Summer: four months when we get to put away the textbooks and read as many books on our TBR as we can. Here’s a roundup of all seven of the books I read this summer, and whether or not I recommend them.
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Synopsis: A complicated, messy, decades-long friends-to-lovers/love triangle about the decisions we make when we’re young and how they shape our futures.
My review: I read this entire 256-page book over the course of less than two days. The characters and their relationships to each other were fascinating, and I just couldn’t put it down. The writing was beautiful and raw, keeping me engaged even during the seemingly-mundane moments. The reason it doesn’t get five stars, though, is because the ending was both a little too far-fetched and a little too cliche to seem believable.
My rating: 4/5 stars
Notable quote: “‘The elephant, the huge old beast,’ it began, ‘is slow to mate.’ They wait ‘for the sympathy in their vast shy hearts slowly, slowly to rouse.’ I wasn’t an elephant. My heart had never been slow. I tore it up.”
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Synopsis: Tova Sullivan works the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium to stay busy after losing her husband. His death and the mysterious disappearance of her 18-year-old son years prior has left Tova all alone. But then, she becomes unlikely friends with Marcellus the octopus and a new Sowell Bay visitor, and the three help each other out in more ways than one.
My review: This novel had been sitting on my shelf for years, and when I saw Netflix was adapting it into a movie, I decided to read it before it came out. I can’t believe I waited so long! This book was filled with comedy, drama, heartwarming moments, and beautiful prose. It was such a unique concept that I was a little skeptical before starting it, but Van Pelt executed it perfectly. If you’ve only seen the movie, you have to read the book. While Netflix did a good job, there are certain differences between the two that I think the book did a lot better.
My rating: 5/5 stars
I who have never known men by jacqueline harpman
Synopsis: A teenage girl is held in an underground cage with 39 other older women, guarded by men who don’t acknowledge or speak to them. None of the women know why or how they got there, and their memories prior to the cage are hazy.
My review: Even though I read I Who Have Never Known Men during the summer, this is not a beach read. This book will leave you so sad and more confused at the end than you were at the beginning. While I liked the book and thought its message was important, after all of the hype it got, I thought I would like it more.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Notable quote: “But human beings need to speak, otherwise they lose their humanity…”
The Names by Florence Knapp
Synopsis: Over the course of 35 years, this novel uses three different name choices to explore the different ways in which the effects of abuse can weave through generations.
My review: Knapp goes about this conversation on the trickle-down of abuse in such a unique and effective way. I thought she portrayed how complicated and painful it can be in such an emotional and undeniably raw light. However, sometimes I felt like the three different timelines could get a little muddled. I felt like the subjects and main points of the novel got a little lost at points. It took me a month to read because there were so many characters being focused on that I didn’t feel were adding as much to the plot.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Notable quote: “She lives trying not to set a match to Gordon’s anger, but still she spills petrol about her, dripping it over shoes she has forgotten to polish, sloshing it across a particular shirt not washed in time. She races from thing to thing, tending to whatever might spark, but it’s always something behind her, just out of sight that she hadn’t thought of.”
Strangers: A memoir of marriage by Belle Burden
Synopsis: Belle Burden was living her seemingly happy life with her family when with no warning, her husband left her, turning her world upside down. In her memoir, she grapples with the separation and searches for clues she might’ve missed.
My review: It feels a little strange to review someone’s memoir based on the plot because it is a story about their real life, so I won’t talk about that (even though I have my thoughts). I felt that the metaphors she attempted to weave through the book got lost or didn’t have the impact she intended. The most interesting takeaways happened at the very end when she wrote about the essay on her marriage, but I didn’t get the sense that this was the main point she was trying to take on, so the rest of the book fell flat to me.
Rating: 2/5 stars
Notable quote: “We had all been taught to fill in the hole that men left, to be quiet about men behaving badly, to move on with grace. Publishing an account of what happened to me was shining a light on that hole, the deep crevice James had left. I was refusing something–the cleaning up, the grace.”
The compound by Aisling Rawle
Synopsis: Twenty contestants compete in a Love Island-esc reality TV show in a remote desert compound. Relationships and bonds form, but is it real, or is it all for the gain of luxury prizes? When the contestants are put into dangerous situations, how far are they willing to go?
My review: I’m not much of a reality TV fan, so I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. Wow–I could not put it down! There are so many characters, and yet, Rawle does an amazing job at fleshing all of them out. Plus, I love an unlikeable character, and there was an abundance of them. The drama started out as trivial but became so intense so quickly that it almost felt like a horror novel. I also loved that you can tell that this is set in some type of dystopian world, but the details are never divulged. I highly recommend this novel, especially if you’re in need of a book that will get you out of a reading slump.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth
Synopsis: In the small, conservative village of Crossmore, Lucy has her friends, her mom, and the promise of a life with her handsome Martin, whenever she decides to pursue it. But her feelings for him don’t ever seem to come, and instead, she becomes infatuated with Susannah. Their secret summer together is everything to Lucy, but because of her town’s beliefs, to choose Susannah would mean to have nothing else.
My review: This book has some of the best prose I’ve ever read. Lucy’s descriptions of Susannah and her feelings toward her were so beautiful–I loved getting to experience the ways she viewed her. Haworth perfectly captured what it’s like to grow up in a town like Crossmore, conflicted by what you’ve been taught was important and what you feel is important. It shows how growing up in an environment like that can make it difficult to see anything beyond it. This novel was visceral, heartbreaking, and gorgeous all at once.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Notable quote: “I like the person I actually am now, because Susannah likes her. I think soon I will like myself all the way through, and I won’t mind what people think of me.”