February was a good book month, but I’m at that point in the semester when I find it hard to concentrate for long. I read a lot in bits and pieces, which means I struggle to read anything that requires much brain work. That said, I did manage to read a couple of nonfiction books and a literary novel that engaged my melon. My total for the month was eight books.

Here’s what I read:

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender–Caroline is a 12-year-old Caribbean girl who has been abandoned by her mother. A perpetual outsider with no friends, Caroline’s life changes when a new girl comes to school. Together the girls search for Caroline’s mother and develop a friendship that begins to grow into something much more.

Euphoria by Lily King–This is a fascinating historical novel based very loosely on some aspects of Margaret Mead’s life. Set in 1933, it’s about three anthropologists in New Guinea. While they are gathering data, they find themselves entangled in a love triangle that threatens their work and their future relationships.

Lies You Wanted to Hear by James Whitfield Thomson–I picked up this book because I’d read that the author published it, his first novel, when he was in his sixties. I love the idea that anyone can become a writer at any age. The novel is about Lucy and Matt’s troubled marriage; any details beyond that give too much away, so I’ll just stop there. It’s definitely not a thriller (and I feel like the jacket copy sort of suggests it is). It’s more of a domestic slow-burn. My one complaint is that the author’s depiction of Lucy often feels like a man’s idea of what a woman would think or do. I thought Matt got a lot more authorial sympathy, but he was the far more flawed character in my opinion.

The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet–I have a weakness for psychological thrillers, and since I’m terrible at predicting plots, almost everything delights me. This one was particularly twisty and satisfying. Caroline and Francis do a house swap for a week of holidays. Once in the new house, Caroline figures out that whoever owns the house knows her…and knows her darkest secret. The plot here is meatier and more serious than a lot of thrillers. I also appreciated all the attention Fleet gives to character development.

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin de Becker–If you are afraid of everything, as I am, then I think this nonfiction book is worth reading. De Becker is a security expert who specializes in helping women avoid and respond to violent (or potentially violent) situations. In a world that still excuses violence against women, I found it helpful to have some specific strategies for recognizing violence and responding to it quickly and firmly. Trigger warning: This book does talk about sexual assault. De Becker is very careful to avoid victim blaming.

Mosquitoland by David Arnold–Mim is traveling on a bus to find her mother. She meets a cast of characters along the way in a thoughtful and action-packed road trip novel for young adult readers. I think the book is even more interesting once you realize it can be read as realistic fiction or magical realism.

Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boyland–I picked this up because of the comparisons to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, one of my all-time favorites. Unfortunately, I think the book suffers from the comparison because outside of a death and some kids in college, they aren’t really similar at all. I thought the pacing was off in this one, but I still think it’s worth reading for a plot point that raises some really important questions (and shows representation that’s not often included in mainstream fiction). I’m being coy here, but you’ll see what I mean if you read it. I think it would have been a better book if it had just focused on that particular character and topic and left out the murder mystery. Still worth reading.

The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby–I could have an epic rant about this book, but I’ll keep it short. The first half is great. Jacoby makes a compelling case that American has lost its grip in rationalism, the very Enlightenment value the country was founded on. The second half of the book, though, reads like a crotchety old lady yelling at everyone to get off her lawn. And her anecdotes posing as data is exactly the thing she’s arguing against in the beginning! The rants about higher education were particularly annoying because so many of them were ill-informed about how higher ed actually works. Note that I read the older version, not the updated version, so it might have been better in the second edition.

My favorite of February was definitely Euphoria by Lily King.

Happy reading in March.