May Reads :: Thank You, Jessi Kirby

May.

I cannot believe May is over and tomorrow it will be June and in three days school will be over for the year.

Where has the time gone?

May was another tough month for reading, even worse than April, if you can believe it.

I read two books in May and part of a third.

May is typically a pretty busy month for me, and this year was no exception. My brain is moving in a thousand different directions instead of its usual hundred. Every time I sat down to read, I remembered something else I needed to do or else my brain just shut down completely.

But the two books I did read - and the one I'm still reading - were fantastic, and for that, I am extremely happy.

The first, BONE GAP by Laura Ruby, was fascinating, with such beautifully crafted sentences, I wanted to underline and highlight and analyze each line. I took my time with this one, in part because I wanted to give each chapter the attention it deserved - from a reader's perspective and a writer's - and in part because I never wanted it to end. The story is told from the POV of several characters, each one rich and full.

And there's magic. And a mystery.

This is a book that I will read again.

But it was really Jessi Kirby's new book, THINGS WE KNOW BY HEART, that pulled me out of my reading slump.

From Goodreads:

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.

Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.

This is a book that, honestly, I was a bit hesitant to read, even though Kirby is one of my favorite authors (MOONGLASS - read it now if you haven't already!) If you've been a reader of this blog for a while, you might know this story about A Boy and His Heart, about the son of a dear friend from college who was on a waiting list for a heart transplant for a long time. I wasn't sure how I would react to a book about a girl who goes in search of the recipient of her boyfriend's donated heart.

I was crying by page 8.

And again on page 58.

And 184.

THINGS WE KNOW BY HEART was a book that pulled me in and kept me there. I'm currently on a bit of a deadline and so I used this book as a reward. I read this book while I stood in the kitchen making dinner. I read it in between visits from the neighbors at our campfire. And I stayed up late to finish it last night so that today I can concentrate on revisions.

This is the book that has pulled me out of my reading slump, and for that, I thank you, Jessi Kirby.

I have a whole stack of books from the library waiting for me to dive in.

After I finish this revision, of course.

What was your favorite darling book of May?