Book Review: The Champions by Kara Thomas

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It started with the cheerleaders. It ends with the football team.

PLOT SUMMARY:

It was the deaths of five cheerleaders that made the town of Sunnybrook infamous. Eleven years later, the girls’ killer has been brought to justice, and the town just wants to move on. By the time Hadley moves to Sunnybrook, though, the locals are more interested in the Tigers, the high school’s championship-winning football team. The Tigers are Sunnybrook’s homegrown heroes–something positive in a town with so much darkness in its past.

Hadley could care less about football, but shortly after she gets assigned to cover the team’s latest championship bid for the school newspaper, one of the Tigers is poisoned at a party, and almost immediately after, Hadley starts getting strange emails warning her to stay far away from the football team.

GRADE: C

REVIEW:

I was very excited to read a sequel to The Cheerleaders because at the time that I read it, I absolutely loved it and was so invested in the book. The Champions didn’t live up to the hype. I think the main issue was that there was no thriller aspect to it, but was more of a mystery and the mystery wasn’t that interesting. Not to mention that a murder didn’t even occur until 70% in the novel and by then all the football players have the same personalities that you really don’t care what would happen to them. That’s another issue with this book, is that the cast is very large and you can’t tell them apart aside from the major characters. And speaking of the main character, Hadley was the least interesting MC there could be, not to mention that she had a crush on one of the football players and when he went into a coma she had no real reaction to it (you’d think she would’ve been sorry about it). She was more interested in who was going to get editor in chief at her school newspaper than her crush being in the hospital. It was very odd. The chapters were also incredibly loooong.

The whole book just reinforced stereotypes of football players being awful people to young teens and how they can get away with anything because the whole town worships them. I was really hoping the novel would’ve gotten better at some point, but it never did.

This book can be read as a standalone novel so if you’ve read The Cheerleaders, you really don’t need to read this sequel, as it doesn’t add much to the first book’s plot, other than having cameos from some of their characters.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Review: Lancome Teinte Idole Ultra Wear Care & Glow Serum Concealer

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What It Is: Concealer

What It Does: Conceals dark under eyes and blemishes. Evens skintone out.

Active Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and peptides.

Verdict: This concealer is for those who love their makeup to also be skincare. The concealer isn’t drying and doesn’t crack, not even after hours of wearing it. It looks and feels like your own skin, and is very lightweight. 81% of the concealer is made up of serum, so the coverage is between light to medium. If you need extreme coverage, I don’t think that this concealer would work for that, but if you want a concealer that feels like skin and is crease free for up to twelve hours, then this will work perfectly. I love the doe-foot applicator because it has a slight curve that fits perfectly along your undereyes. I have genetic dark undereyes and this concealer does conceal it somewhat (not entirely but the fact that it still looks like your skin is a plus because a lot of concealers that do conceal the darkness feel chalky). This concealer is very dewy, so my suggestion is to apply it and keep it on for a few minutes prior to blurring it into your skin with a sponge, as it will maximize the coverage. If you start to blend it out while it’s too watery, it made not give you the same coverage. I don’t think this is the best concealer to use for blemishes or zits though, as I can’t see it being able to conceal severe redness. This concealer is excellent if you need medium coverage and love your concealer to also have skincare benefits.

Price: $29

Where To Buy It: Sephora, Ulta, Amazon, and https://www.lancome-usa.com/

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Book Review: Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage

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Sorry. You have very small veins.

PLOT SUMMARY:

Hanna is no stranger to dark thoughts: as a young child, she tried to murder her own mother. But that was more than sixteen years ago. And extensive therapy—and writing letters to her younger brother—has since curbed those nasty tendencies.

Now twenty-four, Hanna is living an outwardly normal life of domestic content. Married to real estate agent Jacob, she’s also stepmother to his teenage daughter Joelle. They live in a beautiful home, and Hanna loves her career as a phlebotomist—a job perfectly suited to her occasional need to hurt people.

But when Joelle begins to change in ways that don’t suit Hanna’s purposes, her carefully planned existence threatens to come apart. With life slipping out of her control, Hanna reverts to old habits, determined to manipulate the events and people around her. And the only thing worse than a baby sociopath is a fully grown one.

GRADE: B-

REVIEW:

This novel is the highly anticipated sequel to Baby Teeth. When we left Hanna at the end of the first book, she was sent to an institution for troubled girls – when we meet Hanna as an adult she’s a phlebtomist, where she uses her job as a means to exact pain whenever she feels stressed on her patients. One day she meets a widowed father with a young girl and soon she marries him and becomes a stepmother. Hanna lives a very structured and mundane life, but she’s happy, until her stepdaughter becomes pregnant. This event triggers her to the point that her past sociopathic tendencies reemerge. While I found this novel very fast paced and I did like adult Hanna a lot, I kind of expected more. What I mean is that child Hanna was way more deranged than adult Hanna, and I know that adult Hanna was trying to avoid ever having to go to prison, but I kind of wished that she would’ve been more dangerous if that makes sense? I did like how the novel ended – Hanna deserved to get rid of all those terrible people in her life.

If you read the first book you might like this sequel, although this book can be read as a standalone. I don’t know if this book was much of a thriller, so if you’re into thrillers where you’re worried about any of the characters dying, this isn’t that sort of thriller. I do enjoy Stage’s novels overall, but do feel that she fills her novels with too many mundane events and details that don’t really add to the story.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Book Spotlight: We Walked On by Therese Soukar Chehade

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ABOUT WE WALKED ON:

Set during the early years of Lebanon’s fifteen-year civil war, We Walked On immerses readers

in the landscape of war, weaving political unrest into everyday life. With Hisham, a thirty-year-

old Arabic teacher, and Rita, his fourteen-year-old student, Chehade has created two richly

drawn characters who counter violence with the redemptive power of books and human

connection and find authentic hope in untenable circumstances. We Walked On is a timely

novel that examines the power of war to pervert our moral sense and asks if peace is ever

possible in an unjust world.

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Book Excerpt: In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King

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Bomarzo, Italy, 1547–1560

It took me years to find Giulia Farnese, but no time at all to win her confidence. I did so with an

unassuming cherry rose tart. It had been nearly a hundred years since I last looked upon her

face, but from the moment she pulled the golden tines of her fork away from her lips and she

looked to me, not her husband, I knew my influence had taken hold.

“You truly are a maestro, Aidoneus,” she said, closing her eyes to savor the sweet, floral flavors.

“And a welcome addition to our kitchen.”

“Madonna Farnese, you flatter me.” I gave the couple a polite bow, my gesture more fluid than

human custom, and turned back to my earthly duties.

“It seems you will eat well when I am gone,” Vicino joked behind my back. “But don’t eat too

well, my beauty, or you won’t fit into those lovely dresses.”

Giulia laughed, and my heart warmed. Oh, she would eat well, I vowed. Very well.

* * *

The next day, as Vicino Orsini gave his wife a peck on the cheek and vaulted onto his horse, I

watched from the rooftop terrace, my gaze lingering on the horizon where earth met sky—a

threshold I knew all too well. Then, with a flick of the reins, he led his men down the road into

the valley. They were headed to Venezia to escort the Holy Roman Cardinal, Pietro Bembo, to

Rome. Afterward, Vicino would depart for Napoli and Sicilia on business for Papa Pio IV.

Jupiter had blessed the region of Lazio with a warm spring, and a week after Vicino left, Giulia

asked me if I wanted to take a walk. I suggested we explore the wood in the valley below the

palazzo. She readily agreed, which did not surprise me. It was impossible for her to ignore the

aphrodisiac qualities of my food, let alone the timbre of my voice, and the brush of my hand

against hers. The first time she startled at my warmth— no human runs as hot as I—but she did

not ask me to explain. In all the centuries past, she never has. This alone stoked the fire of hope

within me.

She led me on a thin path through the verdant tapestry of the forest, where sunlight, diffusing

through the emerald canopy, dappled the woodland floor with patches of gold. Beneath our feet,

a carpet of fallen leaves, still rich with the scent of earth, crunched softly. We moved through

clusters of ancient evergreen oaks, their gnarled limbs reaching out like weathered hands, and

past groves of squat pomegranate trees with their ruby-hued fruits catching the sunlight and

casting a warm, inviting glow.

Upon reaching a clearing surrounded by several large tufa stones jutting up through the grass

and weeds, I was immediately drawn to one of the stones embedded in the hillside. The

exposed side was round and flat, and it hummed, a song of the earth, a low vibration that

warmed the deepest depths of me.

Giulia could not hear the humming, but she was surely aware of it in some hidden part of her, for

she turned to me then.

“I love this wood,” she said, her arms outstretched toward the

stone. The early morning light brightened her features, making

her blue eyes shine.

“I can see why.”

She twined her hand in mine. “I come here often to bask in the feeling. The moment I arrived in

Bomarzo, I felt like I had been called home, to my true home. And this wood, this is why. It re-

minds me of a fairy tale, or a place from the ancient, heroic myths.” It was then that I had the

idea. The stone—it hummed be-cause the veil to the Underworld was thin there.

Perhaps…yes… if the wood was enhanced, and energy from the darkness was better able to

pierce the surface into this realm I would no longer have to spend years attuning to Giulia when

she reappeared in the world. Instead, she would be drawn closer, and I would

find her faster. It would work. I was sure of it.

“Vicino doesn’t like me walking here alone. Too many wolves and bears, he says.”

I could sense a wild boar in the far distance, but no wolves or bears. “I think we’re safe here.” I

gestured toward one of the big misshapen rocks. “Sometimes I like to imagine rocks as mythical

creatures. Like that one. It could be a dragon poised to fight off danger.”

“Ooo, I can see it. The big open mouth, ready to take on any wolf, or even a lion.” Her

enthusiasm was exactly what I had hoped for.

I waved my arm toward the large, round, smooth rock be-hind it. “And that should be a great big

orco, with a mouth wide open. And it eats up and spits out secrets.”

“An ogre that spits out secrets?” Giulia laughed.

“Oh yes. This orco would tell all. Ogni pensiero volo.” I made my hands look like a fluttering bird.

She wore a wide grin. “All thoughts fly! How perfect. But if he eats up secrets, there should be a

table inside this orco. It could be his tongue.”

As we wandered through the wood, dreaming up new lives for the monstrous rocks left eons

ago by a force of nature, I was delighted to see how invested she was in the game.

“There are so many stones,” she said, clapping her hands together. “We could make a whole

park of statues. I will write Vicino tonight.”

I did not expect it would be quite so easy. Usually it took a long while to convince Giulia of the

merit of my ideas. But the pull of the Underworld was strong here and my influence was far

greater than it would have been in Paris, or some backwater hill town in the wilds of Bavaria or

Transylvania.

On the walk back, she paused by another enormous stone that jutted out of the ground, the size

of a giant. She leaned against it. “Can you keep a secret?” she asked coyly.

“Of course.”

“This secret is only for you.” She leaned forward and grasped the edge of my cloak, pulling me

toward her. Our lips met and she melted into me.

In the years following, as Vicino began work on the garden, a change was palpable in the air.

Each evening, as the twilight deepened, a subtle energy began to emanate from the heart of the

valley. I found contentment not just in the evolving grove, but also in my closeness to Giulia. Our

time together, so abundant and intimate, felt different. I had never waited so long to make my

attempt, but I nurtured this earthly bond, knowing it was essential for the garden’s growth.

The day finally arrived when Vicino ushered Giulia into the heart of the Sacro Bosco—the

Sacred Wood—the name he had fondly bestowed upon the garden. As she crossed the

threshold, I sensed it—a strengthening of our connection, more profound than ever before. It

was time.

That night, the chicken with pomegranate sauce I prepared was met with Giulia’s usual lavish

praise, although I knew she took in the single pomegranate seed garnishing the dish as a

courtesy, not a desire for the fruit. As she savored each bite, I felt a loosening in the ethereal

shackles binding her heart. A vivid, red-hued hope blossomed within me.

Post dinner, I retreated to the palazzo’s highest balcony, my gaze drawn to a nascent light in the

wood below. The light, though barely perceptible, was imbued with a power that seemed to

bridge the realms of mortal and divine. A faint green luminescence that whispered of unwanted

things to come. It pulsed like a languid heartbeat, beckoning to something—or someone.

I was immediately compelled to find Giulia. Amidst the soft murmur of the salon where she

played with her children, I enveloped her in my senses and the flower of hope within me

withered. Her heartbeat, steady and unsuspecting, echoed the rhythm of the garden’s glow.

Excerpted from In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King © 2024 by Crystal King. Used with

permission from MIRA/HarperCollins.

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Book Excerpt: The Changing of Keys by Carolyn Jack

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Only one light was on in the house when I arrived home, although it was by then fully dark

outside.

It was the light over the piano.

At first, I thought Mother wasn’t there and I was briefly confounded, trying to imagine where she

could be—she who no longer went anywhere in the evening except to the monthly church

supper. And it wasn’t church-supper week. But then I saw her rise from her chair on the night-

filled screened porch and place her Bible, which she could not have been reading, on the table

next to her.

I waited, hoping she would speak. She didn’t. She stayed in the shadows, looking down at the

book.

“Mother.”

Nothing. I didn’t believe she couldn’t hear me.

“Mother!”

She turned around briskly then and entered the living room. “You don’t have to shout,” she said.

“Where have you been?” “I went for a walk.”

The tortures of Hades could not have wrung from me that I had sought Brownlea’s advice.

“Well, it’s long past teatime. I’ll fix something to eat. Cold beef all right?”

“I’m not hungry, Mother, I want…”

“You may not think you are now, but if you go to bed with-out a bite, you won’t sleep well. Now,

what would you like? There are sardines and some…”

“Mother, I don’t want food! I want to talk to you!”

She stopped as if I had switched her off, gazing away from me at some distant point in the dim

room, gathering herself. After a moment, she turned her head a little toward me and said quite

calmly, “Then we had best sit down.”

Neither of us took the chair that had been my father’s.

I turned on another lamp and sat next to it at one end of the sofa. She did not choose to sit next to

me, perching instead on the piano bench. The light behind her made it hard to see her face.

She waited. She was not going to help me start.

“Mother, why?” My voice cracked, angering me. I spoke more loudly. “Why?”

“Do you mean, why am I sending you to Chicago? I should think it would be obvious—you’ll

need a teacher of the first rank if you’re to have a career.”

“But you’ve never asked me if I wanted a career. And why Chicago? Why not New York or

London? Why should I study with this Hellman geezer? Who is he, anyway?”

“No slang, please. And I’ll thank you not to inundate me with questions.”

Her mouth tightened and she folded her arms over her prim, blue-cotton blouse. She shook her

head as if a gnat were besieging her.

“My dear,” she said tentatively, trying out a foreign expression, “Gunter Hellman was at

university with your father and, unlike him, went on to a distinguished international career. He

plays with all the major European and American orchestras and is on the Chicago Conservatory

faculty. The fact that you have not heard of him signifies only that you are fourteen, not that he is

inconsequential.”

“But…”

“I beg your pardon. I was about to say that I had written to him two years ago to ask if he would

take you as a pupil, and he said that when you were old enough to go to an American high school

and if you were truly devoted to piano, then he would.

“I have prayed every night for the last year, hoping that God would grant you the passion and

ambition to match your talent, so that you would not let it go to waste. It is a sin to waste great

talent or to thwart it in any way. A sin.”

She wasn’t looking at me.

Her fingers gripped the edge of the bench, turning her knuckles livid and making the pale blue

veins strain against the skin of her hands.

“Gunter last wrote me a month ago to say that, if I thought the time was right, you could come to

him this summer. After I heard you play today, I knew you must go.”

“But why didn’t you tell me? You never tell me anything! Why does everything have to be a

secret?”

“You are told as much as you need to know. I can’t have you distracted from your music by

details and half-formed plans that do not require your worry.”

“There’s nothing half-formed about this! You’ve been plot-ting the whole thing since I was

twelve, you just said so! Why won’t you let me decide what my own future will be?”

Mother looked straight at me. Her eyes were as hard as jet beads.

“Your future is entirely up to you. I can’t earn your success for you or prevent your ruin. You

must decide which it is to be.” She stood, as if ready to quit the house and me with it, to stride

off with her sword and take up the cause of some worthier supplicant. I was angry and strangely

terrified that she would leave altogether, who had never really come close. I held out my hand to

stop her. She didn’t take it—she hadn’t taken my hand in years.

“But why aren’t you coming, too?” I said, suddenly pleading. “Why do I have to go by myself?”

She looked away. Was she crying? I had never seen her cry. She turned back to me, dry-eyed.

“You will learn faster on your own,” she said quietly.

“What? About playing?”

“About everything.”

She coughed and stood up, pushing the piano bench in and turning off the lamp.

“You’ll be able to come home for the Christmas holidays,” she continued, already halfway to the

door of her own room. “If you wish.”

She called goodnight without looking back.

I sat for a while, gazing around the room where I suddenly did not belong. I was to go; I was

already gone. The knowledge of my impermanence had, in an hour, made me a ghost in my own

home. Another member of the family who would leave nothing behind but his habitual imprint

on a cushion.

Oddly enough, I now wanted my tea. I went to the kitchen, unearthed some bread and cheese,

and finished them off, along with the rest of the lemonade. A kind of excitement was grow-ing in

me, conjoined to the lump of dread. I was going to study with the best, be the best. Everybody

would know my name. I would never again be locked away alone in silence. I would be

surrounded by cheering audiences, blazingly visible in stage light far friendlier than the sun. I

would succeed.

I rinsed my glass and knife, switched off the lamp in the liv-ing room, and brushed my teeth. The

dark of my room seemed to drown all my hope. I lay in bed and listened to the waves in the

cove, breaking against the beach.

Excerpted from THE CHANGING OF KEYS by Carolyn Jack © 2024 by Carolyn Jack, used

with permission from Regal House Publishing.

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Book Spotlight: The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison

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Four friends. A campus reunion. A dark new way to relive the past.

It’s been twenty-five years since The Midnight Club last convened. A tight-knit group of college

friends bonded by late nights at the campus literary magazine, they’re also bonded by

something darker: the death of their brilliant friend Jennet junior year. But now, decades later, a

mysterious invitation has pulled them back to the pine-shrouded Vermont town where it all

began.

As the estranged friends gather for a weeklong campus reunion, they soon learn that their host

has an ulterior motive: she wants them to uncover the truth about the night Jennet died, and

she’s provided them with an extraordinary method—a secret substance that helps them not only

remember but relive the past.

But each one of the friends has something to hide. And the more they question each other, the

deeper they dive into their own memories, the more they understand that nothing they thought

they knew about their college years, and that fateful night, is true.

Twisty, nostalgic, and emotionally thrilling, The Midnight Club explores that innate desire to

revisit our first loves, our biggest mistakes, and the gulf between who we are and who we hoped

we’d be.

About the Author: MARGOT HARRISON is the author of four young adult novels, including

an Indies Introduce Pick, Junior Library Guild Selections, and Vermont Book Award Finalists.

She grew up in New York and now lives in Vermont. The Midnight Club is her debut adult novel.

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J.Lo Beauty That J.Lo Glow Gel Serum: All-Day Hydration and Instant Glow

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What It Is: Gel serum

What It Does: Provides all-day hydration and instant glow.

Active Ingredients: Olive oil and fermented olives.

Verdict: If you’re looking for a serum that delivers an instant glow, then this is the one, it does exactly that. It truly helps plump up the skin, tightens, and brightens all in one. This serum is best for dry or combination skin. I have oily skin, and the olive oil really adds more oil than I really want, however, it does give the skin a truly radiant glow. I know I had this same issue with J.Lo’s moisturizer (it was too oily for my oily skin). But if you truly lack hydration, this serum will LOCK IT IN and give you all the hydration you need. The texture is very light, so can be worn under makeup very easily, if that’s what you’re looking for.

Price: $109

Where To Buy It: https://jlobeauty.com/

What are some serums that you absolutely love?

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Book Excerpt: The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak

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“Wait…you’re not still running that book club you started in high school, are you?”

Gia Rossi had been shopping at her local grocer when her sister called. “I’ve never really stopped. Not

completely.” She switched her phone to her other ear, so she could use her more dexterous left hand to

steer her empty shopping cart across the parking lot to the reclamation point.

“Most of the members weren’t your friends. They were just people who blindly followed you no matter

what you did,” her sister pointed out drily.

Was there a hint of jealousy in that response? Margaret, who’d been known as Maggie when they were

kids but now called herself a more distinguished Margot, was only thirteen months younger than Gia, so

just one year behind her in school. Margot hadn’t been nearly as popular—but it was because she’d

never done anything exciting. She’d been part of the academic group, too busy excelling to be going out

having fun.

“A few of them were close friends,” Gia insisted. “Ruth, Sammie and a handful of others are still in the

book club with me, and we rotate picking a read.”

“Seriously? It’s been seventeen years since you graduated. I thought you left them and everything else

behind when you dropped out of college and took off for Alaska.”

Her sister never would’ve done something that reckless, that impulsive—or that ill-advised. Gia had

walked away from a volleyball scholarship at the University of Iowa, which was part of the reason her

family had freaked out. But she was glad she’d made that decision. She treasured the memories of

freewheeling her way through life in her twenties, learning everything she could while working on

crabbing and fishing boats and for various sightseeing companies. She wouldn’t have the business she

owned now, with a partner, if not for that experience. “No. We fell off for a bit, then we went back to it,

then we fell off again, and now we meet on Zoom to discuss the book we’re reading on the fourth

Thursday of every month.” She lowered her voice for emphasis. “And, of course, we make sure it’s the

most scandalous book we can find.”

Margot had never approved of the book group or anything else Gia did—and that hadn’t changed over

the years, which was why Gia couldn’t resist needling her.

“I’m sure you do,” Margot said, but she didn’t react beyond a slightly sour tone. She’d grown adept at

avoiding the kind of arguments that used to flare up between them, despite Gia sometimes baiting her.

“So seven or eight out of what…about sixty are active again?”

“For one month out of the year, the ratio’s quite a bit better than that,” she said as the shopping cart

clanged home, making her feel secure enough to walk away from it. “The rest of the group gets together

for an online Christmas party in December.”

“How many people come to that?”

Margot sounded as if she felt left out, but she’d never shown any interest in the book group. “Probably

fifteen or twenty, but it’s not always the same fifteen or twenty.” She opened the door to her red Tesla

Model 3, which signaled the computer to start the heater—something she was grateful for since she

hadn’t worn a heavy enough coat for the brisk October morning. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, didn’t usually

turn this cold until November or December.

The car’s Bluetooth picked up the call as Margot asked, “Why haven’t you ever mentioned it?”

Now that they lived thirteen hundred miles apart, there were a lot of things she didn’t tell her sister. It

wasn’t until she’d left her hometown behind that she’d felt she could live a truly authentic life—one

without the constant unfavorable comparisons to her “perfect” sibling.

But that wasn’t why she hadn’t mentioned the book group. She’d assumed her sister wouldn’t want to

hear about it. Margot had been mortified when Gia challenged the gaggle of well-meaning but

misguided women from the PTA who’d descended on Room 23 on Back-to-School Night, insisting Mr.

Hart, head of the English department, drop The Catcher in the Rye, The Outsiders and The Handmaid’s

Tale from the Honors English reading list. Gia had expected her favorite teacher to stand up for the

books she loved by explaining why they were so important. She’d known how much he’d loved those

books, too. Instead, just to avoid a fight, he’d caved in immediately, which was what had incited her to

start a club that championed the books they’d targeted—as well as others.

That was the first time Mr. Hart had let her down, but it wouldn’t be the last. “If you’d ever joined the

club, you’d be on the email list,” she said as she backed out of the parking space.

“I would’ve, but you know me. I don’t really read.”

Her sister would not have joined. The Banned Books Club was far too controversial for Margot. It

would’ve required a bit of rebellion—something she seemed incapable of. And maybe she didn’t read

much fiction, but Gia knew her to consume the occasional self-help tome. That was probably how she

reassured herself she was still the best person she knew, because if there was anyone who didn’t need a

self-help book, it was Margot. Their parents’ expectations were more than enough to create her

boundaries.

“You should try reading along with us now and then. It might broaden your horizons.” As good as

Margot was, she had a mind like a steel trap—one that was always closed, especially when faced with

any information that challenged what she already believed. She lived inside a bubble of confirmation

bias; the only facts and ideas that could permeate it were those that supported her world view.

“I’m happy with my horizons being right where they are, thank you.”

“You don’t see the limitations?”

“Are you trying to offend me?” she asked.

Gia bit back a sigh. That was the difference between them. Margot would sacrifice anything to maintain

her position as their parents’ favorite child, to gain the approval of others, especially her husband, and

be admired by the community at large. Growing up, she’d kept her room tidy, gotten straight As and

played the piano in church. And these days, she was a stay-at-home mom with two children, someone

who made a “hot dish”—what most people outside the Midwest would call a casserole—for any

neighbor, friend or acquaintance who might be having surgery or suffering some kind of setback.

Her conventionalism was—in certain ways—something to be admired. As the black sheep of the family,

Gia knew better than to try to compete with Margot. That wasn’t possible for someone who couldn’t

take anything at face value. She had to question rules, challenge authority and play devil’s advocate at

almost every opportunity, which was why she was surprised that her sister had been trying, for the past

two weeks, to convince her to come home for the winter. Their mother’s health had been declining

since she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer. It was at stage four before they discovered it, and the

doctors had done what they could, but Ida hadn’t responded to treatment. Margot claimed their mother

wasn’t going to last much longer, that Gia should spend a few months with her before it was too late.

But Gia was surprised Margot would risk the peace and contentment they all seemed to enjoy without

her.

Gia wasn’t sure she could go back to the same family dynamic she found so damaging, regardless. She

and her business partner ran a helicopter sightseeing company for tourists and flew hunters and

fishermen in and out of the remote wilderness—but Backcountry Adventures was closed during the

coldest months, from November to February. She would soon have the time off, so getting away from

work wouldn’t be a problem. It was more that when she was in Wakefield, the walls seemed to close in

around her. It simply got too damn hard to breathe. “Fine,” she grumbled. “Don’t answer that question.

But speaking of limitations, how’s Sheldon?”

“Seriously, Gia? I’m going to assume you didn’t mean to ask about him in that way,” her sister stated

flatly.

There was no love lost between Gia and her brother-in-law. She hated the way he controlled Margot,

how he could spend money on hunting or fishing or buying a new camper, but her sister had to scrape

and bow for a new pair of jeans. Margot explained it was because he earned all the money, that he was

trying to be a good “manager” by giving her such a tight budget so the business would be successful and

they’d have money to retire in old age, but to Gia, it seemed that Margot was making all the sacrifices.

Stingy was stingy, and yet he was the one who wanted Margot at home, waiting for him with a hot meal

at the end of the day. Their boys, Matthew and Greydon, were eight and six, both in school. Margot

could work part-time, at least, establish something of her own, if Sheldon wasn’t calling all the shots.

“It was a joke.” Gia really didn’t want to cause problems in her sister’s marriage. Margot insisted she

was happy, although if that were her life, Gia probably would’ve grabbed her kids and stormed out of

the house—for good—long ago.

“He’s doing great. He’s been busy.”

“It’s deer hunting season. I assume he’s going.”

“Next week.”

And what will you do—stay home and take care of the kids and the house while he’s gone? Gia wanted

to ask, but this time she managed to bite her tongue. “He’s going to Utah again?”

“Yeah. They go there every year. One of his buddies grew up in Moab.”

“Last winter, Sheldon’s business slowed down a bit, so I’m surprised to hear you say he’s been busy.”

“That was the economy in general. All trucking companies took a hit. I don’t think the same thing’s going

to happen this year, though. He just bought two new semis and is hiring more drivers.”

“He’s quite the businessman.” Gia rolled her eyes at her own words. He hadn’t built the trucking

business; he’d inherited it from his parents, who remained heavily involved, which was probably what

saved it from ruin. But thankfully, Margot seemed to take her words at face value.

“I’m proud of him.”

He was proud of himself, could never stop talking about his company, his toys, his prowess at hunting or

four-wheeling or any other “manly” pursuit. Gia was willing to bet she could out-hunt him if she really

wanted to, but the only kind of shots she was willing to take were with her camera.

Still, she was glad, in a way, that her sister could buy into the delusion that Sheldon was a prize catch.

“That’s what matters,” she said as she pulled into the drive of her two-bedroom condo overlooking Mill

River. The conversation was winding down. She’d already asked about the boys while she was in the

grocery store—they were healthy and happy. She was going to have to ask about Ida before the

conversation ended, so she figured she might as well get it over with. “And how are Mom and Dad?”

Her sister’s voice dropped an octave, at least. “That’s actually why I called…”

Gia couldn’t help but tense; it felt like acid was eating a hole in her stomach. “Mom’s taken a turn for

the worse?”

“She’s getting weaker every day, G. I—I really think you should come home.”

Closing her eyes, Gia allowed her head to fall back against the seat. Margot couldn’t understand why Gia

would resist. But she’d never been able to see anything from Gia’s perspective.

“G?” her sister prompted.

Gia drew a deep breath. She could leave Idaho a few weeks before they closed the business. Eric would

cover for her. She’d worked two entire months for him when his daughter was born. She had the

money, too. There was no good excuse not to return and support her family as much as possible—and if

this was the end, say goodbye to her mother. But Gia knew that would mean dealing with everything

she’d left behind.

“You still there?”

Gathering her resolve, Gia climbed out of the car. “Sorry. My Bluetooth cut out.”

“Did you hear me? Is there any chance you’d consider coming home, if only for a few weeks?”

Gia didn’t see that she had any choice. She’d never forgive herself if her mother died and she hadn’t

done all she could to put things right between them. She wished she could continue procrastinating her

visit. But the cancer made it impossible. “Of course. Just…just as soon as I finish up a few things around

here.”

“How long will that take you?”

“Only a day or two.”

“Thank God,” her sister said with enough relief that Gia knew she couldn’t back out now.

What was going on? Why would having her in Wakefield matter so much to Margot?

“I’ll pick you up from the airport,” her sister continued. “Just tell me when you get in.”

“I’ll get back to you as soon as I’ve made the arrangements.”

Excerpted from THE BANNED BOOKS CLUB by Brenda Novak. Copyright © 2024 by Brenda Novak. Published by MIRA Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.

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