Tell Me a Modern StoryA Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza (SJP for Hogarth, June 12): A contemporary Muslim American family is divided over balancing Western 21st-century culture with their ethnic and religious traditions. Why I want to read this novel: Only through understanding and empathy can we combat hate.
The Fall of Innocence by Jenny Torres Sanchez (Philomel Books, June 12): Eight years after surviving a childhood assault, 16-year-old Emilia is having trouble moving forward. Why I want to read this novel: Although the subject is difficult, it’s important to recognize that past trauma can resonate in the present.
Take Me Back to the Last CenturyThe Myth of Perpetual Summer by Susan Crandall (Gallery, June 19): A young women recalls her tumultuous childhood in a small Mississippi town and her dysfunctional family. Why I want to read this novel: I liked the author’s first novel and tend to like coming-of-age stories.
Visible Empire by Hannah Pittard (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, June 5): The far-reaching ways Atlanta, Georgia, was changed by the 1962 Orly plane crash that killed many of the city’s white elite . Why I want to read this novel: Because it is based on a true event with a foundation in the civil rights movement.
Give Me a ThrillBring Me Back by B. A. Paris (St. Martin’s Press, June 19): While on holiday in France, a man’s girlfriend goes missing, never to be seen again. Ten years later, he’s engaged and thinks his past is behind him . . . or is it? Why I want to read this novel: I really liked the author’s previous novels.
The Captives by Debra Jo Immergut (Ecco, June 5): A prison psychologist is surprised when his next patient is his high school crush, who’s been convicted of a brutal crime. How far will he go to help her? Why I want to read this novel: I trust the Ecco imprint and thought the premise was good.
Let Me Escape This WorldThe Book of M by Peng Shepherd (William Morrow, June 5): What would happen if humans were hit with a pandemic event that caused them to slowly lose their memories, until they no longer even remembered to eat? Why I want to read this novel: Even in the present political climate, I can’t resist a good adult dystopian/postapocalyptic story.
Bruja Born by Zoraida Cordova (Sourcebooks Fire, June 5): This is the second entry in an urban fantasy with Latinx underpinnings. Plus there are witches and walking dead. Why I want to read this novel: I liked the first book in this series and want to know what happens next.
I really liked Visible Empire - it's a really interesting shapshot of a time when sparks were flying and things felt like they could explode at any minute...and I'm not talking about the plane!
ReplyDeleteI DNF'd A Place for Us...was just slow and long.
I know what you mean about June flying by. I keep reading great things about A Place for Us and am anxious to read it. I thought Bring me Back was the weakest of Paris's books. :/
ReplyDeleteYou talked me into Bring Me Back. I was wavering.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these. This is the first I have heard about all of these.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I really liked A Place for Us but didn’t connect at all with Visible Empire!! (This is Kalen, btw, BFR.)
ReplyDeleteA Place For Us was the best book I read this year.
ReplyDeleteI like how you presented these. I won Bring Me Back in the AudioBook win. Thank you again!!
ReplyDeletei am still way behind ... life is just too too ....
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