Lenni Reviews: "In the Midnight Room" by Laura McBride

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Book-ended with the life of June Stein, this novel dives into Las Vegas in the 1950's and a casino called 'The Midnight Room.'

This book feels a lot like the times where I went into a real casino in Vegas and Atlantic City; glitz, glamour, sadness, and desperation. Including June, the lives of four very different women collide together over the course of a lifetime in this book and we follow some hauntingly poetic stories. I'm not really one for historical fiction and this book managed to suck me in and I had trouble putting the book down.

I do have to say some of the point of view changed had me confused but the story managed to sort itself out in a few paragraphs; particularly in the end when it's suddenly all from June's perspective but as it's her life that frames the entire narrative, it's forgivable. An excellent period piece and I recommend. 3.9 out of 5.

Book Con/ Book Expo 2019 Recap

By Lenni

It has been an exhausting couple of days covering Book Expo & Book Con 2019. There were so many authors, panels and things to say I couldn’t see it all. One thing I will definitely was looking forward to was the panel of George Takei. George Takei was there to talk about his IDW graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy”. They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future. Just hearing George Takei talk about the memoir and his experiences was very moving and inspiring. After the panel, I explore the convention.

Book Review of George Takei’s “They Called Us Enemy”

I read this book with tears in my eyes the entire time. I remember learning about these camps in school and back then I couldn’t imagine people being so backward, paranoid, and inhumane.

But that was middle school me. Thirty-eight year old me has seen the news in 2019.

This book is not easy to read because people suck but much like putting myself through Maus and Irena; it does remind me that humans can also be amazing. I had to opportunity to see Mr. Takei speak about his time in the camps and I’m glad I did. I hope people realize one day, history will look back on us just as we look back now on what we did to the Japanese back then. 5 out of 5.

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Overall Book Con/Expo is a must for book lovers and professionals alike. The Javitz center is the perfect place to hold all these vendors. This time I did bring my little rolling suitcase so I admittedly nabbed more than I should have. But I am super excited to read all these books.