Hello happy readers! Thank you for joining me for my fourth newsletter (You can catch up on the first, second or third one (as well as a mini issue) if you missed them).
Welcome to the second part of my special SUMMER READING EDITION. In the first Summer Reading Issue, I covered Romance, Bummers, and Historical Fiction. Here, I’ll cover Young Adult, Mystery/Thriller/Spies, Contemporary, and Western. Enjoy!
Book Giveaway Winners
I’m excited to get to give away some books!
If you are a winner, I will be contacting you via email with more information about picking out the book you would like me to send you. Congratulations and happy reading!
[Note: Books marked with an asterisk * below indicate that I have a copy to give away]
YOUNG ADULT
*Anna K. Away by Jenny Lee
What Others Are Saying: Anna K. has been brought low . At the beginning of the summer, her father takes her to the other side of the world, to connect with his family in South Korea and hide her away. Is Anna in exile? Or could this be her chance to figure out who she really is? Set over the course of one unforgettable summer, Anna K Away follows the fabulous cast of characters from Anna K. The sequel is full of the risk, joy, heartbreak, and adventure that mark the three months between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next.
My take: This was exactly what I wanted from a sequel! If you enjoyed Anna K., you’ll be satisfied with this book. It brings back all of the characters you want to see and does an excellent job following up on and continuing the storylines you care about from the first book.
MYSTERY/THRILLERS/SPIES
Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak
What Others Are Saying: Tired of covering the increasingly outrageous antics of President Henry Caine, White House correspondent Sofie Morse quits her job. But when she gets a call from the office of First Lady Lara Caine asking Sofie to come in for a private meeting, she’s intrigued. Sofie knows little about Lara—only that Lara was born in Soviet Russia, raised in Paris, and worked as a model before moving to America and marrying the notoriously brash future president. When Lara asks Sofie to write her official biography, and to finally fill in the gaps of her history, Sofie’s curiosity gets the better of her,. Sofie develops a bond with Lara, who is entirely candid about her mysterious past, speaking openly about her beloved father’s work as an undercover KGB officer—and how he wasn’t the only person in her family working undercover during the Cold War. As Lara’s story unfolds, Sofie can’t help but wonder why she’s sharing such sensitive information. Spanning from the 1970s to the present day, Pitoniak’s novel is a gripping page-turner about power and complicity and how, sometimes, the fate of the world is in the hands of the people you’d never expect.
My Take: Oh man, I enjoyed this book — it was delightful. If you liked fictionalized First Ladies (a la American Wife or Rodham) you will enjoy this book (if only Melania were truly this interesting!) It was well-written and excellently paced. The story is just absurd and complex enough that it feels like it could, in a parallel world, be true. Lots of fun overall — a great summer read!
*Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang
What Others Are Saying: A sharp and prescient novel about women in the workplace, the power of Big Tech, and the looming threat of foreign espionage. Julia Lerner is living in Moscow when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency. Years later she’s in Silicon Valley as COO of Tangerine, one of America’s most famous technology companies. In between her executive management, self promotion, and work in gender equality, she funnels intelligence back to the motherland. But now Russia's asking for more, and Julia’s getting nervous. Alice Lu is a first generation Chinese American whose parents are delighted she’s working at Tangerine. Too bad she’s slogging away in the lower echelons and has recently been dumped. When Alice discovers some unusual activity she’s burdened with two powerful but distressing suspicions: Tangerine’s privacy settings aren’t as rigorous as the company claims they are, and the person abusing this loophole might be Julia Lerner herself. Impostor Syndrome is a shrewdly-observed examination of women in tech, Silicon Valley hubris, and the rarely fulfilled but ever-attractive promise of the American Dream.
My Take: Ok, I didn’t mean to keep reading about secret Russian spies, but here we are! And, honestly, I’m happy to be here. I read this shortly after Our American Friend and if OAF left you wanting more, I’d recommend picking up Imposter Syndrome (that said, if you only want one Russian spy novel this summer, I’d go with OAF). Here we have a similar premise: the Cold War may be over, but Russia is still spying on the U.S. (and, presumably, vice versa). Feels true enough. The focus in this book is on Big Tech and its ever-growing reach and power. The novel blends a critique of technology’s power, with issues of gender equality issues in Silicon Valley, and the stories of two women who are trying to navigate their complex lives. Without spoiling anything, I will say that I liked the ending — it didn’t go where I thought it would and I think I’m happy about that. A enjoyable read overall!
PODCAST REC:
If you’re wanting still more Cold War spy stories, I highly recommend listening to Wind of Change (tagline: “did the CIA write a power ballad that ended the Cold War?” I haven’t finished the podcast yet, but — as a big fan of power ballads — I sure hope the answer is yes! In any case, you should definitely give the song a listen.)
The Last Flight by Julie Clark
What Others Are Saying: Two women. Two flights. One last chance to disappear. Claire Cook has a seemingly perfect life. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish. A plan that takes her to the airport, poised to run from it all. But a chance meeting in the airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision.
The two women switch tickets, with Claire taking Eva's flight, and Eva traveling as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico crashes, Claire realizes it's no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva's identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.
My Take: This was exactly the exciting, engaging book I had hoped it would be! A fun, fast read. (Although, without wanting to spoil anything, it didn’t end how I hoped it would). It was highly suspenseful with unexpected twists along the way. A great summer read!
The Maid by Nita Prose
What Others Are Saying: Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misinterprets the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has had to navigate life's complexities all by herself. No matter--she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. But Molly's orderly life is turned on its head the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle.
My Take: I feel like I’ve read quite a few books lately with protagonists who (implicitly or explicitly) seem to be on the autism spectrum. I enjoyed the portrayal of how Molly sees the world and how her strict, rule-abiding, literal interpretation of the world collides with a murder investigation. Again, without spoiling anything, I’ve thought a lot about the ending and I think I’m on board with how it was handled. In any case, I found this to be an enjoyable book and think it would be a good vacation read.
CONTEMPORARY
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
What Others Are Saying: Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become unlikely friends. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.
My take: A compelling — if utterly heartbreaking — book. As I said above, I seem to keep stumbling across books with protagonists who seem to fall on the autism spectrum (although in this book it’s entirely possible that Eleanor’s way of handling life springs from her deeply traumatic childhood rather than other mental issues). As I read it, I sometimes felt that the portrayal of Eleanor was a little too on-the-nose “mental-health-issues-as-quirky-loveable” but as the story developed, and as she began to change and grow due to her unexpected relationships with Raymond and Sammy, I felt like the book earned it. No spoilers, but I was shocked by some of the twists in this book (and the major twist I really didn’t like — I think it undermined a lot of the book). Still, a highly readable, compelling book.
The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan
What Others Are Saying: Cassidy Holmes isn't just a celebrity. She is “Sassy Gloss,” the fourth member of the hottest pop group America has ever seen. Gloss was the pop act that everyone idolized. Fans couldn't get enough of them, their music, and the drama that followed them—until the group’s sudden implosion in 2002. And at the center of it all was Sassy Cassy, the Texan with a signature smirk that had everyone falling for her. But now she's dead. Suicide. The world is reeling from this unexpected news, but no one is more shocked than the three remaining Glossies. Fifteen years ago, Rose, Merry, and Yumi had been the closest to Cassidy, and this loss is hitting them hard. Before the group split, they each had a special bond with Cassidy—truths they told, secrets they shared. But after years apart, each of them is wondering: what could they have done? A behind-the-scenes look into the rise and fall of a pop icon, and a penetrating examination of the dark side of celebrity and the industry that profits from it.
My take: If you enjoyed “Daisy Jones and the Six” (and/or if you have at all followed the #freebritney movement (which, honestly, you should because what is happening to her is a crime!) I think you’d enjoy this book. While it’s not quite as well done as “Daisy Jones” I still really enjoyed the behind the scenes look at the meteoric rise of an early ‘00s girl group. The more I’ve thought about the book, the more I wish it had done more actual telling, rather than always hinting at what happened (it jumps around in time, so there’s a lot of heavy “but of course that was before the fire”-type hint dropping). But also, upon further reflection, I appreciate what the book was doing in terms of how exploitative (and frankly, gross, especially for girls/women) the whole industry can be. It was a quick, enjoyable read.
Related Podcast: Again, if you’re interested in the #freebritney movement, I recommend listening to the podcast Toxic: The Britney Spears Story. I’m only a few episoded in but I’ve been enjoying it so far!
Ok friends, that concludes my summer reading recommendations. In my next issue I plan to return to my previous format of recommending books for ALL ages.
Thanks for reading! I hope you found a title or two in here that has piqued your interest.
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Happy reading!
So excited for the Anna K sequel! So the lede promised a Western...