BEST READ OF 2022/Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora-Memoir

Hello dear Readers,

Below is my BEST READ OF 2022/Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora.

Title: Solito: A Memoir

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Javier Zamora

Publisher: Hogarth
Publication Date: September 06, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 400 pages
Meet the Author: Javier Zamora
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • A young poet tells the inspiring story of his migration from El Salvador to the United States at the age of nine in this “gripping memoir” (NPR) of bravery, hope, and finding a family.  

“I read Solito with my heart in my throat and did not burst into tears until the last sentence. What a person, what a writer, what a book.”—Emma Straub
 
“A riveting tale of perseverance and the lengths humans will go to help each other in times of struggle.”—Dave Eggers

Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago—“one day, you’ll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure.”  
 
Javier Zamora’s adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks.
 
At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents’ arms, snuggling in bed between them, and living under the same roof again. He cannot foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests, and deceptions that await him; nor can he know that those two weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside fellow migrants who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family.
 

A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.

My Thoughts

Well. I think this easily is the best book I read this year.

Raw, honest, heartbreaking. I have read other books on this topic. I didn't think it could get any more real but then you read Solito and you know no matter how much you read about the migrant experience, these people trying to cross the border, unless you have experienced it, you will never fully understand it. 

I felt too sad and sorry for "Chepito" the whole time. I wish I was there with him, to console him, to help him, to reassure him everything was going to be ok, to give him a hug. Sometimes he just needed a hug and he was not even getting that. 

Javier was 1 year old when his dad crossed the border to the USA, escaping war in El Salvador, to pursue a better life for himself and his family. When Javier was 5, his mom, with the help of a "coyote" was able to cross the border and go live with her husband. in California. Javier does not have a recollection of his father, he is only able to speak with him on the phone, but he really does not remember him, nor does he know him. And now, at 9 years old, Javier is starting to have a hard time remembering everything about his mother as well. However, at 9, it is time for Javier to make the 'trip" and finally reunite with his parents in the USA. 

Solito is about Javier's journey, leaving his home in El Salvador, traveling through Guatemala, and Mexico, and hopefully being successful at crossing the border and seeing his "papas" again. All that journey and everything in between. How much during this journey, he misses his grandpa, grandma, and tia Mali and how lonely, alone and desperate for the love he feels at times.

This memoir is a must-read, especially in the political and cultural climate we are living in. It is a real, honest, raw account of the migrant experience, through the lenses of a 9-year-old. You know there is no BS involved, just pure honesty. 

I highly recommend this book, especially the Audiobook version, narrated by the Author himself. I am still thinking about it and definitely worth the time.

Wendy

Book Review: Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside by Isaac Wright Jr. -Memoir

Hello dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside by Isaac Wright Jr.

Title: Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Isaac Wright Jr.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: November 08, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 336 pages
Meet the Author: Isaac Wright Jr.
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

An empowering memoir of courage and hope in the face of injustice―and the basis for the ABC television show, For Life―Marked for Life is the true story of Isaac Wright Jr.’s battle to win his freedom after being wrongfully imprisoned for crimes he didn’t commit and a critical indictment of America’s judicial system.

“If I waited around for someone to save me, I’d be waiting my whole life. Unless I took the reins of this thing myself, I would die in prison. If that was my destiny, then I was going to die fighting. The desperation of that equation kept me up most nights. I would never find a gladiator. So I had to become him.”

In the summer of 1989, Isaac Wright Jr. was a 28-year-old independent music producer, who’d struck out on his own and became one of hip hop’s early success stories. With his dance crew Uptown Express, Wright won recognition on Star Search, toured with Run-DMC, and transitioned into management, co-founding his wife Sunshine’s music group, The Cover Girls. They’d settled in the New Jersey suburbs to raise their six-year-old daughter, never imagining that Wright would fall victim to gross police misconduct and a corrupt district attorney.

Accused of being a drug “kingpin” and incarcerated in Somerset County while the prosecutor and police built their case of lies against him, Wright realized he would get no help from any defense attorneys―white men uninterested in uncovering the truth or in proving the innocence of a black man. Pressured to take a plea deal offer of 20 years behind bars, Wright chose to take the law into his own hands by educating himself in the legal system so he could represent himself in court.

Studying statutes and cases in the jail’s law library, Wright became an adept legal mind. But despite acquiring knowledge that he put to use in defending his fellow inmates, he lost his trial and was sentenced to Trenton State Prison for life, plus 70 years in 1991. For the next five years, Wright would continue learning law, become a paralegal with the prison’s Inmate Legal Association, and appeal his case. Threatened by corrupt correction officers and convicts, his family falling apart, Wright fought for his life with every legal means at his disposal, eventually uncovering the smoking gun that unraveled the conspiracy perpetrated by law enforcement officials against him.

Marked for Life is not just the story of how Isaac Wright Jr. won his freedom. It is the story of how he found his true calling as a gladiator fighting on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized communities victimized by an unjust system of law.

My Thoughts

Powerful and impactful. A book I would definitely recommend to anybody. 

Often happens that, we get a better understanding of the topic of wrongful convictions when we hear it directly from the person wrongfully convicted. Thank you Isaac Wright Jr. for sharing your story with us. A very eye-opening example of not giving up, and also an infuriating eye-opener on our Justice System and how flowed it was in this case. 

I couldn't help but feel really bad for all that he went through and how he was treated but again also impressed with how he fought and won. I can only imagine all the trauma he suffered and continues suffering but hopefully, his story helps to make more progress in the justice system and for all the other people going through the same situation Isaac experienced. 

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the free Advanced Copy in Exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: The Prisoner: A Novel by B.A. Paris-Psychological Thriller

 Hello dear Readers,

My book review of The Prisoner: A Novel by B.A. Paris.

Title: The Prisoner: A Novel

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Author: B.A. Paris

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: November 01, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 304 pages
Meet the Author: B.A. Paris
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

With Behind Closed Doors, New York Times bestselling author B. A. Paris took the psychological thriller to shocking new heights. Now she’ll hold you captive with THE PRISONER―a stunning new thriller about one woman wed into a family with deadly intentions.

A USA Today Bestseller!

Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a life for herself, she is swept up into a glamorous lifestyle where she married the handsome billionaire Ned Hawthorne.

But then, Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned?

In the vein of Behind Closed Doors and The Therapist, multimillion-copy bestseller B. A. Paris is back with a gripping new suspense novel.

My Thoughts

I said this in my last review and will say it again. Every time there is a new B.A. Paris book out there, I get so excited. She has easily become one of my favorite authors. This time, her newest book, The Prisoner, is out. I received an advanced reader's copy. This did not influence my opinion of the book.

The Prisoner, although it may feel the characters are a little predictable in their actions but the story is well-written enough to keep you in suspense about what is happening. I would have liked more development in the backstory of Amelie's dad and also Amelie's savior, Caroline, however, there was enough to understand where actions and motives were coming from. Another great and entertaining work by the author. 

I can honestly say I would read anything B.A. Paris writers, and cannot wait for her next book.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the free Advanced Copy in Exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora-Memoir

Hello dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora.

Title: Solito: A Memoir

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Javier Zamora

Publisher: Hogarth
Publication Date: September 06, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 400 pages
Meet the Author: Javier Zamora
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • A young poet tells the inspiring story of his migration from El Salvador to the United States at the age of nine in this “gripping memoir” (NPR) of bravery, hope, and finding a family.  

“I read Solito with my heart in my throat and did not burst into tears until the last sentence. What a person, what a writer, what a book.”—Emma Straub
 
“A riveting tale of perseverance and the lengths humans will go to help each other in times of struggle.”—Dave Eggers

Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago—“one day, you’ll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure.”  
 
Javier Zamora’s adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks.
 
At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents’ arms, snuggling in bed between them, and living under the same roof again. He cannot foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests, and deceptions that await him; nor can he know that those two weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside fellow migrants who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family.
 

A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.

My Thoughts

Well. I think this easily is the best book I read this year.

Raw, honest, heartbreaking. I have read other books on this topic. I didn't think it could get any more real but then you read Solito and you know no matter how much you read about the migrant experience, these people trying to cross the border, unless you have experienced it, you will never fully understand it. 

I felt too sad and sorry for "Chepito" the whole time. I wish I was there with him, to console him, to help him, to reassure him everything was going to be ok, to give him a hug. Sometimes he just needed a hug and he was not even getting that. 

Javier was 1 year old when his dad crossed the border to the USA, escaping war in El Salvador, to pursue a better life for himself and his family. When Javier was 5, his mom, with the help of a "coyote" was able to cross the border and go live with her husband. in California. Javier does not have a recollection of his father, he is only able to speak with him on the phone, but he really does not remember him, nor does he know him. And now, at 9 years old, Javier is starting to have a hard time remembering everything about his mother as well. However, at 9, it is time for Javier to make the 'trip" and finally reunite with his parents in the USA. 

Solito is about Javier's journey, leaving his home in El Salvador, traveling through Guatemala, and Mexico, and hopefully being successful at crossing the border and seeing his "papas" again. All that journey and everything in between. How much during this journey, he misses his grandpa, grandma, and tia Mali and how lonely, alone and desperate for the love he feels at times.

This memoir is a must-read, especially in the political and cultural climate we are living in. It is a real, honest, raw account of the migrant experience, through the lenses of a 9-year-old. You know there is no BS involved, just pure honesty. 

I highly recommend this book, especially the Audiobook version, narrated by the Author himself. I am still thinking about it and definitely worth the time.

Wendy

Book Review: Uncultured: A Memoir by Daniella Mestyanek Young

 Hello dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Uncultured: A Memoir by Daniella Mestyanek Young.

Title: Uncultured: A Memoir

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Daniella Mestyanek Young

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: September 20, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 352 pages
Meet the Author: Daniella Mestyanek Young
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A Buzzfeed Best Book of September

In the vein of Educated and The Glass Castle, Daniella Mestyanek Young's Uncultured is more than a memoir about an exceptional upbringing, but about a woman who, no matter the lack of tools given to her, is determined to overcome.

Behind the tall, foreboding gates of a commune in Brazil, Daniella Mestyanek Young was raised in the religious cult The Children of God, also known as The Family, as the daughter of high-ranking members. Her great-grandmother donated land for one of The Family’s first communes in Texas. Her mother, at thirteen, was forced to marry the leader and served as his secretary for many years. Beholden to The Family’s strict rules, Daniella suffers physical, emotional, and sexual abuse―masked as a godly discipline and divine love―and is forbidden from getting a traditional education.

At fifteen years old, fed up with The Family and determined to build a better and freer life for herself, Daniella escapes to Texas. There, she bravely enrolls herself in high school and excels, later graduating as valedictorian of her college class, then electing to join the military to begin a career as an intelligence officer, where she believes she will finally belong.

But she soon learns that her new world―surrounded by men on the sands of Afghanistan―looks remarkably similar to the one she desperately tried to leave behind.

Told in a beautiful, propulsive voice and with clear-eyed honesty, Uncultured explores the dangers unleashed when harmful group mentality goes unrecognized and is emblematic of the many ways women have to contort themselves to survive.

My Thoughts

Another incredible memoir. One of the best I read definitely.

While reading I just kept thinking: "wow, wow". What a heartbreaking but amazing story. 

This was one of those books that you can't help but keep reading. Daniella's story is so heartbreaking and incredible, some may say, regardless, one worth telling for sure, and one I personally feel lucky to have had the chance to read, an eye-opener for sure.

It needs to be kept in mind that this book contains a lot of sensitive topics that could trigger the reader, such as sexual abuse in children, violence, verbal and psychological abuse, suicide, hunger, and poverty. 

I really loved this book and highly recommend it. 

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the free advanced readers' copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Wendy

Book Review: I'm Glad my Mom Died: A Memoir by Jennette McCurdy

Hello dear Readers,

Below is my book review of I'm Glad my Mom Died: A Memoir by Jennette McCurdy.

Title: I'm Glad my Mom Died: A Memoir

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Jennette McCurdy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: August 09, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 320 pages
Meet the Author: Jennette McCurdy
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.

Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.

Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.

My Thoughts

What an incredible memoir. One of the best I read definitely.

The whole time I was reading, I kept thinking how brave, really, people have to be to write about their personal struggles. Not only write about them but also share them with the entire world. Granted, Jennette became a public figure at a very young age, however, it does not mean it is less scary or hard.

It felt honest, raw, and heartbreaking but also funny at times and definitely well written. I believe one of the reasons this book is so great is because many people out there can relate to it, in different ways, and that her story is unique because it is her story but at the same time is a story that many people are living, just in a different set of circumstances. 

I highly recommend this book. I am still thinking about it and definitely worth the time.

Wendy

Book Review: The House Across The Lake- A Novel by Riley Sager-Thriller/Psychological Thriller

 Hello dear Readers,

My book review of The House Across The Lake - A Novel by Riley Sager.

Title: The House Across The Lake -  A Novel

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Thriller/Psychological Thriller

Author: Riley Sager

Publisher: Dutton

Publication Date: June 21, 2022

Language: English

Paperback: 368 pages
Meet the Author: Riley Sager
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Named a most anticipated summer book by USA Today, People, E! News, Cosmopolitan, PureWow, CNN.com, New York Post, CrimeReads, POPSUGAR, and more 

The bestselling author of Final Girls and Survive the Night is back with his “best plot twist yet.” (People, "Best Summer Books")

Be careful what you watch for . . .

Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of bourbon, she watches Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is powerful; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.

One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other—and the longer Casey watches—it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage isn’t as perfect as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey immediately suspects Tom of foul play. She doesn’t realize that there’s more to the story than meets the eye—and those shocking secrets can lurk beneath the most placid of surfaces.
 
Packed with strong characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy plot twists, Riley Sager’s The House Across the Lake is the ultimate escapist read . . . no lake house required.

My Thoughts

What was that? Yes, what was that? Perhaps, the best plot twist I have seen in a book in a while. 

I love Riley Sager. Granted, a couple of his books were not a 5 start for me but I still enjoyed them and I would recommend them, however, I was missing that wow book and I think we got it with The House Across the Lake. 

I've seen a lot of people having a hard time digesting that plot twist, or that it ruined the book for them but for me, that plot twist is what makes the book so incredible good, it works. I would have felt differently about the book without that plot twist, it would not have been as good for me anyways. 

At first, the book felt a little all over the place for me, but it was just because it took me a little bit to get onboard, and once I got to where I felt comfortable, it became more enjoyable, and again for me, I did not see that plot twist coming at all, surprise but a good one. After that, a lot of things in the previous pages made more sense.

One of my favorites now and I would recommend it 100% Riley Sages does it again. 

Wendy

Book Review: Woman of Light : A Novel by Kali Fajardo-Anstine- Literary Fiction

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of Woman of Light: A Novel by Kai Fajardo- Anstine.

Title: Woman of Light: A Novel

Rating:  4/5 Stars

Genre: Literary Fiction

Author: Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Publisher: One World

Publication Date: June 07, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 336 pages
Meet the Author: Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

There is one every generation, a seer who keeps the stories.

Luz “Little Light” Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, is left to fend for herself after her older brother, Diego, a snake charmer, and factory worker, is run out of town by a violent white mob. As Luz navigates 1930s Denver, she begins to have visions that transport her to her Indigenous homeland in the nearby Lost Territory. Luz recollects her ancestors’ origins, how her family flourished, and how they were threatened. She bears witness to the sinister forces that have devastated her people and their homelands for generations. In the end, it is up to Luz to save her family stories from disappearing into oblivion.

Written in Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s singular voice, the wildly entertaining and complex lives of the Lopez family fill the pages of this multigenerational western saga. Woman of Light is a transfixing novel about survival, and family secrets, and love-filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, all of whom are just as special, memorable, and complicated as our beloved heroine, Luz.

My Thoughts

To be completely honest, the reason I picked up this book was because of the pretty cover. It was one of my Book of the Month picks, and even though it is not a genre I usually read but I am glad I picked it up.

I listened to it on my Libro.FM app and that made the reading experience a lot better. There is something so magical and deep about this story that when you listen to it you feel completely immersed in it.  It is really rare that a work of fiction makes me feel that way but it is amazing when it happens. It was a really good break from all the non-fiction and poetry I usually read.

Wendy

Book Review: The Favor: A Novel by Nora Murphy-Mystery/Thriller

 Hello dear Readers,

My book review of The Favor: A Novel by Nora Murphy.

Title: The Favor: A Novel

Rating:  4/5 Stars

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Author: Nora Murphy

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication Date: May 31, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 288 pages
Meet the Author: Nora Murphy
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A gripping debut domestic suspense novel, Nora Murphy's thrilling The Favor explores with compassion and depth what can happen when women pushed to the limit take matters into their own hands.

"A thrilling debut―I couldn’t put it down!"―Shari Lapena, #1 internationally bestselling author of Not a Happy Family and The Couple Next Door

Leaving would be dangerous. Staying could be worse.

Leah and McKenna have never met, though they have parallel lives.

They don’t―ever―find themselves in the same train carriage or meet accidentally at the gym or the coffee shop.

They don’t―ever―discuss their problems and find common ground.

They don’t―ever―acknowledge to each other that although their lives have all the trappings of success, wealth, and happiness, they are, in fact, trapped.

Leah understands that what’s inside a home can be far more dangerous than what’s outside. So when she notices someone else who may be starting down the same path she’s on, she pays attention. She watches over McKenna from afar. Until one night she sees more than she bargained for. Leah knows she can’t save herself, but perhaps she can save McKenna.

Leah and McKenna have never met. But they will.

My Thoughts

A delightful debut, from Author Nora Murphy.

The Favor, a psychological thriller, trigger warning on domestic violence.

With a lot of suspense and dynamics, which makes you keep reading it.  Leah and Mckenna, the main two characters, have never met but living very similar lives, both married, educated women, with lives seemingly perfect, however, we find that is not the case.

Alcohol is involved, and not a so perfect married life, which I think makes the story more interesting, you really want to know what went wrong in their lives to find themselves in that position, where they can not even trust their spouses. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book very much. I think this was a very good debut novel by author Nora Murphy. I enjoyed the multiple points of view, and while a little predictable but the characters felt real and believable.

I won an ARC of The Favor on an Instagram Giveaway. My thoughts expressed here are my own.

Wendy