The Last Black Unicorn

Written by: Tiffany Haddish

First line: School was hard for me, for lots of reasons.

Why you should read this book: Pretty much everything that happens in the first three-quarters of this memoir is truly heartbreaking, but Haddish's comedic tendencies have a way of glossing over most of the horror of her life and forcing you to laugh at the worst things that have ever happened to her. Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse are running themes in her story, and she still manages to report the events in such a way that the reader can't help but smile. From her mother's accident and subsequent brain injury, to her experience in foster care and her terrible relationship history, the story proceeds to build upon itself until Haddish's success as a professional comedian and actress seems not only well-deserved, but also inevitable.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've had sex with Tiffany Haddish.

A Broken Tree: How DNA Exposed a Family's Secrets

Written by: Stephen F. Anderson

First line: When I was a young boy, I loved watching Leave It to Beaver.

Why you should read this book: It's hard to discuss this memoir without massive spoilers, but, couched in the vaguest terms, the author and his siblings discover that neither of their parents were the people they thought they were. Since we already know the story hinges on DNA evidence, the reader will not find the revelations as terribly shocking as the author and his siblings did, but it's an interesting read nonetheless, full of complex emotional relationships and secrets and lies. A fast read, basically split into two parts, the first part being the actual story and the second part answering questions that many people had about how the author discovered and reacted to his story.

Why you shouldn't read this book: One thing the author declines to do is deeply examine the psychology of how his parents got to the point they got to—there's some discussion of it, but many readers will probably finish the book wishing they had a better understanding of why.

The Shape of Water

Written by: Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus

First line: Richard Strickland reads the brief from General Hoyt.

Why you should read this book: I guess it's a novelization of the popular movie, written after the fact, perhaps to fill in details that couldn't fit in the film version. Basically, if you loved the movie about the mute janitor who falls in love with a kidnapped swamp creature so much that you need to know what every single character (including the swamp creature) is thinking as the narrative unfolds, this is the story for you. It's crisply and engagingly written with ample descriptions and layered, nuanced, believable characters.

Why you shouldn't read this book: The movie is better, so help me.

Henry Huggins

Written by: Beverly Cleary

First line: Henry Huggins was in the third grade.

Why you should read this book. Although it is over seventy years old, there is still much delight to be found in this quiet novel about a small boy who feels as if nothing interesting ever happened to him until the day he shared his ice cream cone with a skinny, medium-sized, mixed-breed dog. Of course, the ordinary world of any child who plays outside his house, takes the bus into town, and has a life that doesn't involve being tied to a screen tends to offer plenty of interesting moments, such as when Henry accidentally breeds hundreds of guppies in his bedroom or when he digs up twelve hundred worms to pay off a debt incurred when he accidentally throws a neighbor boy's football into a passing car. While some of the references, especially the monetary ones, are dated (Henry's allowance is a quarter a week and his ice cream costs a nickel), I love the idea of modern children reading about a time when kids inhabited their own, largely unsupervised world and moved through it with a sense of agency, and, as a bonus, Cleary's more popular and enduring characters, Beezus and Ramona, have some cameos.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't like dogs, fish, or worms.

They Called Us Enemy

Written by: George Takei and Eisinger Scott Becker

First line: George! Henry! Get up at once!

Why you should read this book: In one of the more shameful chapters of American history, one hundred twenty thousand loyal Japanese-Americans were rounded up and locked in internment camps following the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II; almost half of these citizens were children, and one of those children was beloved Star Trek actor and queer rights icon George Takei. This autobiographical retelling of the four years he and his family lived as prisoners of their own country is a smart, accessible, and sometimes heartbreaking story about family, identity, love, and betrayal. The book's narrative arc follows a logical course but also moves about in time, making it useful for younger readers who may lack some of the cultural and historical knowledge necessary to make sense of young George's horrifying experience.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Takei's story has also been transformed into a Broadway musical, Allegiance, so if you like singing and dancing you might enjoy that version more than this graphic novel.