Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah is a story of his life growing up.  I don't think you have to be a fan of the television show that he hosts to enjoy the book.  The book paints a picture of what it was like for him growing up as a biracial kid in South Africa during apartheid.  His mother is quite the character and incredibly resilient.  Noah jumps around throughout time making some of his material a little confusing.  One minute he's in middle school, the next he's six years old, then he's graduating high school.  His transitions were not always smooth enough, in my opinion.  I would need a minute to place the puzzle piece into the timeline that I was trying to keep in my head.  Overall, I did enjoy it.  It was eye-opening about what apartheid was like for him.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I Let You Go by Clare Macintosh

I'm going to give away a little of the story in I Let You Go by Clare Macintosh.  If you don't like stories about domestic violence, then this book is not for you.  I, personally, can handle those sorts of stories.  I really liked this book.  It was well written.  There was a mystery that you knew was there, but it wasn't the complete center of the story.  The main aspect of the story was intriguing in and of itself.  It was hard to understand why the main character was making certain decisions, but she was a likeable character.  I was on her side, so to speak.  There were twists and turns in the story that weren't always expected.  However, the ending was a little obvious, but still good.  There was one main part of the plot that I totally didn't see coming.  So, that was nice.  Overall, I liked this book.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

American War by Omar El Akkad

What can I say about American War by Omar El Akkad?  It's set in the future around 2075.  There is an American civil war going on.  Global warming has submerged a large portion of our country.  The concept intrigued me.  I felt as though the author could have done so much with the story.  However, he didn't really.  It was basically just a story of revenge.  Revenge that begets revenge to be more specific.  The ending was especially disappointing to me.  I just really saw no purpose to the book other than the revenge angle.  It was annoying for me, but if you like a good revenge story, then maybe give this one a try.  For me, it was a 2 out of 5 stars.

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy

I did not like The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy at all.  I added it to my "to read" list because it was someone's #1 must read for the summer.  I skimmed over the synopsis, and it seemed like it could be decent.  I was mistaken.  It's a true story of the author's life.  I get that life can stink sometimes.  I just didn't like her attitude toward things.  When a gay, married woman gets angry with people because they call her female spouse her wife, that just makes no sense to me.  I get that she sees herself as the wife and not her spouse.  However, getting angry at people about this is just absurd in my opinion.  I say cut people some slack just like you'd wish they'd cut you some slack about certain things.  It just really summed her up as a person it seems.  She did not seem like someone with whom I would be friends.  I feel for her because she went through some very horrible experiences, but to always look on the dark side doesn't help anyone in the end.  I give this book 1 out of 5 stars.

Gone Without A Trace by Mary Torjussen

Gone Without A Trace by Mary Torjussen is a psychological thriller.  I spent the entire book thinking that I knew one particular aspect about it.  I was wrong.  I spent a lot of the time trying to figure something else out, I kind of did but didn't at the same time and was completely off base as to the why of it.    It was definitely a good story.  The main character and her best friend were annoying, but they basically needed to be in order to make the story work.  The ending was a bit of an "oh my gosh, is she really going to do that" moment for me.  I think I could have done without that specific part, but overall I enjoyed it.  I would definitely recommend it if you enjoyed The Girl On The Train and similar books.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez

I don't remember how Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez made it onto my "to read" list of books, but it was a mistake.  I think I happened to see it on a high school reading list and was not familiar with it.  I didn't know it to be "one of the classics."  So, I thought I'd check it out.  I just didn't get it.  It's about a guy who gets murdered, and everyone in the town knew he was going to be murdered.  However, no one did anything to stop it for various reasons.  It's not told in a gripping way despite the subject matter.  The characters are not developed in a way for the reader to feel any connection to them.  I was mostly bored reading this book.  I didn't even have any desire to delve into any kind of deeper meaning to the book.  It just felt pointless and boring.  Unless you are given this book as an assignment by someone, I wouldn't recommend it.  Maybe there's someone out there that could enlighten me as to it's purpose, but at this point, I give it 1 out of 5 stars.

How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life by Lilly Singh

How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life by Lilly Sing was a different type of "self-help" book.  I'm not sure if she truly intended it to be a self-help book, but that's the only way I can categorize it.  It's basically advice for life and for being a happier you.  She has a degree in psychology, but this book is not like the typical books written by psychologists.  It's a bit juvenile, and I would have never guessed she has a degree in psychology based on her YouTube channel.  That is not intended to be a complaint or an insult.  She's fun and uplifting in the way she gives advice.  She seems to be a very positive person.  However, there are a few weird parts of the book when she just jumps to down points in her life when she had to deal with depression.  It doesn't really fit, but I felt like she did it to show the readers that even people who seem to be happy all the time and uplifting can deal with the same types of down moments in life.  If you're a fan of her and her YouTube channel, Superwoman, then I think you would enjoy this book.  I give it 3 out of 5 stars.