Book Review: Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

For a 190 page book this dang thing definitely took me what felt like forever to finish, let me tell you why.

I. Could. Not. Get. Into. It.

That is, for the first 12 or so chapters. I put this book down and thought, "Well, good job Savannah, you held to your goal of a book every month for two whole months!" I seriously thought this book was going to be the one that ruined my reading streak.

Eventually, I made myself pick it back up and I am so glad that I did.

When I shared on instagram (follow me at savannahhemnes) that I was reading this I was surprised by how many people praised it. At the time I posted I was maybe 5 chapters in and way thrown off by the dialect of the book. 

This book is very southern, and touches VERY heavily on the topic of race. If I'm being honest I usually stay away from books like this, not because I don't enjoy them, but I also don't like a lot of opinions thrown in my face. This book did a beautiful job of not doing that while still hitting it right on the mark with racial issues. 

I think another reason I had a hard time getting into it is because I felt so bad for the main character, Janie, and it took so long for her to find something that she deserved. Probably about chapter 14 and on I got really into the story and felt really happy with the direction it was going. 

The ending bummed me the heck out, but it was beautiful. The story shows a woman who has been through life experiences that hinder her thought of love, until a younger man comes and shows her what it really means. I loved reading it and seeing redemption in her heart.

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads. I just couldn't get into over half of the first half, but man I got into the last quarter. I'd definitely recommend this to others, but also forewarn them of the dialect and the fact it isn't a page turner really until your over halfway in (in my opinion of course), but those last chapters are worth the entire book. To be fair, you do need those first few chapters, they're just really frustrating because I found myself wanting Janie to have the good life she deserved.

The life Janie got was even more than she dreamed, and to me that shows God's goodness in the book.

Book Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider.

I'm going to start this off by saying I haven't read a YA book in quite some time. Also, after reading a book so moving as Les Miserables I'm not sure if my expectations were too high, or if the beginning of this book is really cheesy and hard to get through.

In the story you follow Ezra around, a now senior in high school that got into a severe car accident the spring semester of junior year. It caused him to have to walk using a cane and lose friends, or at least contact with them.

The beginning to me was so very hollow. Once popular boy got hurt and now has to live injured and make new friends and deal with the old ones judging him. I was really turned off by it. But I kept reading, and it got a little worse. You meet Cassidy who is what is so popular in our culture now as the quirky weird girl that likes thrift stores.

The plotline isn't really the best, but I did really like the humor in it. It's kind of goofy, but it's admitted as being so in the book. The characters grow up a LOT, and at the end Ezra says he's writing it from college, which leads to a small reflection of his time he wrote about. That was my favorite part because it was very real, and almost challenges you to become who you want to be.

It also caused me to reflect on my time in high school, and let me tell you, it was a very calming thing to do. All the drama just feels so little now, but it did give me something to relate with the character with.

So yes, it was cheesy, but in a lovable YA way. And the ending wasn't what I expected at all, and I kind of liked that. I rated it 3 stars out of 5 on goodreads and I'll stand by that. It wasn't great, but it was a fun read.

Book Review: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

 One of my goals for myself in the new year was to read more. I tend to read like...well, kind of like I do everything else in my life. I get really into it and read a few books, get to the middle of one, and put it down about halfway through. I'd like to say that life feels like it really gets in the way and at least with reading it gets put on the back burner for me because it's definitely not something I HAVE to do while that list can be overwhelming at times. So, my goal for this year is one (or more, but one is reachable) book a month. In January I picked up the book that I had put down in my last reading phase and that was Les Miserables.

As I get older what I crave to read has changed. I used to like drama filled YA stories, which I can totally still get into, but I like to also mix up what I read. I had never seen the musical, much less knew much about the story other than what a friend mentioned to me one day at work (thanks Hannah ;]). When I started reading I didn't expect what I got.

This story gets you attached to a, at first, very unattachable character who has found himself wronged in life. As you keep reading you learn about how God used a man to teach him his worth in life. To me, this book was undeniably beautiful and a good reminder of how good God is. Maybe that's why I liked it so much, but I am infatuated with the idea of hope and that is something God brings to me and also something major in this book.

I think what I liked most about it, and actually didn't like at first, is how many coincidences there are. At first I felt kind of annoyed, thinking about how dull a story can get whenever there's so many times a "what are the chances of this?!" scenario happens. But as I thought about my journey with God and looked back on my life I realized how real that is. I find myself saying that often in my life and I can usually find God in those times that felt just like simple coincidences. So in the end, it made it very real to me.

I won't lie, I cried...and I cried a lot at the ending. My heart really hurt, but even in that it was a very satisfying ending. 

I definitely do recommend this book if:

You like deep, intertwined stories.

You loved the musical.

You're on a search for God or trying to deepen your relationship with Him.

I really can't think of any reasons to not recommend this at all, otherwise there would be a column for that as well.

Since February has started I've begun my second book and my goal is to have it read in the first two weeks. It's titled The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider. A VERY different read from this so far, but I'll have another review later this month of it.

Thank you for reading,

Sav :)