title: Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance author: Kate Robb publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback publication date: October 7, 2025 pages: 336 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: death by old age and by cancer, mentions of vomit summary: Though Jules would love to go to medical school in Toronto so that she can come back…
Author: caritagardiner
NetGalley Review of Christmas People
title: Christmas People author: Iva-Marie Palmer publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin publication date: September 30, 2025 pages: 304 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: vomit and binge drinking, head injury summary: Jill is not having much success as a screenwriter in LA; in fact, her only potential job is to write a Hallmark-like script. Though she…
352. Why to Stop Looking Ahead
As Gretchen Rubin says, “the opposite of a profound truth is also true.” So while yes, I spend a lot of time thinking about and planning/working toward having a better future, I am also clear about how important it is to stop looking ahead. Every teaching day, I begin my classes with a check-in around…
NetGalley Review of You’ve Found Oliver
title: You’ve Found Oliver author: Dustin Thao publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers publication date: September 30, 2025 pages: 288 peppers: 2 (on this scale) warnings: death by car accident, cheating, not technically a romance summary: When Oliver’s best friend and crush Sam died unexpectedly a year earlier, Oliver kept texting his number. When Oliver…
NetGalley Review of The Heartbreak Hotel
title: The Heartbreak Hotel author: Ellen O’Clover publisher: Berkley publication date: September 23, 2025 pages: 384 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: mental illness, alcohol use, family trauma and child neglect, childhood illness and death summary: When Lou’s famous boyfriend leaves her for another woman, her most important ask is that she get to keep…
351. Why I Played Chess
If you know anything about chess, you can see from the photos above that I’m not good. Given my skill level (or lack thereof), you might not guess that I’ve been playing chess daily with my father for years. My father esteemed chess. When he expressed this sentiment to me, more than five years ago,…
NetGalley Review of You Make it Feel Like Christmas
title: You Make it Feel Like Christmas author: Sophie Sullivan publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin publication date: September 23, 2025 pages: 320 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: on-ice injury summary: Maisie and her siblings are finally getting the whole family together for Christmas at a quaint tree farm in a super-cute town. Surprisingly, the owner’s…
350. Why Learn Names
I took the photo above on our family trip to Mexico City last spring. I cannot recommend Mexico City highly enough as a destination. Maybe I’ll write a separate post about all the fun things to do there even if you’re too scared to try to elusive street taco. The image captures a Rodin Gates…
NetGalley Review of We Met Like This
title: We Met Like This author: Kasie West publisher: St. Martin’s Press; Saturday Books publication date: September 16, 2025 pages: 368 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: name-calling, drunkenness summary: Margot Hart has been stuck as an assistant and receptionist for a publishing agent for four years while her boss alternates between sleeping with her…
349. Why Skipping is Arrogant
The Class of 2027’s theme for the year is SHOW UP, STAND UP, STEP UP, and today, I’m going to rant about how important the first one is. Besides, if you don’t do the first, you can’t do the other two. As a class dean, I spend a lot of time sorting out students’ attendance….