What I Read in August 2021

It's been a hot minute since I last wrote about what I've been reading and what's on my reading radar. Today, I'm sharing what I read in August.

I struggled a bit last month and had trouble becoming totally invested in the books I chose. The books are presented here in the order in which I read them; I've also posted these thoughts on Goodreads. Here's hoping September treats me better!

Thanks to the publishers and/or Libro.fm for review copies (digital, print, and/or audio).

The Glorious Guinness Girls by Emily Hourican (Grand Central Publishing): Hourican focused on the Guinness sisters as a way to examine the post-World War I years in England and the changing rules and social life of the privileged in both Ireland and England. Because this is historical fiction based on real people, other famous individuals of the era make appearances (such as the Mitford sisters). The time span is from 1918 to 1930 and is told through the eyes of a fictional character, a poorish cousin who comes to live with the sisters and be their companion. The author examines the elaborate rules of courting and having a season, the education of girls, women's changing opportunities, marriage, sisters, politics, labor, and the effects of the stock market crash. Worth the read. The audiobook is read by Roisin Rankin, who uses light, believable accents and captures the emotions and moods of the fictional cousin and the sisters.

Noyln by Michael J. Sullivan (Grim Oak Press): I just can't get enough of Sullivan and the universe he has created. I love the characters, the way the different series are linked, the world building, the action, the heartbreak, and the relationships. This book begins a new series that takes place after the "age of" books. I loved meeting new characters, visiting with a few familiar friends, and hearing how others became the stuff of legend. I can't recommend these books more highly for readers who like sagas, fantasy, great characters, and solid plotting. Note that if you're new to Sullivan, you can start at the beginning of any of the series and not be lost. I read the books in order of publication date, but you could also read chronologically, starting with the Age series. If you're an audiobook fan, you'll be happy to learn that Tim Gerard Reynolds is back as narrator. Truly, no one else could possibly be the voice for Sullivan's work. I bought both an audiobook copy and a print copy.

Home Waters by John N. Maclean (Custom House): This is more than the story of a family; it's a tribute to Montana, especially the big waters and the men who influenced both John and his father, Norman Maclean, the author of the novella "A River Runs Through It." In this well-crafted memoir, John tells the true story behind his father's fictionalized account of the Reverend Maclean and his sons, Norman and Paul. He also introduces us to his mother's family, the Burnses. John looks back at his family's history and recounts how he learned to fly fish, how five generations of Macleans have maintained the cabin built by his grandfather on the shores of Seeley Lake, and how Montana itself--with its wildness, waters, and beauty, shaped them all. For fans of his father's famous story, John writes about how the book came to be published by the University of Chicago Press, the factual account of his uncle Paul's death, and behind-the-scenes glimpses at how the movie was made. A beautiful book. For my thoughts on the audiobook, please see my review for AudioFile Magazine.

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarity (Holt): This story of a missing sixty-something woman set in contemporary Sydney has some of the hallmarks of Moriarty's earlier work. The book starts with the disappearance of Joy Delaney on Valentine's Day 2020. Then the story looks into to the past, starting with the day about 6 months earlier that Joy and her husband answer their door to a young woman, clearly hurt and in distress. The present and past are revealed by introducing us to the four grown Delaney children and their father. We learn about their youth, their family dynamics, their relationships, their ambitions, and their connection to the sport of tennis. While the mystery of Joy's disappearance (a murder? a kidnapping? a running away?) and who may have been responsible is at the core of the novel, this is really the story of a family. For me, this was only okay. I didn't really connect to any of the characters and never got caught up in finding out what happened to Joy. The audiobook was read by Caroline Lee, who has narrated several of Liane Moriarty's books. Her performance was very good in terms of characterizations and expressive delivery.

Forestborn by Elayne Audrey Becker (Tor Teen): I really wanted to love this book, but it didn't hold my interest in either print or audiobook format. It took forever for the action to pick up, though we know quite early on that this will be a quest / journey type of story. And even when that quest starts, the drama wasn't really there for me. The author drummed home & overemphasized some of the bigger issues of the story instead of allowing us to experience and feel them along with the characters. I quit reading at about 56% in. The book has gotten good reviews and praise from both print/professional sources and consumer/social media reviewers. I'm in the minority.

All's Well by Mona Awad (Simon & Schuster): I picked this up because the audiobook is read by Sophie Amoss, who is one of my go-to audiobook performers. I should have known better, however, because I had mixed feelings about Awad's previous two novels (13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl & Bunny). Awad excels at creating strange situations and unique characters. Miranda, the main character in All's Well, is an actor-turned-drama professor who has been in horrible pain after sustaining an injury that ended her acting career. The plot revolves around pain, Miranda's relationship with her students, a little magical realism ... and I just couldn't take it anymore! I DNF'd at about halfway. Sophie Amoss was *brilliant* -- she absolutely understands where Awad is going and is the perfect narrator for the book. I doubt I'll give Awad another chance, no matter who is performing her next novel.

A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins (Riverhead): Hawkins's latest thriller / mystery starts with the murder of a young man who lived in a shabby narrowboat. The larger concern of who killed Daniel and why is revealed through the stories of nosy neighbors, relatives, a one-night stand, and others. Everyone has something to hide or has survived a previous traumatic event. Family relationships are strained at best. Too many unbelievable connections and coincidences and too many characters with too many problems bog down the plot. For my thoughts on the audiobook, see AudioFile Magazine.

The Turnout by Megan Abbott (Putnam): I love Megan Abbott's work and I danced well into my 30s, so I had high hopes going into this thriller centered around two sisters who inherited a well-respected dance school from their mother. Sisters Marie and Dara Durant and Dara's husband, Charlie, grew up together and, in fact, lived together in the Durant family home until a few months before the story opens, when Marie moved out to live in a room above the dance school. It's fall, just weeks before the annual Nutcracker performance, when disaster strikes: there's a major fire in one of the practice studios. Enter a smooth-talking contractor who infiltrates the trio's lives, eventually threatening to expose their secrets and destroy all they hold dear.

The descriptions of the dance studio, the rehearsals, the jealousies, and the competition ring true. The relationship among Marie, Dara, and Charlie was formed when they were still children, all living with the Durant parents and all dancing under the tutelage of the girls' mother. The contractor is creepy and sleazy. It isn't easy to tell who is bad and who is good; you wonder whom to trust. The novel has the bones of a good thriller and held my attention, but I don't think is Abbott's strongest work. The tension gets derailed by too much description and I found it hard to root for any of the characters. The audiobook is read by Cassandra Campbell, who captures the characters' feelings and voices.

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams (William Morrow): Set in north London, the story is told from the viewpoints of two very different people. As they get to know each other over their newly discovered love of reading, they provide mutual support and stability at a much needed time. Seventeen-year-old Aleisha takes a summer job at the library only as a means to help her overworked brother and to bring extra money to the household while their mother is experiencing a particularly bad bout of depression. Mukesh turns to reading as a way to keep his connection to beloved late-wife and to forge a connection with one of his grandchildren. When Mukesh gets his first library card, he asks Aleisha for a book recommendation. She doesn't have one until she discovers a reading list tucked inside a returned library book. As the pair reads each of the books on the list, they discover how much reading has to offer and how important it is to let others into one's life. Sweet without being cloying; escape with some good messages. Recommended. The audiobook is performed by Tara Divina, Sagar Arya, and Paul Panting -- there are no weak links here; each narrator delivered on expression, characterizations, and emotions.

Invisible Years by Daphne Geismar (David R. Godine; my personal collection): An important and moving true story of the fate of an extended family during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands. Told via letters, interviews, photographs, and more, this is an incredible book. Sometimes emotionally difficult to read. This family story is made all the more important as eyewitnesses to the horrors of the Holocaust are aging and dying. It's nonfiction books like this that keep the true history alive and help prevent revisionist accounts.

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4 Books in 4 Days; Or My Holiday Reading List

Happy Friday! If you're in the USA or UK, are you ready for the long holiday weekend? I am, even though we'll be celebrating by ourselves this year. No matter, because I have plans. Reading plans, that is.

I hope to read one book every day of the weekend, starting today. I'll also be queuing up a new audiobook, but I'll talk about that next week. Here's what's on my 4-day reading stack (in no particular order).


Unreconciled by W. Michael Gear (DAW, May 12): I really liked the first three books in Gear's sci-fi Donovan series, which takes place on an outpost planet. A hostile environment, strange creatures, tough women, politics, and sleazy bad guys all play a part. Gear's anthropology background colors the story about colonizing a planet that, of course, already has an indigenous population, even if those beings don't look very much like Earthlings. Lots of action, and not everyone is destined to survive. The audiobooks in the series have been wonderfully performed by Alyssa Bresnahan, who brings the characters alive and amps up the danger and action. I've both read and listened to the first three books and will probably listen to this one as a reread later in the summer.

Answer Creek by Ashley E. Sweeney (She Writes Press, May 19): I have a thing for stories about the Donner Party and about American pioneers who made the trek west for a better life. This book is about 19-year-old Ada Weeks, who is traveling to California on her own, though she is not without useful skills. The group, of course, becomes snowed in before they can cross the Sierra Nevadas and must find a way to survive the winter with no food and little resources. Sweeney doesn't sugar-coat or romanticize the journey or what it took to survive that snowy winter in the mountain pass. We've heard the stories of cannibalism, starvation, and dwindling hope and faith. Does Ada survive the winter and, if so, at what personal cost?

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner (St. Martin's Press, May 26): This novel takes place in post-World War II England in the village of Chawton, where Austen spent her last years. When Austen's cottage is threatened by the current heirs to the estate, seven men and women form an unlikely alliance to preserve the home as a museum, honoring the author's work and life. Each member of the society harbors his or her own scars, sorrows, and burdens, but there is hope in their joint work. I'm a big Austen fan and am curious about this dual-level debut: first is Jenner's take on the author's life and books and second is following the stories of the characters who form the society. The audiobook is read by veteran narrator Richard Armitage, and I bet it's fabulous.

Beginning with Cannonballs by Jill McCroskey Coupe (She Writes Press, May 26): This novel focuses on race issues and civil rights during the last half of the twentieth century as experienced by two friends who drift apart as they become adults. Hanna's mother is the housekeeper for Gail's family, and thus the two girls grew up together in Knoxville, becoming--despite segregation--the best of friends. However, their interracial friendship doesn't survive after the girls are separated when Gail moves east. Through the years, as the two marry and raise children, Gail strives to maintain contact with Hanna and to reignite their childhood closeness, but the divide between them may be too wide to bridge. The themes of race, friendship, and possible reconciliation are what call to me here.

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4 Books for Middle Grade (and Older) Readers

Wait! Stop! Don't click away. I know what you're thinking: you don't have kids and you don't read kids' books. What you might not know is that today's juvenile fiction often addresses real-life tough issues, like homelessness, disabilities, gender identity, loneliness, and family problems. Of course, you'll also find plenty of fantasy, historical fiction, and action-adventure too.

I like middle grade fiction because it's devoid of the angst and love triangles that are so common in young adult fiction. I also like to stay in touch with the topics that might be on young people's minds. Plus some of the world's most beloved stories were written for young readers (think Harry Potter, Little House on the Prairie, and Narnia). Finally, it's always fun to be able to recommend books to readers of all ages.

Here are four middle grade novels that are on my list for March.

Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy (illustrated by George Ermos) (Norton Books YR, March 17) is a steampunk action-adventure story starring 12-year-old twins. When their father, a world-renown explorer, is reported dead along with his crew while exploring South Polaris, Arthur and Maudie are suddenly homeless. To make matters worse, there are rumors that their father didn't always play fair. The two find a place on a sky-ship and set off to clear their family name and uncover the truth about their father's doomed expedition.

• Themes: disability, family, self-confidence, learning about others who are different from yourself
• Extras: great illustrations throughout; a map
• Reviews: much praise for good world building, lots of action, appealing characters
• First line: The heavy chug of a sky-ship firing its engines rumbled through Lontown.

The Great Upending by Beth Kephart (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, March 31) is set on a Pennsylvania farm in contemporary times. As a drought threatens to bankrupt their family, 12-year-old Sara and her brother, Hawk, come up with a scheme that will solve all the family's money problems. Complicating matters are the mysterious man who has rented an apartment on their farm and Sara's ever-growing need for heart surgery. Oh and did I mention their plan involves breaking one of their mother's hard-and-fast rules?

• Themes: family, secrets, troubled times, plans gone wrong (or maybe right)
• Extras: some short chapters are set and read like free verse
• Reviews: praise for Kephart's signature beautiful language and ability to convey strong emotions
• First line: "Moon's in bloom," Hawk says. "Just hanging there. No strings."

City Spies by James Ponti (Aladdin, March 10) has a global setting and features computer-whiz 12-year-old Sara who is given an offer she can't refuse. No, she's not held up by the mafia, but after getting in trouble with the law for hacking a computer to expose her foster parents' wrongdoings, she is given a chance to leave New York to get special training with a secret British youth spy agency. This start of a new STEM action-adventure series sets up the premise and sends Sara and her fellow spies on their first mission: they travel to Paris where they are to catch the bad guy threatening to undermine an environmental summit.

• Themes: working as a team, contemporary issues, using STEM skills, friendship, diversity
• Extras: fun dossiers of the kid spies
• Reviews: good action, diverse cast, relevant to environmental activism
• First line: Sara looked at the water stain on the wall and imagined it was an island.

Blue Skies by Anne Bustard (Simon & Schuster Books YR, March 17) is set in post-World War II small-town Texas and tells the story of 10-year-old Glory Bea, who refuses to give up hope that her father, missing in action since D-Day will still come home. When a good friend of her dad's comes to visit and then to stay after getting to know Mama, Glory Bea isn't happy. She tries to keep the adults apart, despite her grandmother's reputation for being a terrific matchmaker. When she learns a Merci Train will stop in their town, she's even more convinced her father will find his way home. He just has to be on the train filled with gifts from the French people who want to say thank you to America for coming to their rescue.

• Themes: family, grief, relationships, hope
• Extras: introduces readers to the real-life Merci (Thank You) Trains; an author's note gives the history behind the story; includes a bibliography for further reading
• Reviews: good period details, well-developed characters, nicely linked to contemporary issues
• First line: Miracles happen in Gladiola, Texas, population 3,421.

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Today's Read: The Operator by Gretchen Berg

What if you had an inside channel to all the town's secrets and gossip? Would you be curious? Switchboard operator Vivian Dalton can't resist, especially when the phone calls she listens in on involve the town's it girl (aka daughter of the mayor).

Here's how Vivian's story begins:

December 15, 1952

Vivian Dalton's worn old ankle boots crunched over the packed snow in front of Freedlander's, the bright lights of the department store spilling right out onto the sidewalk and mixing with the glow of the streetlamps. Vivian gave a quick, polite wave of a gloved hand to Betty Miller, who'd caught her eye through the flocked glass of the main display window. Freedlander's fancied itself right up for the holidays, with the lights and the bells and whatever it was they put on the window to make it look like snowed inside.

—The Operator by Gretchen Berg (William Morrow, March 10, ARC)

Quick Facts

• Setting: 1950s, Wooster, Ohio (a real town)
• Circumstances: Vivian, a switchboard operator, dreams of a different kind of life, one in which she doesn't have to work, and she has the leisure to invite ladies over for tea or shop on Main Street on weekday afternoons. Instead she (and her co-workers) eavesdrop while connecting the town's phone calls, gathering gossip and learning secrets. It feels a little bit like sweet revenge to learn about her well-to-do neighbors' private lives, until Vivian hears a shocking bit of news (or is it just a rumor?) that hits way too close to home. Is the gossip true? And how will she survive in the insular society that is Wooster?
• Genre & themes: historical fiction; family, social class, self-image, marriage, friendship, small-town living
• Gleaned from reviews: well written; a glimpse at a lost profession; character studies of a bygone era; engrossing; unexpected depth 
• Why I want to read this: Looks like a fun look at small-town life. The story is very loosely based on the author's grandmother, who was in fact an operator for Bell. I like books set in the 1950s, especially when they show the less-than-pretty underbelly of the postwar boom years.
• Extras: the novel includes recipes and poems from the author's grandmother, dictionary entries for words Vivian wants to learn, and extracts from period newspaper articles. The author notes that she took some minor liberties with factual details of Wooster in 1952.
• Audiobook: Read by Allyson Ryan (HarperAudio: 10 hr, 6 min)
• Acknowledgments: Thanks to the publisher for the review copy of Gretchen Berg's The Operator.

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: My Week in Books

Why is it that we imagine we'll have so much free time during the holidays? I'm forever hopeful and forever wrong: between work, parties, cooking and baking, cleaning, shopping, wrapping, and more, there are really very few moments just to sit and relax.

Very little print reading was going on, but I finished two audiobooks, abandoned one, and started another, so that's not too bad. All the chores were so much better with a good story to keep me company.

We haven't watched too much on the screen this past week. We finally saw Green Book with Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. If you haven't seen this movie, put it on your list. It was much more than I was expecting, and it's made all the stronger because it's based on a true story. On a lighter note, we're catching up with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I think we're almost done with season 2.

What I Read

I've written about Sebastien de Castell's delightful Spellslinger series and how much I absolutely love the audiobooks--all read by Joe Jameson (Hachette Audio). The fantasy series has a little bit of a Wild West feel and has characters you'll totally fall in love with (or totally hate--because they're evil). There are laugh-out-loud moments and plenty of danger and troubles as well. Crownbreaker (Orbit, Dec. 10) brings the series to a satisfying end, though the author left room for more adventures. The books star Kellen, a teen who leaves his powerful family for an outlaw's life. Kellen tries to right wrongs and to outsmart those would see him dead. The cast includes many strong women and a complex animal sidekick. In this final book, Kellen must find a way to defeat his father, one of the most powerful men on the continent. Will the confrontation end in a death, in a reconciliation, or in a stalemate? If you're looking for a fun series with great characters, give these books a try. If you're an audiobook fan, don't miss Jameson's brilliant performances. (audiobook copy provided by the publisher)

When I found out the follow up to Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Lying (Delacorte, 2017) is coming out in just a few weeks, I decided it was high time I read this closed-room mystery. Here's the premise: five high schoolers are given detention for having cellphones in class. Before the hour is up, one of the students is dead. Who killed him and why? The story is told from the view point of the four survivors. Each one claims innocence both for the death and for having a cellphone, claiming it was all a set up. Of course, they all have secrets, and the dead boy knew those secrets and was threatening to reveal all. A nicely plotted mystery with well done red herrings and a few twists. I'm so glad I gave this a chance. The audiobook (Listening Library; 10 hr, 43 min) is performed by Kim Mai Guest, MacLeod Andrews, Shannon McManus, Robbie Daymond, who each take the part of one of the surviving students. There were no weak links, and their characterizations blended well. Now I have to put book 2 (One of Us Is Next) on my list; it's about the same school but focuses on different students. (print copy provided by the publisher; audiobook in my personal collection)

1 Ditched and 1 Loving

I started Maaza Mengiste's The Shadow King (Recorded Books; 16 hr, 9 min) with high hopes. Everyone seems to love this book about Ethiopia during World War II and the strength of a peasant girl turned woman who inspired her country to continue to fight for freedom, even when Haile Selassie himself seemed have given up. Sadly, even Robin Miles's brilliant performance couldn't save this book for me, and I abandoned it after six hours. Maybe it's the time of year and I needed something lighter, I don't know. Anyway, I said good-bye.

I'm currently reading Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski (Ballantine, March 2019). I'm not really a self-help kind of person, but when Swapna Krishna recommended it, I decided to give it a try. Although I put a hold on the book over the summer, it took until this month before my turn at the library copy became available. I was hooked almost immediately. I'll have more to say about this book when I finish it, but may talk about it on Instagram and/or Litsy. The book is geared especially to woman and will have you saying YES before you're even five pages in. I see why Swapna was raving about this, and why April from Good Books & Good Wine also recommends it.

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: 5 Short Book Reviews

I'm going to start this post with the obligatory question/exclamation: How can we be just days away from November? I haven't yet cleaned off my deck, I never did finish weeding the garden . . . Sigh.

I don't have a lot of chitchat this week because I'm still catching up from being away. My hope is that by Friday, life will have settled back down, just in time for me to get ready for my annual fall lace-making getaway. You'll hear more about that later.

This week's reviews are extra short because that's all the energy I have. Here's what I read and listened to over the last couple of weeks.

Virga & Bone: Essays from Dry Places by Craig Childs (Torrey House Press, Oct. 1): If you like essays about nature and our connections to it, you'll like this slim volume of a half dozen essays of observations about various places in the American Southwest. Childs writes about all kinds of desert things: temperature variations in Death Valley, the juxtaposition of bleached bones (the end of life) with the occasional rain (the beginning of life), and the layers of seashells found on the dry side of the Colorado Rockies. He talks about the people he meets and his observations on animals and insects. He also discusses the way people have changed the desert, from ancient indigenous populations all the way to the atomic bomb tests and on to twenty-first-century hunters and scientists. Childs gives you a lot to think about. (digital copy provided by the publisher)

The Sweetest Fruits by Monique Truong (Viking, Sept. 3): This is a fictionalized account of the life of the journalist, author, and teacher Lafcadio Hearn (also known as Koizumi Yakumo), as told through the eyes of the four significant women in his life. I have very mixed feelings about this book, primarily because I didn't realize until I finished it that the novel was based on a real person. Thus I was kind of in the dark and didn't connect at all to the story or to Hearn's extensive travels and relationships. Truong's writing was fine, but without the context, I felt lost. I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Penguin Audio; 9 hr, 25 min), read by Cassandra Campbell, Lisa Flanagan, Adenrele Ojo, and Emily Woo Zeller, for a freelance assignment. I enjoyed all four performances. Note that the book has won wide critical acclaim, presumably by people who knew who Hearn was. (audio copy provided for a freelance assignment)

Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen (Audible Studios; 2010; 8 hr, 31 min), narrated by Katherine Kellgren. After that last book I needed something light and fun so I turned to the third installment in the Royal Spyness cozy mystery series, which takes place in England in the 1930s. Our hero is Lady Georgiana, who is 34th in line to the throne and a cousin to the royal family. As with all good cozies, Georgie never seems to be too far away from a murder or two. In this outing, it appears that someone is targeting the royal family, and Scotland Yard hopes Georgie will help them find the bad guy. Meanwhile, in Scotland, Georgie's brother and sister-in-law find themselves with unexpected American house guests, including that Simpson woman who has caught the eye of Edward, the king to be. Lots of madness and mayhem, good humor, great characters, a touch of romance, and a fun look at the royal family. Kellgren does a marvelous job with the various accents and characterizations. (personal collection)

What I Lick before Your Face: And Other Haikus by Dogs by Jamie Coleman (Atria, Oct. 8): Attention all dog lovers: Here's the perfect stocking stuffer, hostess/host gift, conversation starter, and feel-good book for you. Coleman presents life from a dog's perspective as told through haiku. I loved pretty much every single one of Coleman's poems. I was laughing and smiling my through this delightful collection. The poems cover such things as taking walks, curling up on the furniture, begging for food, drinking out of the toilet, and fetching slippers.

Your Things
You keep throwing it
I keep on bringing it back
Look. After. Your. Things.

Each poem is accompanied by a photograph of a dog that perfectly complements the sentiment. This book is so much fun to look through and read. You'll be tempted to recite all the haiku out loud to your family and friends. Put this on your gift list! (digital copy provided by the publisher)

In Oceans Deep: Courage, Innovation, and Adventure beneath the Waves by Bill Streever (Little, Brown, July 2): Streever, a lifelong diver, examines the history, science, and technology of humankind's journey to explore the depths of the ocean. Streever takes a personal approach to this book, telling the story of underwater exploration by introducing us to the people involved. We learn about the various types of submersibles, the discovery of what causes the bends and how to prevent them, the effects of being under pressure, and the different kinds of diving (with and without tanks). I never thought about why space exploration seemed to capture the attention of the government and of people's imaginations more than the exploration of the ocean bottom--even with Jacques Cousteau and the later discovery of The Titanic. Streever has thoughts about this. He not only looks at history but also discusses the future, such as the development of underwater robots. Humans are drawn to the ocean depths for a lot of reasons beyond recreation, and Streever explores many questions, including these: Could we someday have underwater colonies? How can we make it safer for underwater work (for example for building bridges)? What are the consequences of underwater drilling? What's the status of underwater robots or drones? All in all this is an interesting and entertaining book. I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Hachette Audio; 9 hr, 3 min) read by Jay Snyder, who is quickly becoming one of my go-to narrators for nonfiction. He totally blurs that line between performer and author, drawing me solidly into the book. (audio copy provided by the publisher)

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: What I Read Last Week

Last week was interesting to say the least. It started out with a mini-work crunch brought on because I decided to accompany my husband to Maine. He is here for work, and because I work for myself and from home, I was able to temporarily relocate my office. But first I had to work ahead, then we had to get the house ready for the house sitter, and then we had the long drive up to New England.

Despite the hassles, I’m glad I made the trip.

I didn’t have much time to read or listen last week, but I did manage to finish two short books, ditch another one, and start a couple more.

Machine by Susan Steinberg (Graywolf, Aug. 20). A short novel that can be interpreted in a number of ways. In this book, all of the characters and locations remain nameless, but the story takes place over the course of a summer at the shore (which says New Jersey to me) and is told through the eyes of a privileged teenage girl. This the summer the teenager’s perspective shifts, particularly after one of the local girls drowns during a night of partying. Besides obsessing over the circumstances of the death (was her brother involved? was it an accident? did she herself play a part?), she is awakened to her parents’ flaws, her brother’s downhill spiral, and her own place in the world. She begins to sense both the power and limitations of being female, and begins to make deeper connections between wealth, choices, actions, and consequences. That’s a lot to fit into 144 pages, but Steinberg pulls it off. There’s a poetic rhythm to the text, especially as the protagonist’s thoughts spill out and the girl is filled with a jumble of emotions. Machine isn’t for everyone, but it could make my top ten list for this year. Sophie Amoss does an amazing job performing the unabridged audiobook (Blackstone; 3 hr, 34 min); see AudioFile magazine for my audiobook review. (audiobook provided for freelance assignment)


Can You Hear the Trees Talking? by Peter Wohlleben (Greystone Kids, Oct. 1). Both Mr. BFR and I loved Wohleben’s The Secret Live of Trees, and I was curious how the German forester would transform that essay collection into a book for middle grade readers. What I found was a delightful way to introduce children to the wonders of the trees and to the world of the forest. Wohlleben begins each chapter with a question, such as Do trees get thirsty? How do trees have children? Can trees talk to each other? and What makes trees sick? The answers are fun and easy to read and are illustrated with great photos, including pictures of children and animals in the great outdoors. Readers will find quizzes, experiments to try, and observational quests. We learn about the animals, fungi, and bugs that interact with trees, and we discover the benefits of trees in the wild and in the city. The book ends with a look at a forest through the seasons. Any child who is curious about nature would love Can You Hear the Trees Talking?, and it would make a great book for family activities as well as for use in a traditional or homeschool curriculum. For more about Wohleben, see Greystone Book’s interview. (digital copy provided by the publisher)

Call Upon the Water by Stella Tillyard (Atria, Sept. 17). The story of a seventeenth-century Dutch engineer and surveyor who helped with “draining and developing an expanse of marshy wetlands known as the Great Level” in England. After a complicated relationship with a woman he met in the marshes, Jan flees to the New World, where his services are again needed in New Amsterdam. I really wanted to love this book, but despite great period details and the promise of intrigue, betrayal, and maybe romance, I just didn’t connect to Jan or his situation. I tried this book in print, digital, and audio formats, but in the end, I decided to put it aside at just about halfway through. Note that other reviewers have raved about Call Upon the Water, and perhaps I should have read or listened to it during a calmer week. If you like historical fiction that offers a mix of science and drama, you should give it a try. (all three formats provided by the publisher)

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Today's Read: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

What would you do if you were stuck across the ocean from your native land living in relative isolation with your new husband, whose wealth did not translate into warmth and understanding? Alice took her cue from the strong women she met in 1930s America and found a way to help both others and herself: She volunteered for the newly formed mobile library, delivering books to rural Kentucky via horseback. Here's how Alice's story begins:

Prologue: December 20, 1937

Listen. Three miles deep in the forest just below Arnott's Ridge , and you're in silence so dense it's like you're wading through it. There's no birdsong past dawn, not even in high summer, and especially not now, with the chill air so thick with moisture that it stills those few leaves clinging gamely to the branches. Among the oak and hickory nothing stirs: wild animals are deep underground, soft pelts intertwined in narrow caves or hollowed-out trunks. The snow is so deep the mule's legs disappear up to his hocks, and every few strides he staggers and snorts suspiciously, checking for loose flints and holes under the endless white. Only the narrow creek below moves confidently, its clear water murmuring and bubbling over the stony bed, headed down toward an endpoint nobody around here has ever seen.

—The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes (Pamela Dorman Books, Oct. 8, p. 1)

Quick Facts

• Setting: Baileyville, Kentucky; 1930s
• Circumstances: Alice marries a wealthy American, leaving behind her native England for what she hopes will be a better life. It turns out that small-town Appalachian coal country is as stifling as her new marriage. However, a new Works Progress Administration initiative promoted by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt offers Alice a way out. She becomes a Pack Horse Librarian of Kentucky and delivers books, magazines, and the Bible to rural homes, offering them dreams and solace and company in the hard days of the late Depression. Her husband and father-in-law are furious and set out to shut down the library because books are giving women, children, blacks, and the poor uppity ideas. Can Alice stand up to the obstacles she finds in her her new homeland?
• Genre & themes: historical fiction; marriage, friendship, literacy, race, class, feminism
• Why I want to read it: Moyes based her newest novel on true events: Eleanor Roosevelt did indeed start a horseback-based mobile library program as part of the WPA. Women braved the weather and criticism from men and the rich to deliver knowledge to rural Kentuckians. Reviewers praise The Giver of Stars for its vivid characters, rich descriptions of the landscape, and accurate period details. Plus—Jojo Moyes! Of course, I'm going to read this!
• Extra things to know: Moyes was inspired by a Smithsonian magazine article about this WPA program, especially the photographs (which you can see by clicking through). NPR also had a show about the Pack Horse Library Project. The novel has already been option for a movie. Don't miss the Reader's Guide, available through the Penguin Random House website.
• Acknowledgments: Thanks to Pamela Dorman Books for the review copy of The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes.

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: Books I Loved, Books I Didn't

It was the best of two weeks and it was the worst of two weeks. I had to DNF two books in a row, but I listened to what is probably going to be my favorite audiobook (and book) of the year. Ditching books always puts a damper on my reading mojo, plus I’ve been really busy with work.

On a better note, we managed to get to the county fair (and eat all the junk food! Yay!). Plus the weather finally shifted. It’s downright chilly in the evening, and I’ve worn jeans twice during the day. I’m not at all sad, because I love fall and soup and sweater weather. Bring it on!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Sept. 10). If you like fantasy, adventure, historical and imaginary settings, and a strong female protagonist and if you like stories of female friendship, young and lasting love, coming of age, and betrayals, you must put this book on your list. And if you’re an audiobook fan, then make sure you listen to January LaVoy’s mind-blowing performance (Hachette Audio; 12 hr, 20 min). If this audiobook doesn’t win a million awards, I’ll be very upset. You need all the Januaries in your life. Trust me. At this moment, The Ten Thousand Doors of January is my favorite audiobook of the year and is on my all-time top ten list.

At the turn of the last century, young January Scaller lives in a big mansion in Vermont, where she is more or less treated as a daughter by her guardian Mr. Locke. January’s mother died when the girl was quite young, and her father is rarely home, because he’s an explorer and seeker of the exotic in the employ of Locke. Despite her beautiful surroundings, January’s life isn’t easy, being biracial and raised in isolation. She is strong willed and learns early that the way to Locke’s heart is through obedience. One day, while looking through some of Locke’s priceless collections, she finds a book filled with stories of love, adventure, and magical doors that open into other worlds. The book implies that all is not well, however, because someone is destroying the doors, trapping people in the wrong worlds and isolating the realms. Once a door is lost, it seems that it’s lost forever. What happens when January finds herself believing the stories?

I don’t want to say much more because the less you know, the better. This book has so many levels and such great characters. I was sorry when it ended, but (excuse the pun), I think Harrow might have left the door open for more January adventures. One can only hope. (audio and digital review copies provided by the publisher)

A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar (Riverhead; July 9). I wasn't at all sure what to expect when I started this audiobook (for a freelance assignment). The audiobook starts out with a note telling the listener (1) that the chapters are purposely out of order and (2) that you really do need to download the accompanying PDF. Set in contemporary times in a tiny town in the Nevada desert, the story is told through the eyes of Cale Lambert, abandoned shortly after birth by her mother to be raised by her widowed grandfather. Cale is a studious girl, and her grandfather does his best for her. After high school graduation, Cale gets a waitressing job at the roadside diner, where she befriends Penny, who is a couple years older. Penny is one of those girls who attracts men’s attention and who is a little too worldly for her own good. Cale is still surprisingly naive and quickly comes under Penny’s spell. After an ill-fated night, Penny disappears, and Cale cannot let it go. She is determined to find her friend—dead or alive—no matter what it takes.

As I said, the book’s chapters are all out of order, and though you’d think this would be confusing (especially in audio), the device works and works well. You get hints of the past and future as the story winds through time, from lazy, hot nights watching the stars to dodgy deals and dangerous encounters. The girls ache for something, but what that something is, is hard to say: connection? a get of town free card? a desire to be left alone? A Prayer for Travelers is haunting in its truths, and Tomar has a promising future.

The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel (Gallery Books; Aug. 13). I often say I’m done with World War II books, but I thought this dual-time-period story set in Champagne on a vineyard would be good. In the past, Inès, an orphan from Lille, meets and marries the slightly older Michel, a major champagne maker. Inès feels totally out of her element at the vineyard and in the chateau, but fortunately her best friend from childhood, Edith, lives in nearby Reims. In the present day, Edith’s granddaughter, Liv, lives in New York, is newly divorced, and is at loose ends. When she joins Edith in Paris and then on a trip to Champagne, the stories of past and present collide.

The book is peppered with real events and real people and accurately relates the struggles and dangers of the German occupation. The main driving point of the novel is the relationships among Inés, Edith, and the wine master’s wife (Céline) and Liv’s discovery of the secrets and sacrifices of the past. I enjoyed the story for the most part, but many of the secrets were not all that difficult to figure out, Inés's behavior drove me nuts, and there were parts of the ending that were a little out there. If you’ve read The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah (William Morrow, June 2018), then some of the plot lines (hiding wine in the caves, for example) will seem familiar. Still, this kept my attention to the end. (digital and audiobook copies provided by the publisher)

When You Read This by Mary Adkins (Harper; Feb. 2019). This novel was billed as being perfect for fans of Maria Semple and Rainbow Rowell and is told through blog posts, emails, texts, and other media. It is a story of friendship and family, loss and redemption, and seemed liked something I would like, especially because it involves publishing a memoir. Sadly, I got about 40 pages in and realized I wasn’t connecting with the characters or the plot line. (print review copy provided by the publisher)

The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood (Putnam; Aug 20). This novel is about Zee, who is just trying to heal and find a future after her boyfriend left and she was in a motorcycle accident. While at physical therapy, she meets a young man who claims to be her knight in shining armor—not for romance but for protection. He even talks in Middle English. This is supposed to be a quirky modern-day fairy tale and has received a zillion starred reviews. The audiobook is read by a winning cast, and their performances (the little I heard) were great. However, I barely made it 90 min before I had to bail. The audiobook itself was not to blame; I just didn’t care about any of the characters. (digital and audiobook copies provided by the publisher)

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: A Good Reading Week

Thank goodness I had a much quieter week than the one before. The new washing machine is installed, and although it's a little bit louder than the old one, it's faster and better, so all is good.

The temperatures moderated enough that on Saturday I spent a couple of hours on my deck reading. I loved being able to read outside for a change. I really should have been taking a walk, but it felt so good to just relax at home that I let my lazy streak take over.

I lucked out in my reading too. All three books were enjoyable and kept my attention, and today I find myself in that rare spot of getting to chose a new audiobook and a new print/digital book. I'm already looking forward to the end of the workday.

Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough (Poppy, May). This is a fun teen rom com with LBGTQ+ themes set in Australia. Will and Harriet may go to the same all-girls snooty prep school, but that's where they think their similarities end. Will is artistic, a little clumsy, middle class, and leans to the liberal side. Harriet is academic, a star athlete, rich, and definitely conservative. After their male swim coach makes yet another inappropriate comment, the two girls find themselves on the same side: something has to be done; this is the age of the #metoo movement, and despite coach's credentials, enough is enough. Worried about getting kicked out of school during their final year, Harriet and Will come up with a plan. They invent student activist Amelia Westlake. As the two girls give Amelia a social media presence and more things to protest (such as unfair grading practices), the students and faculty are abuzz with questions. Meanwhile Will and Harriet discover a growing mutual attraction, but is their shared secret enough to help them overcome their differences? Amelia Westlake Was Never Here follows a classic rom com plot line and is told in alternating perspectives from Harriet's and Will's viewpoints. Gough ties in themes of friendship, feminism, and economic privilege. The lesbian aspects are handled matter-of-factly, and both the primary and secondary characters are easy to envision. Fun summer escape reading. The unabridged audiobook (Hachette Audio; 9 hr, 5 min) is read by Candice Moll and Jaye Rosenberg, who both sounded believable as the teenagers. The performances were well matched in terms of characterizations and pacing, and I loved their Australian accents. (audio copy provided by the publisher)

Chances Are . . . by Richard Russo (Knopf, July 30). Russo is one of my go-to authors, so it was a no-brainer that I was going to read his latest. The story revolves around three college roommates reuniting on Martha's Vineyard forty years after graduation. The three were close as brothers in college, but this is the first time they've been together since a similar weekend in 1971 when their other best friend, a girl, left the island, never to be seen again. Despite a police investigation, Jacy's fate was never discovered. The reunion weekend shows just how much the guys have changed while also staying just the same, including their undying love for the long lost Jacy. The story is told both in the present and through flashbacks, revealing the men's secrets, the strength of their friendship, and ultimately, what happened to that beautiful girl after she stepped off the ferry. Chances Are . . . is a little bit character study, a little bit mystery, and a whole lot period piece. There's a strong focus on what it was like to be in college in the late 1960s to early 1970s, thoughts on the Vietnam War, and relationships between parents and children and husbands and wives. Russo also explores the differences between the ways we present ourselves to the world and the realities of our private lives. You won't want to miss this one. I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Random House; 11 hr, 17 min) for a freelance assignment. My thoughts on Fred Sanders's excellent performance will be available through AudioFile magazine. (digital copy provided by the publisher; audio copy for a freelance assignment)

Bethlehem by Karen Kelly (St. Martin's Press, July 9). This is a family saga set in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, when the steel mills were still running strong. The Parrish and Collier families have been intertwined since the post-World War I steel boom in eastern Pennsylvania, and the novel follows the two families, mostly in flashbacks from the 1960s, after Frank Collier and his wife, Joanna, move into the Parrish estate to live with his widowed mother and grandmother. Joanna, a South Philly native, isn't used to life on the nicer side of tracks, but tries to make the best of it. While walking her young children through the local graveyard, she meets an elderly couple and their grandson. As Joanna's friendship with this family deepens, she is confronted with choices and begins to suspect that her in-laws may have more complicated pasts than they let show. This was a fast read, ripe with family secrets and a few surprises. Bethlehem is light on period details but strong on the women's options, the consequences of their decisions, and their bonds over common issues. This is an enjoyable story that reads quickly. The twists weren't that hard to figure out and the world-building was a little scanty, but I was caught up in the women's lives. Recommended for beach or poolside reading. (finished copy provided by the publisher)

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8 New Audiobooks for Summer Listening

Summer is here with a vengeance (at least in my part of the world). Hot, humid, and horrible . . . except for the sun-ripened fruit, the abundance of farm-fresh veggies, grilling most nights, ice cold rosé, flowy sundresses and strappy sandals, long evenings, good friends, and—of course—audiobooks. Hello oppressive heat, I won’t let you get me down.

That introduction has pretty much nothing to do with this roundup of 8 audiobooks that caught my eye, all releasing next Tuesday. Some are already in my queue and some I'll be reviewing for AudioFile Magazine. I hope to get to them all. What else is there to do when hanging out in front of the A/C unit? Give me an engaging audiobook, a cold drink, and maybe a jigsaw puzzle and I'm a happy camper.

Bring on the Thrills and Chills

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman, read by Susan Bennett (HarperAudio; 10 hr, 17 min). Do you really need to know anything at all about this audiobook besides the Lippman–Bennett pairing? I don’t, but here goes: Set in Baltimore in the 1960s this mystery is based on a real-life cold-case of the drowning of an African American cocktail waitress. Besides the details of the murder, we see the workings of a big-city newspaper office, meet an ambitious woman reporter (with at least two strikes against her: female and Jewish) and a host of shady characters, and get a taste of life during the civil rights era.

Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham, read by Joe Jameson (Simon & Schuster Audio; 11 hr, 30 min). Jameson is a relatively new narrator on my go-to list but I so loved his work on the Spellslinger series that I had to add this audiobook to my list. Here’s the premise: a young girl without a known past, a psychologist who works on criminal cases, a chief inspector in charge of a murder cases, converge to figure out who raped and killed one of Britain’s rising star female figure skaters. Reviews of the thriller have been terrific, and I’m looking forward to hearing Jameson perform this gritty story.

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campell, read by January LaVoy (Macmillan Audio; 10 hr, 29 min). I’m not familiar with Campbell’s writing but I am a huge fan of LaVoy’s; whenever I see her name on an audiobook cover, I’m pretty much in. Here's the story: For Caroline, having a dream beach house (think Martha’s Vineyard, not Ocean City, NJ) didn’t come with a dream life. After she discovers her husband’s cheating, lying ways, she may have made some poor choices, but killing the bastard wasn’t one of them. Or was it? Stalking, passion, adultery, power, murder, and a new man—who can any of us trust?

Take Me to the Past

The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle by Sophie Green, read by Anthea Greco (Hachette Australia; 11 hr, 29 min). It’s true that I haven’t read anything by Green and have never even heard of Greco (though I did hear a sample of her easy-to-listen-to voice), but when I learned about this book from Shelleyrae at Book’d Out, I knew I had to track it down. Set in 1982 in New South Wales, Australia, it’s the story of four women in different places in their lives (and of different ages) who meet serendipitously on the beach and end up offering each other healing and hope and friendship. I’m thinking this could be the perfect summer listen.

Home for Erring and Outcast Girls by Julie Kibler, read by Karissa Vacker (Random House Audio; 14 hr, 24 min). This is another take-a-chance audiobook for me, seeing as this would be my first time with both Kibler and Vacker. The dual-time-period story takes place in Texas. One plot line is set in the early 1900s and follows two young mothers who, for various reasons, find themselves without resources or husbands. Choices were few in those days for single mothers, but together the two women just might find a way to survive. In contemporary times, a recluse librarian finds evidence of their existence and seeds of hope for her own redemption. I’m attracted to the themes.

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, read by Nancy Peterson and Jeremy Arthur (HarperAudio; 9 hr, 32 min). I don’t often fall for celebrity fever, but I do have a thing for Grace Kelly and have read a couple of nonfiction books about her life and the choices she made to marry her prince. Thus it was a no-brainer that “A Novel of Grace Kelly’s Royal Wedding” was going on my list; that it was written by Gaynor and Webb is a much-welcome bonus and I’m confident Peterson and Arthur will bring the story to life. This well-researched fictionalized version follows the Kelly, her family and friends, and reporters from America to the Mediterranean.

Let Me Escape

The Marriage Clock by Zara Raheem, read by Ariana Delawari (HarperAudio; 8 hr, 33 min). Thanks to my friend Swapna Krishna I was introduced to South Asian literature more than a decade ago, and I haven’t ever looked backed. This is Raheem’s debut novel, but I’ve enjoyed Delawari’s performances over the years, especially on the Wrath and the Dawn books. In modern times, the immigrant parents of Lelia—an LA-born twenty-something Indian Muslim woman—will call in the matchmaker if she can’t find her own Muslim husband in the next three months. After, bad dates, soul-searching, and a trip to India for a family wedding, Lelia’s time is up. What happens?

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal, read by Judith Ivey (Penguin Audio; 11 hr, 13 min). This audiobook calls to me on so many levels: It is set in the Midwest and written by Stradal and has themes of family, food, and drink and offers a realistic view of women in their sixties. I was introduced to Ivey through her work on a Sue Miller novel and again through the Ya-Ya books. This audiobook is about estranged sisters, a decades-old inheritance, a family business, second chances, and the younger generations. Oh, and there’s plenty of beer and pie! Absolutely refreshing on a hot July day.

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13 Novels for Your Wish List; Or What to Look for at Book Expo (2019)

For the second year in a row I will not be able to attend Book Expo in New York. I'm not all that upset because the real-life trade-offs I made are well worth it. On the downside, I hate missing the chance to visit with friends, see the city, and eat some good food. I'm also sorry to miss out on learning about all the new books coming out in the second half of the year.

I can't do anything about compensating for missed face-to-face conversations with friends, but I can do something about the books. I've been paying attention to the Book Expo buzz and looking through publishers' catalogues to discover the upcoming titles that I would have looked for when at Book Expo.

I found many good books to look forward to, and I want to share some of my discoveries with you. I'm going to save the thrillers, mysteries, and other crime fiction titles for next week, and I think I'll wait until closer to publishing dates to talk about speculative fiction and nonfiction.

Today, I'm featuring 13 novels that caught my eye. These are nowhere near the only books that interest me, but I'm making a start on my fall reading wish list. In the descriptions that follow, I tell you why I want to read each book and then provide the publisher's summary.

Authors I Like

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday, Nov. 5) Why: mysterious book, puzzle to be solved, non-reality

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth.

What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

The Innocents by Michael Crummey (Doubleday, Nov. 12): Why: setting (Newfoundland), the premise

A brother and sister are orphaned in an isolated cove on Newfoundland’s northern coastline. Their home is a stretch of rocky shore governed by the feral ocean, by a relentless pendulum of abundance and murderous scarcity. Still children with only the barest notion of the outside world, they have nothing but the family’s boat and the little knowledge passed on haphazardly by their mother and father to keep them.

Muddling though the severe round of the seasons, through years of meager catches and storms and ravaging illness, it is their fierce loyalty to each other that motivates and sustains them. But as seasons pass and they wade deeper into the mystery of their own natures, even that loyalty will be tested.

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson (Riverhead, Sept. 17): Why: I'll read anything Woodson writes.

As the book opens in 2001, it is the evening of sixteen-year-old Melody’s coming of age ceremony in her grandparents’ Brooklyn brownstone. Watched lovingly by her relatives and friends, making her entrance to the soundtrack of Prince, she wears a special custom-made dress. But the event is not without poignancy. Sixteen years earlier, that very dress was measured and sewn for a different wearer: Melody’s mother, for her own ceremony—a celebration that ultimately never took place.

Unfurling the history of Melody’s parents and grandparents to show how they all arrived at this moment, Woodson considers not just their ambitions and successes but also the costs, the tolls they’ve paid for striving to overcome expectations and escape the pull of history. As it explores sexual desire and identity, ambition, gentrification, education, class and status, and the life-altering facts of parenthood, Red at the Bone most strikingly looks at the ways in which young people must so often make long-lasting decisions about their lives—even before they have begun to figure out who they are and what they want to be.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (Ecco, Nov. 5): Why: humor, themes (families, twins)

Lillian and Madison were the unlikeliest of roommates at their elite boarding school: Madison, the daughter of a prominent Atlanta family, being groomed for greatness; Lillian, a scholarship student, plucked out of nowhere based solely on her intellect and athletic prowess. The two were as tight as could be, reveling in their unique weirdnesses, until Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly.

Years later, the two have lost touch, but Madison writes and begs Lillian for help. Her husband’s twin stepkids are moving in with them and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: the twins can spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a disturbing but beautiful way.

Disbelieving at first but ultimately too intrigued by these strange children, Lillian agrees. And as they hunker down in the pool house, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other—and stay cool—just as Madison’s family is bracing for a major announcement. It all seems impossible to manage, but Lillian soon accepts that she and the children need each other, urgently and fiercely.With a white-hot wit and a big, tender heart, Kevin Wilson has written a most unusual story of deep parental love that proves to be his best book yet.

Diversifying My Reading List

On Swift Horses by Shannon Pufahl (Riverhead, Nov. 5): Why: setting (American West, 1950s), themes (including LGBTQ+).

Muriel is newly married and restless, transplanted from her rural Kansas hometown to life in a dusty bungalow in San Diego. The air is rich with the tang of salt and citrus, but the limits of her new life seem to be closing in: She misses her freethinking mother, dead before Muriel’s nineteenth birthday, and her sly, itinerant brother-in-law, Julius, who made the world feel bigger than she had imagined. And so she begins slipping off to the Del Mar racetrack to bet and eavesdrop, learning the language of horses and risk. Meanwhile, Julius is testing his fate in Las Vegas, working at a local casino where tourists watch atomic tests from the roof, and falling in love with Henry, a young card cheat. When Henry is eventually discovered and run out of town, Julius takes off to search for him in the plazas and dives of Tijuana, trading one city of dangerous illusions and indiscretions for another.

Dominicana by Angie Cruz (Flatiron, Sept. 3): Why: themes (immigration, feminism. POC), setting (1960s New York)

Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by Cesar, Juan’s free-spirited younger brother, who convinces her to stay.

As the Dominican Republic slides into political turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family’s assets, leaving Cesar to take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, see a movie at Radio City Music Hall, go dancing with Cesar, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between her heart and her duty to her family.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (Putnam, Jan. 7, 2020): Why: themes (race, class, social media), setting (Philadelphia)

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living showing other women how to do the same. A mother to two small girls, she started out as a blogger and has quickly built herself into a confidence-driven brand. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night. Seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, a security guard at their local high-end supermarket accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make it right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha (Ecco, Oct. 15): Why: themes (race, police violence), setting (LA)

In the wake of the police shooting of a black teenager, Los Angeles is as tense as it’s been since the unrest of the early 1990s. Protests and vigils are being staged all over the city. It’s in this dangerous tinderbox that two families must finally confront their pasts.

Grace Park lives a sheltered existence: living at home with her Korean-immigrant parents, working at the family pharmacy, and trying her best to understand why her sister Miriam hasn’t spoken to their mother in years. The chasm in her family is growing wider by the day and Grace is desperate for reconciliation, and frustrated by the feeling that her sister and parents are shielding her from the true cause of the falling out.

Shawn Matthews is dealing with a fractured family of his own. His sister, Ava, was murdered as a teenager back in 1991, and this new shooting is bringing up painful memories. Plus, his cousin Ray is just released from prison and needs to reconnect with their family after so many years away. While Shawn is trying his best to keep his demons at bay, he’s not sure Ray can do the same.

When another shocking crime hits LA, the Parks and the Matthewses collide in ways they never could have expected. After decades of loss, violence, and injustice, tensions come to a head and force a reckoning that could clear the air or lead to more violence.

My Kind of Book

Call Upon the Water by Stella Tillyard (Atria, Sept. 17): Why: time period (1600s), themes (engineering, New World, love/hate, women)

In 1649, Jan Brunt arrives in Great Britain from the Netherlands to work on draining and developing an expanse of marshy wetlands known as the Great Level. It is here in this wild country that he meets Eliza, a local woman whose love overturns his ordered vision. Determined to help her strive beyond her situation, Jan is heedless of her devotion to her home and way of life. When she uses the education Jan has given her to sabotage his work, Eliza is brutally punished, and Jan flees to the New World.

In the American colonies, profiteers on Manatus Eyland are hungry for viable land to develop, and Jan’s skills as an engineer are highly prized. His prosperous new life is rattled, however, on a spring morning when a boy delivers a note that prompts him to remember the Great Level, and confront all that was lost there. Eliza has made it to the New World and is once again using the education Jan gave her to bend the landscape—this time to find her own place of freedom.

The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine (Sarah Crichton, Sept. 3): Why: themes (language, twins), other (copyeditor, dictionaries, language)

An enchanting, comic love letter to sibling rivalry and the English language

The Grammarians are Laurel and Daphne Wolfe, identical, inseparable redheaded twins who share an obsession with words. They speak a secret “twin” tongue of their own as toddlers; as adults making their way in 1980s Manhattan, their verbal infatuation continues, but this love, which has always bound them together, begins instead to push them apart. Daphne, copy editor and grammar columnist, devotes herself to preserving the dignity and elegance of Standard English. Laurel, who gives up teaching kindergarten to write poetry, is drawn, instead, to the polymorphous, chameleon nature of the written and spoken word. Their fraying twinship finally shreds completely when the sisters go to war, absurdly but passionately, over custody of their most prized family heirloom: Merriam Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition.

The Truants by Kate Weinberg (Putnam, Jan 28, 2020): Why: descriptions (obsession, coming of age, deceit, first love)

People disappear when they most want to be seen.

Jess Walker has come to a concrete campus under the flat grey skies of East Anglia for one reason: To be taught by the mesmerizing and rebellious Dr Lorna Clay, whose seminars soon transform Jess’s thinking on life, love, and Agatha Christie. Swept up in Lorna’s thrall, Jess falls in with a tightly-knit group of rule-breakers—Alec, a courageous South African journalist with a nihilistic streak; Georgie, a seductive, pill-popping aristocrat; and Nick, a handsome geologist with layers of his own.

But when tragedy strikes the group, Jess turns to Lorna. Together, the two seek refuge on a remote Italian island, where Jess tastes the life she’s long dreamed of—and uncovers a shocking secret that will challenge everything she’s learned.

Still Loving Dystopian

The Bear by Andrew Krivak (Bellevue Literary Press, Feb. 11, 2020): themes (nature takes over, father/daughter, survival)

A gorgeous fable of Earth’s last two human inhabitants, and a girl’s journey home

In an Edenic future, a girl and her father live close to the land in the shadow of a lone mountain. They possess a few remnants of civilization: some books, a pane of glass, a set of flint and steel, a comb. The father teaches the girl how to fish and hunt, the secrets of the seasons and the stars. He is preparing her for an adulthood in harmony with nature, for they are the last of humankind. But when the girl finds herself alone in an unknown landscape, it is a bear that will lead her back home through a vast wilderness that offers the greatest lessons of all, if she can only learn to listen.

A cautionary tale of human fragility, of love and loss, The Bear is a stunning tribute to the beauty of nature’s dominion.

The Divers' Game by Jesse Ball (Ecco, Sept. 10): Why: themes (class divide, future, power)

The old-fashioned struggle for fairness has finally been abandoned. It was a misguided endeavor. The world is divided into two groups, pats and quads. The pats may kill the quads as they like, and do. The quads have no recourse but to continue with their lives.

The Divers’ Game is a thinly veiled description of our society, an extreme case that demonstrates a truth: we must change or our world will collapse.

What is the effect of constant fear on a life, or on a culture? The Divers’ Game explores the consequences of violence through two festivals, and through the dramatic and excruciating examination of a woman’s final moments.

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