Reviews: Everything You Want Me to Be, and How to Be a Woman

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Title: Everything You Want Me to Be

Author: Mindy Mejia

Publication Date: January 3, 2017

Genre: Psychological Suspense/Thriller/Mystery

Recommended If You Like: twisty mysteries, unreliable narrators, flashbacks, psychological characterizations

The Book:

Hattie is a high school senior who thinks she has discovered the key to success in life--be a great actress, and play the roles each person wants from her. But then she is murdered, and secrets of her inner life, and the small town she lived in, are revealed.

What I Liked:

Mejia uses three narrators to tell the story, and she uses them well. Each storyteller-Hattie herself, the town sheriff, and the new English teacher-bring something new and important to the tale. And each of the three are hiding things, big and small, that makes a reader wonder just how much they can be trusted.

The structure of the book works really well as well. While the book itself opens with Hattie's murder, Hattie tells her story from many months before. Readers know where her tragic tale is going to end, but Hattie does not, and this builds up a sense of foreboding and suspense.

The twists are well-plotted and the mystery is an intriguing one.

Anything I Didn't Like?

There really wasn't anything I didn't like in this book. 

The only thing I would say is that, in my opinion, I didn't find it as good as works by Gillian Flynn, for example (an author Mejia is already being compared to). This was a good book, I just didn't love it as much as some of my absolute favorites. It's a book I really enjoyed reading, but don't see myself needing to own or re read.

So...?

I would definitely recommend fans of psychological thrillers pick this one up. It's a well-told, complex story with an excellent mystery woven in.

Title: How to Be a Woman

Author: Caitlin Moran

Publication Date: March 1, 2012

Genre: Non-fiction/Memoir/Humor

Recommended If You Like: inspiration, strong intelligent opinions mixed with biting wit, laughing out loud while thinking too, truth

The Book:

Caitlin Moran tells the true story of her life, and how she learned how to be a woman.

What I Liked:

Moran is one of those brilliant authors who can make you think, tug on your heartstrings, and then have you laughing uproariously (out loud on a bus, in my case).

Anything I Didn't Like?

This is another book that, like in the previous review, suffers a bit from comparison. We are lucky enough to have so many brilliant, funny women writing their truth, that there are a lot of excellent books out there in this same genre Moran is writing in. To me, I still prefer Jenny Lawson and Tina Fey, but that doesn't mean I can't still really like what Moran is doing here. 

So...?

This is one of those books it just feels really important to read, given everything going on in the world right now--and it's an enjoyable read too.