How is it August?
The sad part about it is that I struggled finding good books ALL summer long, so I’m here to share the good, the bad, and the ugly – but mostly the bad. However, if you disagree, please let me know if I should try it again.
#1. The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff
I felt like this was the Debby Downer of the summer. I had high hopes because I had just finished Damoff’s earlier novel, The Bright Years, which was amazing (!!!), but this just dragged on. The Burning Side focuses on the 9-year marriage of Leo and April that is quite literally in flames – while they deal with a house fire that makes them confront their problems right then and there. The one saving grace was Deb, April’s mother – who is coping with how to tell her children about their father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. This was the character I felt had the most substance, and I wanted to keep reading her internal thoughts. It was emotional, heavy, and while the characters and their lives felt so real – I didn’t want to know most of them.
#2. God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Okay, highly recommended, but because it was super thick, I just left it on my shelf for a good year or two. Then Taylor Swift was caught listening to the audiobook in her documentary, and my interest was revived. Any book that takes place in a sleepaway camp, I immediately picture myself in the cabins from The Parent Trap movie, so I was ready for this. It follows the disappearance of a camper – a camper whose own brother also disappeared years prior. It’s partly about the mystery but also delves deep into family drama and power – that makes you feel a bit icky from the outside, especially how they treat the mother, Alice. It has pages of suspicious characters – all a little quirky and odd – but when I say pages, I really mean pages. I feel like this book could have been 100 pages shorter and I still would have enjoyed it as much. It slightly reminded me of All the Colors of the Dark in terms of length, storytelling, and – a general overall good recommendation. Note: I recommend her other book, Long Bright River, as well.
#3. The Lowe Job by Grace Alexander
Who? What? Don’t even bother. I thought it was going to be a parody of the Kardashians making fame off of Kim’s infamous sex tape – and maybe it was, but it didn’t do a good job from the jump, and I moved on.
#4. Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Snoozing away in my beach chair, I didn’t get past the first few chapters. Nothing about this grabbed me besides the watercolor-looking cover. Reviews seemed up in the air, but none of them made me want to give it another chance. Thoughts?
#5. LoversXXX by Allie Rowbottom
I had high hopes for this. I was hoping for stories from the 80s, of girlhood, of parties at the Playboy mansion (and the like), rockstars and more. I got about halfway through. I think it was giving me what I was asking for – but it all seemed quite surface-level. I thought when her friendship veered into the strip club and movie making, there’d be more of a storyline and some emotional play here, but it was cut and dry. Maybe that’s what the times were like. Then there were just the beginnings of looking for a missing friend, but I didn’t get far enough where it seemed like they actually cared about her?
#6. Tenant by Frieda McFadden
A McFadden like all McFaddens. I read this at the beginning of the month, but I don’t remember it; I know it’s just like all her others. A bit catchy, a bit repetitive. It’ll be in a Little Free Library if you want to give it a try.
#7. Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
Oh! I recommend this one for sure to grab. Mallory, the nanny, gets a dream job for a dream family and a dream child. One inquisitive little boy, a beautiful home plus her own nanny cottage alongside the in-ground pool – she’s all in. Things start getting weird when the little boy begins to draw images – a series of images from the forest. In them, always a dark figure – slightly reminiscent of a woman – sometimes being dragged or buried below the surface. As Mallory digs deeper into the why and the who, she realizes the boy may be connecting to a spirit of sorts from an unsolved murder on the property. Of course, the parents want to hear none of this – and begin to think that Mallory may be losing it – aka not a fit for taking care of their child. However, Mallory’s committed to solving this – not only for herself – but for the boy.. Probably more committed than I’d ever be. I could imagine this being a horror movie or something on Netflix that’d scare me at night. I’d never heard of this author but definitely would pick up another one of his books!
#8. Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez
Picked it up, put it down. Can’t remember it besides that I didn’t finish it – I do recommend her other book, Olga Dies Dreaming, though.
#9. Valley of the Moms by Hannah Selinger
I grabbed this one after falling into a hole reading about Parent Council drama on Threads and learning it was inspired by some North Shore Moms. In the Threads drama, the author was hosting a book reading and signing when moms supposedly “stormed” the stage and began shouting things. Then, from a friend (local to the town), I heard the author was to blame for many of the things she directly or indirectly accused the Parent Council of. Just from that, I looked around and grabbed the book from the bookshop in the Seaport. Who doesn’t love mom drama, especially when you recognize many of the places in the book?
The book itself flips back and forth between the mom’s point of view – who decides to take on the President and run for her seat after feeling righteous about how other kids are treated when they’re not quick enough to grab a Ziti with Your Sweetie ticket. She rallies moms from her town (and neighboring areas) to come together to fight this injustice! However, when it flips, we also hear from the husband as he tries to get through the daily motions after his wife (the mom) is found murdered! (Is this why the Council was angry?) He tries to investigate a bit himself, especially when he learns that everyone is connected and he doesn’t know who to believe.
There’s a ton of negative reviews… but are those the locals? Does it deserve the bad ones? Thoughts?
I’m currently reading Fourth Wing – and while I’m sure most of you have read this – I was putting it off for as long as possible… and I’m loving it. I also grabbed the new Jennifer Hillier, plus I want to read Calamity Club and Heart the Lover. How about you?
If you got this far, thank you. Let us know if you’ve read any of these choices or want to share what you’ve got next on your list. Please do so via the comments on @caughtinsouthie or catch me on Instagram at @glossinbossin / @josiegl.
