The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
Genre: YA / 1980s nostalgia-fest
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 285 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars
On a quest to boost one of the Vanna White Playboys from the local convenience store, Billy, computer and gaming nerd extraordinaire, meets Mary, who kicks his ass at programming. Over the course of a few months, they bond over their desire to program a video game to enter into a contest, hoping for the chance to win the badass new computer that the first-place winner will get, which puts even Mary’s Commodore 64 to shame. And Billy discovers that, despite getting teased by his friends for Mary being overweight, Mary is awesome and he really likes her.
An homage to the 80s, this YA novel explores the friendships made in our teens, revisits the excitement we all felt when the first video games were coming out, and generally made me miss being a kid for a minute.
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
Genre: mystery
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: pp
Her Grace’s rating: 3 out of 5 stars
A contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre, only made into a murder mystery, with a different ending, and not one really likeable character. There wasn’t a lot of surprise to this one and although I didn’t hate it, it was a solid meh for me.
The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
Genre: nonfiction/lifestyle
I read it as a(n): paperback
Length: 189 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A book on one woman’s year of embracing minimalism, mostly through not buying anything she doesn’t actually need. What works for one person may not be for another, but I enjoyed reading about her experiences and picking up a few new tips along the way. I will be implementing some of those tips into my own evolving minimalism practice.
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