REVIEW Homeschooled by Stefan Merrill Block

 

I read this because I was fascinated by the concept of a parent homeschooling and having experiencing homeschool lite during Covid. This memoir offers a glimpse into one boy's experience homeschooling and then re-integrating into school for High School. It isn't really about homeschooling though as much as it is about the  complex relationship that he had with his mother - which at points made me absolutely cry. 

At 8, Stefan Block moves with his mom, older brother and dad from Indiana to Plano, Texas. He calls Plano an "almost perfect nowhere," which I wouldn't know about not having ever been to Texas let alone Plano. It seemed that the decision to homeschool Stefan was based upon very effervescent and fluffy reasons and, when he finally was homeschooled, there was very little oversight into what was actually being taught to him.  He did math, which was his only structured subject, but then, essentially left to his own devices. Having said that, the decision to homeschool seemed to be also  based upon his mother's own dark and tragic and, quite frankly, sad history. At some point, it fell to Stefan to end the homeschooling experiment and break his mother's heart. 

What I LOVED about this book is that it is told from the child's perspective and Block doesn't try to correct what is obviously a child's observations with his own now adult wisdom. It was almost painful to watch him adapt to his mom on an almost daily basis as any child would and to read him describe that sort of mental gymnastic. It wasn't until Block was an adult that he could fully grasp that her life and his were shaped by a fear so powerful it became  destiny. And yet, he didn't reject her. At all. Instead, he loved her fiercely and showed us that love by writing this memoir that told her story alongside his. 

So good. It is one of the few books that actually made me cry. 

Links I love

 

I hope that everyone is ready for the Super Bowl!  We have Patriots fans here so people are all geared up! I think that by the time you've read this, I've completed my taxes and am working on another review!  Life and my job have been really, really busy. 

• -February has some good true crime and mystery books coming out. 
• 15 translated books to read this year. 
• Foods that reduce anxiety.
• Washington Post is gutting its book coverage.
• 12 novels about Galentine's day.
• NY has a new archbishop.
• 5 claustrophobic crime novels. 
• 19 Winter Olympic Storylines they're watching.

Please don't forget that I have a Pangobooks store!

Links I love

 

This week has been a tough one for us weather wise. On Sunday and into Monday, we got over a foot of snow, taking a while to dig out - luckily it was the light fluffy snow!

This week was also the 40th anniversary of the Challenger explosion. I was in 6th grade in NY at the time, but the teacher that was part of the launch was from NH. This was one of those moments, for me, where I can tell you where I was exactly when it happened. 

• Ideas for historical fiction.
• What are the Terminator movies really about?
• Women in espionage: a reading list. 
• The best nonfiction books: the 2026 Duff Cooper Prize
• 15 books set in Essex. 
• 5 novels with unsympathetic main characters. 
• There's a film option for Frozen River. 
• The impact of book bans on teens.
• Some of the best foods to keep in your car during winter weather emergencies.
• Catherine O'Hara passed away, sadly.
• Memoirs and the AIDS epidemic. 
• Why Book Retreats are the next big thing in travel.
• Ideas for the slow cooker that I'd like to try.
• Bookish planners and supplies to help with your reading. Sticker sets too!
• Where to watch the Super Bowl in Boston.
• 5 common misconceptions about ADHD that people still have. 
• The literal meaning of the phrase "ducks in a row".

I'm currently reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (I'm VERY late to the game but better late than never) and listening to Careless People. 

REVIEW Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall

 

This was the book selection for our book club this month and I enjoyed it, although I wish that I had read it not back to back with Cursed Daughters because there was some overlap in themes and tropes. Beth and Frank are living what to, many people, appear to be a fulfilling life. They love each other and work together on the farm that they own, very closely. They seem to share everything and lead a life that many would envy. However, two years previously, their son Bobby died on the farm and Beth blames Frank for that tragedy as Frank was supposed to be watching out for their son. One day, a man and his son come to the farm after their dog escapes, gets onto Beth's farm and is shot. The man is Gabriel Wolfe, Beth's first love. And so begins a love triangle that literally changes lives. 

I definitely enjoyed this novel, but I think that I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it at a different time then directly following Cursed Daughters.  Hall uses dual timeline narrative, which I always adore because it is a very effective way to keep me, the reader, hooked into things and wanting to know more about how we got to where we got. I found it very easy to empathize with the characters, the decisions that they were making and the justifications that they had for their actions. At the heart of this novel are themes of love and loyalty: to family, to partners and children, to values.  

There were also elements of a thriller that made this novel very enjoyable to me. The plot had twists and turns that I didn't always figure out. I definitely also felt that I was immersed in the lives of the characters: it was easy to picture myself at the farm or in the pub with the characters, hearing, seeing and smelling what they were.  Definitely one to read.

Links I love

 

We've had a lot of snow this week and celebrated Civil Rights Day on Monday. My son also visited Montreal for the first time on his own to visit a friend at McGill.

I hope everyone had a good week. We are experiencing a massive storm and very, very low temps.  Fingers crossed we survive without losing power OR having frozen pipes. We're looking at over a foot of snow here. In that vein, here are the ten worst blizzards in US history. 

1. Our Episcopalian bishop made national news.
2. Are you one of these four types of introverts?
3. Timeless female authors that wrote under male pen names.
4. The 2026 Edgar nominations are out.
5. 5 Booker Prize nominated mysteries.
6. The National Book Critics 2025 list.
7. On T Swift and the heart of reinvention.
8. 6 books about Ohio.
9. These look so yummy.
10. Does Caffeine actually boost metabolism?
11. Spotify has an audiobook sync feature.  I'm excited about this since I've been getting more into audiobooks. 
12. Domestic dysfunction - thrillers that focus on the family. 
13. Many Americans read zero books in 2025 (which is CRAZY to me) but a reading challenge is here to change that. 
14. Difference between winter storm watch and winter storm warning.
15. The best epic fantasy novels as recommended by Christopher Paolini. 
16. 50 books from the last 50 years that we should all read.
17. Classics that shine on audio.
18. 6 libraries that aren't homes to books. 

I hope that everyone stays safe this weekend!

REVIEW: Cursed Daughters by Oyinkin Braithwaite

 

Very few books have ever moved to tears and this was one of them. The Falodun family as at the center of this novel. All of the women in this novel share some things in common: heartbreak, sadness and the inability to hold across a man. These things are shared across generations. In 1994, 19 year old Monife meets Kalu, who is known as "Golden Boy," a man that she believes is perfect. We know that the relationship doesn't end well because in the first chapters, Monife has committed suicide by drowning herself. Their love story is rolled out over the course of approximately 350 pages. Monife's death is perhaps the biggest character in the novel because it follows her cousin, Ebun, around and her daughter, Eniiyi, looks eerily like her (she's also born on the day of Monife's death). Eniiyi falls in love with Zubby, who she saves from drowning and, during the relationship, has visions of Monife. 

This was, surprisingly, a quick read for me, given the length of the novel.  Braithwaite's graceful writing touched upon topics that were visceral to me - the relationship between mothers and daughters, our relationship to the past, familial relationships and the ability to learn from major and tragic mistakes. The characters were interesting and fairly well developed, although one or two were pretty predictable (Golden Boy's mother for one). I won't lie - Ebun's relationship to her daughter reminded me of my relationship to Eniiyi in that I got it on an almost cellular level. 

I definitely enjoyed it. 

REVIEW I, Medusa by Ayana Gray

 

I almost didn't pick up this book - quite frankly, Medusa's nickname given to her by her sisters turned me off and made me roll my eyes. They call her "Meddy," and I didn't think I could get past it, but I'm glad that I was able to and read this novel.  I legitimately flew through this novel in about 2-3 days, which is a record for me. 

We all think we know who Medusa is right? She's the girl with hair of snakes that turns men to stone, often viciously and mercilessly. She's ultimately beheaded by Perseus. Then, in 2020 the below statue appeared in NYC. 

It was seemingly in response to the Perseus statue at the Met and was picked up as a symbol of the #metoo movement, fighting against sexual harassment, sexual abuse and rape culture.  After all, Medusa took back her power in that sculpture by beheading the original beheader. Ayana Gray attempts to tell us how Medusa came to be a powerful symbol of that movement in this novel by telling us of who Medusa was before she became the mythological creature that we all thought we knew.

This novel takes place in Ancient Greece, where Athens is the center of culture and all things wonderful. Medusa is the mortal child of two sea gods, and has grown up very isolated on an island with her parents, and two immortal older sisters. She wants more than the island can offer - adventure, knowledge. Her parents want to marry their daughters off to the highest ranking official that will them - they're objects and pawns in a game of power brokering. They exist only to serve their parents' goals. Medusa is whisked away after a situation crops up with her sister's husband to be, to train as an acolyte in Athena's main temple in Athens. Due to the color of her skin, she is "othered" and pigeonholed by the other acolytes. Her relationship with the sea god Poseidon takes form during her time in Athens, along with the presentation of a number of red flags (HINT: Poseidon is a AHOLE).  By the time we get to the last section of the novel, Medusa has reclaimed her power and accepted herself. 

I LOVED this book.  Gray seemed to really get the nuances of the complicated relationships women have with each other, even when trying to support each other. She also nails the blowback and punishment that women get when they speak out against the status quo and call BS on horrific, unfair and, quite frankly, shitty treatment at the hands of men and, sometimes, other women. This novel was a spot indictment of the many ways that women are mistreated and oppressed in their lives.  

A definite MUST READ. 

1/12 of the Library Love Challenge.

On the Popsugar Challenge, this satisfies reading a book about new beginnings AND a book about a platonic friendships between a male and female (Athena has a male best friend on her parents' island named Theo)

Links I love

 

I hope that everyone had a good week!  Playoff football is all the rage in our house!  I am, sadly, a Jets fan which means my team will never be in the playoffs but I live in New England, so we still watch a lot of football, particularly this season.  I have a cold that I'm fighting with.  Boooooo.  I'm generally feeling better, which I attribute to being somewhat healthy and being vaccinated. 

• Where two reading challenges meet.
• Texas A and M is banning who?
• I loved God in the Woods, and NPR has now interviewed Liz Moore.
• What does "cooked" actually mean?
• Mysteries that occur at Oxford University.
• New books from big names coming out in January. 
• Here are some book recommendations from NPR for your next book club meeting. These are from Book Riot. I'm looking forward to the releases by Tayari Jones and Jeanette McCurdy - I've loved both of the authors' releases in the past. 
• Definitely another one to try. 
• Dunkin through the decades.
• Some of the biggest historical anniversaries this year and why they matter. 
• Burnout vs. depression and how to tell the difference. 
• I don't care how overextended he is, he's still a jerk. Finish it already.
• The psychology of why we discuss the weather as small talk. 
• Six books to read after the movies you love. 
• The most anticipated books in translation for 2026. And the most underrated books of 2025. 
• Here's another reading challenge.
• A short history of romantasy.
• What do college students lose when libraries are ignored?
• How fanfiction made this author a literary scholar.
• Why does this year's flu feel worse?
• winter fruits that boost your immune system. 
• Here's what skibidi means. 

Please don't forget that I have a Pangobooks store and a goodreads profile! Please feel free to check out both!

REVIEW The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

 I am not going to mince words or waste your time - I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone. This novel is placed in time just after the American Revolution. The Bill of Rights and Constitution have not yet been ratified although they have been sent out to the States. It's so early, that the American currency has to still compete with the pound, as both are in circulation. Women are certainly still considered to be the property of their husbands or fathers or other male figure in their lives. 

The novel itself is centered on the life of Martha Ballard, a midwife who is living and practicing in VERY rural Maine (of note, she was a real midwife whose journals are one of, if not THE primary resource for life at that time.  Laurel Thatcher Ulrich wrote this book about her, which I highly recommend if you like history).  This novel fills out her character and its flaws in the telling of the story. Martha is called upon, early in the novel and in between birthing children, to examine the body of a man that has been found dead in the Kennebec River. A few months earlier, she had visited and treated the local vicar's wife, who had been the victim of a horrific gang rape. This novel is Martha's, and her community's attempt, to piece together the truth of what happened to the man in the river and the vicar's wife. 

The writing style and construct were absolutely what sold it for me.  This novel was definitely thoroughly researched but the information was presented in a readable, entertaining and very easy fashion. A non-linear timeframe was used. This is my favorite construct and I find it to be very effective in keeping me interested and guessing as to what is going on or has happened. I loved the characters and I particularly loved the relationship between Martha and her husband, which was seemingly quite egalitarian.  

Definitely a must read. 

REVIEW: Beautiful/Ugly by Alice Feeney

 

I haven't ever read anything by this author and I'm not sure that I will read another book (unless someone convinces me otherwise). The main characters are Grady, and his wife Alice.  Grady is a novelist and Alice a journalist, both living in the United Kingdom. At the outset, we learn that Grady is having a tough day. He's been down on his luck as an author but his most recent book may be on the NY Times bestseller list and he's waiting to hear from his publisher as to whether he's achieved this success. Alice was supposed to be home but she's late because she's chasing a story and Grady is pretty annoyed by this even though she's talking to him on the phone during the drive and is seemingly very supportive. Alice sees a woman on  the side of the road, so she gets out (while leaving the line open, leaving Grady to hear what happened) to check on the woman and then the phone goes quiet.  Grady drives to the scene and finds her car and all her belongings but no Alice. Alice's red coat is found on the coast, but no Alice and Grady never sees his wife again. Fast for ward a year, and Grady is enveloped in grief and unable to write because of Alice's disappearance. His agent, Kitty (who is also Abby's godmother), suggests that he go to a remote Scottish island and rent a cabin so that he can finish up his novel. And so he  does, only to find that the island is uncomfortably small, everyone knows about him (while he knows nothing about them) and everyone seems to know what he's doing, when. Soon mysterious things start to happen - like someone slipping Abby's articles under his door and sightings of a woman who he believes is his wife - and we're off to the races - what is going on?

I was not a fan of this book generally speaking. I DID love how Feeney developed her characters and kept me hooked until the end.  The characters are colorful and memorable and I kept wanting to know more, more, more. But that's where I think the positivity ends.  I found the reveals and conclusion to be too out there for me. I found myself having to suspend my disbelief a little too much.  Not a fan.

Has anyone read any other of Feeney's books? Should I try another one?

Reading Resolutions - and others!

 

I have several goals for the new year, reading and otherwise! I know that I'm a little late to the party but better late than never.  

1. My aim this year is to read/complete 75 books. I fell woefully short of my goal last year, but I'm hoping this year will be different.  I count listening to audio books as reading them/completing them. I am on Goodreads, so please feel free to add me. 
2. I have joined the Library Love Challenge.  I am unofficially doing the Popsugar reading challenge in the hopes that it will get me out of my comfort zone reading wise. 
3. I would like to complete at least 2 of the 48 4000 footers this year. I am over halfway done. 2025 was a tough year for me health wise, with oral surgery, and being diagnosed as having arthritis in my hips and my ankle that have caused me to stop running, which was a passion of mine, but I'm so excited to do this.
4. I would like to pay off at least one debt, preferably a credit card.  
5. i would like to finish my basement.

What are some goals that you have for the new year?

Links I love

 

This has been a hellava week!  I'm trying to get organized, put away gifts and do a purge, which is always fun.  I hope that everyone has been well!  I'm sorry - I know I made a promise about entries but life has gotten in the way. :( 

• Must read microhistories.
• The South has always fascinated me and here are more reasons why.
• This book looks good.
• The best Mexican restaurants in each state.
• Morning v. afternoon coffee - which is better for your health?
  
• Some good ideas for self care practices.
• There's a new Robin Hood movie. 
• 12 must read books by Icelandic authors. 
• a 200 year old book distributor is closing and what it means.
• The most common early warning signs of the flu.
• What does your st ress response say about you?
• The real Da Vinci Code.
• These books will be key in March.
• Book adaptations arriving in 2026, so far. 
• Celebrity book club picks for January. 
• I might have to try some of these meals. 
• 11 surprising facts about the Golden Globes. 
• Does this make you feel old yet?

Enjoy!  Check back this week for some content!

Links I love

 

I hope that everyone had a wonderful and safe NYE!!  

This week was a big one for me - I've been rowing a lot and I got hearing aids. Best thing I ever did. I didn't realize how much I was actually missing until I got them.  I've also been really getting in audio books and I'm about to finish my third of the year.  What audiobooks did you love?

We are in CT this weekend celebrating New Years and Christmas with my parents.  

• Some of the best cities in America for hikers.
• The best selling backlist books of 2025.
• The best Gothic books of  2025.
• Most checked out books of 2025.
• The best movies of the year took a stance according to NPR.
• Most anticipated books for book clubs for 2026. I'm looking forward to a few of these. 
• The three top ways to become a morning person. 
• Why do we make New Year's Resolutions?
• Will there be a Stranger Things spinoff?
• 5 historical reasons people hated the new year. 
• 5 new species discovered in 2025.
• 80 sci fi and fantasy reads to look forward  to in 2026.

I have a few reviews coming up and a post about my reading resolutions. In the meantime, please have a great weekend and happy new year. 

Library Love Reading Challenge

 I am participating in this challenge below.  It is hosted by Angel's Book Nook (which is where I got the below) Books of My Heart. I'm aiming for Dewey Decimal!

DETAILS

 The challenge will be YEAR-LONG & you pick your level.  We will offer up (3) Giveaways; Winter Semester: Jan. 1st, 2026 – April 30th, 2026, Summer Semester: May 1st, 2026 – Aug. 31st, 2026, & Autumn Semester: Sept. 1st, 2026 – Dec. 31st, 2026 for the year along with the Mini-Challenges (Audiobook & Bingo) plus the Mid-Year Check In: July 7th  & End-of-Year Check In: Dec. 29th.   The Audiobook Challenge will be June 1 – July 31.  The Library Bingo (with our COYER friends) will run September  1 – October 31.  It’s up to you how much you participate and you can join anytime!  The SIGN-UP will remain open until Dec. 2nd, 2026. 

Levels:

What level will you choose?

• Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books
• Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
• Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
• Library Addict: Read 48 books
• Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

 The goal is to find your love of your local library and to read at least twelve (12) books from the library, but you can read more.  While twelve is the minimum; there is no maximum limit.
 Any format will work for this challenge (prints, eBook’s, or audios) as long as you checked it out from the library, it counts.
 Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).
 Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, including re-reads.  The goal is to support your local library and save money.
 (Optional) Reviews:  Write a review to enter the giveaway – 2 sentences or an essay, whatever works for you, but there is a minimum of 2 sentences.  Not sure what to write? How about something like; “The plot was a delight, but the characters didn’t capture me.” “I enjoyed the story and really liked the characters.”
 Please use #LibraryLoveChallenge when sharing your reviews, library pictures, etc…

TRACKING