I’m continuing an update I’ve read in the past year (year-ish). You can see Part 1 of my post here.

As a reminder, I’m using the GoodReads rating convention here:

• One star – Did not like it.
• Two stars – It was ok.
• Three stars – Liked it.
• Four stars – Really liked it.
• Five stars – It was amazing.

• Your House is On Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye – This is a twisted book of short stories that focus on the residents of Hemmersmoor and their lives. I’d place this in the horror genre. The stories were generally unsettling, and there were several instances where I thought, “Oh, are they going there…THEY ARE DEFINITELY GOING THERE, OKAY WOW.” I give it three stars.
  
• The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris – This story is supposedly based on a true story of a Jewish man given the daunting task of tattooing incoming prisoners to Auschwitz. I hate to be the asshole who gives a book about the Holocaust a bad review, but it was very trite and not well-written. There was a lot of controversy regarding the historical accuracy of the book, which makes me feel justified in my dislike of it. Sorry, two stars.
  
• The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin – The novel focuses on four young siblings who receive a dark fortune – the date of their deaths. The novel examines each of the siblings as they grapple with their fates. I still find myself thinking of this lyrical novel, especially Klara’s story. I give this one four stars.
  
• Bad Blood by John Carreryou – I think by now, we’re all familiar with the story of Elizabeth Holmes and her failed company, Theranos. This book dives behind the scenes and examines the mayhem surrounding the company and the extraordinary lengths Holmes took to pretend that her invention, the Edison, really could run multiple laboratory analyses on just a drop of blood (spoiler alert – IT DIDN’T WORK). This was highly entertaining in a schadenfreude way. Four stars.
  
• Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser – This absorbing biography examines the life and work of Laura Ingalls Wilder, as well as the complicated relationship she had with her daughter, Rose Wilder. The book delves into the collaborative relationship between Ingalls Wilder and Wilder that led to the Little House series. The book also does an outstanding job of examining the behavior of the Ingalls/Wilder families in the context of their impact on indigenous people and racist ideals they carried. Four stars.

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for Part 3!