Reader's Place: August 1, 2024
Looking for your next beach read? Here is a sampling of what our Adult Summer Reading Challenge participants have been enjoying this summer! Check out their reviews and recommendations here.
Anita de Monte Laughs Last, by Xochitl Gonzalez (Library Catalog)
A novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death. Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is an examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.
“I loved this book! Anita de Monte is a Latina artist who was forgotten by history after her death. She is discovered by a Latina art historian decades later. These two stories are intertwined in a way that explores how those who control the story, control history. It was an extremely thought provoking novel looking at how class and socioeconomic status, as well as race, plays into our understanding of what was and is.”
Funny Story, by Emily Henry (Library Catalog)
Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian after her fiancé dumps her for his best friend Petra, Daphne agrees to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak. Though Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
“I went into this with very low expectations. I have not liked the last two of her books, and her first was my favorite. I am very happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed this one! This was exactly what I needed, and I found the setting and friendships and the whole vibe just extremely cozy and comforting.”
A House With Good Bones, by T. Kingfisher (Library Catalog)
A haunting Southern Gothic, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family. Warned by her brother that their mother seems "off," Sam visits and discovers a once-cozy home with sterile white walls, her mom a jumpy, nervous wreck, and a jar of teeth hidden in the rosebushes. To find out what's got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam goes digging for the truth.
“Right from the start, A House With Good Bones pulled me in with our witty, logical, amusing, archeoentomologist narrator Sam. Without revealing any spoilers, she begins to deal with weirdness from both her mom and the family house. The creepiness builds up, perhaps a bit slowly, but effectively, as she interacts with various neighborhood characters and learns more about what's really going on, and eventually winds up trapped in more ways than one. With the looming shadows of her deceased Gran Mae and her precious roses in the backyard, you might feel crawling and thorn pricks on your skin. But fear not, your archeoentomologist protagonist is here to charm you over even at her darkest moments. I thoroughly enjoyed A House With Good Bones, and I'm looking forward to reading other works by T. Kingfisher!”
How to Age Disgracefully, by Clare Pooley (Library Catalog)
The quirky members of the Senior Citizen's Social Club join forces with the tiny members of the daycare next door to thwart the city council's planned sale of the building housing both centers. When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens’ Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she’ll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards. The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign—but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide.
“What a romp! Absolutely loved reading this book and want there to be a real Yarnsy roaming this town. Clare Pooley creates characters that you want to know, befriend and roll your eyes at.”
Interesting Facts about Space, by Emily R. Austin (Library Catalog)
When she unwittingly plunges into her first serious romantic entanglement, space-obsessed Enid starts to believe that someone is following her. As her paranoia starts to take over her life, and the personal growth she's worked to achieve, she gradually discovers the one thing she can't outrun--herself.
“This book was cute. It features a neurodiverse, lesbian woman who is searching for connection and acceptance after her dad walked out on her and her mom at a young age. It had some hilarious stories, cringy moments and nice lessons.”
One of Our Kind, by Nicola Yoon (Library Catalog)
Moving their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California, hoping to find a community of like-minded people, Jasmyn, perplexed and frustrated by most residents' outlook, discovers a terrible secret about Liberty and its founders and must save her loved ones from embracing the Liberty way of life.
“I really enjoyed the different elements of this novel (felt a little like The Stepford Wives). This was thought provoking regarding the racial justice issues our society continues to wrestle with, the ways we compare ourselves, strength to continue the fight against the hierarchy. It was a fascinating read and I hope Yoon continues to write for the adult audience. It makes me want seek out her YA writing.”
Redwood Court, by DeLana R. A. Dameron (Library Catalog)
Mika Tabor, the baby of the family, learns important lessons from the people who raise her: her hardworking parents, her older sister, her retired grandparents and the community on Redwood Court, who are committed to fostering joy and love in an America so insistent on seeing Black people stumble and fall.
“The story of a Black community called Redwood Court, set in the southern city of South Carolina, as told in lyrical prose by the youngest member, a girl named Mika. This book draws vivid characters in a rich coming of age story as Mika navigates her family, her community and what's next in her life.”
Same as It Ever Was, by Claire Lombardo (Library Catalog)
Finally at age 57, Julie Ames feels she has a firm handle on things, but a surprise announcement from her straight-arrow son, an impending separation from her teenaged daughter and a seductive resurgence of the past threaten to draw her back into the patterns that had previously kept her on a razor's edge.
“A beautifully written book about family and friend relationships. I wanted to find out what happens while at the same time not wanting it to end.”
The Sicilian inheritance, by Jo Piazza (Library Catalog)
Inheriting a plot of land in Sicily, along with a bombshell family secret--her great-grandmother Serafina didn't die of illness but was murdered--Sara Marsala races all over the picturesque Italian countryside to solve a mystery and learn the real story of Serafina, putting her in the crosshairs of a killer.
“Great read about a woman who goes to Sicily to find out about her past. It went back and forth in time between her and her great great grandmother. Excellent character development. It’s a good summer read. The descriptions of Sicily are beautiful and made me want to visit.”
The Wedding People, by Alison Espach (Library Catalog)
It's a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives alone at the grand Cornwall Inn. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’d dreamed of coming with her husband, only now she's here without him and she can only see darkness in her future. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe―which makes it that much more surprising when the women can’t stop confiding in each other.
“This is a very talky book, and I loved that about it. It's a book where perfect strangers spill their guts to each other precisely because they are perfect strangers and don't owe each other anything, which frees them from the social conventions and responsibilities that often inhibit our communication with our own loved ones. It's honest, it's insightful, and it's frankly hilarious. But at the same time, it gives very serious weight to the protagonist's grief and depression and sadness. It's one of those books that can blend darkness and light and do it so well. It's everything I love in a book.”
Compiled by Jenny Zbrizher