Like most of my friends, I loved Judy Blume as a kid/teenager. So, I was excited for her new book, In the Unlikely Event, to come out and even more excited when it finally came up for me on my library waitlist. I started it the day I picked it up. I really enjoyed this story that Blume framed around three plane crashes that actually happened one summer in Elizabeth, NJ, her hometown. While I don’t usually, I liked the jumping around from character to character and I liked the way they all tied together. And, I also liked that Blume didn’t entirely tie the ending up in a sweet little bow. This won’t make you want to fly anywhere this summer, but it was a good read.

I can’t remember who recommended The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee to me. So, I hope I am not offending them when I say that I liked it, but it was cheesy, predictable, and not very well written. But, it was a great beach read. I began by being irritated by the writing and the repetitive descriptions of the love interest, Gabriel, but then I just leaned into it and sped through for the story itself, which was interesting and had a nice cooking twist. The idea that Portia had a “knowing” and whatever she cooked foretold the outcome was creative and it wore on me less as it worked through the story. In the end, I was glad I read The Glass Kitchen.

I started Jayber Crow by Wendall Berry several years ago on the advice of my husband who really liked it. I just couldn’t get through it at the time. It was too slow. However, since he rarely recommends books to me (and after some years of nagging), I picked it up again as an audio book. And, while I didn’t love it, it was a good listen. The writing was excellent but the pace of the story was very slow. Jayber had compelling thoughts about all kinds of things and the narrator was pleasant to listen to. If you like quiet, thoughtful, probing books, this is one for you. I must warn you, however, that it’s a little depressing and quite sad at the end.

Gone Feral: Tracking My Dad Through the Wild is a memoir by Novella Carpenter. Carpenter’s father abandoned her family when she was young and she has limited contact with him over the years. It is not until he goes missing that she realizes that she needs to find him for her own growth and closure. This was a quick and interesting read, but I found myself feeling like I did when I read Wild by Cheryl Strayed – I just wanted to throttle the main character for acting so stupidly so often. I know both Strayed and Carpenter grew up in terrible circumstances, but some of their poor choices just made me cringe and want to give up on their stories. In the end, though, I did enjoy both books.

I can’t remember where I heard about The Third Wife. I have not read any of Lisa Jewell’s other books. This one is about Adrian’s third wife, Maya, who seemingly commits suicide. The book traces back to explain how this could have happened when everyone in Adrian’s three families gets along so well. I found Adrian, and the fact that he was married three times, to be unbelievable. And, so the book did not ring true for me. It was also quite slow. I liked the idea and the storyline was interesting, but overall, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

Why not follow up one cheesy Nantucket-related story with another? Elin Hilderbrand’s new one, The Rumor, didn’t disappoint. Just like her previous Nantucket-based stories, this one was heavily filled with place names and unique island features. I have never been to Nantucket, but I get the feeling that I have through Hilderbrand’s novels. As usual, this was nothing intellectually stimulating or mind stretching, but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless. Another good one to take with you to the beach – you’ll rip right through it.

I enjoyed Gone Girl very much when it came out and people told me I should look into Dark Places because it was even better (although now that I look at all her books, perhaps it was Sharp Objects that people really liked…). I don’t know that I agree that Dark Places was better than Gone Girl, but it was a good horror/mystery. Certainly a summer read – nothing deeper than that. If you like Gillian Flynn and you haven’t already read it, this is one to add to your list.

I adored The Rosie Project, and when I saw The Rosie Effect on the shelf at the library, I grabbed it. Once I started it, I was instantly back in the voice of the Rosie Project. Don’s persona really comes out in the writing. While it bothered me at first and made the story a little hard for me to follow, once I immersed myself in it, I enjoyed The Rosie Effect. It was not as entertaining and novel as The Rosie Project, but it was a good summer read, nonetheless.

I may be the only person who didn’t think Bossypants by Tina Fey was that funny. I like Tina Fey and I liked the idea of the book and some of the chapters (I think the baby one was actually laugh out loud funny), but the rest of it seemed to be trying too hard. Perhaps if I had read it closer to when some of the events she was writing about happened, it would have been better??

While I think I have liked Laura Lippman books in the past, Every Secret Thing was not a favorite. It took too long to tell the story and there were too many characters to keep track of. I thought it would be a good beach mystery read, but, alas, no.