I waited for a long time for All the Light We Cannot See to be available at the library. I heard from several friends that I needed to read it and I was eager to start. And WOW!! This was a phenomenal read. I loved it and didn’t want it to end. The way Doerr moved from past to more recent past and wove the stories together was masterful. The German and French perspectives, the way he put you in the character’s shoes, the language, the descriptions, all wonderful. I was going to give this one 5 stars (first one to earn it for me), but I didn’t love the ending, so I’ll stick with 4.5. But it’s a terrific read and I highly recommend it!

I had to see if Divergent lived up to all the hype. I did enjoy it, but I don’t think I am going to read anything else in the series. I got my fill of the dystopian with this one. It was a fast-paced and interesting story and I can see why everyone was so excited about it.

Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson was a much heavier book than the rest of those I read this summer. I almost gave up on it several times. The main character, Pete, wasn’t entirely believable and drove me crazy. The alcoholic social worker who dabbled in random sex and drugs just didn’t work for me. I get why Henderson cast him this way, but it made me want to bail out because I didn’t really care about him. A more altruistic man trying to save these folks would have been more effective. Nevertheless, I did finish and am glad I did. There wasn’t much closure, but I liked knowing what happened with the characters I had spent so much time with. Interestingly, while reading Fourth of July Creek, my next door neighbor posted an article about the Last True Hermit in GQ – what a funny coincidence and fascinating companion read.

I can’t remember where I got the recommendation for That Summer by Lauren Willig. I liked it immediately. A woman is willed a house in England by an aunt she has never met. Good start, right?! Add to that an art mystery, a Victorian romance, Pre-Raphaelites, and the back and forth, chapter by chapter, between 1839 and 2009. What a great book! I loved how the stories wove together and the ultimate outcomes of both.

Want something to keep you on your toes and hold you captive until you finish? Looking to read about Mean Girls gone bad? This is your summer mystery. Wow. I read That Night by Chevy Stevens in two days. It was that compelling and enjoyable. Great literature? No. But, fabulous story. I liked the back and forth in time and the ending. I was holding my breath a lot in this one. Well done!

I love Jeannette Walls and The Glass Castle is one of my favorite memoirs. The Silver Star was a quick read with likable characters and an interesting plot. While it reminded me of Jeannette Wall’s life and disastrous childhood, it wasn’t nearly as good as The Glass Castle, but that’s an impossibly high bar. I recommend picking up The Silver Star – it’s a nice fast read.

I went to elementary school with Susan Shreve’s son, and I have enjoyed reading her books, many of which take place in DC. While I didn’t particularly like or identify with the characters in You Are The Love of My Life, I enjoyed a quiet day on Lucy Vincent Beach in Martha’s Vineyard absorbing this tale. It’s nice when you can really picture the setting and imagine the characters in it. And, the story moved along at a nice pace and was pleasurable.

I ended up really enjoying The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. It was a little slow because I didn’t have dedicated chunks for reading through most of it. I did at the end, however, and that’s where it really became appealing to me. And, also, when I discovered that it was a fictionalized true story (I am embarrassed to admit that since I had never heard of the Grimke sisters and I was an American Studies major with a concentration in Women’s History). What worked for this book was the shifting back and forth from Sarah Grimke to Hetty (the slave Sarah was “gifted” when she turned 11). While Hetty’s was the weaker of the two narratives, it served to offer poignant perspective and to horrify the reader. This is definitely a book worth reading if for nothing else than to learn about some pretty courageous women.

Again with the beach reads. Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand didn’t disappoint. Again on Nantucket, again with Hilderbrand. Nothing deep here, but a good story about the last night of high school when a junior dies and her twin brother is gravely injured. What happens to their families and the rest of the island is the crux of the story. It’s so easy to read that it’s just like mind candy. Perfect for the beach.