What I Read and Loved | May 2025

Five books, new music, and more

Photo by Alice Feigel on Unsplash

Something interesting happened this May, and it’s that the month flew by. That’s usually not the case for me. I work in public schools, and May is incredibly busy. Summer break is so close, yet still so far. (I have 13 workdays left!) Last May, I remember barely hanging on by a thread, but thankfully, this year was much better. I don’t know if I’m in a better headspace altogether or if all the iced coffees I drink are keeping me afloat, but either way, I’ll take it. (It’s probably the coffee.)

I finished five books in May and enjoyed most of them, with very complicated thoughts about one in particular. Check out what I read and loved, and let me know what you’ve read lately.

What I Read

I list books in the order in which I read them. All books are linked to Bookshop.org.

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang: When twins Julie and Chloe were four years old, their parents were killed in an accident. Julie was raised by her unloving aunt, while Chloe was adopted by a wealthy white couple. The sisters had spent years estranged until Chloe, a famous influencer, surprised Julie at her workplace — a grocery store — and bought her a new house. As soon as the cameras stopped rolling, Chloe went back to New York and left Julie behind yet again. When Julie receives a mysterious phone call from Chloe in which it sounds like she needs help, Julie heads to the city to check on Chloe and learn what's going on. When she arrives, she finds her sister dead. Julie realizes this is her chance to have the privileged life she's always wanted. Studying her videos and social media posts, Julie takes over Chloe's identity and reports that Julie was the one who died. When Julie heads to a private island on a retreat with Chloe's influencer friends, she worries someone knows her secret and wants to expose her.

Julie Chan Is Dead has a great premise. I'm interested in stories about influencers and the prevalence of social media, but even if I weren't, this storyline would catch my attention. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of this thriller, but the second half was disappointing. What started as a traditional thriller ventured into speculative and horror territory, a twist that surprised me as I didn't see it hinted at in the summary I read.

Some of the plot twists in the second half made me roll my eyes. I'm okay with speculative story elements as long as they feel grounded in reality, but the twists in this book never did. It seemed like Julie Chan Is Dead started as one genre, and then switched to another one by the end. Readers who love speculative and horror elements more than I do might really enjoy this debut, but it's not a book I'll be widely recommending. (ebook, 2/5 stars)

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell: Nina is mourning the death of her husband when she gets a condolence card from his old friend, Nick. Nick and Nina start talking, meet up, and begin a romance. Nina's adult daughter, Ash, is skeptical. She thinks Nina is moving on too quickly, and there's something about Nick that she doesn't trust. Ash starts digging into his identity, and what she finds is frightening.

Meanwhile, a woman named Martha is a business owner and the mother of two young sons. Her husband, Alistair, has been disappointing her lately. He's obsessed with his work and goes silent for days at a time when his job demands that he go out of town, something that seems to be happening more and more frequently. When he's present, Alistair is everything Martha has ever wanted, but she's coming to resent his absences and silence. Martha starts to wonder what the truth is and what Alistair is up to when he's not home.

Lisa Jewell's latest thriller is as fast-paced as they come. While the plot might not be the most unique, what the book lacks in originality, it makes up for in tension. Jewell is one of my favorite thriller writers because she always delivers twists and turns alongside well-developed characters. Don't Let Him In is no exception. This book is a fun thrill ride with a satisfying ending. It releases on June 24. Place your library holds now. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an early review copy. (ebook, 4/5 stars)

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson: For the past 20 years, Madeline has been living without her father. It's just been Mad and her mom running their farm in Tennessee. One day, a stranger named Reuben pulls into their driveway. He gets out of his PT Cruiser and makes an announcement: he's Mad's older half-brother. Their dad left him and his mom, too. Reuben shares that there are at least two other siblings out there and asks Mad to take a road trip with him to pick them up. He wants all of the kids to go to California together so they can confront their absent father. Though she hesitates at first, her mom encourages her to go, so Mad hops into the car with Reuben, and off they go to meet their half-sister, a college basketball star, and younger brother, a child obsessed with documentary filmmaking.

As the siblings get to know each other and drive across the country, they realize that their dad would stay with their moms for a few years and then move on to reinvent himself with a new family. When the time comes to confront their father, what they find surprises each of them. He’s not the man they thought he’d be.

I love Kevin Wilson's writing because he perfectly balances humor and heart. There were plenty of moments throughout this novel that made me laugh, and there were also plenty of moments that made my heart melt into a little puddle of goo. Run for the Hills is a funny, charming, and surprising story about what it means to be a family. It's a lot of fun, and Marin Ireland does a fantastic job narrating the audiobook (Audiobook, 4/5 stars)

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith: How the Word Is Passed is another road trip story, a unique and scholarly one. Clint Smith, raised in New Orleans, begins the story there. He seeks to understand the history and legacy of slavery by visiting monuments, plantations, prisons, and other sites that offer insight into one of America's greatest sins.

This book is the type of history I love reading. Each chapter is informative and engaging, full of fascinating historical details. One of my favorite chapters is about the trip Smith took to Virginia to visit Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Plantation. He spoke with several tour guides and asked how the story of Jefferson has changed over time and how audiences react when slavery is a focal point of the conversation about Jefferson's legacy.

Another gripping chapter was one in which Smith and a friend visited Blandford Cemetery and talked with people gathered to celebrate the Confederacy. Many attendees were eager to talk with Smith, sharing stories about how honoring Confederate soldiers is important to their family history.

The toughest chapter to read was the one about Angola Prison in Louisiana, which is on the site of a former plantation. Smith shows how prisons and America's broken criminal justice system are modern ways Black and brown people are used for slave labor and considered to be less than human. I had to put down the book for a bit after reading about Angola and was reminded what a privilege it is for me to be able to walk away from truth that's hard to stomach. Many people never have that option, and I don't deserve it any more than anyone else does.

Clint Smith is a poet in addition to being a scholar, and his prose is one of the reasons this book is such a great read. The combination of vital history, thoughtful commentary, and beautiful writing makes this book a standout. How the Word Is Passed is a must-read, the type of history that even non-history lovers will appreciate. (Audiobook/print, 5/5 stars)

My Friends by Fredrik Backman: Eighteen-year-old Louisa has come to a gallery to see a painting. It's the one on the postcard she carries with her everywhere, the one that's for sale and will likely fetch millions. It's a painting of the sea with three friends on a pier. The artist is a secretive man who is dying. Louisa, a foster child who's mourning the death of her beloved best friend, can't stand the way the rich people around her at the gallery are talking about the painting. To them, it represents money. To her, it represents everything.

After a chance meeting in the back alley with a man whom she assumes is unhoused, Louisa ends up with the painting. What happens next is a surprising connection, new friendships, and a chance for the past to be made right.

If I had to set a Facebook relationship status between this book and me, I'd have to go with, "It's complicated." I like the novel's plot and appreciate Backman's skill in creating complex characters. His writing is beautiful, if a bit flowery sometimes for my taste (though that could be a translation issue, not a writing issue). Despite liking several aspects of My Friends, I was never excited to pick it up after I got through the first 20% or so.

The story goes back and forth between the present day and events set decades prior, and both timelines are extremely bleak. Though the content is different, My Friends reminds me a bit of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, a book that is absolutely devastating on nearly every page. I loved A Little Life, though, but I struggled through My Friends. That novel is about half the size of A Little Life, yet I think it's much longer than it needs to be. The middle section dragged, and the back-and-forth storytelling didn't move the plot along for a while. I stuck with My Friends because I wanted to see if the ending made the book worthwhile for me, and I did love the way Backman wrapped up everything. Still, I have complicated thoughts about this one. I can appreciate certain parts of it while admitting that the dark subject matter did not make My Friends an enjoyable reading experience for me. (ebook, 3/5 stars)

What I Loved

MUSIC: Sinister Grift, Panda Bear

When spring and summer arrive, I like to pivot from the slower, folksy music I enjoy in fall and winter to lighter, more fast-paced stuff. Enter Panda Bear, a recommendation from a friend who knows my music taste really well. I’ve been enjoying this new release, especially “Praise,” the first track. It’s so catchy!

MUSIC: Bye and Bye, Joseph

This is another new album I’ve been enjoying lately. I love the cover art!

Photo by Vittorio Zamboni on Unsplash

CREATURE: Birds

Have you guys heard of birds? They’re really neat! I’ve had my windows open pretty consistently lately, and I’ve loved listening to the birdsong. Birds are such beautiful creatures. I love the little birds who come to the feeder in my backyard, and I love the large turkeys I often see on my way to work in the mornings. Gold stars for birds!

What I Wrote

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I’d love to hear your thoughts on what I read this month. Did we have any overlapping titles? What have you been reading lately? Let me know in the comments. Like and share to help more readers find me!