Mini book reviews || I’m Glad my Mom Died, The Echo Wife & more

Today I am sharing some mini reviews of books I’ve read recently. You might have already seen me talk about most of these books in my October wrap-up. But I decided that from now on, I want to do these mini reviews posts separate and keep my wrap-ups a little shorter. So I thought I would go back and make these posts for the month of October and November too!

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All of the following reviews are spoiler-free!

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Title:   I’m Glad my Mom Died
Author:   Jennette McCurdy
First Published:   August 9th, 2022
Characteristics:   Non-fiction, memoir
Format I read it in:   Audiobook

“Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on afirst-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.”

   

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MY THOUGHTS

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I placed Jennette McCurdy’s memoir on hold at my library after hearing so many people talk about it in the month it was published. When it finally came in, I dropped everything to start reading and flew through it in a couple of days. I’m so glad I chose to go with the audiobook, as I found out Jennette narrates it herself. She does an amazing job with that and it makes the book feel even more personal. This memoir is a very raw, heart wrenching account of Jenette’s childhood, her relationship with her mother, how she came to be famous, and everything going on in her life behind the scenes. I thought it was incredibly well-written and insightful. Jennette tells her story through little vignettes. The moments she chose to include paint such a vivid picture that demonstrates the dysfunction of her childhood growing up with a narcissistic mother, as well as Jennette’s journey towards healing after her mother’s passing. The book left me feeling impressed with her ability to write such a vulnerable story so well. I would definitely pick up her future books if she ever decides to try her hand at writing fiction. Please do consider the content of the book before going into it though! I imagine it could be triggering (especially the discussion of ED).

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Title:   The Echo Wife
Author:   Sarah Gailey
First Published:   February 16th, 2021
Characteristics:   Science-fiction, thriller
Format I read it in:   Audiobook

“I’m embarrassed, still, by how long it took me to notice. Everything was right there in the open, right there in front of me, but it still took me so long to see the person I had married.
It took me so long to hate him.
Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be.
And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.
Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and both Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up.
Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.”

   

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MY THOUGHTS

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I have been feeling so conflicted about my thoughts on this book. It has a lot going for it; the premise is very intriguing, I enjoyed the exploration of Evelyn’s research and the ethics involved, it touches on some important topics surrounding marriage, consent, free will, etc. It was also just the right amount of sci-fi for me, where it explains a bit of the context and a few key elements of the cloning process, but it doesn’t go into too much detail on the technical parts. The book also managed to subvert my expectations a few times. And yet… it feels like something is missing. It failed to truly grab my attention throughout, I kept putting it down and felt little to no urge to pick it back up. It also left me feeling indifferent by the end. It wasn’t really satisfying in the way I hoped it would be. Maybe the simple, detached writing style had something to do with it. Maybe Evelyn was too cold of a narrator for me. Ultimately… I think it comes down to the fact that I liked the idea of the book more than the execution.

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Title:   Garlic & the Vampire (#1)
and Garlic & the Witch (#2)
Author:   Bree Paulsen
First Published:   September 28th, 2021
and September 6th, 2022
Characteristics:   Graphic novel, fantasy, middle-grade
Format I read it in:   E-book

Synopsis for the first book: “Garlic feels as though she’s always doing something wrong. At least with her friend Carrot by her side and the kindly Witch Agnes encouraging her, Garlic is happy to just tend her garden, where it’s nice and safe.

But when her village of vegetable folk learns that a bloodthirsty vampire has moved into the nearby castle, they all agree that, in spite of her fear and self-doubt, Garlic is the obvious choice to confront him. And with everyone counting on her, Garlic reluctantly agrees to face the mysterious vampire, hoping she has what it takes.

After all, garlic drives away vampires…right?”

   

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MY THOUGHTS

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This is a lovely middle-grade graphic novel series about friendship and learning to be brave. I read Garlic and the Vampire late last year and really enjoyed it, so this year around the same time I picked up the sequel Garlic and the Witch. I think you could probably enjoy these books separately from each-other. If you’d read the second without having read the first, you would loose a little bit of context but they could still stand on their own. Bree Paulson’s art style is vibrant and cozy. The color palette is absolutely perfect in my eyes, especially all of the autumnal colors. The right coloring is something I greatly appreciate in my graphic novels, it makes it so much more enjoyable to read. I also love that the characters we follow are little vegetable companions to a witch. It’s so precious! The story lines are quite simple and they definitely read like middle-grade, but they can still be enjoyed by older readers too. Both graphic novels deal a lot with garlic overcoming her fears. I imagine this could be very validating to read for a younger reader that is a little shy or fearful. Comparing the two, I did like the first one a little bit more than the second. It felt to me like the first story was paced a little bit better. But I would definitely recommend both and I plan to read any future continuation or companion story!

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Those were today’s mini reviews!
Now I would like to hear from you…

Did you read any of these?
If so, how did you feel about them?
If not, do you want to?

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