May Wrap-Up
Welcome to my May Wrap-Up! I’m not gonna lie, May was a bit of a shit month. Somehow it came and went and all it brought me was stress and bad mental health. I didn’t read as much as I had hoped to, but I made up for it by really loving most of the books I did end up reading! I don’t have the energy to do my usual waffling, so let’s just get into it!
The Books I Read in May
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
As most of you probably know by now, I love The Martian. So naturally, Project Hail Mary was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021!
And while it did not match up to The Martian for me (I didn’t really expect it to), it was a brilliant book and a wild ride. It’s funny and accessible, the science felt super grounded but exciting and I really enjoyed the plot development. I immediately got this on audio, too because I already know it’s going to be a great listen!
At the heart of this is a very unlikely friendship that I found incredibly fascinating! Anything more than that would be a spoiler but just know: you’re in for some surprises.
The Other Side of Perfect – Mariko Turk
Oh hey, it’s another new favourite book!
The Other Side of Perfect is a story of ballet, theatre, obsession and grief. It features angry girls, a sweet romance, and a wholesome high school friend group. But it also doesn’t shy away from looking at the toxic parts of ballet, namely the systemic racism.
I loved this book so so much, it really spoke to my soul. It’s full of love and pain in the way that great art is. It made my soul ache for dance and theatre and oh boy, did I cry.
In my review, I said that this is the kind of book I want someone to give younger me whenever we invent time travel…and that’s the best way I can describe what this book meant to me.
The Grave Digger – Rebecca Bischoff
Unfortunately, this book was the disappointment of the month. I was so excited about it because the premise sounded so fun (a young boy who works as a gravedigger to support his sick mother seems to be able to reanimate corpses).
However, it just didn’t deliver what I had hoped. Additionally, there were some really racist comments in the book which were completely inappropriate and uncalled for and can’t be excused with “oh it fits the time period in the book” because no, just no.
Not My Problem – Ciara Smyth
This was such a delight! It’s a funny but grounded coming-of-age story with lots of shenanigans and great humour. It also looks at poverty, alcoholism and difficult parent relationships. Oh, and it’s gay.
I read it in almost one sitting and it was exactly the book I needed to read right now. It also made me curious to go pick up Ciara Smyth’s debut novel!
My review for it is going to be up this Thursday (June 3rd!) and once it is, I’ll link it here.
Posts I Wrote
For your convenience, here is a quick round-up of all the posts I shared this month, in case you missed one of them!
- My April Wrap-Up
- Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- What’s on My NetGalley TBR #2
- Fantasy Book Series I Want to Read
- Audiobook Review: The Other Side of Perfect by Mariko Turk
- WWW Wednesday #6 – May 26, 2021
- How I Pick What to Read as a Mood Reader
Some Closing Words
This month may have been less than ideal, but there were also plenty of nice things! I got to see my grandma for the first time in a while and had a murder mystery dinner party with friends.
Finally, I would like to thank all of you. May has been the best month for this tiny blog so far! Thank you for reading my posts, sharing them and leaving thoughtful comments. It really means a lot to know that people care!
Here’s to hoping that June is a better month for my mental health! Oh and: HAPPY PRIDE! 🎉
I hope you have a lovely day,
3 Comments
Sumedha
You mentioned that you don’t have much energy so here’s to hoping you have more energy in June and that it’s much better for you! 😊
Jayati
Yay for being able to meet your grandma and having a murder mystery dinner party with your family!I’m looking forward to reading Not My Problem and will keep an eye out for your review!
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