This is a totally fine MG, it just didn't capture me. I didn't clock that it's an alien invasion story from the blurb, so that kind of threw me for a loop! We've got some good rep for a MG, but we touch on a few darker themes, so recommend to your younger readers with care.

I definitely recommend going eyeball over ears - the narrator was kind of annoying to me (although I can't super articulate why) and the way she narrates the dog's "bork" was super distracting and took me out of the flow every time. And there are many times. 😅

Again, totally fine, but not all that great. The MC has autism and anxiety, so maybe a good fit for someone needing positive media examples!

please read something else

Why We Read Overall Rating: ⭐ ⭐ .5

Intellectual babble without much substance, Why We Read tries to explain the multitude of reasons why people like reading, but it really just made me hate reading this book specifically.

Why We Read has no sense of direction and was not particularly cohesive. It felt like Ms. Reed wanted to write a memoir, but then realized that wouldn't sell, so she marketed it as a book about why people read instead, only for surprise the book to be about why she reads.

Filled with personal anecdotes no one asked for, chapters that make you go "huh??", and repetitive slop, Why We Read is perfect for people who like "humor" that consists of someone going "isn't that so funny?" every three sentences and those who have never encountered a reader in their life (though I don't think this book is very indicative of readers writ large).

While there are some more interesting sections, I still didn't get much out of them. Perhaps because I already recognize the myriad reasons why people read?? 👀 I don't know, just a thought. Generally, the ideas that were presented could be interesting, but they felt rather simplistic. I was hoping for more expansion into why reading is important, which never happened either.

Overall, I would urge people to steer clear of this book. You will not learn anything about reading that you haven't already realized before and you will be bored, confused, and/or concerned while you do so.