KJ's Book Reviews

  The Women Written by Kristin Hannah Originally published in 2024 ~480 pages Rate 5/5 Despite having watched Forest Gump at an old enough age to understand the plot of the show I didn't realize why Lutetian Dan was treated so terribly if he was a veteran. This book opened my eyes to a dark part of American history. It shouldn't be a spoiler alert to find out that America should not have been apart of the Vietnam War.  Not long after a close relative of Frankie's passes away in the War, does she enlists as an army nurse. However, since she is a woman, her parents aren't proud of her in the same way they were proud of her brother. In her parents eyes, she should be worried about getting married, serving her country in that way, not by enlisting. In short, this book is about a woman's perspective on the Vietnam War. A time where there were protests upon protests namely, the war protest, the feminist movement, the gay rights movement, the human rights movement, among o...

  The Bell Jar Written by Sylvia Plath Originally published in 1963 ~240 pages Rate 5/5 I've never read a book about a young woman that I have related to so much before reading this book. For those of you who have read this and feel a bit uneasy about that statement, I will elaborate.  Esther is a writer and much like me, she finds herself unable to write, read, or do much of anything one day. Since this book took place in the 60s her and I don't get treated the same way after making this observation about ourselves. I wouldn't say I felt the same exact way as Esther throughout the entire story because of that.  Going back to the similarities, Esther's career situation felt similar to my own job situation despite her being 19 and me being 22. She doesn't get into the class she has been hoping to get into, I haven't been able to find a job that I might really enjoy. Everything in our lives seems to be changing in one fell swoop and it feels as though the rug is b...

  Yellowface Written by R.F. Kuang Originally published in 2023 ~320 pages Rate: 5/5 This is the second book that my book club has decided to read. I finished the book a little bit earlier than our set date because I couldn't put it down. Yellowface is about two authors who have been best friends since college. One of the authors, Athena, is a successful author. The other author, June, is not so successful. One night when they are spending time together at Athena's apartment she dies. After June gets help, she sneaks Athena's work-in-progress into her bag and later has it published as her own work. I'm not sure I've ever found a book about a book so captivating before. The book felt sort of like texting your friend about something they did and you're not sure how to tell them that they are in the wrong so you kind of just have to let them figure it out by themselves. It felt casual in the best way possible, because there was still a lot on the line, but obviousl...