Matthew reads, I guess...

  Hello. I’m talking about She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran. I picked this up from Gay’s the Word simply because I wanted to read something that wasn’t set in the west, and the blurb told me it was set in Vietnam. The blurb says that this house eats and is eaten. This summer, Jade Nguyen has one goal: to survive living a lie with her sister and their estranged dad while he fixes up a decaying colonial house in Vietnam. If she can be straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, then college and freedom will be hers. But the house has other plans. Dead bus line its windowsills and its gardens grow monstrous blooms. Then the ghost of a beautiful bride gives Jade a cryptic warning: DON’T EAT. With the help of rebellious local girl Florence, Jade is determined to prove the house in haunted, and that it won’t rest until it consumes her family completely. On the immediate outset, I appreciated this blurb for not giving too much away. I like making notes on the opening section...

  So I’m talking about You’ve Found Oliver by Dustin Thao. Big fan. When Haru Was Here is one of my favourite books, so it’s only natural I was going to get around to this one. I do remember Oliver vaguely from You’ve Reached Sam , and I did think that Oliver was going to end up with a boyfriend at the end of that – disappointed that he didn’t – however, since he didn’t, I guess it set him up for this book of his own. The blurb says that Oliver has been texting his best friend Sam’s number ever since he passed away a year ago, even though he knows he won’t get a response. Then one day Oliver accidentally hits the call button – and someone picks up. Ben, an astronomy student, has been reassigned Sam’s number, and before long he and Oliver are developing an undeniable connection. But then Oliver discovers something that should be impossible, and it could keep them apart forever… The prologue flits through several of Oliver’s memories with Sam. About them sitting in a field together...