After posting (almost) every day in November, I fell off–mostly because I was caught up on back posts, but also because the end of the semester happened. For those that don’t know, the end of the semester is an onslaught of grading, grading, and more grading. And then calculating and posting grades. And catching up on the things that happened while grading was going on. Oh, and if you have a kid (like I do), all of the winter programs happen.

But! Now the semester is over! And since my last post, I read a handful of books that I’m going to post a bit about now.

1. Introducing Vivien Leigh Reid: Daughter of the Diva by Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout: This book is super cute and fun. A total beach read. Leigh is a fun character, and Collins & Rideout never let her become maudlin. It would’ve been easy for the book to devolve into spoiled, whiny rich kid territory, yet they avoided that. I appreciate it, for sure. Plus, always fun to read books set in a different country.

Source: Library

2. The Cardturner: A Novel about a King, a Queen, and a Joker by Louis Sachar: I liked the first half because that’s where all of the relationship and character development happened. Also, it was really easy to ignore all of the bridge. And, really, there is A LOT of bridge. Just…a lot. You know how in the Harry Potter books sometimes the explanations of Quidditch go on too long? Now imagine a book about, say, Oliver Wood. That’s what the entire second half of the book was like. Yeah.

Source: Library

3. A La Carte by Tanita S. Davis: I think I would have enjoyed this story more if Lainey hadn’t spent so much of the book alone. Also, I wanted more character development for Topher and Simeon. On the plus side, Lainey’s mom was awesome, and I want to try the zucchini latkes. Mmm, latkes.

Source: Library

4. Girl Meets Boy: Because There Are Two Sides to Every Story edited by Kelly Milner Halls: Pretty uneven short story collection. While I liked the concept, the execution was sometimes lost. Fast read, though.

Source: Library

So no real standouts, though I did enjoy the Diva book the most.

I have been attempting different books lately, but nothing is sticking with me. Sometimes at the end of the semester, I don’t want to do ANY brain activities. We’ll see if that changes before the end of the year.