I absolutely loved Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig. The book is about a 14-year-old girl named Ginny who has autism. The author has an adopted daughter with autism, so I suspect he drew some inspiration for the character from his own experience.

This book follows Ginny as she adjusts to life with her “forever parents” (though these are not the first people who have called themselves her forever parents) and hatches a scheme to get back her baby doll, who was left behind when she was taken from her birth mom. Ginny gets herself into trouble repeatedly, scaring and driving a wedge between herself and her adoptive parents.

Ginny’s actions made me very anxious and as a result, I read this book pretty quickly. However, so did the actions of the adults around her! They weren’t any better. I was rooting for Ginny but frustrated with the adults around her. I imagine that is how Ginny felt! One thing that was hard was that her adoptive parents at times treated her like she should know better. They sometimes lacked understanding, and it felt as if Ginny was their practice child until the birth of their “real” child. Ginny struggles to communicate and connect with her adoptive parents, and their relationship is complicated.

Ginny is such a great character. The book is written from her perspective, which really allows you to empathize with her struggles and frustrations. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who liked The Rosie Project, the Netflix show Atypical, or just wants to read a heartwarming, good book with complicated family dynamics and an unusual but wonderful main character.

I read Bird Box by Josh Malerman in one day. That day happened to be Thanksgiving. That day also happened to be the day we got blinds installed (which, yes, was on Thanksgiving). Well THANK GOODNESS we got blinds installed that day cause this book had me so spooked and I did not want to look outside.

Bird Box is set four years after something has happened. What it is isn’t important, but what happens is this: when people see something (again, we don’t know what), they go crazy and kill everyone around them and themselves. Malorie is surviving in a house with two kids. She decides they need to leave so, blindfolded, the three of them paddle down a river. The book bounces back and forth between their blind river journey and the events leading up to it.

I was holding onto every word of this book. I had to know what happened and couldn’t stop reading. It was thrilling and scary and dark, and I can’t think of a thriller-type horror book that I like better. I mean, not to say I read a ton of horror books (cause I’m a huge baby). But this was so enjoyable and entertaining and that was why I read it. The writing was good (or at least good enough that I didn’t dwell on it at all).

Also, my boyfriend read it in one sitting. I challenged him to read the first five chapters, he obliged, and he was hooked. We don’t generally have the same taste, so maybe that will give you an idea of how addictive this book is. I would recommend this to anyone who doesn’t mind being scared and wants to read something fast-paced. You won’t be able to put it down!

Heather, the Totality by Matthew Weiner was a one-sitting read for me. Thanks to Little Brown for my copy! This kept me reading one cozy evening last week. I was completely hooked very early on in the book. I couldn’t put it down!

Heather, the Totality follows two stories that are parallel in time but completely different in experience, and the build-up to the characters meeting is intense. Like, very intense. Matthew Weiner sure knows how to get you invested in the outcome from early on in the book!

The Breakstone family, consisting of Karen, Mark, and their seemingly perfect daughter Heather, are an affluent yet otherwise unremarkable family in Manhattan. Before Heather is born, Karen and Mark are a normal, somewhat uninteresting couple. Heather becomes the center of their universe, and brings a bit of tension to their relationship as having a child shifts the focus away from them as a couple.

Meanwhile, Bobby grows up in poverty. From his backstory of violence and grandiose delusions, we learn he is likely some sort of sociopath. When Bobby is hired to work on renovating the penthouse above the Breakstone family’s apartment home, he becomes fixated on Heather and fantasizes about what he will do to her when he finally gets her alone.

This book did have a few flaws for me. The detached narration style leaves the characters as more of sketches than fully developed people. They could have been further developed somehow. I also wasn’t a fan of the focus on female beauty. I didn’t like that Karen “didn’t know how pretty she was.” That felt a little cheap to me. Similarly, there is a focus on how pretty Heather is, and how she is so irresistible and charming partly because of her beauty. I prefer female characters to have more redeeming qualities than their looks.

Overall, this was a thrilling read. The tension leading up to the paths colliding is palpable. I wanted to know.. was Heather safe?! I was hooked from the start. If you’re looking for a quick read that will get your heart racing, this book is for you!