Our whole family has been on a reading kick lately! Lila is part of a book club that has been doing some new and classic YA reads. Cece’s been on a Mrs. Piggle Wiggle mission and Hadley’s working her way through all of Ann M. Martin’s books. I’ve been reading a lot of healthy cookbooks and fun fiction, so we’re covering all the bases this month.

What The Girls Are Reading:

We Were Liars by E Lockhardt: Lila and I have both read this YA book about Cadence Sinclair, who grew up spending summers on her family’s private island with her three cousins and best friends on the island, "the liars.” When something happens the summer that Cady is fifteen, the group starts to unravel and later, as Cady tries to recover, she embarks on search for the truth about what happened between them. Lila wants me to warn everyone that there are very sad parts to the book.

The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard: Lila is loving this fantasy YA read about Mare, a commoner in a world divided by what color your blood it, who discovers secret abilities in front of a group of royals, and is forced to pretend to be one of them while she tried to explore and understand her newfound power.

Rain Reign by Ann Martin: Hadley just finished this book about Rose, who loves homonyms and has named her dog Rain so that they both have homonyms for their names. Rose has a difficult family life and her autism and attachment to rules and other interests make her different from the kids around her. When there’s a big storm and her dog goes missing, the issues come to a breaking point and Rose has to make some tough choices.

Mrs. Piggle WIggle by Betty MacDonald: Mrs. Piggle Wiggle lives in upside down house (this is one of Cece’s favorite parts of the story) and knows everything that kids like to do. She also knows how to cure kids of naughty behaviors in the most inventive ways. When one of my girls was being grumpy the other day, Cece looked at me and said, “I think we might need to call Mrs. Piggle Wiggle” in a very serious voice. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Cookbooks and Lifestyle Books:

Super Human by Dave Asprey: I listened to the Balanced Blond podcast that Dave Asprey was on this winter and got very into his philosophy about maximizing your health and productivity and everything about your life, Wow, that guy has a lot of energy! Some of the stuff he says is way out there, but I enjoyed reading this and learning about all of the various hacks that he’s tried.

Intuitive Fasting by Dr. Will Cole: This book was just published by the GOOP press and has a forward by Gwyneth because she’s been following his diet in attempt to bounce back after Covid left her with brain fog and fatigue. He has done a ton of podcast interviews to publicize the book, if you want to get the general idea without reading the book, but it’s a largely plant-based diet and you fast for varying amounts of time for each of the four weeks in order to increase metabolic flexibility. I haven’t followed the full protocol, but I’ve been incorporating bits of it into my spring refresh and I do think it’s given me more energy.

Love and Lemons Everyday by Jeanine Donofrio: For anyone who loves veggies as much as I do, this was a great resource. I loved the Sweet Potato Wedges with Farro and Tahini, the Coconut Soup with Sweet Potato and Kale and the Broccoli Rabe and Burrata with Lemon.

True Comfort by Kristin Cavallari: If you had told my 25 year old self that I would one day read a healthy cookbook by Kristin Cavallari and really like it, I would have laughed in your face. But, here we are! I did not have high expectations for this book, but I actually really liked it. She does a nice job of making things healthier while still keeping them flavorful. The chocolate avocado cookies sound crazy but actually tasted really good (not that I could get the kids to try them, but Chad and I loved them!). The Banana Bread with Marscapone was really good too, and she had fun versions of appetizers like Game Day Nachos and Bacon Wrapped Butternut Squash that gave me some fresh twists on recipes to try out.

Fun Fiction

Adulting by Liz Talley: Olivia Han has created a successful life coaching business from her best selling book about “adulting.” When an old friend tries to talk her into taking on Chase London, former child star and current addict and hot mess, as a client, both Olivia and Chase are reluctant to say the least. Can Olivia help Chas to work through the trauma in her past and finally get her out of the cycle of addiction? What happens when her own past comes back to haunt her? This is a quick read that’s fun but also deals with some very real and serious issues.

A Beautiful Work in Progress by Mirna Valerio: This is the true story of Valerio’s journy from her childhood in New York to becoming a runner and creating a very successful blog that documented her journey from non-athlete to teacher to plus-sized trail runner to ultra-marathoner. Her journey is so interesting and her attitude towards life, athleticism and motivation are very inspiring, even if running isn’t your thing.

All Girls by Emily Layden: I’m so excited to start this book about girls at an elite New England prep school, a scandal that the administration wants to keep quiet and all the drama of being a teenage girl. I’ll let you know how it goes!

If I Had Your Face by France Cha: I know I just put this in the Monday Missive too, but it’s so good! It follows five young women who all live in the same apartment building in Seoul. There’s a lot of talk about the plastic surgery culture in Korea, the glamour of room salon girls, families, orphans, artists, the very wealthy and the very poor-it was such an interesting book! There are some very sad parts, but I was overall fascinated by this depiction of a very different culture.