denise kawaii

Division

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Adaline #4
Denise Kawaii

The next installment of Adaline is here, and I am living for it! This Middle Grade series blew me away when I binge read it just a few months ago, and I had incredibly high expectations for this fourth book. It blew them all away, and then some.

Summary

Boy 62 and his friends are crossing the radioactive wasteland.

They’re searching for the jailhouse that will be their new home.

But someone already lurks the halls of the rugged building, and they don’t want company.

When Boy 1124562 and his friends trek across the desert, they’re expecting to move into an abandoned building where they can build their A.I. enhanced computer without the danger of Hanford’s oversight. But when they arrive, they quickly discover that the building isn’t empty.

A dangerous Woman with a sordid past is hiding in the shadows of the abandoned building. Can the secret she holds be the key to keeping Hanford’s residents alive?

Musings

62 has been exiled from the other survivors, and along with his friends needs to learn how to live in this hostile, radioactive wasteland on his own. They’re not without a few resources: they’re living in a semi-abandoned building and have a few resources from Hanford. But they’re also harboring a terrible secret: one of the women thought to be living with the Oosa has actually escaped with a story too gruesome for the boys to even know.

What’s brilliant about Kawaii’s writing is that anyone at any age can read it and enjoy it. I binge read it in two days, only putting it down for work (groan) and was terrified of Sunny’s story, though I realize she doesn’t actually outright say what happened to her. It’s vague enough that any actual child reading this will be in the same mindset as 62, but adults can fill in the blanks, which makes the horror all the more horrifying since we tend to imagine the worst. 

There were moments of sweetness, too. My favorite parts had the boys discovering their world, such as the snakes, new buildings, and even the sweet potatoes. 62 is actually doing well with food now, and I feel so happy for this adorable cinnamon roll of a boy. I just want the best for him, and I have no idea how the author will give them happy endings with just a single book left!

I feel like adults and middle graders will approach this book differently, while both loving it to bits. It’s a fantastic adventure and a beautiful exploration of what it means to be human, from the point of view of the sweetest, most innocent protagonist you will ever meet. Book four ups the tension, and I cannot wait to see how book five will tie everything up!

Don’t miss book four of the Adaline series!

Woman With A Thousand Hats

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By Denise Kawaii
A memoir

One of my new year’s reading resolutions was to read more non-fiction: so when I won this book in a giveaway, I knew it was the perfect place to start. I had been following author Denise Kawaii for some time on Instagram, constantly impressed by the sheer amount and variety of her projects: her newly released memoir promised to dive into how she managed to juggle it all and let me tell you, it’s insanely captivating!

Summary51ef2w0cb3l

This is the story of a farm girl, an insurance agent, a chronic insomniac, a therapy patient, a serial dieter, an entrepreneur, an office manager, a housewife, a financial adviser, an overtaxed mom, and a published author. Spoiler: they’re all the same person.

You’ll want to laugh and cry as you read, but you won’t want to put this memoir down. Woman With a Thousand Hats is a candid glimpse behind the scenes of a do-it-all woman’s everyday life. Not only does Kawaii get honest about the emotional turmoil behind her personal drive to work, but she also tackles bigger social issues like body shaming, chronic illness, family dysfunction and social pressure to be “normal”. 

The perfect read for anyone who has ever felt like they weren’t good enough.

Musings

The memoir is set up in an interesting way, with each chapter following a thread of the author’s life as she explores a new path, or hat in this case. From 911 dispatcher to custom paintball business owner, it seems like her life is a jumble of mismatched lives somehow all jammed into one person. This is probably what makes the book such a compelling read: you simply cannot put it down, one hat flowing into another somehow naturally when it seems absurd in retrospect.

What struck me most was how relatable the author is: for the first time in a long time, maybe even ever, I’ve had insight into a mind like mine. I too juggle mismatched jobs, my life seeming like chaos from the outside but completely natural from my perspective. Reading about how the author describes her energy, her lack of sleep, all was like seeing a reflection of myself. yet another reason I couldn’t put this book down.

Not to mention that the author’s style makes it feel like you’re catching up with an old friend, who’s filling you in on decades of your life, and you just have to keep buying coffees so you can keep chatting. Her voice is honest, true, so even in the most absurd of moments you know she’s being completely transparent with you. Sometimes maybe too much (there are some details I was surprised to see shared with such candor!).

Overall, the memoir feels like a love letter to life itself. The author’s reflection on her life so far obviously therapeutic for her, and it’s almost intimate being on this journey with her. She is living proof that the universe offers possibilities every day, and you just need to be brave enough to take them. Even if sometimes the universe can be cruel: my heart broke for her and her family multiple times, and I was in awe that she would share these personal moments with us.

This memoir is an eye-opener to anyone who believes that life is lived along a straight line. The author offers such insight into exploring the opportunities life throws at you, and shares the wisdom she has gained so far, sometimes with hilarious results.

I finished the book feeling like I knew this author so much better, and with a new resolve to finish my projects. Highly recommended for anyone who is unsure of what path to take in life, and who need reassurance that wearing many hats doesn’t make you weird, it makes you a fashionista.

On a personal note… there was a fantastic section on learning how to say ‘no’ to projects; a discussion with a therapist on what constitutes ‘resting’, and a lot of discussion about energy and burnout. I found this particularly relevant and will be trying to take that advice… if I can handle it!