Hoover's Second Chance

   After being thoroughly disappointed with the book It Ends With Us by Colleen Hover, I was still confused by the media's obsession with her. When driving back to school from winter break, I saw her book, Ugly Love, as an available option for me to listen to. I decided to give her another chance to redeem herself, and I am so glad I did. 

  The story is about a girl, Tate, who just moved in with her brother, Corbin. Their relationship was not the greatest, but she wanted to live her childhood home and begin focusing on her career as a nurse. When she first arrives at her new home, she is greeted by a drunk man passed out in front of her door. Once she calls her brother about the situation, she discovers the man is one of Corbin's best friends, Myles Archer. Tate brings Myles into her apartment and Myles begins crying and calling her Rachel. 

  As the story progresses Tate and Myles make a connection and Myles is adamant there will be no relationships, he doesn't believe in love. Tate believes she can follow his one rule, but it becomes increasingly hard because of their obvious connection. 

  The story is told from Tate's perspective, but every other chapter is a flashback to Myles's teenage years. The story of him and Rachel. Some so many twists and turns made for such a great story. I loved watching the relationship between Tate and Myles ebb and flow. 

   The style of the book allowed me to be constantly entertained by the characters and eager to learn the reason behind Myles's high walls. Once the reason behind Myles's hatred for love is revealed, my heart broke. The twist was given at the perfect time so the readers could enjoy the present plot and want more of the past. 

  This is probably one of my top ten favorite books I have read, and I am so glad that I gave Hoover another chance. I believe there will be more books from her in the future. 

Rating: 4.9/ 5 Stars

Call Me By Your Name

    As a huge movie with many fans, I thought it would be the right thing to do to read the book "Call Me By Your Name" by André Aciman.

    Oliver, a postdoc from Columbia, travels to the Italian Riviera for six weeks to stay with an esteemed scholar, his wife, and his seventeen-year-old son, Elio. Elio is naive but bold and quickly realizes he is falling for the man staying in his bedroom. Aciman describes Elio's longing and yearning in great detail while he hopes and prays that Oliver will finally make a move. 

    As soon as Oliver does, the two spend the rest of the summer caving into their desire and learning to understand each other and their feelings. However, the end of the summer comes quickly, and Oliver needs to travel back to the States. There is no big fight or argument; they both understand that their relationship has a distinct timeline. 

    The book ends with them meeting 15 years later and discussing their impact on each other's lives. While the ending seems almost anticlimactic, it depicts a sense of nostalgia and growth for both men. Aciman describes Elio's obsession and desire as a boy while trying to figure out his own sexuality in such a powerful way, transporting the readers into a hot Italian summer. While it is classified as a coming-of-age story, this novel goes beyond the typical 'young adult book' in a way not many authors have been able to so eloquently. 

    I think this book was beautifully written and encapsulates the struggles of a relationship and growing up. Although the relationship between the two has a large age gap, I think the emotions and feelings are incredibly raw and heartbreaking. 

Rating: 3.7/ 5 Stars

Leaders Eat Last: Part 2

    After finally finishing the book, I feel like I could single-handedly change the world in the next hour. There were so many topics and different aspects of leadership covered that I feel like I should just run for president! #Buerman2024

    There are a few topics that I believe to be the most important, so I am going to focus on those parts...

1) Empathy is a crucial characteristic of a leader. 

When employees feel valued and understood, they are much more likely to do their best work. Employees should never be viewed as machines. Employees are people with their own lives, feelings, and obligations. These employees should also trust the company that when the going gets tough, they are not sent to the chopping block first. If employees feel their work is appreciated, they are much more willing to go down with the ship. 

2) Always stay a step ahead of the press. 

When a company is faced with adversity, it is imperative to stay ahead of the situation. When the company has handled a situation poorly or there is corruption in the workplace, nip the situation in the bud. The public is way more receptive to an open and honest company compared to a company trying to shove the skeletons back in the closet when they fall out. 

3) A team must run as a unity or it simply won't run. 

All employees of a company need to feel safe. If there is a hostile work environment, ideas are less likely to flow. If the boss/ CEO/ Leader of a company is separate from the group, employees feel abandoned. Humans love order and working as a team to achieve a goal. 

I think this book should be mandatory for anyone in a leadership position.

Rating: 4.2/5 Stars

Leaders Eat Last Part 1

    I started reading "Leaders Eat Last" by Simon Sinek because I had watched an inspiring video of his one time and thought that it would be applicable to me today. However, I was not expecting the amount of thinking that it would lead me to do. That is why I am going to break this book into two parts, there is just so much to talk about. 

    One of the first things Sinek talks about is the lack of trust in corporate America. Through several examples of trusting teams and companies, the readers are slowly beginning to recognize that these few instances are extremely rare. The story that stands out most to me is his story of the pack. Sinek explains that when a herd is grazing and they are spread out and on their own, it is a lot more dangerous than if they were in a large group with their backs to each other, they are much safer. 

    Sinek calls this the "Circle of Safety." When everyone is protecting and watching each other, the predator has a lot harder time singling one out. I think this is the most important aspect of a company...Trust. 

    If a company wants its employees to be willing to put all of their time and resources into a company, they need to be given something in return. The employees should not have to fear that when business falls, their jobs will not hit the chopping block. Sinek tells the story of a company that makes its mission to support its employees. When the economy takes a hit the owner of the company finds a way to keep all of its employees and take suits elsewhere. A company should not have bosses or dictators, they need a leader. 

    And as Sinek explains it the beginning, one of the crucial jobs of a leader is making sure your followers are cared for before your own interests. And when lunch is served, the leaders will eat last. 

Although I still have half of the book to get through, I highly recommend this book to anyone in a high position or a leader of some sort

The Small Spark

 

   I decided to read the book "Malibu Rising" by Taylor Jenkins Reid after a good friend suggested it. Reid is the author of my favorite book, "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo," so I figured it would be another great book. 

  The story follows the Riva family, who are the children of a super famous musician, Mick Riva. After being abandoned by their father and orphaned by their mother, they have made quite a name for themselves. Nina has always been the caretaker of the family while their mother suffered from alcoholism and made a name for herself modeling. Jay is a professional surfer who works beside their other adopted brother, Hud. Finally, the youngest daughter, Kit, is a spunky girl who is not afraid to speak her mind. The story also recaps the lives of their parents, Mick and June. The story starts by talking about the fire that will rage in the city of Malibu by the end o the night, and readers spend the whole story anticipating where this fire starts. 

  The story revolves around the annual Riva Party that Nina hosts at her mansion with her husband, who just cheated on her, Brandon. The story introduces several characters that attend the party and give a small glimpse into their lives. Although I thought it was fun to hear the minuscule details about these side characters' lives, I found that these snippets took away from the main storyline and felt like filler to meet a word count. I think it was a good idea to get more characters in the story, but I feel like they should have been a part of the story the whole time. As the party continues, it becomes more and more out of hand with these side characters trying to make a mark or name for themselves. 

  Towards the end of the story, Mick shows up at the party and tries to get involved in the kids' lives after not being in touch for 20 years. When Nina sees that Mick is at the party she begins to think of all the pain he put her and her mother through. When Mick gathers all of his kids and tells them that he is sorry, Nina doesn't believe it for a second. She tells him how "can't" isn't a reason not to parent. Nina calls Mick a coward, and because of his irresponsible ways, she was forced to take on the responsibility. After the rest of the family decides that there is no room for Mick, Mick leaves and they are left to sort through the pieces. All of the other siblings convince Nina to leave Malibu and live out her dreams instead of helping them with theirs. 

  The story ends with Mick leaving the house and questioning all of the choices that led him here. He decides to light a cigarette and throws it into the bushes when he is done. This is what sets off the fire that destroys Malibu. Even though this was a metaphor, I think that it was a very anti-climactic ending and kinda let me down. As the party kept getting more out of hand, we were expecting the fire to start earlier in the story.

  Overall I thought this was a good book, and looking back at it, there were a lot of hidden messages that I missed.

Rating: 4.2/5 Stars

The Spotlight of BookTok

   If you have been on TikTok or "BookTok" in the last few months, you may have heard of the book "It Ends With Us" by Colleen Hoover. Everyone has been talking about this book and how they were "unable to put it down. It is a must-read!" Proceed with caution, there are spoilers ahead. 

  The book starts with Lily meeting a mysterious man, Ryle, on the roof of a building. Like any great love story, they instantly find each other attractive. They part ways after their night and after a few months, they meet again. He is a classic "bad boy" that does not want to date and Lily knows that she will get her feelings hurt. Meanwhile, Lily reminisces about a boy from her past, Atlas, and how unique and special their relationship was. During Lily's childhood, her father was abusive and she always wondered why her mother chose to stay with him. 

  Long story short, Lily and Ryle get into a fight, and Ryle was violent with Lily. Unfortunately, like most abusive relationships, he swears that it will never happen again, but it does. Lily assumes that Ryle's actions were a one-time thing, but is hesitant about staying with him. He eventually seriously injures her and she decides to leave him and later finds out she is pregnant. 

I was very disappointed by the book and did not think it met my high expectations. I thought the storyline was believable, but it seemed to be too much. Although I can not speak about abusive relationships, I feel that Hoover was trying to force the storyline and make it tragic, but it came across more as a tragic fail. Many people love her books, and I am willing to give another one of her books a try, but I do not think the book deserves all the attention it has received. 

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

"Endgame"

 

    In my Theatre Appreciation class, we were asked to read Samuel Beckett's play, Endgame. The story takes place in the future with a demolished world, besides one family. The family ponders on the loss they have faced from this catastrophe and the pain that life ensues. Hamm, the main character, questions life and talks about all of his pain. Hamm's only concern is the pain of life. This leads the readers to question whether that is the truth. As a reader, I reflect on the ideas and concepts that we deem important in life and if they are worth the pain.

   At a point in time when there seems to be a lot of chaos and destruction in the world, it was somewhat easy to relate. There are times I feel like Hamm, there is nothing good in the world. But I know that is not completely true. Although there are many times when there seems to be no hope, there is always something to look forward to. Hamm remembers all of the pain that he has faced in life and questions if it was all worth it. He repeatedly states that the Earth is something that everyone needs a cure for, which is frankly quite depressing. 

   Towards the end of the story, Hamm's caretaker, Clove sees a young girl in the distance and debates whether he should go and help her. He feels drawn to her and believes he should leave the delirious family and save himself. If you look deeper into the meaning of the situation it is easy to relate. Should we all stay where we are because it is the only thing we know, or should we see if there is more outside?

   I think this was a great story, but it was hard at times to read. If there is some confusion over the plot it might be helpful to watch the play or movie version for a better understanding. Beckett leaves the readers with a lot of questions about how closely the story relates to us all now. 

Rating: 2.8/5 Stars

Didn't See That Coming

 

   In the heat of the pandemic, my favorite author, Rachel Hollis, produced an honest book about dealing with tragedy. She was beginning to write this book about other experiences of her life when her husband and she decided to get a divorce. In all of her past books, she speaks about not talking from open wounds. She had to reexamine her writing and adapt it to the things she was currently going through. I thought her writings were extremely raw and opened up a vulnerable part about Rachel.   At the end of each chapter, Rachel offered some tips about things that helped her through tough times. This was helpful to relate to the author and show the reader they are not alone.

    One of the common themes throughout her most recent books is the trauma that came from her brother's suicide. She opened up about the story behind that day and decided that it would be most helpful to come to terms with the trauma by talking through it. I was surprised that she finally had talked about this event. It was completely vulnerable and impressive to see her courage to share. 

  One of the biggest points that I got for her was that even though you may be going through a hard time, you need to show up for the people in your life. I think it is incredibly important to be open about your feelings, but continue to show up. I do think this was an important book to write, but I feel like it was a little too preachy. She constantly points out that grief is different for everyone, but you still need to complete your obligations. I think it was a broad statement and a bit judgmental. I think the book was very insightful but was harsh at times. 

  At the time that I read the book, I did not have any extremely troublesome situations in my life, but this would be a perfect guide to working through grief. I would encourage this book to anyone going through a tough time and needs a little extra help picking up the pieces of their life. 

Rating: 3.2/5 Stars 

Of Mice and Men and Tears

 

    This book was an excellent and quick read. Everyone has heard of John Steinbeck's book "Of Mice and Men," but not everyone has had the chance to read it. I had overheard people talking about the book and saying that they had to read it when they were in high school. That was not one of our assigned readings, but I decided to try it out. 

  I'm not quite sure what I was expecting from the book and I had no clue what it was about before I started reading it. The book begins with two men, George and Lennie, talking about their dream of owning a piece of land. Right off the bat, the language that Lennie uses alludes to the fact that he has a mental disability. George "takes care of him" and they are searching for work together. Once they reach their assigned position, they meet other members in their bunkhouse. Slim, the "manager," Candy, an older worker, Crooks, the stableman, and Curly, the boss' son. 

   Curly's wife is typically seen trying to talk to all of the workers and actively avoiding her husband. When she catches Lennie alone, she tries to cause trouble, but Lennie doesn't know any better. He accidentally is too aggressive with her and kills her. As the men try to hunt Lennie down, George finds him first and shoots him to spare him from a far worse future. Before he does this, George reminds Lennie of their dream to own a farm where Lennie can tend to the rabbits. 

  The final scene was very emotional and left readers with conflicted feelings. It was beautiful to see the bond between the two men and how much George cared for Lennie. Although it was sad that George killed his best friend, it had to be done. Lennie was not able to consciously control himself and would continue to unintentionally hurt others. George was able to give Lennie some peace and friendship during his final moments. This ending was foreshadowed when the men had to put Candy's old dog down. The dog was in too much pain to keep living and he wasn't able to do much. Although it pained Candy, it was for the best. Both Lennie and the dog lived a good life but could do nothing about their circumstances. 

   I think this is a great book for everyone to read. Not only because it is a classic, but also because of the perspective on humans. Many different people were represented in the novel and it was interesting to see how they all interacted when they weren't being closely examined. It was a beautiful and painful story.

Rating: 4/5 Stars 

Beach Read on a Plane

 

    After my best friend said that this book was a cute and light-hearted book to add to my reading list, I did just that. I added Emily Henry's novel, Beach Read, to my list. I slowly began reading it and agreed with said friend. I ultimately finished the book on an airplane to Florida, and I was a little disappointed. It was a very cute book, but I am hesitant to say it was a good book. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

    The book began with January losing her father and discovering that he had been living two separate lives with anther woman. Her dad leaves January his second house and lets her sell everything to make money. January is a published writer and now experiences severe writers block because her brain has a lot of questions that will never be answered. Once she makes it to North Bear Shores, Michigan to her fathers house, she is greeted by her college rival, Augustus Everett, whom she also had a major crush on. They discover that they are both suffering from writers block and make a bet to see if they could write a book in the other's genre. January is a romantic author, and Gus is a dreary, drama and realistic fiction author. They try to help the other by going on "research days" to fully immerse themselves in the unfamiliar drama. 

Over time, they begin to reignite the college flames and January discovers that Gus has always had a crush on her, even now. They continue on their "research days" falling for each other and find relationships bumps that they need to navigate through. 

    Now to the good stuff. I could tell that each of the the characters had tremendous growth throughout the novel. January found some closure over her father's death and managed to cope, and Gus was able to work through his communication and trust issues. However, the storyline was not my favorite. I did not find anything within the novel that set it apart from any other romance novel, There were several times that I was disgusted by the overly cheesy lines that Henry included. There was a lot of work put into the story of Gus and January, but all of the other characters seemed to serve no purpose. There was very little thought put into them and their scenes seemed very rushed. An example of this is with January's best friend, Shady, who visited her mid story and mid crisis. The encounter was very glanced over and did not show the friendship as all it was hyped up to be. 

    I think that this book is perfect for anyone who wants a quick and easy read. But if you are looking for something in-depth or thought-provoking, you should probably walk away from this one. I was very disappointed by this book and I thought it had a lot more potential with the subplots than Henry included. I'm not sure that I would recommend this book to anyone, but if I did I would make sure to emphasize the shallowness of it. 

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars 

The Thousands of Twists and Turns of Evelyn Hugo

   

    After discovering the book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, through TikTok and friends, I decided it was worth a shot. However, there should be a warning on the cover of this book, and it should read "WARNING: You will not be able to put this book down, and you probably will spend more time reading this than any other necessary and productive things you need to do." 

   The story covers the life of a famous movie star from the 50s, Evelyn Hugo, and her life, as well as what the title suggests, her seven husbands. Hugo is willing to do anything to advance her career, and when she reaches her later years, she selects Monique Grant to be the only person to know the entire story. 

  I was amazed by how powerful Reid portrays Hugo and her willingness to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. I was astonished by her demeanor and simultaneously sad to read about her life and the people around her. 

  The story contained many twists and turns that added layers to the story and gave a closer glimpse of the real Evelyn Hugo. The number of lessons she learned through the strenuous experiences aided in her character development. When she is faced with the choice between the career that she has spent so much time building and what her heart truly wants, it takes her a couple of tries to get it right. And each time it breaks your heart a little more that she chooses wrong. However, when she finally gets it right is incredibly written and provides the reader with so much happiness and closure (or maybe that's just me?).

 

   The story ends painfully when Evelyn reveals why she specifically selects Monique, an unknown writer for a magazine, to publish her life's story. It leaves the readers wanting more, but also knowing that although the ending is not what we wanted, it is exactly something that Evelyn Hugo would do. And from what we can tell from the small excerpt of the Hugo story, Monique can share with the public that Hugo finally made the right choice. 

Rating: 4.6/5 Stars