The Lion Women of Tehran

I read The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali for book club. The book description says, "In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams for a friend to alleviate her isolation. Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions of becoming “lion women.” But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives. Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences."

WHAT A BOOK. I loved it! I listened to it an audiobook but was so engaged that I wanted to listen to it all the time and was even listening to it in between trick or treaters on Halloween night. (I was wishing I had a hard copy so I could just zoom through the end and see what happened.) The characters were just so real and meaningful. I loved Homa so much especially, but so many characters were just so distinct and deep. I loved how the author ended things as well. This was an amazing book that opened my eyes to what it would be like to be an Iranian woman. Just a beautiful book overall. So glad I read this. Thank you, book club!

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Call Me Adnan

I saw Call Me Adnan by Reem Faruqi on a list of new-ish books written in verse, and it caught my eye since I've enjoyed other books by the other. The book description says, "Adnan Zakir loves table tennis. He's also colorblind and left-handed and has a fondness for the aviation alphabet. He's super close with his sister, Aaliyah, who is a great dancer and memorizer of the Quran, and he loves his little toddler brother, Rizwan, who only wants to grow up and play table tennis like his big brother. All Adnan dreams of is making it to the Ultimate Table Tennis Championship in Florida, and if he qualifies for the tournament, he knows he will get to spend the Eid holiday with his cousins. But when the family travels there, unthinkable tragedy strikes, and Adnan swears he'll never play table tennis ever again. Slowly, he and his family must learn to make peace and move forward, as a family."

I really liked this book. Adnan was a great character, and the story kept me interested. The book took a heavy turn in the middle that I wasn't expecting, which was very heartbreaking. But I liked the messages the book taught, and the author's note made me appreciate the author's own personal experiences with many of the circumstances in the book.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Book Club books

I'm realizing I should also be recording the books I read with Ollie for his kids' book club. Here's what we've read in 2025 & 2026.

• The Creatures of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz
• Alvin Ho by Lenore Look
• The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo
• Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
• The Show Must Go On by Kate Klise
• Little Dog, Lost by Marion Dane Bauer
• Grimwood by Nadia Shireen
• The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell
• Haven by Megan Wagner Lloyd (I did a separate post about this one since I read it before we picked it for book club.)
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
• The Jolly Regina by Kara LaReau
• Too Small Tola by Atinuke
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• Ra the Mighty: Cat Detective by A.B. Greenfield
• Lety Out Loud by Angela Cervantes

The Woman's Hour

I got The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss on audiobook from the library after seeing it somewhere. (It caught my eye because I recently saw the musical Suffs about the women's suffrage movement.) The book description says, "Nashville, August 1920. Thirty-five states have approved the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote; one last state–Tennessee–is needed for women’s voting rights to be the law of the land. The suffragists face vicious opposition from politicians, clergy, corporations, and racists who don’t want black women voting. And then there are the 'Antis'–women who oppose their own enfranchisement, fearing suffrage will bring about the nation’s moral collapse. And in one hot summer, they all converge for a confrontation, replete with booze and blackmail, betrayal and courage. Following a handful of remarkable women who led their respective forces into battle, The Woman’s Hour is the gripping story of how America’s women won their own freedom, and the opening campaign in the great twentieth-century battles for civil rights."

This was a really inspiring read. I learned so much about the movement and the different sides and the effort it took to win the vote. The details were a little hard to keep track of at times since there were so many people to keep track of, but I didn't worry about following every person exactly and just focused on getting the overall gist/message. I'm glad I read this book and just saw there's a young reader's edition, so I'll recommend that to my daughter. At the very end (after ratification was won), there was a quote from Carrie Catt that I really loved: "The vote is the emblem of your equality, women of America, the guarantee of your liberty. That vote of yours has cost millions of dollars and the lives of thousands of women. Money to carry on this work has been given usually as a sacrifice, and thousands of women have gone without things they wanted and could have had in order that they might help get the vote for you. Women have suffered agony of soul which you can never comprehend, that you and your daughters might inherit political freedom. That vote has been costly. Prize it!"

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

A Sea of Lemon Trees

I have had A Sea of Lemon Trees by Maria Dolores Aguila on my to-read list ever since it won the Newbery Honor and finally got around to reading it. The book description says, "Twelve-year-old Roberto Alvarez is the youngest of his siblings, born on United States soil. He’s el futuro, their dream for a life away from the fire of the Mexican Revolution. Moved by anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican propaganda, the Lemon Grove school board and chamber of commerce create a separate 'Americanization' school for the Mexican children attending the Lemon Grove Grammar School. But the new Olive Street School is an old barn retrofitted for the children forced to attend a segregated school. Amid threats of deportation, the Comité de Vecinos risk everything to stand their ground and, with the support of the Mexican Consulate, choose Roberto as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the school board in this vivid and uplifting novel in verse based on true events."

This was a great read. I loved that it was based on a true story, and it taught me about this time period and the types of things these groups of people went through. I thought Roberto was a great character, and the author did a great job putting us in his mind. I came away from the book inspired by people like Roberto and his family and community who have to be very brave to stand up for their rights.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Rebecca

I read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier for book club. The book description says, "In Monte Carlo, our unnamed heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at Manderley, her husband’s cavernous estate on the Cornish coast, that she realizes how vast a shadow his late wife, Rebecca, will cast over their lives—introducing a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their love from beyond the grave."

This was a great read. It was one of those books I would have never picked up if not for book club, but I'm so glad I read it. (It's a 1938 book that is considered a "best book of the century" and has had several movie adaptations, including one by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940.) The writing was so well done, and I thought the book was super engaging. The characters were well developed and memorable. There were several parts in the book that just completely shocked me, and there were times the author just made it so easy to feel what the characters were feeling. I did some of the book by audiobook (a fun version with some musical background to help set the mood) and some by just reading.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Finding Lost

I saw Finding Lost by Holly Goldberg Sloan on some kind of book list, and since I've enjoyed at least one other book by the author, I got it from the library. The book description says, "Cordy Jenkins is searching for something that will change her life, and for the safety that vanished when her father died. She is convinced that if she just tries hard enough, she will find part of what her family lost, which will stop her mom from wanting to leave the small town she and her little brother have always called home. What Cordy finds instead is a muddy, hungry little dog with bad breath. And he's the start of her family's new beginning."

This was a great read. I loved Cordy as a character, and the things she did and said made me laugh out loud sometimes. I liked how the story came together and the side characters. I feel like the ending was a bit of a disappointment. I did like how the author tied up loose ends, but the last chapter was just alllll the loose ends being tied up, like, This is how everything is now a little bit in the future. I just didn't think it was the strongest writing/ending. I think a different ending would have moved this book into the loved it range. 

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)