Hello!

Summer Break has finally arrived, and I can spend more time working on my blog and reading more books. I already had a great start by finishing three books over two days while on vacation.

This list contains the books that I read during the months of March, April, and May. I had a slower slump as I had to deal with state testing, but overall, the books that I found were super enjoyable. 

I hope you find a new book recommendation from the list of books I read. Beside them, I will have what category of one of my many book challenges it met the criteria for. 

Happy reading!

MARCH

The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life by Kwame Alexander (Book by an Author You Love)

Summary:

You gotta know the rules to play the game. Ball is life. Take it to the hoop. Soar. What can we imagine for our lives? What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? What if we had our own rules of the game to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives?

Review:

Even though I’m not a sports person, reading about the different quotes from famous athletes, and seeing how encouraging or motivating they can be was good. I walked away wanting to make posters of what I read, and sharing it with my students. 

Rating:

4/5

The World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar (By a Comedian)

Summary:

Recounting the wildest tales of racism from their parents, their siblings, and Amber’s nieces and nephews, this intergenerational look at ludicrous (but all too believable) everyday racism as experienced across age, gender, and appearance will have you gasping with shock and laughter in turn. 

Validating for anyone who has first-hand experience, and revealing for anyone who doesn’t, Amber and Lacey’s next book helps us all find the absurdity in the pervasive frustrations of racism. Illuminating and packed with love and laughter, this is a must-read for just about everyone.

Review:

This book was a whirlwind of emotions. One moment I found myself laughing at a funny retelling of a story and the next I’m just shaking my head in disbelief and sadness over what people have experienced. 

There were many stories that were told that I related to, and they told these family tales in a way that made you feel the same shock that they did. 

Rating:

5/5

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (Mistaken Identity)

Summary:

When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is—but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island’s unwelcoming animal inhabitants.

As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home—until, one day, the robot’s mysterious past comes back to haunt her.

Review:

Before watching a movie, I try to read the book before I do, and I’m so glad that I made this decision. This book made me extremely emotional. I never expected that I would cry over a robot, but this book did it.

From the main character to the animal inhabitants of the island to the island itself, I was engaged from start to finish. This was extremely well-written, and had so many poignant themes dealing with life no matter if you’re a parent or not. 

Rating:

5/5

Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith (artist) (A Graphic Novel, Favorite Color on Cover (Purple), Short Story Collection)

Summary:

Wash Day Diaries tells the story of four best friends—Kim, Tanisha, Davene, and Cookie—through five connected short story comics that follow these young women through the ups and downs of their daily lives in the Bronx.

Review:

This was a cute and relatable story of adult sisterhood. All of the women in this story are going through different life events, yet they all are united.

Rating:

4/5

In the Heights: Finding Home by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Jeremy McCarter

Summary:

In the Heights: Finding Home reunites Miranda with Jeremy McCarter, co-author of Hamilton: The Revolution, and Quiara Alegría Hudes, the Pulitzer Prize–winning librettist of the Broadway musical and screenwriter of the film. They do more than trace the making of an unlikely Broadway smash and a major motion picture: They give readers an intimate look at the decades-long creative life of In the Heights.

Like Hamilton: The Revolution, the book offers untold stories, perceptive essays, and the lyrics to Miranda’s songs—complete with his funny, heartfelt annotations. It also features newly commissioned portraits and never-before-seen photos from backstage, the movie set, and productions around the world.

Review:

This was an enjoyable read in connection to listening to the soundtrack. While I enjoyed the look at the background of the musical and the people who created it, it suffered from following the Hamilton version. Instead of it just being standalone, it constantly referred back to what was written in the first collection and how it was organized.

Rating:

4/5

Spy X Family, Vol. 13 by Tatsuya Endo (A Graphic Novel, Book Published in 2025)

Summary:

Twilight is on the ropes after his battle with an Ostanian spy! Can Nightfall save Twilight from disaster? Will WISE manage to recover their stolen secrets? And what will become of Loid and Yor’s marital crisis? Meanwhile, Anya’s friendship scheme gets thrown off by an unexpected gift from Damian!

Review:

As always, this was an enjoyable and engaging read. However, just like with other volumes, it lost a bit of momentum from ending a chapter long action packed saga.

Rating:

4/5

Voices That Count by Various Authors (Short Story Collection, A Graphic Novel)

Summary:

VOICES THAT COUNT is a collection of short comics that celebrates women. Printed in English for the first time, this Spanish collection highlights and uplifts women’s voices, collecting their stories of life, love, and empowerment. Interacting with everything from the realities of gender imbalance in the workplace—through a gender-flipped lens—to toxic beauty standards taking a toll on the body image of young girls, VOICES THAT COUNT gives women a space to recount their struggles and triumphs.

Review:

There were some really strong comics in here. The standout one being about eating disorders and body dysmorphia. Then there are others that didn’t connect or translate as well as they could have. 

Rating:

3/5

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver (Author Name and Occupation, Favorite Color on Cover(Purple))

Summary:

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of like-minded, pitch-black souls. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.

But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?

Review:

I normally don’t read stories like this, unless it’s fanfiction, but I really enjoyed this book. The characters and the plot kept me engaged.

Rating:

5/5

I Know Your Secret by Daphne Benedis-Grab (About a Scandal, Righting a Wrong)

Summary:

The email arrives Sunday night: Do exactly what I say, when I say it, or I will reveal your secret.

On Monday morning, seventh graders Owen, Gemma, Ally, and Todd, who have nothing in common and barely know each other, must work together and follow the instructions of an anonymous blackmailer. None of them want to go along with the blackmailer’s instructions, but each of them have a secret they must protect at all costs.

Set during a single day of school, the students race against the clock to complete a disquieting set of tasks, with fast-paced chapters detailing each moment of the day interspersed with a later interview-style recording made by the quartet.

Review:

This is a middle grade version of One of Us is Lying, and that’s all I can say. 

Rating:

3/5

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Book About Switching Places)

Summary:

Elwood Curtis has taken the words of Dr Martin Luther King to heart: he is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, brought up by his loving, strict and clear-sighted grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But given the time and the place, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy his future, and so Elwood arrives at The Nickel Academy, which claims to provide ‘physical, intellectual and moral training’ which will equip its inmates to become ‘honorable and honest men’.

In reality, the Nickel Academy is a chamber of horrors, where physical, emotional and sexual abuse is rife, where corrupt officials and tradesmen do a brisk trade in supplies intended for the school, and where any boy who resists is likely to disappear ‘out back’. Stunned to find himself in this vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr King’s ringing assertion, ‘Throw us in jail, and we will still love you.’ But Elwood’s fellow inmate and new friend Turner thinks Elwood is naive and worse; the world is crooked, and the only way to survive is to emulate the cruelty and cynicism of their oppressors.

The tension between Elwood’s idealism and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision which will have decades-long repercussions.

Review:

For the longest time, I thought this was a nonfiction novel. As I began reading this, and learned this was historical fiction, I was shocked. This was an emotional story. The characters were very much realized, and the location that is described is detailed and horrific. Whitehead did an amazing job in describing the life of the boys who would have lived in this academy. 

Rating:

5/5