After finishing The Year We Hid Away, and with the help of Emmalita’s loan, I immediately started reading the third book in Sarina Bowen’s Ivy League Series: The Understatement of the Year (2014). Taking place at the same elite, Yale-like, hockey-centric college, this one differs primarily because the romance is about two young men rather than the more ubiquitous, romantic heterosexual couples. Michael Graham and John Rikker grew up together, and they were close friends. As puberty hit and their sexual awareness grew, they began some […]
College, scandals, and love
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the first book of Sarina Bowen’s Ivy League Series: The Year We Fell Down. It was emotionally engaging and very fun to read. Emmalita was kind enough to lend me the next two books in the series, which I managed to read in quick succession (although I am only now getting around to reviewing them.) The Year We Hid Away (2014) brings back Bridger, the partier and player, from the first book. But this year Bridger has more […]
A little piece of American history that is too often overlooked
I’ve been interested in learning more about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II for a while now. After reading The Japanese Lover earlier this year, my interest was piqued, and then I heard about The Buddha in the Attic (2011) by Julie Otsuka, Julie Otsuka tells the stories of Japanese picture brides immigrating to America in the early 1900’s. What makes this book unique but also challenging is that she writes in first person plural. The viewpoint is from an unknown number of various […]
Adichie is one impressive role model
When Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was a girl and arguing with a male friend of hers, he called her a feminist in a derisive tone. She had never heard the word before but assumed it must be something bad. However, unlike many people who deny their connection with feminism because of ignorance and social pressure, Adichie went home and looked it up. Feminist: a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Really, not a bad thing after all. I became […]