Deep End

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood, 464 pages

Competitive diver Scarlett has no time for anything but school and recovering from an injury that almost ended her career. Extremely disciplined world champion swimmer Lukas has been dating Scarlett's dive team captain for ages, at least publicly. In private, Lukas' "girlfriend" is more interested in dating around, and suggests that Lukas and Scarlett hook up, since both are more into kink than she is. What starts as a sex-only arrangement, however, soon becomes something more, as Scarlett and Lukas spend more time together in bed and at the pool, though the situation is complex, especially when Scarlett's captain doesn't want to fully let go of Lukas.

This is a pretty spicy college romance, though it's done incredibly well, as it shows the more emotional and intellectual side of a kink-centric relationship than often appears in romance novels. I honestly didn't think I'd like this one as much as I did, as I didn't expect that level of emotional complexity. Another good one from Hazelwood.

Tangled Up in You

Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren (2024) 309 pages

Ren is 22 years old and has been homeschooled all her life, self-taught while helping take care of her family's farm in Idaho. They are off the grid, with no telephone and no internet. Her parents, who tend to be closed-mouthed, have finally ok'd her going to college in Spokane after she secretly applied and was accepted to Corona College on a full-paid scholarship, including room and board. The catch is that she can't go off campus and she must come home every weekend to catch up on her farm chores. No boys, no booze, no restaurants, no makeup, etc., etc.

On campus, Ren is totally mesmerized, and in spite of her inexperience at modern life, she's doing well. A guy she's met, Fitz, has a requirement to be at the top of each of his classes, but now, in his last semester, Fitz's future is threatened by Ren's top grades in a science class they share. Each member of the class has submitted their DNA as part of the curriculum, and the results have Ren confused. In an improbable moment, she foists herself into Fitz's road trip plans and they take off across the country. If you can accept that the driving times don't match up with reality, and also accept a few other highly unlikely occurrences, then look for a fun-filled story, with a backstory that takes its time to be revealed.

Daddy-Long-Legs

 

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster (1912) 194 pages

I recently read a book* that reminded me of Daddy-Long-Legs, which I'd read as a preteen. I wanted to read it again to see just how similar the plots are. In Daddy-Long-Legs, Judy is an orphan who has lived in an orphan home her whole life. She's 17 and finished with high school. As the oldest of the orphans, she basically works for her board, helping with the younger children and with cleaning, especially prior to visits by the members of the Board of Trustees. After one of their visits, Judy is told that one trustee, upon learning that Judy has excelled in writing, wants to finance her college room and board. The only requirement is that she write to him every month to let him know how things are going. He stays anonymous ‒ to her, he is "John Smith." Not sure who he is exactly, and not liking the generic name John Smith, she refers to him as Daddy-Long-Legs.

Judy is a perky and enthusiastic young woman who often illustrates her letters with drawings that add to the charm. Her writing shows that she is sometimes impulsive but quite thoughtful, and oh-so-happy to be at college with hopes of becoming a writer, and with a budget for proper clothing so that she no longer looks like an orphan. Judy's letters continue all through college, until she finally meets Daddy-Long-Legs some months after graduation.

For a bit, I wondered if Judy was "being groomed" by the trustee or by society at large, but decided no, based on her spunky personality and her sometimes stubborn streak that seem to be a good compass for her choices, especially notable since the book was written over a hundred years ago and has Judy writing in favor of more rights for women. Fast read.

* Dear Mr. Knightley, by Katherine Reay

Giant Days vol. 1

Giant Days vol. 1 by John Allison, 112 pages

OK, so I read this about a month ago, and my memory of the details are foggy at best, so here's a VERY vague description: three girls are new at college and they're getting into the mischief that college freshmen get into. What I do remember is that it was lovely, and I definitely want to read more of this series. Also, that I'd been meaning to read this for AGES and I'm glad I finally did.

Normal People

Normal People  by Sally Rooney (2018) 273 pages

When the story begins, Marianne is rich and as smart as can be, but isolated from most people, having no friends at school, although she doesn't seem to mind that much. Connell is one of Marianne's classmates, also quite smart, but he is not in a privileged class—his single mother works for Marianne's mother as a housekeeper. He is quiet but well-liked at school. He picks his mother up from Marianne's house regularly and gets to know Marianne, starting off a quiet friendship and later a sexual relationship as well, but he will not acknowledge Marianne at school, where his friends are openly unkind to her. Marianne encourages him to apply for the college she plans to go to and he gets in, but at college, he is somewhat listless, feeling like he doesn't really belong.

This compelling story takes us through four years of their intersecting lives, sometimes from Marianne's point of view and sometimes from Connell's. Angst comes almost as a given, considering their youth, and the author shares their mindsets clearly, with few words. It's a somewhat haunting novel.

The reason why

The reason why / Vickie M. Stringer, read by liKane, 291 pages

Chino is a street level drug dealer and Pam is a college girl attending Ohio State.  They meet at a club in Columbus and fall for each other pretty quick. Chino is a rising star in his business and Pam enjoys the money and prestige it brings.  Pretty soon she is skipping classes and distancing herself from her family in Detriot.  She starts to question her relationship when Chino gets busted during a shootout.  What about her dreams of having a life like her parents?  Suburban house, stability and low risk lifestyle?  Chino says he wants that too but is it really possible to get out of the game?  While Chino is in jail, Pam seeks refuge with her friend Erik, a friendly guy from school.  Unfortunately, one of the crew sees them together and now Chino thinks she is cheating.  It doesn't take a genius to see there is trouble afoot for our young lovers.  Soon Chino meets Tracey and others and the conflict erupts.  Events happen that make going back impossible.  Lots of action and an ending that isn't unexpected.

The diving pool

The diving pool: three novellas / Yoko Ogawa, 164 pgs.

Three novellas that are each a bit bizarre which makes them memorable.  The first is The diving pool which tells of a one-sided obsession of a girl towards her foster brother.  She has a few issues of her own but is the one biological child of her parents who run a large foster home.  She obviously feels some neglect but is also counting on her actions not being noticed.  Over time, she realizes Han, the focus of her obsession seems to know of all of her slightly evil deeds.

Next is Pregnancy Diary which is the diary of the sister of a pregnant woman.  She recounts all the odd behavior of her sister and then sort of reveals that it isn't really the pregnancy that is to blame for much of it, her sister is just pretty odd.

Finally Dormitory takes a woman back to the place she lived in college and the manager of the dormitory.  An out of town cousin is coming to go to school and is too late for regular housing so she gets him into the private dorm where she used to live.  She becomes obsessed with the manager, a man she had few dealings with as a student, and returns each day to care for him. A strangely moving tale.

Japanese literature with more than a passing resemblance to Murikami.

Yes, My Accent is Real

Yes, My Accent is Real: and some other things I haven't told you by Kunal Nayyar  245 pp.

Kunal Nayyar is best known as the character "Raj" on the television show "Big Bank Theory". In a series of anecdotes, Nayyar chronicles his life from his childhood in New Delhi, India through his college education in the U.S. (University of Portland and Temple University), early acting jobs, landing on "Big Bang" and his marriage to an Indian model. While many of the episodes are amusing, he also touches on more serious topics, and occasionally waxes philosophical. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author.

Fangirl

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, 438 pages

When I was twelve, I was a hardcore Backstreet Boys fan. It started with the music (thanks TRL!), then quickly went to searching online for any and all information I could find, then to coming across and reading what could only be later termed fanfiction (and even writing my own, which, thank god, only stayed between my equally-obsessed bestie and myself). Then Harry Potter got big, my musical tastes changed, and I dabbled in reading Harry Potter fanfic (Sirius/Lupin are my OTP) and speculating online about what will happen while waiting for the next book to come out. I say all this just to give you an idea of how much I identified with Fangirl.

Cath, like most of the world, is a huge Simon Snow fan. The difference is that she spends a lot of her free time writing fanfiction about Simon and his roommate, Baz, and that a lot (we're talking thousands of views) of people are reading it. About to start her first year at college, she's not only dealing with the anxiety of moving away from home, but also with the fact that her twin sister, Wren, is determined to have a separate life from her while there. Her roommate, Reagan, is surly; Reagan's boyfriend (or is he?), Levi, is always around, even when Reagan isn't; and the only class that she cares about is Intro to Fiction-Writing. Still, she manages to carve out a life on campus, despite the occasional family/school drama. Rainbow Rowell is so good at evoking what it's like to be a slightly awkward college freshman, to have to deal with people you only slightly know hanging out in your tiny dorm room (hi to all the sweaty nerds who piled into my room and onto my bed to hang out with my roommate), and to feel sorta disappointed that your freshman year isn't aligning with what Hollywood thinks should happen. And she's just as equally good at evoking what it's like to be so intensely into something, whether it's a band or book or TV show (sorry for all those rambling, one-sided conversations about Nine Inch Nails, Abby and Malena), but also feeling like you have a dirty secret, that I spent a lot of my time shouting I KNOW THAT FEEL while reading this book.

I loved it. Loved it loved it loved it. If you're a fangirl (or fanboy!) about something, anything, you will like this book. If you like romance, you will like this book. If you were ever awkward, unsure of yourself, more inclined to stay in on a Saturday night than the rest of your floor in college, then you will like this book. Contemporary isn't something I choose to read a lot, but after reading Fangirl and also loving Eleanor and Park, I'm willing to make an exception for Rainbow Rowell.