Good Reads & Views

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
Fiction

What it’s about: It's about a young woman who is hired as a personal assistant to a commanding fashion magazine editor, a job that becomes frightening as she struggles to keep up with her boss's strenuous schedule and belittling demands.

Why you might like it: If you like fashion and learning about what happens in the fashion world, and what some people will go through for the sake of fashion, then you need to read this book.

You might also like: The Assistants by Camille Perri

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The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Fiction 

What it’s about: Ghosts, turbulent times, and a love of books and bookselling are key to this darkly humorous literary novel. Tookie—convicted of a bungled attempt at body snatching and released from prison only to marry the cop who arrested her—is now, much to her surprise, working in a bookstore. Like many people, Tookie is haunted by her past (both personal and ancestral), but she is also haunted by a very real ghost who is becoming increasingly intrusive and aggressive. Set in Minneapolis beginning in the fall of 2019—just at the onset of the pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and a year of protests and unrest.

Starring: Tookie—prickly and tough on the outside but learning to open up; her husband, Pollux—a natural leader who is challenged by his own mistakes; and the ghost, Flora—the bookstore’s most annoying customer.

Critics say: “More than a gripping ghost story, this offers profound insights into the effects of the global pandemic and the collateral damage of systemic racism. It adds up to one of Erdrich’s most sprawling and illuminating works to date” (Publishers Weekly); “Rising from last summer’s ashes and honoring its ghosts, The Sentence is the perfect book to read right now, an unpolished, intense, politically passionate, sorrowful, comic masterpiece” (Julie Phillips, 4Columns).

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Pig Hearted by Alex Perry
J Fiction

What it’s about: Jeremiah is a 12-year-old boy who needs a heart transplant. J6 is a pig, but not just any ordinary pig. He has strong ventricle walls. J6 is a genetically altered pig, who was  injected with human stem cells before he was born. He’s growing Jeremiah’s new heart meant for human transplant.  

Why you might like it: The chapters alternate between the perspective of Jeremiah and J6. You learn that J6 has more than a human heart, he has a human brain, capable of feeling and communicating with humans. He’s smart and loves being the center of attention by dancing on Instagram. It’s a really interesting story and the characters captivate the reader. 

Want a taste? The chapters from J6’s point of view are so pure and imaginative. Because he’s a pig, he doesn’t know a lot of specialty words, like attic, but uses simpler words to describe things, like, “...he yanked on a string in the ceiling and ripped a square hole in it. A ladder fell down, and he climbed up it and into the house’s skull” (p. 184).  

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The Turner House by Angela Flournoy
Fiction 

What it’s about: You’ll meet the fifteen members of the Turner family in this big story about a big Detroit family trying to decide what to do about their family home. While the story centers on a few of the thirteen Turner children, along with their parents, the author brings the secondary characters into clear focus.

Why you might like it: If you like compelling storytelling and moving stories about family relationships, this leisurely-paced novel will immerse you in the warm, messy, loving world of the Turner family.

Reviewers say: “Flournoy gets at the universal through the patient observation of one family’s particulars. In this assured and memorable novel, she provides the feeling of knowing a family from the inside out, as we would wish to know our own” (New York Times Book Review).

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Firestarter by Stephen King
Fiction

What it’s about: Firestarter begins with a man and his young daughter on the run from unrelenting hunters. Andy McGee and his daughter Charlene, "Charlie," have powers that a government agency known as The Shop wants to use for its own. With his mind Andy can physically thrust other people’s bodies and control their minds. Charlie has a number of powers but the most dominant one is generating intense heat with her mind, heat extreme enough to set anything on fire. Time and time again, The Shop agents show themselves to be as reprehensible as they are determined and have already killed Charlie's mother.

Is it for you? If you love suspense and character driven plots, then you should read this book.

You might also like: Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay

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A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
Fiction

What it’s about: Set in post-apocalyptic Panga, tea monk Dex leads a satisfying life wandering the road, serving tea, and listening to their clients—until the urge for something more takes them off-road and on this gentle adventure. Then Dex encounters Mosscap, a wild-built robot, “offspring” of the robots that became self-aware and left Panga’s civilization centuries ago. Mossback has been sent to answer the question, “what do people need?” If they join forces, will either of the two find what they are looking for? A delightful, companionable read about friendship and discovery.

Who is this for? Fans of comfort-punk and hopeful science fiction will enjoy the excellent, effortless world-building, and the simple, whimsical, and introspective story with deep character development. It’s like a nice cup of hot tea—but exactly the right tea as prepared by a tea monk like Dex.

You might also like: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune, The Bear by Andrew Krivak, The History of Bees by Maja Lunde, and The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.

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The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty
Fiction

Reviewers say: “A witty modern love story in the age of cohabitation, blended families, and second chances, this is a compassionate, absorbing tale. Moriarty has crafted an incredibly likable heroine in Ellen, the hypnotherapist who can solve her clients’ problems but can’t seem to keep her own life from spiraling into soap opera. Readers who enjoy Jennifer Close and Marian Keyes will adore Moriarty’s wit and warmth” (Booklist - starred review).

You might also like: The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks or The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney

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The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert
Fiction

What it's about: A different kind of mystery, one involving missing, possibly stolen, things rather than a murder. This cozy mystery, based on real places and the author Beatrix Potter in 1905, features a large cast of village dwellers and their animals, whose talk to each other we can understand, but their owners cannot.

Why you might like it: If you enjoy leisurely-paced stories that describe the landscape lovingly and are up for the whimsey of the talking animals, this is for you.

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Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory
Fiction

What it’s about: This is an entertaining work of historical fiction. The story is conveyed from the view of Margaret Tudor, the older sister of King Henry VIII. It includes Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII, and Mary Tudor, his younger sister, but Margaret Tudor is at the heart of this story.

Why you might like it: I love books written by this author, especially the ones that have to do with the Tudor family and that time period. I’ve investigated Gregory’s method of research which affords me to trust that when she needs to fill in the gaps, it’s safe to assume accuracy which allows me to feel as if I’m there experiencing it.

You might also like: The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory

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Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Fiction

Introducing: Tough and appealing, Mercy Thompson is a mechanic and a shapeshifter (she shifts between coyote and human forms) who deals with broken-down VW vans and supernatural beings with equal aplomb. Mercy is headstrong and self-reliant, but her narration can be personal and surprisingly revealing.

What it’s about: A newly changed werewolf—in the form of a half-starved teenage boy—turns up at Mercy’s shop and begs for help. Mercy has no choice but to ask her neighbor and antagonist, head of the local werewolf pack, for help, but this leads to unexpected consequences.

Why you might like it: Highly entertaining and fast-paced, it’s easy to gobble up this urban fantasy series. Engaging and interesting characters, suspenseful storytelling, and excellent world-building keep the reader involved, especially since each book introduces new lore or mythology.

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