August Books 2023
August Books 2023: 4 Books I Read in August
By: Brittany Shields
This is going to be a short post!
This is the fewest amount of books I’ve read in one month in a long time!
That’s partly due to a family trip and school starting and all that jazz, and partly because I read a couple long ones and am still reading a really long book that I will finish in September.
But that’s okay. I’m not here to win any awards for most books read. I read because I enjoy reading and I hope you do too!
And I’ll still be glad for the month when I only read 1 book, because any time spent reading, however short, is still a good time!
1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games #0) by Suzanne Collins
Genre: YA/Dystopian Fiction
“Snow lands on top.”
This was such a nostalgic read! It has been years since I read The Hunger Games Books and it was a good feeling to be back in a familiar world.
The movie comes out in November of this year so I knew I wanted to read it before watching the movie. (I’ll update my review with my thoughts on that after I watch it!)
I’m not usually a fan of prequels or of villain origin stories. This is both.
The basic premise is: Coriolanus Snow [future President Snow] is a student and mentor to a tribute from District 12 during the 10th Hunger Games. He struggles with his feelings for his tribute and hating the way they are treated but also the desire to regain the wealth and prestige his family lost after the Rebellion.
There are actually a lot of negative reviews on this book saying it’s boring, etc.
Even though the concept is not usually my favorite and others didn’t like it, I did. My full review explains why that is, gives more plot details, and will tell you if Katniss makes any ‘appearances’ in this story.
2. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Genre: Science Fiction
[Winner for ‘Best Science Fiction’ category of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge]
“Turns out reality is more important than we thought.”
So I read ESJM’s Station Eleven 6 years ago and I honestly don’t remember a single thing. I have my short review from then but none of it really stuck with me. Reading Sea of Tranquility was like reading ESJM for the first time… again. But I think with similar results.
I have to admit… it was a bit underwhelming.
It’s one of those books that’s just not for everyone. While it wasn’t my favorite, I can tell there will be a lot of people that really enjoy it and some that don’t care for it at all. I’m somewhere in the middle.
It takes place over several different timelines that are somehow all connected. There is some discussion of apocalyptic literature, of pandemics, and of how “life can be tranquil in the face of death.” You can read more of my thoughts in my full review and why this wasn’t really the book for me.
3. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
Genre: YA
[On my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2023]
“Warriors are willing to do what others can’t or won’t do for their community.”
Warrior Girl Unearthed takes place ten years after Boulley’s debut novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter, which won many awards and was named by Time in their 100 Best YA Books of All Time.
Firekeeper’s Daughter’s protagonist was Daunis, then- age 18. Warrior Girl Unearthed focuses on Daunis’s niece, Perry (twin to Paulline) who is now 16.
The premise is Perry, roped into a summer intern program, discovers an injustice done to her tribe in the form of stolen funerary objects and ancestral remains that belong with their tribe and are bureaucratically being withheld from them. She makes it her own personal mission to make sure they are returned.
The main themes of this book are ‘repatriation’ and violence against Native women.
Read my full review to see which of her two books I liked better and which things I did and did not like. Also check it out for some pictures of things referenced in the book and a couple links to nonfiction books relevant to the topic of repatriation.
4. Dark Corners (Rachel Krall #2) by Megan Goldin
Genre: Thriller
“I’ve been looking for a predator. It turns out that a predator has also been looking for me.”
“Always know what you’re walking into. Dark corners can be danger points.”
I read Goldin’s book The Night Swim, which is when we are first introduced to Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster and main character of this series.
This second book is quite a bit different than The Night Swim in terms of content. The Night Swim is a hard book to read because it’s about two rapes and a trial revolving around them. The mood in that one is darker and more emotional and could be a trigger for some.
Not so with this one.
This one still has murder and such (a social media influencer who visited a prisoner about to be released disappears a few days later and other bodies turn up), but it’s overall not such an emotional or controversial mood.
Goldin is becoming one of my automatic read authors because she is good at writing suspenseful plots without a lot of swearing or graphic content.
Read my full review for more plot details and a section exploring the social media influencer aspect of this book!
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