The first half of September was another slower month of reading for me, and it took me a bit to shake off the reading slump from August. I only read five books, but I gave every single on four stars!

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was so beautifully written, and the only reason I'm not giving it five stars is because I thought one part of the plot seemed a bit forced and unbelievable. But if you can look beyond that, you end up with the story of a family trying to figure out how to navigate life when their youngest son starts to begin to identify as a girl. The parents try their best to create an accepting and loving environment. The older brothers fear their sibling will be made fun of and picked on in school. This book will make you think, and you'll probably find yourself questioning all the decisions the characters makes just as they are questioning them for themselves.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was good, but at times I felt like it was a little long and slow in certain parts. This book tells the story of Nella and her new co-worker Hazel, the only two Black girls working at a super competitive publishing house in New York. Not long after Hazel starts, Nella gets a mysterious note on her desk telling her to leave her job. This book takes some twists as you follow Nella on her quest to uncover who is trying to intimidate her out of a job.

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was basically the Princess Diaries, but set in California and Japan. When Izumi finds out the father she's never met is actually the Crown Prince of Japan, she's invited to visit the Imperial Palace for a few weeks. Of course, if you throw an American teenager into a completely different culture while she's meeting her father for the first time, you can imagine things do not go smoothly. Throw in a hunky body guard, two snooty cousins, and tabloids just waiting for her to make a mistake and you've got the makings of a fun book.

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting and engaging series of essays that focused on how basic human needs like access to food and shelter should be considered feminist issues but often aren't -- at least among prominent white feminists. It made me think a lot about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and how if the most basic needs aren't met, a person cannot move past that stage to further self actualization. Thought this book was overall thought-provoking.

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For the 20th anniversary of 9/11, I wanted to spend some time reflecting. This book was the perfect read for that. It tells the story of a small town in Newfoundland that suddenly found itself playing host to hundreds of people whose planes were diverted as a result of the attacks and not allowed to fly into U.S. airspace to their final destinations. The book tells the story of some of the passengers and crew members, as well as members of the town who did everything they could to make the stranded passengers feel at home. In the middle of such a tragic and sad day, the people of Gander did what they could to make a terrible situation just a little bit better.

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