Starlight Book Review – Emma Straub’s Modern Lovers

Cover of Modern Lovers by Emma Straub centered on a medium light red-orange background with Starry Night Elf avatar in lower right hand corner | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 2010s

Published 2016

Trigger Warnings – Smoking/ Drinking/ Death and Suicide/ Sexual Content

3.75/5 When I planned for my reading for the 2010s in the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), my original choice ultimately did not meet this SRC’s criteria. Click here for details on this SRC. As 2022 neared its end, I considered myself fortunate that my book club chose to read Emma Straub’s Modern Lovers, a book published in 2016.

* I read Modern Lovers prior to the hubbub with author Straub and a Houston area school district. Any comments on this event with Straub will not be posted.

“Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth and Andrew and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch (of sexuality, independence, and the ineffable alchemy of cool) to their own offspring… Back in the band’s heyday, Elizabeth put on a snarl over her Midwestern smile, Andrew let his unwashed hair grow past his chin, and Zoe was the lesbian all the straight women wanted to sleep with. Now nearing fifty, they all live within shouting distance in the same neighborhood deep in gentrified Brooklyn, and the trappings of the adult world seem to have arrived with ease. But the summer that their children reach maturity (and start sleeping together), the fabric of the adults’ lives suddenly begins to unravel, and the secrets and revelations that are finally let loose—about themselves, and about the famous fourth band member who soared and fell without them—can never be reclaimed… Straub packs wisdom and insight and humor together in a satisfying book about neighbors and nosiness, ambition and pleasure, the excitement of youth, the shock of middle age, and the fact that our passions—be they food, or friendship, or music—never go away, they just evolve and grow along with us.”

Modern Lovers seemed a great choice for the Back in the Day SRC. Straub wrote a book about characters looking both back in the past and forward to the future. At moments in my reading, I wondered how Straub managed to write a book on the precipice of time. The characters, Andrew in particular, irritated me. Sometimes, I didn’t care much about anyone in the book and that’s reflected in my rating. I would probably pick up another Straub book but there are other authors I want to read first.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers

Cover of Book – Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue – centered on a rusty orange background with the “Starry Night Elf” Logo in the lower right hand corner | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Set in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 2000s

Set in the Year 2008/ Published in 2016

Trigger Warning –  alcoholism,/ drug abuse/suicide/potentially upsetting scenes regarding American immigration

4/5 I spied Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers a few years ago and placed the book on my To Be Read (TBR) shelf. It pleased me when I learned our book club would read it last year. Furthermore, it thrilled me that this book was set in 2008 and that I read it for the Set in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC) since most of the action happens in the Aughts.

Click here for more information on this SRC.

“Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty—and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses’ summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future… However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers’ façades… When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job—even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice.”

I read this book with my ears, tuning in to listen to the dazzling reading of Prentice Onayemi. Onayemi pronounced names of characters and places, which pulled me into the story. I enjoyed hearing Neni sing in particular. I found the hopeful tone encouraging and the text rich. Some parts dragged for me, though; the pacing slow and almost ominous. As someone who remembers the 2008 crash, I knew something bad remained ahead for the characters. Otherwise, while not shelved on my Top 9 of 2022, I felt Behold the Dreamers deserves a nod as one of the better books I read. Also, I think I would try another Mbue book.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – John Green’s Looking for Alaska

Cover of Looking For Alaska by John Green centered on a dark red background with Starry Night Elf avatar in lower right hand corner | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 2000s

Published 2006

Trigger Warnings – Smoking/ Drinking/ Death and Suicide References/ Sexual Content

4/5 John Green wrote one of my favorite novels — An Abundance of Katherines which I read in the late Aughts. I also picked up The Fault in Our Stars around the time of the screen adaptations release. Yet, I never read Green’s first novel, Looking for Alaska until 2022 for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC). Click here for details on this SRC. I read Looking for Alaska with my ears, read by the incomparable Wil Wheaton.

“Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .
After. Nothing is ever the same.” 

The fact that I read An Abundance of Katherines years ago aside, I soon recognized Green’s writing style. I considered Looking for Alaska the older brother of An Abundance of Katherines. I cared about Miles Halter A.K.A. Pudge and his friends, felt concern for Alaska Young in particular. As someone maybe a decade older than these kids at Culver Creek Boarding School, I recognized the elements of dorm living and even the pranks. This seemed late Nineties, early Aughts. Pay phone usage by characters brought bake what all people had to do to reach someone; this predated cell phone ubiquity. Yet, the teens feeling invincible among other attitudes seemed timeless, as though this book might take place in any decade since 1900. Overall, I found Looking for Alaska to be well written and true to life. The Before/After, made for emotionally tough reading for me. Also, not to blame Green or this work, I stopped and started reading Looking for Alaska more than once due to a waiting list for this book. Yet, I recommend Looking for Alaska to any reader seeking something of a bygone era.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Megan McCafferty’s The Mall

Cover of Book – The Mall by Megan McCafferty – centered on a light turquoise background with the “Starry Night Elf” Logo in the lower right hand corner | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Set in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1990s

Set in the Year 1991/ Published in 2020

Trigger Warning – sexual harassment/casual sex/ slut-shaming (occurs but not condoned by author)/ divorce/ cheating.

3.75/5 I realize I’m dating myself but the 1990s is the first decade I remember well. I lived and experienced them and my recall of the Nineties is clear and direct. So I knew I would likely be more critical of someone “getting it wrong.” When I discovered Megan McCafferty’s The Mall, a book set in 1991, I thought I might be able to set aside some of my sharp analysis as I’m more “familiar” with the latter part of the decade. So, I chose The Mall as my 1990s entry for the Set in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC).

Click here for more information on this SRC.

“New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty returns to her roots with this YA coming of age story set in a New Jersey mall… The year is 1991. Scrunchies, mixtapes and 90210 are, like, totally fresh. Cassie Worthy is psyched to spend the summer after graduation working at the Parkway Center Mall. In six weeks, she and her boyfriend head off to college in NYC to fulfill The Plan: higher education and happily ever after… But you know what they say about the best laid plans…Set entirely in a classic “monument to consumerism,” the novel follows Cassie as she finds friendship, love, and ultimately herself, in the most unexpected of places. Megan McCafferty, beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, takes readers on an epic trip back in time to The Mall.”

I probably finished McCafferty’s The Mall in a week. While I knew of the various shopping mall mainstays – Cinnebon, Orange Julius, Hickory Farms, and watched “Beverly Hills 90210” in rerun on Saturday afternoons as a tween and teen, my 1990s were more Gloria Jean’s, Chick-Fil-A, and “Dawson’s Creek.” While a quick read, narrator Cassie Worthy took a little while to evoke sympathy from me. I found myself more interested in her former friend Drea’s story. I found The Mall an easy, quick read and I liked the treasure hunt, a deep dive into late Eighties/ early Nineties pop culture. Sometimes, Cassie seemed rather shallow. While not hard to understand the vocabulary, I recommend this book for more mature teens due to some of the content.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Stephen King’s The Shining

Cover of The Shining by Stephen King centered on a dark blue-green background | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1970s

Published 1977

4.25/5 I determined to return to adult literature for my 1970s entry for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC). Still, I wanted to read something a little different from my usual fare and I chose a book from the Horror genre. While I have read several books by Stephan King, a few of his Horror books even, I had yet to read The Shining.

“Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.”

I must note that one reason it took me several months to read The Shining was that I had to check in the book several times. Another would be that it was scary enough that I restricted my reading to certain times of day. King’s an amazing writer, providing evocative descriptions of characters and settings. I especially liked Dick Hallorann and I greatly cared about what happened to Danny Torrance. Several other characters were empathetic, too. I took off a partial star, though, for some of the rough parts, (yes, I know that this is definitely Horror) and an abundance of gratuitous details (again, I know). Will I read Doctor Sleep, the next in the series? Maybe after I read some lighter, cozier books. Still, I get why Stephen King reigns supreme. Also, I appreciated being able to step out of my reading comfort zone for this SRC.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Cover of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg on a purple background | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1960s

Published 1967

4.15/5 I enjoyed reading a work of Children’s Literature so much for the previous decade in the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), I decided to continue in this fashion for the Turbulent Sixties. One of my colleagues recommended E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler as my 1960s read for this SRC. While I watched a screen adaptation, I never read this book and decided to change that.

“When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort-she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because be was a miser and would have money. Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie bad some ideas, too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she bad discovered its maker, a question that baffled the experts, too…The former owner of the statue was Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Without her-well, without her, Claudia might never have found a way to go home.”

I enjoyed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The whole situation seems rooted in a bygone era. In fact, the copy I read provided Konigsburg’s note upon the anniversary edition of the book. She stated that the Kincaid siblings could have pulled this off in 1967, a time not only before 9/11 but also before the World Trade Center itself. I appreciated the kids’ sense of wonder and felt Konigsburg understood the stark, black and white views of children. I questioned the point of view and sometimes the author talked down in a condescending way about Claudia and Jamie, coming off as didactic. My rating reflects that yet I appreciated reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler at this time for this SRC.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.