Good Reads & Views

Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline
Fiction

What it’s about: In full disclosure, I’m a big fan of Scottoline but Loyalty was not at all what I had anticipated, leaving me off balance for a significant portion of the book. Lisa speaks with a much different voice in this work than in her usual. Loyalty is a well-researched, extremely accurate look at every aspect of life in Sicily in the very early 19th century.

Why you might like it: The Mafia storyline is only one of several, all of which focus on “loyalty.” All the main characters find themselves in difficult life circumstances. How they survive, whether they win or lose, provides powerful outcomes with messages that will stick with you.

You might also like: Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline

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All the Days of Summer by Nancy Thayer
Fiction

What it’s about: I love when you read a book and it feels so realistic. All of Nancy Thayer’s books are beautifully written with many layers of emotion and wit. They always include well-rounded characters who have both strengths and frailties. This story explores the relationship between a mother and the woman her son chooses to marry, which is a complicated one, charged with complexities and hurdles.

Why you might like it: There are twists and turns that keep the story interesting and the emotion real.

You might also like: Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer.

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California Girls by Susan Mallery
Fiction

What it’s about: This book has it all. Three sisters that have a full life ahead of them and then, in a matter of seconds their lives are turned upside down. There are multiple romance story lines. Susan Mallery does a wonderful job of seamlessly switching between different points of view. The characters are diverse, and it's effortless to tell who's telling each part of the story. From the beginning to the end, it was a fun and fabulous read.

Is it for you? If you’re looking for an easy summer read, a nice distraction, without violence, you’ll enjoy this book.

You might also like: Nantucket Sisters by Nancy Thayer.

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True Biz by Sara Novic
Fiction 

What’s it about: Three students at the River Valley School for the Deaf have gone missing. Told through multiply points of view, the reader starts in the present day and travels back to go through the days and events that lead to the students going missing. A coming-of-age story of teenagers who are struggling to find themselves and learn about what it means to be deaf and the culture that surrounds it.  

Why this book: This is a great book to read if you are interested in learning more about the Deaf community. Sara Novic does an excellent job of exploring Deaf Culture and showing the struggles the Deaf community faces in a hearing world. Nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fiction 2022. 

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Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
Fiction

What it’s about: An author living a comfortable, happy life receives a call from a reporter who discovered that she was the source of mass hysteria in her small town 20 years ago, when she and a friend posted hundreds of copies of their mysterious art poster around town.

Why you might like it: This engaging first-person story relives teen angst and the joy of artistic creation—and what happens when artwork takes on a life of its own and wreaks havoc.

Reviewers say: “Wilson has developed a story that is a precise capture of adolescence and of two vibrant teens whose everyday dilemmas, weaknesses, and triumphs are utterly endearing” (Booklist).

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An Act of Love by Nancy Thayer
Fiction

What it’s about: An Act of Love is about a step-family in crisis. The novel concerns a mother and her daughter and a father and his son. The parents believe they have done a good job raising their children until their daughter ends up in a psychiatric ward. This is a sort of mystery. Neither the characters nor the reader knows what has really happened. The children are pitted against each other testing the loyalties of the parents, threatening the foundations of the family.

Is it for you? If you enjoy stories about blended families and how they endure trials and still hold onto love, you should read this book.

You might also like: Once Upon a Time, There Was You by Elizabeth Berg.

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Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Fiction 

What it's about: Two college friends (who used to date) get tangled up in the lives of a married couple. The wife, Melissa, is an artist, and husband Nick is an actor. Both seem to gravitate towards Frances (the narrator) and Bobbi, two women who perform spoken word poetry in Dublin. Soon bonds are formed and secrets are kept. Lovers of book to screen adaptions, this is for you. Now a 12-episode TV show on Hulu. All episodes are out and available to stream.  

An aside: If you’ve never read Sally Rooney, she is known for writing in the third person and doesn’t use quotation marks for dialogue. The words that Rooney chooses are deliberate and not wasted. Her characters are flawed and are relatable to millennials.  

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A Week at the Shore by Barbara Delinsky
Fiction

What it’s about: Encouraged by her daughter and feeling the need to reconnect with her father, Mallory returns home after 20 years. A captivating story about family secrets and how complex and difficult they can be. It also touches on how life can be when you have a parent that has dementia. The stress it puts on caregivers and family.

Why you might like it: This book is about brokenness, family trials, heartache, love and forgiveness.

You might also like: Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart.

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The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith
Fiction 

What it’s about: Indie rock darling Greta James hasn’t been able to make music since she had an onstage meltdown after the sudden death of her mother. She reluctantly agrees to take her mother’s place on an Alaskan cruise with her father, hoping to mend their broken relationship and recover her lost creative drive. She doesn’t expect to connect with the ship’s guest lecturer, but the erudite and charming Ben Wilder might be just the balm she needs. 

Why you might like it: This is a warm and tender examination of parent/child relationships, resolving differences, and coping with grief—all tempered with a little light romance. The writing is thoughtful, and the story is sentimental in a good way and is filled with characters to care about. The descriptions of the Alaskan scenery are vivid. You may not be surprised by the ending, but it is handled with delicacy and grace.  

You might also like: One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle, Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes, and Float Plan by Trish Doller 

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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Fiction

For readers who enjoy: Heart-warming, relationship focused reads; stories about family, community, and overcoming loneliness and loss; and charming and wise characters.

What it’s about: Marcellus is a misanthrope, but after 1299 days of captivity, who could blame him? Marcellus is a giant Pacific octopus, an unwilling resident of a small-town aquarium in Washington state, a keen observer of the humans around him, and one of the narrators of this quirky and heartwarming first novel. The one person Marcellus does like is Tova, the grieving widow who cleans the aquarium every night—she shares her deepest thoughts with him, and on more than one occasion has rescued him when his secret nightly raids on other tanks have gotten him into trouble. Tova is mourning the recent loss of her husband as well as the disappearance of her son more than 30 years earlier. When newcomer Cameron—in town seeking his long-lost father—joins Tova on the night shift, Marcellus realizes that his two human friends may be able to help one another.

Reviewers say: “Van Pelt has written an irresistibly wonderful, warm, funny, heartbreaking first novel, full of gentle people (and one octopus) bravely powering through their individual scars” (Library Journal).

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