The Night When No One Had Sex (by Kalena Miller)

A much better young adult offering! This follows eight friends who make a "sex pact" on prom night. A comedy of errors ensues and things don't go quite as planned. 

It's a nice diverse mix of kids without a sense of tokenism to the diversity.  The narration bounces around among characters as their plots diverge.  Some (Julia and Kevin) are more enjoyable than others (Zoe and Morgan) but all the characters feel real, the dialogue is funny and snappy, and the overall narrative arc is satisfying. Thumbs up!

(Also if you're a YA fan please pre-order or request from the library Jen Larsen's The Big Reveal. It's really good!) 

Where There’s a Whisk (by Sarah J. Schmitt)

A YA novel with a cute premise: a girl from the wrong side of the tracks in Florida joins a Top Chef-style competition show to win a scholarship to culinary school and hopefully change her life.  Unfortunately it's extremely underbaked (pun not intended).

The backstory is compelling but we never get any of it shown to us, it's all filled in in the same superficial way it would be in a clip package on American Idol. We have no idea how she applied or got there, we never see her relationships with anyone back home or her life there at all. So right away the stakes aren't there.

There are eight fellow contestants and the setup is good, but the characterization is often weak. I loved the detailed descriptions of the competitions (and some were really great and interesting) but there are a lot of places where Schmitt's main character Peyton is like "I cooked stuff, then I came in the middle."  All we see is that she is a mediocre cook and a good baker; somehow she stays in the competition because all the challenges start to involve baking.

The romance seems shoehorned in, it's cute but I was not invested in it at all. The rivalry with another contestant just fizzles. I don't know, there's some good stuff in here and great potential - great dialogue too - but another pass with a good editor would have made all the difference!

White Bird (by R. J. Palacio)

This is a book my daughter read and before she wou,d return it to the library, she insisted I read it as well. White Bird is a graphic novel about a Jewish girl in France during the war, who ends up having to hide from the Nazis. It's also a Wonder spinoff; the opening and closing chapters are the girl, now a grandmother, telling her story over Facetime to Julian, her grandson and a character from Wonder.

This is a well-done and very moving story, and seemed an appropriate way to introduce my daughter to the Holocaust. Growing up I knew bits and pieces. We had survivors in the family, a near-miss when my grandfather was almost conscripted into a "work camp," and losses in the extended family. My great-aunt and great-uncle are on the wall at Yad Vashem for saving the life of a Jewish child by faking a pregnancy themselves. We babysat for a family whose grandmother had the tattoo on her arm, which we didn't fully understand at the time.  So I don't remember how I learned about it, except in bits and pieces.  But this opened up a good dialogue in addition to being a good read; and I'm glad she shared this book with me. 

Crying in H Mart (by Michelle Zauner)

This wraps up the 2021 Read Harder Challenge with the category "food memoir by an author of color."  Michelle Zauner explores her relationship with her Korean mother (and grief over her mother's illness and death) through food. You can read the New Yorker essay that turned into this book here.

This was a great way to wrap up the challenge. This memoir is excellent and heartfelt, and made me think about my own relationship with my parents (also immigrants) as well as my daughter. So much here resonated.  

I especially loved Zauner's willingness to show herself and others so truthfully. She doesn't shy away from her flaws or those of others (cough her father cough) and the honesty makes you feel like you're being confided in by a friend.  I absolutely loved it! One of my favorites of the Read Harder Challenge and the year.

The Charm Offensive (by Alison Cochrun)

An incredibly cute (if formulaic) Johlock-fanfiction-meets-UNreal romantic comedy with good and broad queer representation, excellent portrayals of dealing with mental health struggles, and literally all the feels you could possibly ask for. The premise is that Charles is the "prince" on a Bachelor-like reality show; Dev is the producer assigned to help him craft the perfect love story. But is the true love story really happening..... BEHIND THE SCENES?!?! (spoiler alert yes) 

In the acknowledgements the author discusses her own exploration of her sexuality and dealing with mental health while writing the book, so there's a wonderful authenticity to all of those experiences for the characters. Great chemistry, fun setup, what's not to like? (Maybe the ending being a little contrived, but I forgive it.)

Apples Never Fall (by Liane Moriarty)

Liane Moriarty is always good value. She's great at nailing characters that don't feel like cliches, even minor characters, and building suspense and organic twists in a story.

My biggest pet peeve here is that it's probably overlong; I thought it was kind of clever how so much of the story is told through background characters (like a receptionist or a waitress overhearing our characters talking) and I admired her ability to make these characters feel real, but there was probably some fat to be trimmed nonetheless.

I guarantee this will be a Big Little Lies-esque miniseries because of course it will be. Exactly what you'd expect from a Moriarty book: a solid, breezy, engaging read.

Shit, Actually (by Lindy West)

My partner introduced me to Lindy West's "Butt News" newsletter, where she amusingly recaps movies. (The one on My Best Friend's Wedding is particularly delightful.) Just as I was thinking "I hope she does Love Actually) I found out she had 1) already done Love Actually, and 2) turned it into a book called Shit, Actually.

Reader, I LOLed.  

The essay on Love Actually is indeed the high point, but the whole book is pretty hilarious. I am now a devoted "Butt News" reader and if you like takedowns of popular movies, you may want to check it - and/or her book - out.