and Maddie set off to try to get out of state and off the scent trail of Ben's dad and his questionable associates. They plan to meet up in another state with Ben, return the boy to him and take off and get married and leave all of their troubles behind. Unfortunately, when illicit drugs, kidnapping charges, ransoms and old debts are running after you, it's not so easy to escape. Who can you trust? What is real?

Four Corners has a twisty plot and the road trip aspect amps up the intrigue. There is plenty of violence and drama and the author, a former drug addict and Midwestern traveler himself, put his knowledge to great use in this book. His personal experience helps create an captivating-yet-believable story of what happens when drugs and money take over, a person is in over their head and lives are turned inside out. A person might try to change the future, but the past can never be erased.

Judge the cover: 5/5

It's Okay to Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too) by Nora McInerny Purmort

Nora McInerney Purmort chose the perfect title because there are equal parts hilariousness and heartbreak throughout her book.

When he was in his early thirties, Nora's husband, Aaron, suffered a sudden seizure. This episode led to the worst-case - and blindsiding - diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. As if that weren't enough for one family to deal with, Nora lost her father, miscarried a baby and lost her husband within a few short weeks of each other. 

But Nora's story isn't all tears and heartbreak - though I'm sure everyone would have understood if she'd crawled under the sheets and thrown the biggest pity party ever known to man. She and her husband celebrated the good and kept the bad to the back burner as much as possible. Nora and Aaron got engaged in his hospital bed. They had a son together. They made the most of their too-short time together. They made plans and they laughed a lot. They celebrated their love. It's apparent that Aaron had a heart like no other and, despite his diagnosis and the gradual deterioration of his body, his positivity radiated through Nora's stories. Nora herself, though she endured far too much for one human being, not only managed to persevere, but continued putting one foot in front of the other and maintained her awesome sense of humour. 

From the jacket, I thought this book was going to focus mainly on her husband's story, but Nora's essays delve into her youth, her dating life, her Catholic upbringing. She goes on a silent retreat, forms a Hot Young Widows Club, and befriends her ex-boyfriends' girlfriends. She also provides great advice compiled into hilarious lists. Oh, and she wears a retainer.

Nora comes across as the goofy, self-deprecating friend who you could talk to about anything. She reaches outside her grief to bang the gong that is life. She proves that no matter what life has in store, it's best if you can manage to stand up and laugh at it.

I recommend this book if you're having a terrible day, if you're looking for an uplifting read, if you want to read a real love story. Really, I just recommend this book, period. Real-life stories (even love stories) don't always have happy endings like we wish for, but that doesn't mean the stories shouldn't be told. Thank you, Nora, for sharing yours. I can't wait to read your next book.

Nora McInerney Purmort chose the perfect title because there are equal parts hilariousness and heartbreak throughout her book.

When he was in his early thirties, Nora's husband, Aaron, suffered a sudden seizure. This episode led to the worst-case - and blindsiding - diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. As if that weren't enough for one family to deal with, Nora lost her father, miscarried a baby and lost her husband within a few short weeks of each other. 

But Nora's story isn't all tears and heartbreak - though I'm sure everyone would have understood if she'd crawled under the sheets and thrown the biggest pity party ever known to man. She and her husband celebrated the good and kept the bad to the back burner as much as possible. Nora and Aaron got engaged in his hospital bed. They had a son together. They made the most of their too-short time together. They made plans and they laughed a lot. They celebrated their love. It's apparent that Aaron had a heart like no other and, despite his diagnosis and the gradual deterioration of his body, his positivity radiated through Nora's stories. Nora herself, though she endured far too much for one human being, not only managed to persevere, but continued putting one foot in front of the other and maintained her awesome sense of humour. 

From the jacket, I thought this book was going to focus mainly on her husband's story, but Nora's essays delve into her youth, her dating life, her Catholic upbringing. She goes on a silent retreat, forms a Hot Young Widows Club, and befriends her ex-boyfriends' girlfriends. She also provides great advice compiled into hilarious lists. Oh, and she wears a retainer.

Nora comes across as the goofy, self-deprecating friend who you could talk to about anything. She reaches outside her grief to bang the gong that is life. She proves that no matter what life has in store, it's best if you can manage to stand up and laugh at it.

I recommend this book if you're having a terrible day, if you're looking for an uplifting read, if you want to read a real love story. Really, I just recommend this book, period. Real-life stories (even love stories) don't always have happy endings like we wish for, but that doesn't mean the stories shouldn't be told. Thank you, Nora, for sharing yours. I can't wait to read your next book.

Judge the cover: 5/5

Very Nice by Marcy Dermansky

Unfortunately, for me, Very Nice was just Very Okay.

The storyline had a lot of potential: a daughter and her mother who each inadvertently sleep with the daughter's writing professor. But something just didn't quite grab me with this one like I thought it would. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think it's just this book doesn't quite fit neatly into one genre. Is it trying to be a beach read? A dark comedy? A drama? I'm really not sure. I think if the author had distinctly committed to one of these genres, the book as a whole would have been more tight and engaging.

There were definitely what felt like quite a few overly convenient relationships and people showing up at the right place at the right times. And some short stories that the daughter wrote that I know were entwined with the main plot, but for whatever reason I just wasn't quite connecting the dots. Add to that a very weird side storyline about a deranged family with whom the daughter became entangled (including a particularly disturbing and confusing relationship between the daughter and the eldest son) and it was all a bit too much. Furthermore, the professor really didn't seem like that much of a catch to begin with and both the mother and daughter managed their feelings in an awkward way.

Sprinkled into this not-quite-beach-read/not-quite-dark-comedy, were some serious references to major issues such as politics and gun control that just felt a little heavy and out of place.

And the ending let me down.

Okay, I think I covered what I didn't like, so let's focus on some of the positive. The plot was well-paced and there was definitely an air of mystery, not knowing all along quite how this intense situation would play out. Would the mother and daughter find out about each other/who (if anyone) would end up with the professor/was the professor just using the women or were his feelings genuine?

Unfortunately, by the end, the lack of likable characters and the far-fetched plotlines just made me ultimately not care that much.

Judge the cover: 3/5

Meaty by Samantha Irby

My favourite kind of girl is the kind that isn't afraid to be real. I mean, perfection is highly overrated in my opinion. Unattainable goals and boring-ass cardboard personalities are just so monotonous. I can't relate to perfection, but I can relate to girls like Samantha Irby - girls who aren't afraid to put themselves out there for a laugh. And Samantha Irby CAPS-INTENTIONAL GOES THERE. I am intimately familiar with her body, mind and soul even though We Are Never Meeting in Real Life (see what I did there?).

She's got one the most self-deprecating personalities I've ever read about, which is the exact opposite of a deterrent because she says everything with such exaggerated humour, we're definitely laughing with her. Whether she's telling us about her overactive digestive system due to Crohn's, letting us in on the way men fuck her over (literally and figuratively), or giving us diet tips and bland stomach-friendly recipes, she definitely knows how to laugh at the obstacles in her life.

Strange/disrespectful/cocky men are one of the most prominent obstacles she's had to deal with, as well as some major medical setbacks but, on top of it all, she also had a pretty rough childhood, with both of her parents dying early on in her life. This forced her to figure a lot of things out on her own and the results (including the thumbsucking and blankies) are pretty funny. It's always people who have to deal with the most rough situations but who have perfected the art of laughing at the ridiculous humiliation that is Life that are the funniest.

Samantha Irby is the kind of girl you want in your corner. She's the kind of girl you want to get drunk with. She the kind of girl whose house you want to hang out at (because it literally sounds like it smells delicious and is full of cashmere and comfort foods). She'd keep you laughing from morning till night - or until one of you shits yourself which, if you read this book, you just know is unfortunately bound to happen sooner or later.

Judge the cover: 5/5

Juliet the Maniac by Juliet Escora

This book was intense.

A work of auto-fiction, it's impossible to know where reality ends and fiction begins. This might be a problem for some readers, but I usually find autobiographical novels an interesting genre for precisely that reason. Gaps in memory or conversations can be filled in, incidental details made more complete and a full-circle story brought to life.

We first meet Juliet as a young girl. Hers is not a happy-go-lucky childhood of making sunshiny memories - she is haunted by demons that overtake her mind. She knows she is different but can't understand why. There is a darkness that surrounds her and bad thoughts enter her mind. She has no control over these forces, they just happen. It's not until she's a bit older that she is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which helps provide an explanation for these manic episodes.

In high school, she falls in with a crowd who mainly gets together to hang out, occasionally shoplift and go to parties. Juliet discovers drugs and she also self-harms, hallucinates on a regular basis and becomes suicidal. This spiraling behaviour finally results in her parents dropping her off at a remote therapeutic boarding school out in the countryside where she lives alongside similarly troubled kids. Some are schizophrenic, some are depressed, some have mental illness, some are there for indeterminate reasons. It's a challenging place to be, but Juliet finally feels as though she somewhat belongs. She doesn't stand out as different anymore. Other students come and go, but she connects with one boy in particular, with whom she develops a relationship. She continues to find ways to experiment with drugs. The staff tries to be helpful, but some are more qualified than others. There is a lot of experimental therapy and behaviour on the parts of both the staff and students.

Amid all of the changes, Juliet struggles to find a light at the end of the tunnel. If only she could have read all of those letters to her future self that are sprinkled throughout her story where she provides advice on life and living, ways to survive. How to try to appear normal when your mind has other plans for you.

Judge the cover: 3/5

Leave Me by Gayle Forman

It's the beginning of summer and I was looking for a light read to get my foggy brain through the heat, so I picked up Leave Me by Gayle Forman. Although it was about a woman who runs away from her family, for some reason it was giving me easy-read vibes.

The book opens with Maribeth Klein suffering a heart attack. She's only in her early forties, a working married woman with young twins. She's literally got so much on her plate that, at first, she doesn't realize that she's suffering from heart failure. But after she's got herself to the hospital, undergone a bypass, and returned home to recuperate, things start to really spiral. Her husband promised her a bubble of solitude in which to recover, but admits on the drive home that he's invited her mother to stay and "help". Then the twins demand her attention, as she's been away for a few days. Her husband has a huge work project and is trying to be there for Maribeth, but she doesn't believe he's doing as much as he can to help. It's all just too much. The stresses pile up one on top of the other and become an insurmountable obstacle.

Maribeth loses it.

She goes to bed crying. She wakes up the next morning, walks out of her house and boards a train. She finds herself in Pittsburgh.

I was looking for a beach read, but the reality of these fictional stressors unexpectedly began to eat away at me a bit. There are scenes involving lice that actually gave me two back-to-back nightmares about creepy crawlies in my hair. Really, what I thought was going to be a lighthearted novel actually has quite a lot of stressful situations throughout. I felt bad for the kids. I felt bad for Maribeth. I felt bad for Steven. (Steven was not Maribeth's husband.)

I wondered - was she ever going to return to her regular life? Does running away from your problems actually help solve them? Add to all of this some implausible reactions, some loose ends that tidied themselves up a little too neatly, and the whole plot started to feel a little far-fetched. That said, the pace was quick and I still eagerly picked it up to find out what would happen next.

A heart attack is the failure of the heart to function properly, resulting in injury to the heart or death. This is the main event that kicked off the series of reactions and repercussions, but it was also a subtext, examining Maribeth's capacity for giving and receiving love. Her heart was literally broken...and she felt it would take nothing less than drastic action on her part to try to mend it.

Judge the cover: 2/5

Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship by Isabel Vincent

It's interesting, the events in life that bring diverse people together. For Isabel Vincent and the man we know only as Edward, it was two tragic events that bloomed into an absolutely beautiful friendship. 

Isabel Vincent was trapped in an unhappy marriage that was nearing its end when she sat down one day with one of her friends, Valerie, who recounted the story of the final hours of her mother's life and the impact it was having on her elderly father. Valerie's father, Edward, was absolutely heartbroken to the point of near-suicide ever since his wife and the absolute love of his life passed away. Recognizing that both her friend and her father were both suffering terribly, Valerie suggested that Isabel have dinner with Edward, noting that he was an amazing cook. Intrigued, a couple of months later Isabel found herself sitting down to dinner with Edward for the first time.

It was an unlikely friendship: Edward was in his nineties with two adult daughters while Isabel was middle aged with a young daughter in school, but their age gap was irrelevant. Theirs was a friendship that blossomed from deep vulnerability and compassion. It wasn't just Edward's elaborate meals that nourished them; they nourished each others' broken souls through their deep heart-to-hearts. Gradually, they opened up to each other and soon came to rely on each other for comfort. In addition to their dinners, they left each other phone messages to let each other know they were thinking about them and they also exchanged heartfelt handwritten letters that further deepened their bond. 

They sometimes had to postpone their near-weekly dinners when life or health issues impeded their plans, but they got together as often as they could. When Isabel ultimately ended up divorcing her father and was ready to date again, she found herself looking for men like Edward. Edward found himself confiding things in Isabel that he couldn't with his own daughters.

All in all, they had all of the perfect ingredients for a meaningful, lasting friendship. We should all be so lucky to have an Isabel or an Edward in our lives.

Judge the cover: 2/5

Educated by Tara Westover

When I was fifteen, I lived in a small village about a half an hour away from Cambridge. One of my favourite things to do was to take the train into Cambridge and walk around the university and daydream that I was a student there. I'd take in the majestic stone buildings, the perfectly manicured lawns. But my daydreams remained just that. In contrast, Tara Westover never in her wildest dreams imagined she'd end up on the other side of the world, one day dining in the vast dining hall, studying alongside the brightest minds, learning from eminent professors and ultimately earning a PhD.

Life for Tara was a true rags to riches story - but not the living-on-the-streets-and- becoming-uber-rich kind of rags to riches. She wasn't homeless, but she did grow up on a junkyard. The daughter of fanatic Mormons, her parents didn't believe in traditional school. Her father, for the most part, believed that the government was evil; therefore, he was determined to live a sheltered, self-sufficient life. His religious beliefs were extreme and radical. Believing that the End of Days was upon them, he constantly stockpiled food, fuel and supplies. He made money by sorting scrap on his property at the base of a huge mountain and his children were expected to help with the hard, dangerous labour, while his wife made homeopathic remedies and practiced for some time as a midwife. The kids didn't go to traditional school, nor were they homeschooled - they learned whatever they wanted to from books, from their parents and, most of all, from daily life. Those who expressed a desire to go to school had to ask their father for permission. Surprisingly, he granted permission to most of them, but reluctantly so.

Life on the junkyard was incredibly dangerous. Tara's father was mentally unstable, suffering from bipolarity, and though he was capable of showing humour and reassurance at times, he was generally a tyrant. He believed in his core that he was right at all times and he demanded compliance from everyone around him. He expected those around him to respect his commands, even if it meant risking their lives to obey him. The number of gruesome, life-threatening injuries the family members sustained was astounding. Because of their mistrust of hospitals, they treated most of their injuries with herbal remedies. These weren't just scrapes and bruises, but traumatic wounds such as burns, explosions, impalements and head injuries from incredibly unsafe work practices and numerous car accidents.

As if the dangerous physical labour wasn't enough, it was heartbreaking to read of the mental and emotional abuse the family members suffered through. Like most of us, Tara trusted her parents to guide her through life, but she always felt different, as she questioned the beliefs being fed to her and the lifestyle she was forced into. It wasn't until she made the incredible unlikely leap into the outside world that she came to learn about life outside her sheltered one.

By slowly gathering resources, trusting her curiosity and finding her way beyond the wreckage - both literal and figurative - her mind opened up as she sifted through textbooks, learning about history and philosophy and the power of the written word. It was a long, courageous journey of shedding the beliefs ingrained in her from birth, discovering hard truths about her family and looking at the world through new, brighter eyes. Ironically, it was the education her father so powerfully feared that ultimately set Tara free. But the mind is a fragile egg, and it's easier said than done to leave behind all that you have known and start a whole new way of life. There will always be threads that tether you back to where you began, the ties that bind.

Judge the cover: 4/5