1. Where'd You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple:
This book is...interesting, to say the least. It really doesn't follow the conventional contemporary novel's structure, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Honestly, I really did enjoy it. Its writing style is one I particularly enjoy (stories told through letters, emails, instant messages, etc.) But I can understand why some people hated it, because the storyline is very all over the place and not as coherent as it could be. Where'd You Go, Bernadette follows the life of Bernadette Fox as told through the eyes of her teenage daughter, Bee. Bernadette isn't your typical wife and mother; she struggles with social anxiety and is possibly borderline agoraphobic, and everyone judges her for it. Through the testimonies of her family, friends and neighbors, we learn who Bernadette is and how a planned family trip to Antarctica might be the thing to push her over the edge. One thing I did take issue with is that I think the writing style, in this case, impedes on the characters' development at times. I felt like I could have known these characters a little better, but I didn't, because all I had most of the time was letters and emails to go on. There were a few little things that were mentioned by different characters that I figured would become something bigger later, but they didn't. The book is also supposed to be about Bernadette, but I found there were a lot of times where it was focusing too heavily on characters that didn't really need that level of focus. There were a few parts where it was like, "This is really interesting interpersonal stuff, but why am I supposed to care again? How does this pertain to the story?" But, despite its faults, I did enjoy it. It's just certainly not a book for everyone, and I think it's important to keep that in mind. 4/5 stars.
2. The Carnival at Bray, by Jessie Ann Foley:
This is an exceptional and underrated book. It reminds me so much of Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, which I also loved. It follows 16-year-old Maggie in 1993 as she moves from big city Chicago to Bray, a village in Ireland, where her single mother has decided to move the family so she can marry and live with her Irish boyfriend, Colm. This story felt so...real. Like no teenage fluff that a lot YA books fall into. Raw, emotional and real. The best part of the story was Maggie's relationship with her uncle Kevin, who is portrayed as a wannabe Kurt Cobain who plays in a garage band. Not only that, no one has faith in him, especially not Maggie's mother Laura nor Colm. But let me just say that I had such a huge crush on Uncle Kevin while reading this. While living in Ireland, Maggie experiences coming-of-age like no one before, and she learns the one thing Uncle Kevin told her was important: to seize the moment and live. I really love this brand of YA books and wish there were more of them. Highly recommend. 5/5 stars.
