Last :: “What’s Eating Jackie Oh?” – Patricia Park
Format :: Audio via Libby
Genre :: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
I needed an audiobook, and this was one of the first ones I came across that was available on Libby. I have not read a food focused book in quite a while, and I liked the premise of a high school student figuring things out in their young life and competing on their favorite food show’s high school edition. A couple of the themes Patricia Park hits on is food insecurity, incarceration of minorities, and the familial struggles faced with immigrant families. My favorite scene of the whole book was the moment Jackie and her mom got on the same page and had a heart-to-heart talk; the audio of this scene made it feel like I was sitting in on a conversation and made the entire plot feel realistic.
Current:: “Tooth and Claw” – Craig Johnson
Format :: Physical
Genre :: Mystery, Western, Fiction
“Tooth and Claw” is the newest novella in the Walt Longmire series. I was interested in reading this because I have read the first three books in this series, and I’ve always enjoyed the flashbacks of Walt and his good friend Henry Standing Bear. This novella takes place long before the first book begins and follows the duo as they come back from serving in Vietnam and look for jobs. I’m not quite a quarter of the way through this novella, and I love to see the characters of Walt and Henry are true to themselves, but still much younger than they are in the main series. I anticipate this will be a quick and adventurous read.
Next :: “The Anti-Social Season” – Adele Buck
Format :: Physical
Genre :: Romance, Holiday Fiction
“The Anti-Social Season” is the second book in the First Responders series (which is not a holiday book series, if you were wondering). I’ve been searching for a romantic comedy with a holiday theme and I’m hopeful that this will be a great pick! Thea, firefighter turning social media manager and Simon, a librarian are the main characters of this rom-com. I decided this would be my next read because Thea doesn’t remember Simon at all from high school, but Simon had a crush on her the entire time – this is one of my favorite romance tropes to read.