1. Olive Juice by TJ Klune
Image: GoodreadsDavid gets a text from Phillip saying he wants to see him. This makes his heart beat faster and his throat dry. His first instinct is to remove his wedding ring and hide it in his pocket before meeting Phillip.
You know David and Phillip have a history together.
You know there’s a woman involved who’s no longer there.
You know there was a wedding and all three of them were happy.
You know something big happened that shattered their lives forever.
But you don’t know what.
And this book is a journey towards unfolding David and Phillip’s story together. What happened that broke David so much? Why does Phillip look like he hasn’t slept in days? Who’s the woman and whose wedding was she involved in?
I’m not telling you more, but this book is about David, Phillip, and the woman’s story.
Why you should read it
This book will make you cry. It will make you smile, and laugh silly. It will break you, then make you whole again. It will make you realize that things don’t turn out right all the time, and sometimes, that’s okay, because that’s all you get. You’ve got to learn to pick up the broken pieces and move on because that’s how cruel and kind and wonderful and terrifying life is.
Your heart will yearn to have someone you could say “Olive Juice” to.
Why I won’t read it again
I first read this book in an airport and couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. I don’t know if it’s what the author did to the characters, or what the writing did to me.
And yes, the author did make me smile with the ending, but the raw pain throughout is too hard to take. Much as I want to experience the book again, I doubt I’ll ever have the strength.
You’ve got to learn to pick up the broken pieces and move on because that’s how cruel and kind and wonderful and terrifying life is.
2. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
Image: GoodreadsThis is a beautiful book that tells of the struggles of the Palestinians when the Zionists attacked them and Israel was set up.
Told through four generations of the Abulheja family, this is a story of love, loss, and heartbreak.
Why you should read it
The book is educative, especially for someone like me who didn’t have much idea of the history of Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon (I didn’t even know Israel was a Jewish state. I thought it was Muslim-dominated, like the rest of the Middle East).
Why I won’t read it again
There is a lot of loss and death, and too many broken dreams. It makes you marvel at the strength of will of the people suffering these terrible losses in refugee camps and living through it all.
I am not so fond of stories where it seems the author has taken every possible thing that can go wrong and made it happen to the protagonist. Of course, I understand this must be the sad reality of many, but this much sadness was too much for my frail heart to bear.
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