When I read a book, I like to write a review for two reasons. First, it helps me remember what the book was about and if I liked it. Second, I can post it, so people who might want to read the book will know what’s good or not so good about it (in my humble opinion) and can make an informed decision.

Sometimes I take notes as I’m reading, which makes it very easy to write a review afterward. Other times I’ll turn over the corners of pages I found particularly interesting, or underline and make notes directly in the book. (Yes, I’m one of those readers.)

Theoretically, I want to review the book within a day or two of finishing, so that the experience is still fresh in my mind. In actuality, I get distracted with other things, and discover months (and years) later that I’ve neglected to review the book, necessitating a reread or at least a good skimming to remind myself of what I found noteworthy.

Today’s books are ones that I read in 2021.

Beach Story by Mary Lou Cheatham. I read this in Kindle form. One of the things I love about this mystery/thriller is that the main character has Asperger’s Syndrome, and the author treats her with the utmost respect, not mining her neurodiversity for laughs. It makes me think that Cheatham may be well-acquainted with people on the spectrum, know their issues, and perceive them as whole human beings.

Dove Abernathy is an accomplished artist and a beautiful young woman. Her nurturing mother has seen to it that she’s had a great deal of therapy and coaching so that she can compensate for her disorder and behave in a more typical manner. Her cold father, however, writes her off as “crazy.”

One day when Dove’s mother fails to return from her customary afternoon trip to the church’s prayer garden, Dove goes there to find her—deathly still on the ground. The doctors determine that the mother has severe brain trauma, and will need round-the-clock assistance for the rest of her life. Dove wants to be the one to take care of her. Dove’s father suggests she and her mother move into two beach properties he owns, and Dove prepares the condos for her mother’s release from the hospital. Unbeknownst to Dove, her father also hires a young investigator to watch over her from a distance and protect her.

This is a dark novel of loss and of stolen identity and of secrets and of crimes that come back to haunt, but it’s also a love story. It’s a complex storyline with many twists and turns, and at one point I lost the thread and didn’t understand what was happening. Cheatham does a good job of helping us understand Dove’s thought processes, though I wish I had seen more evidence of her falling in love. Despite those two criticisms, Beach Story is well worth your time, though it is not your typical light-hearted beach read.

The Death of a Migrant Worker by Gil Arzola. I love the Rattle Foundation. They run two prestigious poetry contests each year. I’ve been entering both for years. The Death of a Migrant Worker was one of the chapbook contest winners from 2021. I always read the winning chapbooks (and I always wish I was one of the winners).

The Death of a Migrant Worker is a hard book to read, yet it’s important to read, especially for readers who have never had to tackle hardship, loss, poverty, and hopelessness on the scale of these poems and the people whose lives they describe. The poems take various forms, all unrhymed, all sad. If you’d like to read about the plight of migrant families, the book is only $6, and available at Rattle.com.