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Book Review: Cat

Rating: 3.5 stars

Rebecca van Laer and her partner purchase a home and move in with their senior cats, Toby and Gus. Their loved ones see this as a step toward an inevitable future—first comes the house, then a dog, then a child. But what if they are just cat people?

Moving between memoir, philosophy, and pop culture, Cat is a playful and tender meditation on cats and their people. Van Laer considers cats’ role in her personal narrative, where they are mascots of laziness and lawlessness, and in cultural narratives, where they appear as feminine, anarchic, and maladapted, especially in comparison to dogs.

From the stereotype of the ‘crazy cat lady’ to the joy of cat memes to the grief of pet loss, van Laer demonstrates that the cat-person relationship is free of the discipline and dependence required by parenting (and dog-parenting), creating a less hierarchical intimacy that offers a different model for love.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review. Cat is a philosophical nonfiction piece that switches between talking about the cats the author and her husband have in their lives and bringing up interesting philosophical thoughts regarding cats.

I found this short nonfiction book charming for the content within its pages, whenever Rebecca would talk about her cats. As a cat lover myself, I found her experience of raising cats relatable, as a lot of the struggles she experienced with having cats were similar to mine. For example, when she talked about when her one cat disappeared, only months later, she received a phone call from a stranger that they had found her cat, who was two hours away from where she currently lived at the time. That experience was relatable to me because our family had a similar experience with one of our cats, the one time when someone had posted on one of the neighborhood sites a picture asking about a cat, and it was one of ours.

I found these stories of her sharing her experiences of raising her cats enjoyable because they were relatable to me as a reader. Even the segment where she describes her grief in this book was relatable to me. Animals that have been a part of your life for so long, you see them as family, so it was difficult for me not to get emotional whenever she talked about the loss of one of her cats in her life. And I found these aspects of Cat enjoyable to read.

The aspects of this book that I didn’t quite enjoy were when Rebecca would talk about cats in a philosophical and cultural way. As in, the way in which cats are in society and are described. Not because I didn’t understand what I was reading or anything. Because I feel like it didn’t flow overall with Rebecca talking about her cats, or add anything to the narrative she was trying to create. Yes, I get her talking about the stereotypes of women who have cats but don’t have children, but I felt at times some of the topics she discussed with regard to cats had nothing to do with her and her husband’s situation regarding their cats. Then again, this was my first time reading a book that was one of many in the Object Lessons series, and maybe a lot of books in this series are structured in this way.

Cat was an enjoyable and charming read that I recommend to anyone like me who loves animals, especially cats, and is set to publish tomorrow, October 2, 2025, for anyone interested in giving this book a read.

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Book Review: Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories

Rating: 4.5 stars

Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter, love, Native pride, and the world’s best frybread.

The road to Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including traditional eats and tasty snacks. But Sandy June’s serves up more than it hosts, live music, movie nights, unexpected family reunions, love long lost, and love found again.

That big green-and-gold neon sign beckons to teens of every tribal Nation, often when they need it most.

Featuring stories and poems Kaua Mahoe Adams, Marcella Bell, Angeline Boulley, K. A. Cobell, A. J. Eversole, Jen Ferguson, Eric Gansworth, Byron Graves, Kate Hart, Christine Hartman Derr, Karina Iceberg, Cheryl Isaacs, Darcie Little Badger, David A. Robertson, Andrea L. Rogers, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Brian Young. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

As a white woman who hasn’t gotten the opportunity to read Indigenous Writers’ works, I felt like this collection of short stories was a good way to introduce me to their voices. Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories is a collection of stories told from the perspectives of various Indigenous characters, all of whom are seeking something. And how going to Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In helps them find exactly what they’re looking for.

The biggest themes in this collection, I noticed, were connection, acceptance, family, and love. Each of the short stories here explores one or more of these themes through the characters and their experiences as they end up at Sandy June’s. And as this book is geared towards a YA audience, particularly for Indigenous YA, these themes are great ones for the audience these stories are aimed at. Even though I know I’m not the main target audience for this collection, I love reading YA along with short story collections from authors who don’t look like me because I always find myself learning something from what I read. And my experience with reading Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories was no different. I saw through these stories how much of a community Indigenous Persons cultivate with each other, and I love it.   

From the first page, Sandy June’s sounded like a magical place. A place that I know, if I were an Indigenous Person, I would be interested in finding. It felt magical because the way to finding it was different for each Indigenous Person. But also in a lot of these stories, it felt like those who were lost also stumbled upon it, too. It was a beautiful thing to me because their reactions to this wonderful-sounding place were all disbelief and wonder. And then getting to see how they all interacted with everyone else already there when they arrived was great too. I also loved the descriptions of the place and what it had to offer Indigenous Persons who made it there.

I also enjoyed Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories because of the emotions it evoked in me. In certain stories I read, I was really giddy with happiness at how things turned out. Then others made me burst into tears. Even though I’m not an Indigenous Person, I felt for these characters who found themselves at Sandy June’s for different reasons. I also loved the variety of these stories, as I felt like this collection had a unique set of Indigenous characters.

If there’s anything with this collection I would like is that I wanted more. I wanted to know about the characters’ stories, what their lives were like after going to Sandy June’s. I think this could’ve been accomplished by making a summary after the stories, talking about Sandy June’s impact on their lives.  

Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories was a wonderful read that I highly recommend. I especially recommend this collection to Indigenous Persons, young adults, anyone who enjoys reading short story collections, and anyone who wants to read about other cultures. I feel like anyone who reads this will learn something from it, so I’m hoping more people read this collection. Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories was published on August 26, 2025, for anyone interested in giving this a read.    

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Book Review: Sing the Truth (The Kweli Journal Short Story Collection)

Rating: 3.5 stars

Celebrating 15 Years of Kweli: A must-read collection of bold BIPOC voices.

Hailed as “The Paris Review of BIPOC literature,” Kweli Journal has been a launching pad for many of today’s most celebrated writers. This powerful anthology marks the journal’s 15th anniversary, showcasing 15 unforgettable stories curated by founder Laura Pegram.

With a foreword from award-winning author Edwidge Danticat, the narratives included in this vivid anthology explore the devastation of leaving home and the struggle to adapt to reimagined lives, lost loves, distant families, and buried pasts.

Featuring works from authors including Naima Coster, DéLana R.A. Dameron, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Daphne Palasi Andreades, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and Princess Joy L. Perry, this collection is a testament to the richness and diversity of voices often marginalized in mainstream literature. These stories delve into themes of displacement, loss, and resilience, challenging readers to broaden their perspectives and deepen their understanding of the human experience.

All proceeds from this collection go directly to Kweli Journal, ensuring the continued support of emerging BIPOC writers and the creation of a vibrant literary community.

I received a digital copy of this book on NetGalley for an honest review.

The collection of short stories in the Kweli Journal’s Sing the Truth was an enjoyable read for me. What I liked about these stories is how I felt like I was the person narrating their stories, like I was living their everyday experience. Even though I know I can’t relate to these characters and all their struggles, I didn’t feel that way when reading their stories. I believe a lot of that is due to how real these characters’ struggles felt to me, which is what I was hoping for when I read this collection.

What I also enjoyed reading Sing the Truth was getting to read stories from BIPOC writers. I’m going to be honest, I’m not always the best at reading a diverse set of books. I have a particular set of genres that I really enjoy reading, and I typically stick to reading books within those genres. However, from time to time, I find myself wanting to give other genres in literature a try.  That is when I find myself reading stories I typically wouldn’t, and end up discovering books I enjoy more than I was expecting to.

For me, whenever I read, I usually read books that allow me to escape reality. But I have come to realize, too, that I need to branch out when I read. And for me, that involves reading books outside of the genres I typically enjoy and reading stories that take me out of my comfort zone. As a white woman, I feel like it’s really important that I read stories from BIPOC authors and that I read stories about characters whose voices need to be heard. Stories that are not geared towards someone like me as their intended audience, but that someone like me needs to read all the same, because of the importance of reading about others’ struggles, even if you can’t necessarily relate to them. I also feel like it’s important to read works written by BIPOC authors because I see it as a learning opportunity about other cultures and to acknowledge the struggles people go through just because of the color of their skin. So, for me, I also enjoyed reading this book because of the stories being written by BIPOC writers and having the chance to read about struggles from a perspective I know I’ll never have to face.

What I also found enjoyable about the stories in Sing the Truth was the different themes. A lot of the characters in this collection struggled with loss, feeling out of place, and finances. I enjoyed these stories because they talk about these struggles and how the characters here get through the challenges they are dealing with. I especially enjoyed reading the stories in the collection that focused on loss because of my own experiences with loss that I’ve dealt with. I felt like I could relate to those characters and the choices they made to deal with the loss they were experiencing, even though their loss is different from mine.

There are only two things with this collection of short stories that I didn’t particularly enjoy: the characters and endings. Some of the characters in the short stories I didn’t particularly like. I don’t know for sure if the authors who wrote them made that intentional, but I found some of the characters unlikable. I felt sympathetic for them because of what they were going through, but didn’t like them because of some of the choices they made or how they treated members of their family in the story. The characters, in particular, that come to mind for me are the mothers in most of these stories because of how they used their daughters to get the money they needed. While I understood that they were going through a tough time and needed the money, I wasn’t okay with this aspect in those stories because I felt like the daughters weren’t given a choice in the matter, and the mothers didn’t act like they cared. I also didn’t like the endings for a majority of the stories in this collection. Mostly because I felt like some of the stories ended with no real resolution, or in the middle of the story I was reading, being told. They didn’t make sense to me because they left me feeling like there was more of the characters’ story the author had to tell.

But overall, I enjoyed reading this collection of short stories from the Kweli Journal’s Sing the Truth (link here for anyone interested in checking out their website to learn more about them: https://www.kwelijournal.org/ ). While there aren’t certain stories within the collection that stand out to me to name as my favorite, I enjoyed reading a variety of stories and reading about struggles told by BIPOC authors. Sing the Truth was published on May 13, 2025, for those interested in reading this collection from the Kweli Journal.            

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My Book Goals For This Year and Beyond

I’ve been unsure whether I wanted to blog about this or not but decided to. Normally, I’m the type of reader who tries to finish every book I read. However, I’ve come to realize that trying to finish every book I read isn’t reasonable. There are going to be books I read that aren’t for me. That’s okay because not every book you pick up is meant for you to enjoy.

So moving forward, I’ve decided to focus on reading books I enjoy. And if I start reading a book and realize its not for me, I’m going to not finish it and move onto something else. I feel like anytime I’ve ever been in a reading rut to where I’m struggling to read is because of trying to read books that aren’t for me. I think part of the reason I struggle so much with not finishing a book is because I hate leaving things unfinished. I might not enjoy the book but can admit I’m stubborn at times when it comes to putting a book down I’m not enjoying in favor of reading something else I know I’ll love. So from now on, I want to see what I can do to stop myself from pushing through with books that aren’t for me. Better yet, I’m thinking I might start keeping track of any books I can’t get through so that by the end of the year, I can see how many books I at least attempted to read. I’m thinking maybe even blog about them to reflect on why I didn’t enjoy the book and see if maybe reading the book at another time might help or if not, realize the book just wasn’t meant for me.

I also want to start going with the flow with regards to my reading. Yes, I use Goodreads to keep track of the books I read and use it to get an idea of how many books a year I end up reading. But instead of focusing on completing the challenge I’ve set for myself on Goodreads with regards to reading a certain number of books each year, I want to start focusing on the quality of books I read. Read books I know I’m going to enjoy reading and if the plot of a book doesn’t sound like something I’d enjoy, don’t bother picking it up to read. I know I shouldn’t judge books based on their premise as there are times where you can be surprised by a book you start to read as you originally didn’t think you’d enjoy it but end up liking it a whole lot more than you thought. But there are also those moments where you think you’ll enjoy a book but end up being disappointed, and I want to do my best to avoid that if I can moving forward.  

Another thing with books I want to start doing moving forward (and this is more of a blogging goal than a reading goal) is if/when I pick up a series to read, if  I end up reading the series in order, I want to have one blog post where I talk about the books individually and then talk about the series as a whole. Of course, this will all depend on the number of books in a series and if for that series, its something I want to do. Also if I read all the books in the series in order without reading other books in between. It will more than likely make my blog posts a little longer, but I feel like that should be fine as long as I try not to write too much about each individual book. I feel like there’s a lot of factors that’ll go into this but will just have to wait and see how it would come together.

I feel like all of these goals overall for reading for me are pretty achievable. Most of them will mostly have to see how they go as I read, but I feel like I can accomplish all of this with my reading as I’m not pushing myself to completely change my reading habits or anything. Either way, I’m looking forward to whatever books I end up reading this year and all of the years to follow. Because I know no matter what, I’ll end up finding books I enjoy reading and can look back on fondly.  

Thank you so much for reading this blog post! If you enjoyed reading it or have any thoughts to share, don’t hesitate to leave a comment as I’m always open to reading what my followers have to say.

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Book Review: Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume I

Rating: 5 stars

Since his first appearance in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been one of the most beloved fictional characters ever created. Now, in two paperback volumes, Bantam presents all fifty-six short stories and four novels featuring Conan Doyle’s classic hero – a truly complete collection of Sherlock Holmes’s adventures in crime!

Volume I includes the early novel A Study in Scarlet, which introduced the eccentric genius of Sherlock Holmes to the world. This baffling murder mystery, with the cryptic word Rache written in blood, first brought Holmes together with Dr. John Watson. Next, The Sign of Four presents Holmes’s famous “seven percent solution” and the strange puzzle of Mary Morstan in the quintessential locked – room mystery. Also included are Holmes’s feats of extraordinary detection in such famous cases as the chilling “ The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” the baffling riddle of “The Musgrave Ritual,” and the ingeniously plotted “The Five Orange Pips,” tales that bring to life a Victorian England of horse-drawn cabs, fogs, and the famous lodgings at 221B Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes earned his undisputed reputation as the greatest fictional detective of all time.

As someone who’s never read any of Sherlock Holmes’s tales, this was such an enjoyable read for me. The first volume out of two that feature all of Holmes’ tales told from the perspective of his trusted friend Dr. Watson, each of these stories intrigued me in various ways. I wasn’t sure when I started if I would enjoy reading these stories because while I’m a fan of mysteries and crime, classics aren’t always enjoyable to me. I don’t know if its due to difference in writing style over the years, but some classics I have a difficult time reading. Luckily for me though, I found Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing enjoyable.

I believe what made this first volume of Sherlock Holmes so enjoyable to me was the characters themselves, especially Holmes and Watson. I loved their relationship throughout from the start as I feel like they both balance each other out. Holmes is the type of person most people normally wouldn’t be able to tolerate and I feel like Watson is the perfect person to handle all his quirks. From their introduction to each other, I knew they would become such wonderful friends and there would be so many tales of adventure to be told.

The way in which Watson tells of each of their adventures is marvelous. I especially enjoyed when the villain was caught hearing that person tell of why they committed their crime. I also enjoyed hearing Holmes and all of his deductions that he would make from some of the simplest things that most people wouldn’t ever think of. I found his knowledge of crime throughout so interesting, especially since he was the one who normally had everything figured out before the Scotland Yard detectives who would call on his aid. I feel like with a lot of these stories like I was there with Holmes and Watson, asking questions of those involved and trying to figure out who committed the crime and why.

What I also loved about reading these Sherlock Holmes stories was that not all of the crimes committed were murder. I love that there were all sorts of crimes committed throughout, some ending in a way which I as the reader didn’t at all expect. I found this to be interesting because it shows you Sherlock Holmes’s character and that he doesn’t always feel like a person needs to be brought to justice. I found that especially interesting because it makes you question his character and ethics even though he’s the one who ultimately solves all these crimes.

What I loved about hearing these stories told from Watson’s perspective is that I felt like as the reader, I was reading his personal journal regarding these cases he helped Holmes with. And I found myself extremely interested in hearing with each case what would happen next, even if the end result was unexpected to me. Some of my favorite cases from this first volume were the ones with a twist I didn’t see coming or the stories with interesting protagonists who came to Holmes looking for help.

I would say if I had to choose a criticism for this book it would be that there are so many cases Holmes solved that I know I won’t remember them all. But I don’t see that as too much of a problem here because I enjoyed reading this so much that I know I’ll be rereading it again in the future. For now though, I’ve already started reading the second Sherlock Holmes volume in this collection, which has the rest of his stories I’ve yet to read and am looking forward to sharing my thoughts on those as well when I have finished.

Thank you for those who’ve finished reading this post! Leave a comment below if you’re at all familiar with Sherlock Holmes or have any stories you’ve enjoyed just as much as I’m finding myself enjoying reading these.  

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Book Review: What’s Coming to Me

Rating: 2 stars

In the seaside town of Nautilus, Minerva Gutiérrez absolutely hates her job at the local ice cream stand, where her sexist boss makes each day worse than the last. But she needs the money: kicked out of school and stranded by her mom’s most recent hospitalization, she dreams of escaping her dead-end hometown. When an armed robbery at the ice cream stand stirs up rumors about money hidden on the property, Min teams up with her neighbor CeCe, also desperate for cash, to find it. The bonus? Getting revenge on her boss in the process.

If Minerva can do things right for once—without dirty cops, suspicious co-workers, and an ill-timed work crush getting in her way—she might have a way out . . . as long as the painful truths she’s been running from don’t catch up to her first.

This book is my least favorite read in 2023 so far. The premise/synopsis of the book sounded interesting. But I struggled at getting into the story until more than halfway through it.

What I did enjoy about What’s Coming to Me was the main cast of characters and the character development most of them went through. With Minerva in the beginning, she was so obsessed with getting out of where she lived due to poverty. To the point that when the robbery takes place, she wished she had taken the money. But as the story goes on, while she still seems to want to make her boss pay, she doesn’t seem as obsessed when it comes to getting the money anymore or getting out of Nautilus. She also seems to have a different viewpoint on love as the book goes on too. CeCe is one of my favorite characters in this story as she knows how to tell things as they are. I also loved her relationship with Minerva throughout the book as I enjoyed seeing their friendship.

Another thing I enjoyed when reading Minerva’s story is the main themes predicated throughout as this made me relate to her character and the story. The main themes in What’s Coming to Me I noticed are grief, anger and fighting for what you want. I felt like these themes strongly embodied this book because you know Minerva is hiding something when it comes to her past, which explains her actions throughout the story. You also know she’s angry too due to her grief, which is something I understand having lost people in my life that were important to me. You also see that she’s a fighter throughout the story too in her interactions with certain people and how events in the book play out.

However, there’s a lot with this book that was lacking to me that made it hard to finish. In the beginning of the book, it felt like the story moved at a slow pace. From the robbery to when Minerva and CeCe decided they were going to look for the money, there was very little content within this book’s pages. There were several times as I was reading that I was tempted to put this book down as it wasn’t capturing much of my attention. It wasn’t until halfway through that the story finally picked up and I found myself engaged in wanting to find out what happened next. But it took me quite a long time to get to that point in the story.

I also found criticism with this book when it came to details pertaining to Anthony. He’s supposedly this horrible boss, but I feel like there’s content missing within this book’s pages to show what makes him so terrible. The very few scenes he’s involved in even though this book centers around his business involve him calling Minerva Space Cadet, but there’s nothing from what I can see that shows why he’s such a terrible boss that needs to be brought down. Nobody liking him is pretty evident, but there’s very little detail from what I read as to why. And that bothered me, since he’s supposedly this terrible, sexist person. Not to say it means I question Minerva’s experiences with him, but there’s nothing from what I read that shows why he’s not a good guy other than being told so by the characters. And that bothers me because I want to see instances of him being terrible to people so that I can feel justified in rooting for Minerva, CeCe and everyone else who wants to see him go down. But that was completely lacking for me, which made this book a disappointment for me to read. Maybe I’m not the intended audience for What’s Coming to Me, and that’s why I had the experience I did reading this book. But I did try and I ended up finishing it even though it took me longer to read due to my disinterest and lack of content within its pages. I hope if anyone does end up reading this book after reading my review that you enjoy it better than I did and that you find it resonates with you. I don’t recommend it, but if you think its your cup of tea, then go for it and let me know what you think!

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Stepping Into 2023 With a Fresh Start

Hello everyone! If you’re reading this, thank you for continuing to follow my blog despite the lack of posts in 2022. 2022 has been such a busy year and I wasn’t writing and reading quite as much as I usually do so I unintentionally stepped away from blogging. But I’m hoping with this, I can get back into blogging again. Its not that I meant to not post anything, just sort of happened and I couldn’t stop it.

There’s also just been a whole lot with work and life in general from this past year that I’ve been dealing with too. So I’m hoping as we step into 2023 I can start over with a fresh start so to speak. I’m not planning on making any promises that the amount I post within 2023 will be more than now. What I do know though is that I will continue to blog on here. I’ve been in a writing slump the past couple months and am slowly getting out of it now. I went through a brief time where writing was feeling like a chore to me, so I wanted to get out of that mindset before posting on here again as I didn’t want to bring that mindset onto my blog or any of my posts. So I’m hoping as we all step into the new year, my love of writing continues to shine through, and I don’t have as many moments where I feel like I’m not enjoying what I’m doing when it comes to my writing.

Along with starting 2023 on a clean slate, I also want to continue in 2023 doing things I enjoy doing. Whether that’s continuing to make blog posts here on WordPress, reading, playing video games, etc., I want to always make time out of each day to do at least one thing I enjoy. Life is too short not to make time out of your day to do things you love, and I find for myself at least that it helps me feel better whenever I’m not feeling as good.

 I also want to take into the new year better health. Whether it’s mental, physical, or emotional health, 2022 has been a rough year for health for me and members of my family. So I’m hoping as we step into 2023, that things will get better health wise for me and my family as this year its been rough and I feel like we need a break. I know there’s no guarantee of this of course, but one can always dream!

Hope you all are doing well though! Is there anything you are hoping to get from the new year? Please leave a comment below if there’s anything you are hoping you’ll get from 2023 and thank you for reading my blog!  

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Book Review: The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward

Rating: 3.5 stars

Everybody has regrets, Daniel H. Pink explains in The Power of Regret. They’re a universal and healthy part of being human. And understanding how regret works can help us make smarter decisions, perform better at work and school, and bring greater meaning to our lives.

Drawing on research in social psychology, neuroscience, and biology, Pink debunks the myth of the “no regrets” philosophy of life. And using the largest sampling of American attitudes about regret ever conducted as well as his own World Regret Survey–which has collected regrets from more than 15,000 people in 105 countries–he lays out the four core regrets that each of us has. These deep regrets offer compelling insights into how we live and how we can find a better path forward.

As he did in his bestsellers Drive, When, and A Whole New Mind, Pink lays out a dynamic new way of thinking about regret and frames his ideas in ways that are clear, accessible, and pragmatic. Packed with true stories of people’s regrets as well as practical takeaways for reimagining regret as a positive force, The Power of Regret shows how we can live richer, more engaged lives.

This book about regret and its power is an unforgettable read. Jammed full of knowledge that takes more than one sitting to digest, Daniel Pink is very insightful and knowledgeable when it comes to discussing regret in human life and the role each of us must play with it. From discussing the four distinct types of regret we each experience to how to go about turning our regretful actions into a positive direction, Pink uses his research and knowledge to transform regret into a powerfully positive force we can harness to our advantage. As a reader, I found that Pink transformed my understanding of what regret truly is into something that can be more insightful than I initially expected.

I found the way regret was discussed in each chapter insightful. I particularly enjoyed how he brought about discussing all the different types of regret a person can have by providing real-life examples. While most of the examples provided were things I couldn’t particularly relate to, I feel like the context of the regrets discussed made sense to me. The research he used to back up his perspective was interesting to read as it helped tie any potential loose ends together.

What I didn’t enjoy when reading The Power of Regret, however, is that how to deal with your own regrets isn’t fully discussed. Yes, he mentioned a couple helpful pieces of information regarding what you can do when handling a regret you have. However, he never fully explained this information to you as the reader. If anything, this book covers the subject of dealing with your own regrets for a short amount of time in comparison to the discussion had about all the different types of regret you can experience.

I also would’ve loved to have gotten more information with regards to how dealing with your own regrets benefits you. I feel like this would’ve been an interesting topic to have brought up through this book because then as a reader, I can understand how powerful dealing with my own regrets could truly be. Also would’ve loved to see Pink discuss some of his own personal regrets too. Not because I want to know all about his personal life, but to see how he handled some of the biggest regrets in his life using the knowledge he’s shared in this book. Overall, I enjoyed reading The Power of Regret. I found the overall information gleamed within its pages very insightful and something everyone could learn a little bit from. It made me reflect on some of my own life choices I’ve made and think about what would’ve happened if I’d done some things a little differently.

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Book Review: Stray: Memoir of a Runaway

Rating: 3.5 stars

Brutal and beautiful, Stray is the true story of a girl who runs away and finds herself.

After growing up in a dysfunctional and emotionally abusive home, Tanya Marquardt runs away on her sixteenth birthday. Her departure is an act of rebellion and survival—whatever she is heading toward has to be better than what she is leaving behind.

Struggling with her inner demons, Tanya must learn to take care of herself during two chaotic years in the working-class mill town of Port Alberni, followed by the early-nineties underground goth scene in Vancouver, British Columbia. She finds a chosen family in her fellow misfits, and the bond they form is fierce and unflinching.

Told with raw honesty and strength, Stray reveals Tanya’s fight to embrace the vulnerable, beguiling parts of herself and heal the wounds of her past as she forges her own path to a new life.

This memoir was overall an enjoyable read for me. What made this memoir enjoyable is the way Tanya opens about all the troubles she dealt with throughout her adolescence. She covers everything-from the abusive and emotional manipulation she experienced from her parents to her issues with alcohol addiction to cutting. I also found it relatable to any young girl having similar experiences and found I could relate to some of the struggles she was dealing with. Her memoir, however, isn’t for the faint of heart so if you have any triggers, her story more than likely isn’t for you. But if you decide to give it a read anyway, tread carefully.

I also found learning about the gothic scene through the eyes of an adolescent interesting. I knew absolutely nothing about it prior to reading her words, and she was able to paint a picture of what it was like being goth during her younger years in a way that made sense to me. And while I didn’t appreciate the amount of alcohol and cigarettes she seemed to consume, I found the party scenes with her friends very interesting. I found it was a good way for me as the reader to learn more about Tanya and her friends since there wasn’t much in the story to give me an inkling of their relationship to each other.

What bothered me about Stray: Memoir of a Runaway is how misleading the synopsis of this memoir is to the reader. Yes, Tanya runs away from her mother. However, she goes to live with friends from school, and her mom knows where she is the whole time she left. There is nothing about her situation that I would consider would make her a runaway and it doesn’t even play that much of a role in the overall plot of what Tanya goes through. She also eventually lives with her father, but only because in her memoir she says he lets her do what she wants while her mother doesn’t.

I was also bothered by the lack of transition regarding her life. She apparently overcomes all the problems most of the memoir mentions, but there’s nothing specific in the story itself that pinpoints what causes these changes in her life. I know in one part of Stray, she mentions to one of her teachers that she writes poetry and begins to go to that teacher’s classroom during lunch to share what she’s written. Otherwise, there’s nothing in her memoir at all that shows to me as a reader how she comes to be the person she is today, and how she overcomes all the challenges she’s had to deal with in life. And that bothers me because I feel like we learn more about her when she’s rebelling against her parents versus when she’s able to make the changes to her life that result in her becoming successful. It bothers me because I want to find out those details about her in her memoir and I didn’t get them.

However, I did enjoy reading Stray: Memoir of a Runaway. It captured my interest as a reader and was a nice first book to get back to since my unexpected reading hiatus. I recommend this book to readers who want to hear about someone’s personal struggles without words being minced and people who also want to learn more about the gothic aspects of the story that I knew nothing about going into this read.  

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