kelsreadsthings's reviews
281 reviews

i think this book provides good information, but i wish there were more specific strategies listed regarding classroom management. this is a short book so maybe if there were additional online resources that could be used, that would be beneficial.

i read this for professional development and it offers some amazing strategies and explanations for how to teach and bring the science of reading into the classroom. i am really excited to implement some of these strategies and hope to bring the joy of reading back into my classroom.

i liked this book and got through it pretty quickly! i love seeing a black fmc and asian mmc get together. as a fan of pride and prejudice, i thought this was a decent retelling. i do the the dorsey is very lustful and i wish that wasn't super prevalent as the characters were getting to know one another towards the latter half of the book. also i really wish liza would've stood up to her mom at some point but she just talks the verbal assaults on her character. the rest of her family is fine but i really just like janae. one thing that bothered me was the HP references considering all that JKR has done. i think there are better references to pop culture that could've been included instead (like avatar!! that was amazing.) this book feels a little longer than necessary. i think 300ish pages is more than enough for a romance novel. i also preferred this mmc to her other novels mmc. he was much easier to understand and tolerate.

i feel like what really saved this book was chapters 57-95. i think this could've been better written as a novella. i didn't enjoy the first half outside of the main characters conversations with the old lady and her friends. i had to switch to the audiobook around chapter 27. i did like the social commentary and it felt very reflective of the times we're currently living in. i didn't mind that the romance/sapphic subplot wasn't a focus either. all in all, it was okay, but i wouldn't read it again. 

i don't rate memiors but i really enjoyed this one. i appreciated how the author dove into all facets that make existing in our current western society difficult for individuals she calls "firsts and onlys." she goes on to discuss her life, the life of her grandmother, and mother as well as the generational patterns that exist in her family structure. she talks about the guilt of making a life for yourself while your family is still struggling. the risks she takes made me nervous just reading them but she trusted her gut and it worked out for her. i like that she discussed her anxiety and panic disorder. the sexism and overall misogyny she faces is all too familiar to women and while it was hard to real, it was important for understanding how this impacted her self-worth and decisions. i read this book to discuss with multilingual teachers and i think this is a very accessible way to understand from a first-person perspective the conversation on immigration, specifically as it applies to latin americans. i'm glad i had the opportunity to read this!!

i really enjoyed this book! i love the recipes included in the back. my only qualm is how the detective treats the fmc at the end bc he was absolutely terrible throughout the book and his empathy was odd to me. the ending felt kind of rushed too. i definitely want to read the rest of this series!!

such a sweet and heart warming story. not my favorite EH book but definitely worth the read!