Dad Camp

 Book 71 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on September 27

Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter

published 2024

Summary (via the book jacket)

After his daughter, Avery, was born, John gave it all up - hobbies, friends, a dream job - to be something more: Superdad. Since then, he's spent nearly every waking second with Avery, who's his absolute best bud. Or, at least, she was.

When now eleven-year-old Avery begins transforming into an eye-rolling zombie of a preteen who dreads spending time with him, a desperate John whisks her away for a weeklong father-daughter retreat to get their relationship back.

But John's attempts to bond seem only to drive Avery further away, and his instincts tell him she's hiding something more than just preteen angst. Even worse, the campus far from the idyllic getaway John had in mind, with a group of toxic dads who can't seem to get along, cringeworthy forced-bonding activities, and a camp director who has it out for him. With camp and summer break slipping away fast, John's determined to conquer it all for a chance to become Avery's hero again.

My Opinion 

5 stars

I picked this up on a whim while browsing at the library and I read it in a day.  Light and a little hokey but not super formulaic, this was a pleasant surprise.  

It was refreshing to have the clingy parent be the dad; this camp isn't for him to overcome being an absent parent but the complete opposite.  The choices and behavior were so cringey but understandable based on how clearly the author wrote the characters.  And the outcomes were plausible and uplifting but not magical and completely resolved.

I really liked the dynamics between the dads and how the relationships built throughout the week.  I didn't fully understand the director but it didn't seem to affect much.  I think this could make a good movie or short series (maybe an episode a day or something).

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

 Book 70 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 19 - 21

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things by Naomi Wood

published 2024

Summary

My Opinion

2 stars

I checked this out from the library after seeing it in People Magazine.

I don't like how I feel after reading this.  The writing must've been good to affect my mood so much but it was emotionally draining, like I'd just had a marathon phone conversation with a sad, needy friend.  Not everything has to have a positive spin but 245 pages of stories with multiple characters when everyone seems to feel hopeless and not a hint of a happy ending in any of them felt too heavy.

Never Whistle at Night

 Book 69 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 5 - 18

Never Whistle at Night by multiple authors

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night: it can cause evil spirits to appear - and even follow you home. These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge.

Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples' survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon.

My Opinion

4 stars

Usually when I read a book with multiple authors I write a sentence or two about each story.  I didn't do that this time because I felt unimaginative and was continually repeating myself.  I really enjoyed each story and there wasn't a dud in the bunch.

Why 4 stars and not 5?  It was close but while there weren't any stories I didn't connect with at all, there were a few that I only found "okay" and that was enough to lower the rating for me.  It's still a high 4 for me.

6 Times We Almost Kissed (and One Time We Did)

 Book 68 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on September 7

6 Times We Almost Kissed (and One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

After years of bickering, Penny and Tate have called a truce: They'll play nice. They have to. Their mothers (lifelong best friends) need them to be perfect, drama-free daughters when Penny's mother becomes a living liver donor to Tate's mom. With the girls forced to live together as the moms recover, their truce is essential in keeping everything - their jobs, the house, the finances, the moms' healing - running smoothly. They've got to let this thing between them go.

There's one little hitch: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing.

It's just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenage existence.

They've never talked about it. They've always ignored it in the aftermath. But now they're living across the hall from each other. 

And some things - like kisses - can't be almost forever.

Told through two girls' present and six moments from their past, this dynamic love story shows that sometimes the person you need the most has been there for you all along. 

My Opinion

4 stars

The non-(almost)kissing parts were so well fleshed out and the characters had real troubles that weren't glossed over but also weren't overwhelming.  I really liked the book as a whole and read it in a day.

The way the sections were broken up kept things moving and didn't dwell on any one miss or event too much.  By the end I thought maybe 6 "almosts" was one or two too many but I was enjoying the rest of the story so much I didn't mind.

My Ex, the Antichrist

 Book 67 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from August 29 - September 7

My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie

published 2025

Summary (via the book jacket)

1998: Lily Lawlor and Drake Morgan form a punk band. Drake inspires faith in some. Fear in others. Lily is a believer.

2010: At the height of her stardom, Lily walks into a police station and confesses to a murder.

Now: The band has refused to talk to the press about their riotous past, Lily's confession, or anything else. It's been over a decade, but Lily has finally agreed to an interview. And the band is following her lead.

What follows is a story of prophecy, death, and apocalypse. A story about love found and love lost. A story about the Antichrist. Maybe it's all true. Maybe none of it is.

Either way, this is their story. And they're sticking to it.

My Opinion

4 stars

I picked this up from a bookstore on vacation.  It read quickly and was entertaining.  I'm sure there were religious imagery/metaphors/philosophical commentary I missed because of my lack of knowledge but even at the surface level it was a good story.

I will definitely read this author again but I hope this book was a standalone.  It arced nicely and explained everything but there was a little of "the end?" (which you have to say as "the end question mark" when talking about it); I hope this was not a teaser for adding more to the story in another book.

The Art of the SNL Portrait

 Book 66 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 5 - 6

The Art of the SNL Portrait by Mary Ellen Matthews

published 2025

My Opinion

4 stars

Sometimes you just need to zone out, drink some Climbing Kites, and flip through an oversized book of large pictures with a really cool holographic cover.  That's what I did.

Small question 1: when the author talked about how difficult it was to cull 24 years of photos down and pick what makes it into the book, why use 2 pages inside reprinting a photo already on the back cover?

Small question 2: why were there 20 pages of John Mulaney?  I questioned it more before getting to that actual section but even with the explanation, it still seemed odd.

A Song for My Mother

 Book 65 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on September 2

A Song for My Mother by Kat Martin

published 2011

Summary (via the book jacket)

Years after running away with her boyfriend in high school, Marly Hanson returns to Dreyerville at the request of her daughter, Katie, who has recently been treated for brain cancer. Katie has never met her grandmother Winnie. The homecoming is bittersweet, but reuniting is crucial if Marly and her mother are ever to rediscover the bond they once shared.

To complicate matters, living next door to Winnie is handsome sheriff and widower Reed Bennett, and his son, Ham. Ham and Katie become fast friends, while their parents find themselves attracted to one another. But Marly's time in Dreyerville is limited and risking her heart isn't something she's willing to do.

Can she risk loving the handsome sheriff and give up the future she worked so hard to forge for herself and her daughter? Can she make a life in Dreyerville after what happened all those years ago?

Will Marly finally realize that her true destiny and ultimate happiness lie in coming to terms with her past?

My Opinion

3 stars

You already know before reading the book what the answers to the questions in the summary are and that's ok.  I enjoy a palate cleansing "safe" book now and then and this small paperback novella fit the bill.  I appreciate that it's 150ish pages because the shorter timeline leads to less of the miscommunication tropes that have to happen to move the story along.

I picked it out from the library because of its small size and innocuous vibe as something to take on vacation...you know the jokes about packing extra underwear "just in case" you shit yourself every day?  That's me with books...I always pack way too many "just in case" and picking smaller, lighter books as extras is a way to compromise with myself.  Then when I didn't read it on vacation I took it with me to the doctor's office this morning; again, it's small and benign enough to not draw attention like I might have with the other book I'm currently reading that says "My Ex, The AntiChrist" in large red letters.  Between the time at the appointment and the time eating breakfast after, I was finished.

Even though it's pretty much as advertised and expected, I went with 3 stars because I think some pretty heavy topics were glossed over.  It's tricky to find a reason strong enough that the main character would stay away for twelve years but also something that could be resolved fairly quickly once she returns, and I don't think the final straw in this case that made her leave was that reason - either take it seriously and continue to stay away or at least address it before moving on, or brush it off twelve years ago like she did when she returned.