Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a copy of A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor. I absolutely love young adult literature (YA), and I think only recently it became mainstream for this genre to allure adults as well. I think it's the escapist appeal and how it evokes nostalgia. What drew me to this book initially was the relationship between the two sisters. This is a tale of survival and love, and the cataclysmic event that ripped their bond apart. As an older sister, I had a hard time reading and trying to understand how they could treat each other the way they do. It almost seems artificial at times, until you realize what lies at the complexity of one bad decision. What I love about this book is the element of suspense. It had me turning pages well into the night. 

This is the most cleverly constructed and brilliant paced book I've read this year. You know when you're five pages in and it's already fast-paced and tension-filled that it's going to be impossible to put down. I think I've told everyone about this book, and two of my friends read it the second I finished! The story follows Milly, the daughter of a serial killer. After turning her mother into the police, she attempts to move forward with a new identity, as she awaits the trial that looms over her. This is one provocative book! It will have you questioning everything Milly says and does. Part psychological thriller, part family drama, with plenty of nail-biting fun. 

Thank you to BookSparks for putting this one in your Fall Reading Challenge. I am so excited to be working with them as a a Senior Year, Resident Advisor. I can't wait to share the rest of the books they have lined up for you!

​Liane Moriarty has the ability to paint a picture with such vivid, gripping tension, that the reader is terribly uncomfortable. This is exactly how I felt as I read Truly, Madly, Guilty. What I love most about her writing is that she is able to weave through different characters’ in an effortless fashion, with chapters just short enough to hook you, and then catapulting into the next. The plot migrates between different characters, both before and after the singular event that has changed everything. The incident isn't revealed until deep into the novel, however Moriarty dangles just enough bait to keep you flipping pages to uncover the truth. When I first started reading, I was immediately drawn to Erika’s character. She is fiercely loyal, haunted by her past, and willing to do anything to change the course of her future. Five minutes later, Clementine’s deeply convincing point of view had me despising Erika, and viewing her as weak, frantic, and obsessed. Although this story is slow, Moriarty leaves you wanting more. This book has well-developed characters and an unpredictable plot. Even though the mystery at the heart of the story isn’t jaw-dropping or shocking, it will linger with you long after the last page. 

Summer Wrap Up
 
Saying this summer was busy is an understatement. We attended seven weddings, went on a ten-day trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco for my thirtieth birthday, Whistler for a girls trip, Los Angeles again for a bachelorette, climbed many-a-mountains, and in-between worked on a graduate degree. I crossed off a number of ‘bucket list items’: Alcatraz Island tour, Full House House, Golden Gate Bridge, Universal Studios as an adult, Santa Monica Pier, LA Dodgers Game, Nobu Malibu, and the Malibu Wine Safari. Unfortunately, I did not get around to reading as many books as I would have liked. I had a massive TBR pile in my living room, and as I look at it now, I wish I hadn’t traded extra hours on my patio with a latte for extra sleep. At the beginning of the year I set a reading challenge on Goodreads to read 60 books this year. I love using Goodreads to track my progress, shelve books I want to read, and read reviews.  I was hoping to make a solid dent in that pile in August, but at least I’m still on track. The goal is to read, on average, 5 books a month.
 
If I had to choose my favourite books this summer, hands down it would be:
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
 
Another book I thoroughly enjoyed was He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly. Extremely slow start (and I can’t emphasize this enough), but if you can get through this, the last quarter of the book is worth every detail and slow build up. A few of the girls in book club are reading this right now and loving it.
 
September is here, which means I am back to school, thrown back in the current which is my masters, and saying adios to 6:30 am coffee on the patio. However, I am very excited to be working with Book Sparks this fall as a Resident Advisor during their Fall University Senior Year reading challenge. I can’t wait for their September selections!
 
My September TBR pile includes:
Are you Sleeping by Kathleen Barber
Final Girls by Riley Sager
The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor
Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land