Nonfiction: You with the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate

Late 2025 is when I first saw mention of Christina Applegate's memoir You with the Sad Eyes, and I was immediately interested and excited. This actress has a career that spans longer than my lifetime, as she has been in the business since she was incredibly young. In this book, she talks all about it, and more, completely lifting the curtain on a life lived in front of the camera, but filled with personal struggles few got to see.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a book of nonfiction that is all about the woman that is Christina Applegate, and her over five decades-long career in Hollywood. It begins with her early life in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, which is where she still resides to this day. And while many were introduced to her through her character of Kelly Bundy on Married...with Children, Applegate had been working and supporting herself and her mother through her acting for years before that. This book deals with her often chaotic home life; her body dysmorphia and harsh inner critic (not to mention the human critics who would comment on her work); as well as her experience with abuse and abandonment; all before her career came to an abrupt end after her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

My Verdict: I knew reading this book was going to be an intense experience, but I was not fully prepared for what I would find on these pages. There are only two books that have caused me to stop mid-read, close the book, and stare off into the distance because of something that was revealed (points if anyone can guess which books they were). Applegate's book is now the third. Not even one-third of the way in, and a truth is revealed that sent me reeling. As any memoir should be, this book is honest and open, but also full of humor, because Applegate admits that despite everything, she has no interest in just crying all of the time. She tells the entire uncomfortable truth about her life up to this point, and truly believes that "books make people feel less alone."

Favorite Moment: At one point Applegate is describing her wedding, which she meticulously planned, and it is a great picture of someone intent of having the perfect event, while creating a not-that-fun experience, and she herself admits it.

Recommended Reading: Yes Please by Amy Poehler would be a great follow-up.   

Young Adult Fiction: A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J. Spann

Once in a great while I will take a chance on a book that for whatever reason is not something I would normally pick, usually because it may lean too far into fantasy or romance for me. Oddly enough, Shannon J. Spann's A Stage Set for Villains is both, but the premise is intriguing. Set in a land where performers at an enchanted Playhouse are dangerous and feared, a young woman takes an enormous risk by joining them. 

The Situation: Eighteen year-old Riven Hesper fears both the Players and their Playhouse, just as she has been taught to do as a resident of the North. She also has a terrible memory of being attacked and cursed by a Player ten years ago, and it is a curse that has alienated her from everyone, including members of her family. Also, it is slowly killing her. Then an opportunity is presented to her: a chance to not only be healed, but maybe even exact some revenge. The Playhouse is offering a chance for one person to steal a Player's immortality, all they have to do is win a competition. Truly, Riven has little to lose, and she may even get some answers.

The Problem: It is clear that the competition will be difficult, and dangerous. Riven is one of five competitors, each being mentored by one of the Players, and her mentor just happens to be the charming and merciless Lead Player, Jude. But in the Playhouse, nothing is quite as it seems, and the more secrets Riven uncovers, the less her life, including her place in this competition, seems to make sense. It is also clear that this competition is something bigger, grander, and more horrifying than she initially thought. What is certain is the scripts have power; memories cannot be trusted; and we cannot always be sure we are the hero in the story.

Genre, Themes. History: This is a work of fiction set in the land of Theatron, where an expiring treaty had banished the Playhouse and its fearsome Players to the South, keeping them from having an audience in the North. The Players are beings with incredible power, actors that can only survive if they have an audience, though they are often cruel and unforgiving when wielding their power. At the center of the story is Riven, who was cursed by a Player ten years ago and is desperate to reverse it. The chapters are broken up across three 'Acts' with an intermission between the first and second one, and the book even ends with a curtain call and encore. 

My Verdict: A lot happens in this book, and what is refreshing about it is that the author allows over 500 pages for all of that action to take place. There is plenty of room for these characters to run around and have their adventures, with almost none of it feeling rushed. Sure, there are some parts that are maybe given too much space, and the twists and turns can be tricky to navigate, but readers are never left behind. The world that Spann has built comes through in just enough detail without getting bogged down, and it is a world that is complicated, but not overly so, and with plenty of magic and wonder to satisfy a fantasy reader. 

Favorite Moment: I enjoyed the initial introduction of the five Players and their different characteristics. 

Favorite Character: Titus is my favorite Player. He is big, loud, brash, boarish, and thoroughly insecure...and he knows it and does not care.

Recommended Reading: Some aspects of this book did remind me Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor.