Author: Stephanie @that_bookish_life

Jen Dixon, now mom of 2 young adults, 1 middle schooler, and grandmother to 1 precocious 4 year old, is back in the fourth installment of the Class Mom series.

Being just over 1 week (why? how?!) from sending my own 7th and 4th graders back to school, it felt like the perfect time to mentally prepare myself with my fictional bestie Jen’s latest antics.

This school year Jen is a “Mat Mom” for PMS (Pioneer Middle School) as her youngest son, 7th grader Max, dips his toe into the wonderful world of sports with wrestling and there are fundraisers, travel tournaments, and even a mom-on-mom wrestling match to contend with. Jen is also juggling her career as a cycle instructor (her banging throwback playlists make me actually want to take her class), her father’s declining health as he struggles with dementia, the adjacent drama of her two adult daughters going into business together, and changes in her own life and marriage as she moves further into middle age.

Smells like Tween Spirit is another funny, relatable story. These books go down so easy and I will happily read as many Class Mom books as author Laurie Gelmen wants to write.

Thanks to Henry Holt and Company for an advanced review copy.

When prom queen Shara Wheeler disappears leaving behind a trail of handwritten notes in her wake three unlikely allies team up to find her: her jock boyfriend, the literal (stoner) boy-next-door, and her academic rival, our narrator, Chloe. The only thing the three of them have in common? They’ve all kissed Shara Wheeler.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is part rom, part com, part dram, part mystery, part coming of age. It defies categorization, but is something delightfully akin to The Breakfast Club where not only do the jocks and nerds and [insert high-school clique of choice here] have more in common than they know it turns out many find a home on the queer spectrum.

An entertaining read about discovering and living your truth in an ultra conservative environment.

I found Shara to be more solidly YA than Red, White & Royal Blue and One Last Stop, which lean more new adult.

A massive solar flare disrupts electric grids across the world. In the US two connected families, one the average suburban variety, the other tech billionaires, weather the all too realistic apocalypse with varying success.

I really love this type of story; the grid goes down, only the crafty survive as society is thrown into more and more chaos. It’s really much more entertaining to read about than to live.

Aurora is a solid offering for the genre. A cinematic – unsurprising as apparently author David Koepp is a famous screenwriter (Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, War of the Worlds), this is not something I pay attention to, I’m an avid reader, not an avid movie watcher – and fast paced page turner that’s ultimately satisfying. Likely to be enjoyed by those dipping their toe into the dystopian/apocalyptic/climate disaster arena as well as familiar fans.

P. S. It looks like a Netflix adaptation is already in the works for Aurora!

Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll!

Groupies is a story about, well, groupies, the young women and girls who follow musicians around for a contact high of fame.

After the death of her mother, co-ed Faun, now alone in the world, travels across the country to reunite with her high school best friend in 1977 LA, the charismatic Josie who is dating Cal Holiday, the lead singer of Holiday Sun, an iconic pop rock band whose celebrity is waning. Faun, an aspiring photographer is soon inducted into the groupie way of life, partying the nights away and sleeping with men like they’re collectibles alongside a posse of other young women and girls.

Groupies is a wild ride and everything I was hoping it would be! Set in the glitter and grit of the 70s and with an interesting juxtaposition of second-wave feminism Groupies is a must read if you enjoyed books like Mary Jane, Songs in Ursa Major, or The Final Revial of Opal & Nev. A most excellent debut!

Thanks to Bibliolifestyle and William Morrow Books for an advanced review copy.

This is one of those books I’ve been meaning to read for way too long. It originally published in 2020 and I’m really glad I finally picked it up.

The Prettiest Star tells the story of a young gay man, Brian, who escaped oppressive, rural, small town Ohio for NYC now returning to his conservative family home in the foothills of Appalachia in 1986, dying of AIDS and having watched many of his friends and loved ones succumb to the disease including his own partner. The story is told from three viewpoints: Brian, his mother, and his young teenaged sister.

The novel, at fewer than 300 pages, is just brimming with heartbreak and humanity and hope. Author Carter Sickels is a gay trans man from small town Ohio and he absolutely nails both the characters and setting of this story.

If you haven’t yet read The Prettiest Star take this as your sign that it’s time to do so!

In 1986 California 12-year-old Sam and 11-year-old Sadie happen to meet in the hospital. Sadie is there because her older sister is sick, Sam because he’s recently been in a devastating car accident which mangled his foot. The two become fast friends united through their love of video games. They soon have a falling out, as adolescents often do, and are estranged until bumping into one another in NYC in the 90s while college students. This reunion leads to a partnership where they create what will become a very well known video game and launching a gaming business together.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow follows the story of Sadie and Sam across the country and through decades as they live, love, and create. Theirs is a platonic relationship though no less intimate or compelling than a great romance, I just adored this unique angle!

I was skeptical about the video game aspect as that’s not a particular interest of mine, but rest assured the video game piece really works here and I found plenty of nostalgia from my own childhood within. I love when a book can make me care deeply about something I have no interest in outside of the story!

Tomorrow is beautifully and thoughtfully crafted, a layered story with characters who will capture your heart.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday for an advanced reading copy.

An intimate portrait of a woman who follows her husband into a patriarchal religious sect.

The Burning Season addresses the question of who are the people who end up in cults and why? And at least in this case, if not most, it’s very ordinary people with very ordinary reasons. The protagonist is someone you recognize, someone you know, it could even be you (but not me bc I’m way too interested in cults to be drawn into one!)

A quiet yet compelling read. And I love the eye catching retro-vibe cover!

Thank you to Harper Perennial for an advanced review copy.

In a near future Logan Ramsay is an agent with the Gene Protection Agency. The GPA’s goal is to stop rogue scientists from modifying genes after the science is outlawed following a worldwide famine where gene modification had unforseen negative impacts.

When a bust goes sideways Logan ends up the target of a genetic upgrade which leaves him, in the words of Kanye, harder, better, faster, stronger. But this is not a random act and Logan soon finds himself fighting a quest for genetically modified evolution.

Upgrade is a quick moving sci-fi thriller. It wasn’t love for me, but the plot moves fast enough that I kept turning pages, eager to see how things ended up. I definitely appreciated the central idea which seems something akin to the reality of humanity facing its own extinction, the evolutionary traits that no longer serve, preventing us from seeing and acting clearly, and that we also have within us to do better.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advanced review copy.

NSFW is sort of The Devil Wears Prada set in the Hollywood TV industry leading up to the #metoo movement.

The unnamed protagonist is a recent Harvard grad who lands an entry-level job thanks to her prominent feminist lawyer/victim rights advocate (sort of a Gloria Allred facsimile) mother’s connections with a studio exec.

Sharp, at times darkly funny, and a quick read at fewer than 300 pages if not exactly a fresh take. NSFW does a good job of showing how inescapable and rampant sexism and abuse is within high pressure patriarchal industries like show business.

I found the most interesting angle of the story to be the complicated relationship between the protagonist and her mother whose brand of feminism is outdated and out of touch at best, ancillary to abusive systems at worst.

Thanks to Henry Holt Books for the advanced review copy.

Cass is in her mid-twenties and just sat for the bar exam when she’s in a car accident leaving her with a head injury and in a days long coma. Upon waking she recalls a great romance and hunky boyfriend who never existed according to everyone around her. It’s disorienting, but doctors assure her it’s likely due to her injuries. A year later she’s finally getting her life on track including starting an internship at a big law firm, which she had to defer due to her accident, when she happens into a cute, local flower shop to find the man of her coma dreams… and his brother.

Dream On is a bit like a reverse While You Were Sleeping (the mid-90s Christmas classic starring Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, and Peter Gallagher.  IYKYK. If you don’t know… well, you should. I rewatched it this past holiday season and it’s truly a heartwarming gem.)

Cass befriends one brother, strikes up a romance with the other, becomes involved in helping to save their family business, discovers more about herself, there’s also a charming flower shop dog; it’s all very cute and readable with a good balance of characterization and plot.  Plus, it’s set in the adorable historic Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, there’s also a brief sojourn to Columbus, where I’m located. The setting is great, I can only assume author Angie Hockman is from the area.

I found this on par with Hockman’s 2021 debut Shipped which I also enjoyed. As with Shipped I do wish there had been more steam, but I’ll survive.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for an advanced review copy.