Alison’s September Reads
The month of September brought a whole slew of new rhythms for my family. While it seemed as if we kept very busy over the summer months, I had no idea how much I was living in the luxury of a slower paced life. We started the month out up north celebrating Labor Day with my in-laws, but quite literally the moment we returned home, I hit the ground running with all the homeschooling prep, lessons, Community Bible Study obligations, kids’ activities, and social engagements. September felt like the busiest month of the year so far, but nevertheless, I still was able to sneak in some excellent reads - thankfully there’s also a lot of sitting in cars and dance lobbies when you have four kids in extracurriculars.
First Time Caller by B. K. Borison (4.5 stars). Instagram made me do it, and I don’t regret it. In all seriousness, this book crossed my Instagram feed so many times that I just had to dive into it myself. It was a super cute read with a different meet cute/storyline than many of the contemporary romance books I’ve read. I read it while camping with my family, and it was the perfect holiday weekend read!
Running Wild by K. A. Tucker (4 stars). This is the fourth book in the Simply Wild series, and the only book that is from the perspective of Marie - Jonah’s best friend who is secretly in love with him. I loved the whole Simply Wild series because I have an affinity for Alaskan culture, but I honestly didn’t think I’d love Marie’s POV (I’m a big Calla fan). I was pleasantly surprised, however, and the fourth book was a great end to the series!
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (5 stars). To put it simply, if you haven’t yet read this book you need to. This was our book club read for the month and every member of the group loved it! Pro tip: have the box of Kleenex at the ready.
Holes by Louis Sachar (5 stars). Holes was our first family read aloud for our school year and was so good! We wrapped up the book with a family movie night with homemade pizza and popcorn and was so pleased to discover that the movie adaptation is very close to the classic novel!