What I Read in February
My February reading roundup is a little light, I almost didn’t post an update! I guess it’s the 28 days, or it’s the world events, but reading just took a back seat this month.
I also spent the last two weeks on a ski vacation, which definitely drained my energy every day. Safe to say I am much more comfortable on the snow than I ever have been, so I will take progress in that area, even if I can’t say the same for my reading.
Shadows of Pecan Hollow by Caroline Frost
5/5 Stars
It was 1970 when thirteen-year-old runaway Kit Walker was abducted by Manny Romero, a smooth-talking, low-level criminal, who first coddled her and then groomed her into his partner-in-crime. Before long, Kit and Manny were infamous for their string of gas station robberies throughout Texas, making a name for themselves as the Texaco Twosome.
Twenty years after they meet, Kit has scraped together a life for herself and her daughter amongst the pecan trees and muddy creeks of the town of Pecan Hollow, far from Manny. But when he shows up at her doorstep a new man, fresh out of prison, Kit is forced to reckon with the shadows of her past, and her community is sent into a tailspin.
What a richly told story! This tale of motherhood, belonging, and independence set in small-town Southern US captivated me from the beginning. I loved the creeping feeling that the book maintained the whole way through. The characters are unforgettable, and the plot kept up a great pace. I keep going back to the word "rich" to describe this book, because it is so detailed not only in concrete descriptions but also in the characters' interiority. It's a dramatic and gritty ride!
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
2/5 Stars
Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong?
Sadly, this book was not the kind of quality I have come to expect from Liane Moriarty. As seen in Big Little Lies, Moriarty has an incredible knack for creating tension between suburban women, pulling at threads and pushing buttons until we as the reader are just as indignant and frustrated as the characters. However, with Truly Madly Guilty, it all came off as too mundane. There's just a lot of ho-hum scenes of losing belongings around the house, regretting the constant rain, and other urbane daily struggles that honestly had me stifling yawns.
Not only that, but I was also frustrated by the incessant tangents. They're mercifully short, like never more than a paragraph, but there must be like a hundred. Every little bit of movement in the current action must be paired with some variation of "this reminded her of when she was a kid, when she used to do x" when it really isn't relevant, and the effect is that with every step forward the plot takes, the tangents move it two steps back.
All this to say this book took me a while to finish. But I did finish.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
5/5 Stars
Before leaving for his second year at Hogwarts, Harry receives a warning from a strange impish creature who says that if Harry returns, disaster will strike.
And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor and a spirit who haunts the girls’ bathroom. But then the real trouble begins – someone is turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possible be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects… Harry Potter himself!
I listened to this audiobook on the long drive to Mammoth for our ski vacation. Loved revisiting this book, one of my favorites in the series. Humorous writing, heartwarming friendships, and immersive world building. Still a classic.
