Another month is here, so it's time to link up with An Open Book to chat about my recent reads!
Will Wilder: The Lost Staff of Wonders (Will Wilder Book 2), by Raymond Arroyo
This thrilling follow-up to the first Will Wilder book, the Staff of Moses disappears from the museum, and as the adults try to figure out who took the staff, Will becomes one of the suspects. As he and his friends race to discover the culprit, various biblical plagues are unleashed on the town of Perilous Falls. There's also a "spiritual but not religious"-type influencer who comes to town. This is a very fun, fairly creepy middle grade book, and I enjoyed it a lot!
Will Wilder: The Amulet of Power (Will Wilder Book 3), by Raymond Arroyo
In this book, Will wants to be strong to do well on the football team and steals a relic of the hair of Samson. Naturally, Will's theft (and overall turning into Toby McGuire's character from the third Spider-Man movie) draws in more demons and evil around the town. There's also a witch character in the woods. This book was creepy and enjoyable with a crazy cliffhanger, and I enjoyed reading it-though seeing Will take such a downturn was pretty painful.
Grieving Together: A Couple's Journey Through Miscarriage by Laura Kelly Fanucci and Franco David Fanucci
The Fanuccis begin this book with a section of practical information on miscarriage: the types of miscarriage and stillbirth and the different options for managing a miscarriage. Then, they dive into various aspects of processing miscarriage, grieving, and healing. They share parts of their story as well as stories from other married couples. I thought it was neat that they included lots of stories from husbands as well as their wives. This book also includes some prayers for personal devotion and discusses various prayers and rites that the Catholic church offers for families experiencing miscarriage. This book is beautiful and thoughtful, and I particularly liked some of the saint quotes, prayers, and personal stories. I also think this book is very valuable for anyone who doesn't know what the miscarriage process can look like and the different options they have for their baby's remains.
Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home, by Stephen Starring Grant
In 2020, Stephen Grant lost his job. In order to have health insurance, he wound up getting a new job as a rural postal carrier near his home in Virginia. In this memoir, he shares his journey of learning how to be a mail carrier at fifty years old and discovering what it means to be a part of his community. This book gave me a new level of respect for mail carriers and I was fascinated to read about his work, especially since Grant was delivering mail in areas where everyone owned dogs and guns. As for content cautions, there is a lot of coarse language in this book (particularly in one scene where one person seems to mostly communicate in expletives). There are also some sexual references in parts (particularly when Grant reveals what people in his area were ordering during the Covid lockdown). Those elements aside, I enjoyed this book a lot!
Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter, by Colleen Dulle
I'm pretty sure I stumbled across this book when browsing through the library online catalogue one day, and I am so glad that I finally read it! Dulle is a Catholic who reports on news at the Vatican. While some news at the Vatican is fun and joyous, Dulles also has reported on very distressing, tragic realities. In the different chapters of the book she focuses on various areas of brokenness and corruption that she has encountered and reported on, like sexual abuse, financial mismanagement, clericalism, and varying opinions over the role of women in the Church. As she discusses these topics, Dulle shares parts of her own struggles as a young Catholic and how continues to remain Catholic in spite of the corruption she's witnessed. Although I do not share some of Dulle's opinions and perspectives (for instance, she seems much more open to the idea of female deacons than I), reading her honest discussion of these topics is very valuable and eye-opening. For example, I never knew that opening a Cause for Canonization cost so much money! I also really appreciate how in her discussions, she really tries to focus on a unifying aspect that different "sides" of an issue can focus on.
Thank you so much for joining me this month! If you have any book recommendations, please drop them in the comments!
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