My girls adore this story about a girl whose younger sister only wants to wear boys clothes and cuts her hair short, eventually asking to be called Jack, not Jackie.
BECAUSE
This gorgeous book is nothing like Willems’ famous Pigeon or Elephant and Piggie books. It follows the trail of inspiration from a classical composer to a contemporary concert to an inspired child who goes on to become a composer herself.
PATIENT H. M.
I have always found psychology fascinating and majored in developmental psych, along with theatre, in college. So diving into Patient H. M., I felt excited to learn through the study of lobotomies more about how our memories work.. I am thrilled to report, however, that this book delivers so much more. It reminds me of Hidden Valley Road (read review here) in how cleverly it weaves personal narrative with psychological history and current scientific fact.
THE PAYING GUESTS
You all know that I tend to gravitate toward historical fiction, but it feels like it’s been a while since I read a big, juicy novel like this one, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It honestly has a bit of everything, and when I tell you I devoured it, I spent three straight hours (of a much needed mom’s night away) in bed just tearing through the book as fast as I could.
THE COVENANT OF WATER
When you genuinely loved an author’s first novel, as I did Cutting for Stone, and you wait 14 years for a second novel, expectations can run high. When I heard that Abraham Verghese had finally brought out his second novel, I immediately bought it and started to read. At 715 pages, I had no misgivings about its length because I just knew it was going to be great. Oprah had already chosen it for her bookclub! Nearly three weeks later, I limped across the finish line and am still trying to figure out why.
PRODIGAL SUMMER
I have never read a book by Barbara Kingsolver that I didn’t love, and Prodigal Summer is no exception. Published in 2000, somehow, I hadn’t read this one and was keen to explore whether early Kingsolver novels were as gorgeous as her recent books. Prodigal Summer has an almost ineffable aura about it that I hope I can adequately describe.
TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW
was intrigued and a bit skeptical when people kept reporting that they loved Gabrielle Zevin’s new novel about the world of video games and gamers. Maybe that’s why I thought I should start by reading her breakthrough novel, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, recommended years ago by my friend Pam. I absolutely love that book and can recommend it highly to you L & L readers. After finishing Fikry, I decided to take the plunge into Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. And I want to enthusiastically endorse this book, as well.
THE PAPER PALACE
I don’t think I have ever read a pick from Reece Witherspoon’s book club that I haven’t enjoyed, and The Paper Palace is no exception. It almost feels like a darker version of Every Summer After, which I reviewed last month (read review here). So if you like your beach reads with a bit of trauma, this one is for you.
INFINITE COUNTRY
With immigration at the southern U.S. border a hot topic in the news once again, it can be refreshing to read a fictional account of an immigration experience by someone who has actually lived it. Colombian-American writer Patircia Engel has created a memorable and unique story that has stayed with me for weeks after reading it.
THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT
If I didn’t have three little kids with all kinds of crazy desires like food, baths, naps, etc, I would definitely have finished this book in just one or two sittings.
TRUST
Even before Hernan Diaz won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Trust, I knew I needed to read this book. My husband, Rufus, had read it before me and couldn’t stop talking about it. He was anxious for me to read it too so that we could discuss it. A request of this kind doesn’t come along often, so my interest was really piqued.
EVERY SUMMER AFTER
I absolutely love when I end up reading the right book at the right time, and Every Summer After lined up perfectly with the first warm days of spring in Toronto. This is a true beach read and a very enjoyable one.
IVY & BEAN
A little less than a year ago my oldest daughter Charlotte and I reviewed The Adventures of Sophie Mouse series (read review here) which were the first chapter books we really enjoyed reading together. It has taken us a while to find a series we love as much, but we are here to recommend the Ivy & Bean series to all of our young book-lovers and parents in the L&L family.
PINEAPPLE STREET
When I think about Pineapple Street, it strikes me as the first fun summer book that I’ve read this year, albeit before summer has technically begun. Set in Brooklyn Heights—and the first novel by Jenny Jackson, a Williams College graduate—the characters and storyline seem very familiar and realistic.
HELLO BEAUTIFUL
This gorgeous story about four sisters and their relationships with each other, with their overbearing mother and their under-achieving father, is a modern-day recast of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I am not sure that Hello Beautiful will stand the test of time to rival that classic in its staying power. Nevertheless, I found it enthralling to read.
UNDERGROUND AIRLINES
The stories and tall tales of the underground railroad which helped thousands of enslaved people escape to the northern United States and Canada continue to fascinate and inspire artists today. Ben H. Winters has taken the concept and imagined what would have happened if Lincoln had been assassinated before becoming President and Congress had reached an agreement which included several southern states maintaining their rights to own human beings.
MISS BENSON'S BEETLE
If ever there was a title for a book to make me less likely to pick it up and read it, I can’t come up with it! Thankfully, Miss Benson’s Beetle was recently selected by my Boston Bates Alumna book club because it is a real jewel. Joyce has written one of the best books about female friendship that I can remember ever reading.
FELLOWSHIP POINT
How very fitting that this gorgeous novel about a lifelong friendship between two women should be recommended to me by my very dear friend, Pam. The story begins when Agnes Lee and Polly Wister are in their 80s and navigating a new phase of their friendship at their summer homes on Fellowship Point, Maine. Agnes, a famous author who has never married, has plans to donate her land on her beloved peninsula in Maine as a trust, to ensure that it will remain unspoiled after she dies.
CARRIE SOTO IS BACK
love when I get around to reading a popular book before the buzz has subsided. Not only is this Reid’s 2022 bestseller, but she’s in the media this month because her earlier novel Daisy Jones and the Six has just been released as a TV show on Amazon Prime. While Daisy Jones was not my favorite (too whiny, read my review here), Carrie Soto is well worth a read.
JUST MERCY
n my non-fiction round-up last month, I mentioned a few books that were difficult to read, but worth it (read round-up here). Just Mercy is an incredible, but devastating addition to that group. You may have seen the 2019 movie starring Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx, but I honestly can't imagine the degree of nuance and context that must have been lost in a two-hour movie. And let’s be honest, if you’re an L&L subscriber, I’m sure you’d read the book first anyway!