Review: Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Published: January 2021

Darren has been working at Starbucks for four years. The shop is in the lobby of a Manhattan office building and he frequently has the same customers. Rhett Daniels is one of them. When Darren convinces Rhett to change his regular drink order to something that will make his day go smoother, Rhett decides Darren must come and work for him. Darren soon realizes he is the only black person at the company. They change his name to Buck and he becomes a different person. A person, his family, friends and girlfriend no longer recognize. When tragedy strikes, Darren is forced to take a closer look at the life he is living and decides to take a different avenue. He decides to train more people who look like him, to be in positions held by white people.

This story had me hooked from the very beginning. It has been compared a lot to The Wolf of Wall Street. I listened to the audio and the narrator they picked for this book was spot on. If you have never heard the author talk about his book, the passion he has for it, then listen to him and then listen to this book and you will see what I mean. I love how Darren talks to the reader in this book. It makes you feel like you are on this journey with him. He gives you advice along the way and it made me feel like I could go out and conquer the world.

I was able to listen to this 12 hour audiobook in two days, so that should give you an indication of how good it was. Whether you listen or read this book, it is a must read. I want a physical copy of the book now, because there were so many quotable moments, that I was not able to capture by listening to the audio. Something I learned from listening to the author speak, is that a lot of the names for the white people in this book were taken from people who were significant in enslavement history.

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Review: I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll

I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Published: October 2017



Anna and Sarah have decided to take a trip to London after school has let out. They are two young girls on their own and Ella a woman alone on the train has a slight worry for the girls. This worry intensifies when a couple of guys who just got out of jail board the train and start to entertain the girls. A few days later, Ella learns about Anna's disappearance, and she feels guilty about not calling someone when she saw the girls on the train. One year after the disappearance, there seems to be some new evidence in the case. Will Ella use this opportunity to speak up? Will Anna be found?

I read this as a part of a buddy read. I loved this book. I had no idea what was going to happen or who was the person that was watching. Ella would get these random letters and postcards in the mail with someone telling her that they know what she knows. Ella is afraid to share this with her family because she doesn't want to feel the blame for the girls disappearance. But who is behind the cards and how do they know?

This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to the end. Twists and secrets behind every corner. You never knew what to expect. This was the first book I've read by Teresa Driscoll, but Ilook forward to reading more of her books.



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Throwback Thursday

Happy Thursday my fellow book lovers.   Once a month, I'm going to share with you one of my favorite reads from the past decade.  We've started a new one this year, so I thought it only appropriate to share the books I fell in love with in my 30's.  I will say that my reading did slow down in my 20's and I just picked it back up early in my 30's.  

The first book I'm going to share with you is The Help by Kathryn Stockett.    My review of this book is not very lengthy.  I read this before I really got into reviewing.  I did watch the movie with my children a couple of weeks ago and it was very interesting to them to see the world in this manner.  We have watched movies about slavery and about black people who have worked for white people, but this is the first time they had seen a movie like this and could relate it back to a family member.  Their great-grandmother could have been one of the women in this book.  Now, my oldest wants to read the book.  

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Published: February 2009/Read in 2012

 

I read The Help on my Kindle and I couldn't put it down. I think I had to charge it at least 4 times. My mother had told me about the book and so I read it from her recommendation. It was interesting to me to read because my grandmother or my aunts could have very easily been in this role as well. Even though I know the timing of the civil rights movement, it intrigues me that it wasn't that long ago, and how life really was. As a black woman I have, luckily, not really encountered much racial tension in my life. I have always had friends from different backgrounds and have been able to get along with others very freely. To put myself in a world where I could not be friends with people I am friends with or would have to do so in secret made me keep turning the pages. Not that these women were necessarily friends, but if circumstances were different, I'd like to think that Miss Skeeter would have been friends with Aibileen and Minny.

The movie was very good as well.  I think it did a good job of covering everything that was in the book.  It was hilarious and sad to watch these stories unfold.  The actors they chose to play the roles was spot on.  

I recommend the book and the movie for everyone!

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Review: The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Published: April 2019

Annika Rose is a beautiful woman living in downtown Chicago. She is 32 years old and she is pretty happy with her life. When she is reunited with Jonathan, her first boyfriend who had disappeared from her life 10 years ago, her world is turned upside down. She has grown so much since the last time she saw Jonathan, but she still has feelings for him. When they decide to give things another try, Annika and Jonathan learn more about themselves and each other than ever before. Will love win this time, and is Annika really different from the girl he used to know.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Heros & Heartbreakers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I've said it many times on my social media while reading this book, that I devoured it. This book grabs you right from the start and draws you in for the long haul. Full of things that will make you laugh, make you cry and even make you gasp. Once I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. I had to find out what was going to happen.

In the story you find out that Annika is a little quirky and that is because she is on the Autism Spectrum. I could really relate to this part of the story, since I have a child on the spectrum myself. There are some people who will accept the quirky habits and learn more about the person and there are others who are cruel and who just won't understand.

The story starts when Jonathan runs into Annika after 10 years in the grocery store. The story flashes back and forth from current day, which is 2001 in the book, to 10 years previously when Jonathan and Annika first met and the development of their relationship. I think this is a book everyone will enjoy.

  

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Review: The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Published:  2018

Fifteen years ago, Emma Davis attended Camp Nightingale for the first time. She shared a cabin with three older girls, Vivian, Allison and Natalie and one night they snuck out of the cabin and never came back. This is something that has haunted Emma all this time. So much so that she has included these girls in all of her paintings since that time, hidden in the woods they disappeared into. Now, Emma has been invited back to camp which is reopening after fifteen years. She is determined to find out what happened to the girls so that she can move on with life. But will she be able to do that? Will the people who are responsible for the girls disappearance and maybe death, try to stop her?

I loved this book! I read The Final Girls earlier this year and loved that one as well. I couldn't wait to read this one. I will say at the beginning I felt the story started off a little slowly, taking us back and forth from present day to Camp Nightingale fifteen years ago. We learn more about Emma's youth and about the girls who disappeared, especially Vivian who Emma seemed most obsessed with.

Riley Sager will is another author I am now adding to my list of author's whose books I will read regardless of the description. I hope everything he writes turns out to be as big a hit as the previous two.

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Winning Wednesday -- Bookish Giveaways!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!  I hope you've been having a good week.  Summer is winding down and some kids have already gone back to school.  Here are a few giveaways to help you end the summer in style!!

Graphic Novels Summer Reading Giveway
Enter for your chance to win a collection of stories for the tweens in your life.  Win these books from Penguin Kids
 
Open to US Residents only -- Ends August 20th 

Summer Thrills & Chills Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win all 10 of the books below
        
Not sure who's open to enter, try your luck--Ends August 20th

Newly released Psychological Thriller
Enter for your chance to win a copy of Watching Edie by Camilla Way.  Win this book from Penguin RandomHouse

Open to US Residents only -- Ends August 25th

Read It Forward's Weekly Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win an Advanced Readers copy of The Golden House by Salman Rushdie. Giveaway found from Read It Forward

Open to US Residents only --  Hurry Ends Today!

Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton 
Enter for your chance to win a copy of Sue Grafton's latest book in the Kinsey Millhone series. Giveaway found on CriminalElement.com

Open to US Residents only -- Ends August 29th

Win a Bundle of Book Club Favorites
Enter for your chance to win 10 award-winning books that you are sure to love.  Brought to you by Penguin RandomHouse
       
Open to US Residents only -- Ends September 10th

Book Riot Giveaway Page -- Click here

Giveaways from Goodreads

**These giveaways are not sponsored by What 'Cha Readin'? Please see each giveaway for official rules.**

Click the titles below to see my reviews for some of the books in the above giveaways:
Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown
The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan