BJs Standout Reads October 2020

BJ Knapp author of Beside the Music enjoyed We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres SanchezWe Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez 368 pages Whoah! It’s the story told by Pulga and Pequena, two Guatemalan teens, who make the journey from Guatemala to the US, they travel the length of Mexico aboard La Bestia.  La Bestia is a network of freight trains that migrants climb on top of to make the journey more efficiently up the length of Mexico  The train is also called El Tren de Muerte because many migrants have been killed or disfigured by this train.  The story is enlightening, fascinating, and gave me whole new perspective of what it means to come to the US in search of a better life.  And I already have a perspective on that because my parents are immigrants.  After I read it I googled pictures of La Bestia and sat with my mouth hanging open looking at the pictures of these people clinging to the top of the train cars as it speeds across the harsh landscape.  Truly amazing read.

 

 

BJ Knapp author of Beside the Music enjoyed The Flatshare by Beth O'LearyThe Flatshare by Beth O’Leary 336 pages Tify needs a new place to live, but she doesn’t have a lot of money.  She’s just out of a relationship and she needs to get out fast.  She responds to a flatshare ad but the catch is it’s a 1 bedroom apartment.  The idea is that she will sleep in the bed at night and Leon will use it during the day because he works nights.  It sounds like a perfect arrangement, they’ll never meet because he’ll stay with his girlfriend on the weekends.  They start to write notes to each other, but months go by and they’ve never laid eyes on each other.  But then they learn about each others’ lives through the notes and they become friends.  Is it possible they could become more than friends?  Loved this one, such a unique read.

 

 

 

 

 

BJ Knapp author of Beside the Music enjoyed High Achiever by Tiffany JenkinsHigh Achiever by Tiffany Jenkins 384 pages. This is a memoir and is the story of a woman who was addicted to pills.  We follow her time in jail, and she alludes to what she actually did to land in jail.  Being addicted isn’t illegal, but she did illegal things to get her pills.  I like that she doesn’t say upfront what she actually did to land in jail, but you know that she just feels terrible about it.  Eventually you learn about what she did and how her heart is so incredibly broken by her own actions; she carefully doles out the story to keep us interested.  Then we follow her through her recovery and time adjusting to sobriety after prison.  Awesome read.

 

 

 

 

 

BJ Knapp is the author of Beside the Music, available for purchase here. Please sign up for the Backstage with BJ Knapp mailing list to get updates on events, signings, dog pictures and so much more.

added on 11.06.20

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