My monthly reading wrap-up — February 2021

On the left is a white, fluffy goldendoodle and on the right is my husky mix puppy. In between is a stack of books for my

Just like in January, I am so excited for the eight books I got to read this month. I tried to include books by Black writers to honor Black History Month, along with one eARC and even a Western — a totally new genre to me! I also picked up a childhood classic, which was an awesome reminder that children’s books can be as thought-provoking, if not more so, than many adult books.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. What a great way to start off February, and as a buddy read with one of my favorite bookstagrammer friends. This story was incredibly told and so unique in its format, as it told the diverging stories of two half sisters unknown to each other on the Ghanaian Gold Coast. This short read still read like an epic and was full of incredible character development. You can check out my full review here.

Outlawed by Anna North. This one was probably the most fun read of February and so different than anything I had ever read. I’m not too familiar with the Western genre, but I typically think ultra-masculine and white, so it was awesome to see that totally flipped on its head in terms of female, racial, and LGBTQ+ representation. It wasn’t my favorite read of the month (a solid three stars), but it was still a fun traipse into the Wild West. You can read my full review here.

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey. This is my first sci-fi of 2021, I believe, and I’m so glad I got a chance to check this one out early by receiving an eARC from NetGalley and TOR. The Echo Wife was my quickest read of the month — I read it in only two sittings! I loved the domestic thriller vibes, and it really forced me to think about the ethical dilemma regarding the technology of cloning. My full review can be viewed here.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett. After reading The Vanishing Half (Bennett’s second novel) last year, I knew that I’d need to add her debut to my TBR. This book is so different than The Vanishing Half, but told with the same level of tenderness. The three main characters — Aubrey, Nadia, and Luke — really hold this story together. While each is imperfect and certainly makes mistakes, this story was full of compassion. I’ll be posting my full review on my blog soon.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. How did I go my entire childhood and adult life without reading this wonderful gem of a story?! Well, luckily my mother-in-law gifted me a beautiful pop-up version for my birthday. This is proof that children’s stories can be just as, if not more, full of meaning as any adult book out there. I highly recommend if you haven’t read it already!

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel. Similarly to Homegoing, this amazing, lyrical, evocative story reads like a true, full-length epic, but manages to pack all that meaning and character development into less than 200 pages. This Own Voices story tells the tale of a family separated by their mixed-immigration status and the lengths they go to reunite. My full review can be read here.

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho. If I could recommend a single book to someone looking to learn more about race in America, this would be it. Acho’s book reads as if you’re sitting down with him having a cup of coffee, while addressing all of the many questions regarding race and the Black experience you’ve probably had. It felt so intimate and compassionate, which is so valuable when it comes to these tough conversations. Check out my review here.

The Removed by Brandon Hobson. In my goal to expand my reading experiences to include marginalized and underrepresented voices, I decided to pick up The Removed, a genre-bending novel about a Cherokee family reeling in the aftermath of Ray-Ray’s death by the hands of police. This was a touching and emotional story. While it wasn’t my favorite book of the month, I certainly enjoyed this new perspective and a different take on police brutality. I’ll be posting a review for this one soon.

What did you read this month, and which book was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below or reach out to me on Instagram!

What makes a home a home? A review of Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

I'm holding Infinite Country by Patricia Engel in front of my face.

This book is so different than any book I’ve ever read! Infinite Country an amazing Own Voices book from writer Patricia Engel, who is the daughter of Columbian immigrants. The story centers around a Columbian family torn apart by their mixed immigration status, which gave me a really cool opportunity to learn a new perspective and read a powerful account of what it means to be undocumented in this country.

Quick synopsis: Seeped in Andean mythology, Infinite Country follows a Colombian family between continents, as parents Elena and Mauro fall in love as teens in Colombia, seek a home and expand their family in the U.S., watch their family being torn apart due to their mixed status, and ultimately seek refuge and home together again.

Although this book was less than 200 pages, it still managed to read like a 500+ page epic. While it was a quick read (not something typically associated with an epic), it was so full of detail, both in terms of character development and plot. Engel’s writing was lyrical and evocative, making me feel each emotion that the characters were experiencing and immersing me as a reader in settings both beautiful and brutal. Additionally, Engel’s writing managed to capture all five senses in each word she wrote in a way that didn’t feel overdone or flashy, but rather familial and pure, which fit the book’s themes of family and home so well.

I loved how she showed both the good and ugly sides of each country — as an American reader, it was an important reminder of how my home is far from perfect when it comes to the way it treats its immigrants, documented and undocumented. This story was full of ugly examples of xenophobia, racism, and other acts of violence or hatred toward the focal family. It really broke my heart seeing such terrible acts in a place that was literally founded by immigrants, reminding me of how many have endured and continue to endure this in order to achieve their American Dream.

And while it certainly didn’t shy away from some of the tragic things happening in Colombia (many of which drove Elena and Mauro to start their lives in the U.S. and risk being undocumented immigrants), this story was full of wonderful urban Bogota folklore and Andean myth, showing the truly beautiful sides of a country that I was unfamiliar with. I feel like in America, politicians and media often point to Colombia as an example of a “bad place,” citing examples of drug cartels and violence. But this Own Voices story totally transformed that narrative, showing what the experience of every day life is like for this Colombian family. If anything, it was a powerful reminder that our country has its fair share of meanness and pure ugliness in how it treats those that are different.

This book had the power to break my heart and heal it all up again, with tragedy and hope in a well-maintained balance. If you’re looking for a short, emotional, yet hopeful immigration story that is sure to show you a new perspective, then I definitely recommend this one for your TBR.

Content Warnings: xenophobia, sexual assault, racism, violence.

Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster