Summer Book Review
Ah, summer. What better time is there to kick back, settle in, and relax with a good book? Whether you want to figure out the meaning of life or just check out of it for a while, here are a few choices worth considering, brought to you by our friends at The Coffee Shelf, where coffee, culture and community come together.
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Beach Books
Years ago I had the great fortune of going to a luncheon in downtown Columbia, SC in which best-selling author Dorothea Benton Frank was the featured speaker. One of the guests asked Mrs. Frank “Are you insulted by the characterization of your books as being ‘beach’ books?” Mrs. Frank graciously replied she considered it an honor and privilege when someone chooses one of her books for their vacation reading material. It’s true, too. Many times on vacation we don’t want to think too hard or work our already-frazzled brains any more than necessary.
“Summer Guests” is Mary Alice Monroe’s latest tale centering on a life-long group of friends evacuating to a Blue Ridge mountain North Carolina horse farm owned by Grace and David Wyatt because Hurricane Noelle is bearing down on the coast. The friends and family are traveling from different locations in the South, and they meet up at the Wyatt’s, where the excitement begins. The story has a definite “horse” theme, but that will make no difference if you are a Monroe fan. She draws you in with the great characters, including memorable pets.
“The Islanders” is set on a quaint Maine island town, Block Island. Three characters and their secrets form the basis of this fun read. Anthony, the scorned writer has escaped to the island, and he’s desperate to fix his completely chaotic life. Joy is a year-round island resident and owner of a whoopie pie cafe when a copy-cat food truck decides to sell baked goodies around the island, causing her business to suffer. Lu, a former attorney, and dissatisfied stay-at-home mom is a reluctant summer resident with a secret and wildly successful food blog she’s kept a secret from her surgeon husband. The challenges and choices of the characters make for a riveting summer read. I enjoyed every moment of Meg Moore’s summer story and mentally escaping to Block Island.
“Run Away” by Harlan Coben is no “slow burn” story. You’ll be hooked from the first chapter of this fantastic, fast-paced thriller! Successful power-couple Simon and Ingrid Greene have given co-ed daughter Paige an ultimatum. She’s no longer welcome at home until she seeks treatment for drug-addiction and ends a relationship with Aaron, her much older and abusive drug dealer boyfriend. Paige disappears. After six agonizing months go by, Simon’s unable to handle the worry and fear, so he secretly hires a PI without Ingrid’s knowledge and catches a break. Shortly after tracking Paige down and confronting her, boyfriend Aaron is found dead. Did Simon kill Aaron? Did Paige kill Aaron? Or did someone else? Coben digs into several hefty topics in “Run Away” (DNA-ancestry sites, cults, drug addiction). No stranger to mysteries and thrillers - Coben is the #1 New York Times best-selling author who’s written over thirty novels with 70 million in print worldwide, and a half dozen have been adapted to film versions. He is a genius at drawing the reader in quickly, and his plot-twists are legendary.
“The Farm” by Joanne Ramos should come with a “BOOK CLUB ALERT!” on the cover. If you need a sensational, yet discussion-worthy, title for your book group, look no further. Beautiful, young Filipino mother Jane Reyes is barely hanging on, caring for her infant Amalia as a single parent in NY. She lives in a dormitory-style apartment with other Filipino women. When Jane is approached about an opportunity to help couples have a baby of their own by being a surrogate, it seems her financial worries are over. Evelyn, her older cousin and baby nurse to the rich, encourages her to take the job even though this means leaving baby Amalia for almost a year. When Evelyn offers to care for Amalia the decision to become a host is made. Jane moves into Golden Oaks Farm, an exclusive “gestational” retreat in Upstate, NY where the mega-rich pay for mostly poor, minority women to be the host of their fetus. The women rent out their wombs for massive amounts of cash while enjoying beautiful rooms, gourmet meals, exercise classes, and high-tech monitoring of their every breath in a remote and pastoral farm-like setting. Sounds bizarre and far-fetched, huh? “The Farm” is fiction at it’s finest!
Saga Books
Is your idea of a good vacation read, a sweeping and epic saga you can sink your teeth into? Or a deep and enduring title spanning several generations? If so, you’ve got some great choices for summer reading!
“The Guest Book” (Sarah Blake) Sarah Blake has written an unforgettable family saga spanning several generations of the aristocratic Milton family of New York. If you love a “slow burn” full of dark secrets set on an island off of Maine’s coast, this one’s for you. The Milton family purchase the island in the 1930s during WWII and begin the tradition of summering here each year. The family summer spot bears witness to shocking events and decisions which have devastating consequences. Blake is no stranger to accolades as evident by the success of “The Postmistress” (2009).
“The Gown” (Jennifer Robson) In 1947, post-war London is a brutal place. Besides food and clothing rations, there’s a coal shortage, and jobs are scarce. Surviving is the goal. Miriam Dassin, a French woman, arrives in London after enduring the notorious Ravensbruck concentration camp and losing every member of her family. Dassin is hired as an embroiderer at the Mayfair Fashion House of Norman Hartnell, where she meets Ann Hughes, also alone. Miriam and Ann work on exquisite gowns and special clothing for the ultra-wealthy and famous. Amidst the war recovery effort, Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten. For the women who work for Hartnell, the news Mayfair has been commissioned to create THE GOWN is thrilling. Robson’s historian background is reflected as she tells the story of what life was like for the women charged with this massive and top-secret project. She does an excellent job of balancing the “practical vs. wasteful” aspect of why resources would be directed to the construction of an expensive and elaborate garment when people in England are literally freezing to death. Such pageantry seems frivolous until one considers Winston Churchill’s thoughts on the royal wedding as a “flash of color on the hard road.” “The Gown” is a fascinating story of friendship and perseverance.
“Together” by Judy Goldman is a memoir of a marriage and a medical mishap. Sounds sad, right? You might be surprised. Judy Goldman, a native of Rock Hill, South Carolina and current resident of Charlotte, North Carolina penned a riveting account of what it means to walk through what should have been a routine outpatient medical procedure which results in her husband Henry’s paralysis. She tells their story in alternating chapters going from the past to the present, so you get a glimpse of their story before the procedure and, then, the “new normal”. Goldman reveals her bitterness, anger and even humor. She holds nothing back, which makes for an inspiring and hopeful story about true commitment and dedication to your spouse. Worth noting: the editor of “Together” is Nan Talese, a legend in the publishing industry and known in literary circles as Pat Conroy’s editor. In addition, blurbs on the back cover don’t always matter, but when they include Wiley Cash (“The Last Ballad”) and Christina Baker Kline (“Orphan Train”) I definitely take note. (Published in February 2019)
“Inheritance” (Dani Shapiro) What if everything you believed to be true about yourself ended up being a lie? “Inheritance” is a fascinating true story about one woman’s quest for the truth. In 2016 author and teacher Dani Shapiro sends her DNA to a genealogy website, and, when the results come back, her world is turned upside down. Joseph Shapiro, the man she believes to be her father is not actually her father. Even more tragic, both parents are deceased so she’s unable to talk to them about her findings. With the help of her husband and other experts in the field of genealogy and DNA testing, Shapiro uncovers details about her parents’ choices and the resulting consequences. Piecing together the story of their secrets makes for a compelling story of hope, love and the meaning of paternity.
