The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

My rating: 2/5 stars

Andrew & Eric are made to question their reality and their beliefs when a group of people show up at their door one sunny day and tell them the world is ending and that the fate of humanity depends on them and them alone. 

The premise is definitely intriguing and it’s one of those books you pick up and continue reading because you want to know how this could all possibly end. 

However, I was disappointedly underwhelmed by the pacing and the ending of this story. In my opinion, many aspects dragged on longer than necessary and the ending didn’t provide any real answers or rationale for previous events in the book. 

That being said, the ending did kind of leave a little room for interpretation, so just because I’m unhappy with my interpretation of this story doesn’t necessarily mean that you’d feel the same.

Josephine Baker’s Last Dance by Sherry Jones

My rating: 4/5 stars

“Sleep? How can she sleep when there’s so much living to do?” 

I didn’t know much about Josephine Baker other than the fact that she was a famous and respected dancer in a time when it was hard for Black people to be famous or respected. 

This book tells the complete story of Josephine Baker’s life from her childhood up until her last performance on stage. We get to dive into her complicated relationship with her mother as a child; to Josephine’s various marriages and countless lovers; to her hunger for success and fame; and eventually to her fight against prejudice and inequality worldwide.

I didn’t realize how big of a star Josephine Baker was and how much she paved the way for a generation of people. It was interesting to witness her growth along the years, not just in terms of her success and fame but in her realization about what truly mattered in the world, and how her voice and presence could be used for much more than singing and entertainment. 

I absolutely love reading about history because it is constantly showing me that the world we live in today, the things we benefit from, the progress we’ve made are all a direct result of SO many individuals. A few weeks ago I read “The Alice Network” which was a book about a network of female spies during the war. And so to read about Josephine Baker, essentially being a spy herself, was just amazing. 

I enjoyed every aspect of this book. I would have loved to read more about the family life Josephine eventually created for herself – she adopted twelve children from different countries and racial backgrounds. From the (minor) wiki search I did after reading the book; it seems like it wasn’t the most ideal family situation, but I suppose that could be another story in itself. 

Overall, I really loved Josephine Baker’s Last dance. I went down a rabbit hole of watching her dance videos on Youtube after I was done reading.