Consider the Wildflowers

April was a beautiful month in every aspect, including the books I read! I read three books this month, and I genuinely loved each of them so much that it’s hard for me to pick a favorite. Here they are!

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones

This book immediately brought me back to childhood. I know that may sound silly, but there is something about reading a book that reminds you of the books you loved when you were little. I first discovered my love for reading when I was very young, so even now in adulthood, I find myself drawn to the fantastical, whimsical stories like the ones I used to read as a kid. I think of what C.S. Lewis said: “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again.” I just love everything about that. May we never grow too old for fairytales. Howl’s Moving Castle captured that essence completely. We follow Sophie, a young woman who has been cursed by the Witch of the Waste and has been turned into an old woman. She leaves town and stumbles across Howl’s Moving Castle, a castle occupied by the wizard Howl that floats from one place to the next. Though she set out to find a way to break this curse, she walks away with a newfound family, lifelong friends, and a heart full of love. I am a sucker for the “found family” trope so often found in movies and in books, and this book is certainly that. This cast of characters, though at odds with one another at first, is lovable, charming, and just so real. The writing itself is incredibly cozy and comforting–I found myself wanting to step inside Howl’s Moving Castle just so I could sit in front of the fireplace with a hot cup of tea like Sophie often does. I was fully immersed in this book and will most certainly be reading it again one day. It was one of the most unique and imaginative books I’ve read in awhile–a book that does not replicate something, but is its own thing entirely. I love stumbling across those pieces of originality. They get my creative juices flowing! This

The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li

This beautiful literary fiction novel was exactly what I needed. This book has so many of the things that all of my favorite books contain: family relationships, real-life lessons learned, deeper meaning. We open with our narrator, Agnes, after she has received a call from her mother that Fabien, her childhood best friend, has just passed away. Agnes and Fabien grew up in the French countryside; but as an adult, Agnes now lives in America with her American husband. The news of Fabien’s death prompts Agnes to sit down and write much of Fabien and their childhood growing up in a small village in France. As children, Fabien was the wild one while Agnes was the quiet, more practical one. One afternoon while the young girls were thinking of what they should do, Fabien suggested that they write a book together. Fabien was unable to write, so she spoke the story aloud while Agnes wrote it down. With the help of one of the older men in their village, the girls get their book published with Agnes’s name. This unexpectedly leads to Agnes’s fame as a child author, where she is swept away from home and put into the spotlight. The story continues to unfold from there in some of the most unexpected ways. I really loved this book. There are so many threads woven together that make for a very difficult plot synopsis, but just know that this book has so many deep layers about friendship, coming-of-age, grief, and culture. I loved how real the characters felt in this book, especially the drastic difference in dynamic between Agnes and Fabien. Each of them has a distinctly written voice that I thought was brilliantly done. I will definitely be picking up another Yiyun Li book in the future, simply so I can experience her lovely writing again.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

While this was not a book that I would deem memorable, it was still one that I really enjoyed in the moment while I was reading. It was the perfect summery, cute romance book. I really liked both of our main characters, Alex and Poppy, and I liked how different they were. I felt this book did an excellent job showing that two people can be so different from one another and yet still be in love. I started listening to this one on audio but switched over to physically reading it, which I found to be a lot more enjoyable! I couldn’t take Alex’s character seriously with the narration, so physically reading this one myself proved to be an overall better experience. If romance is your thing, and if you’re looking for an easy summer read, I do really recommend this one! I’m thinking I may pick up Happy Place by Emily Henry next.

That’s all (reading-wise) for April! I can’t wait to share my May books with you!