I’m not sure how Necessary People by Anna Pitoniak ended up on my list, but it was on there for a while and then on Kindle sale. So, even though I had a hefty set of new titles to finish before the end of the summer, I picked this one up. I haven’t read many thrillers this summer, so it was a change of pace. This wasn’t as much of a thriller as I expected. But, it had some good twists and even though I didn’t really like the characters, the story was good. Amazon says: “Stella and Violet are best friends, and from the moment they met in college, they knew their roles. Beautiful, privileged, and reckless Stella lives in the spotlight. Hardworking, laser-focused Violet stays behind the scenes, always ready to clean up the mess that Stella inevitably leaves in her wake….Stella might be the one with the rich family and the right friends, but Violet isn’t giving up so easily. As she and Stella strive for success, each reveals just how far she’ll go to get what she wants — even if it means destroying the other person along the way. Beach read? Yes.

I read about The Beauty in the Breaking by Michele Harper in multiple locations, including the NYT. And, the author went to my high school! I always like reading books by my fellow Eagles. Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) sung the praises of The Beauty in the Breaking, so I thought I would grab a copy. And, it’s a timely choice – the memoir of an emergency room doctor. What a wonderful book. It’s sad, but, if you, like me, loved ER or Grey’s Anatomy (is that show STILL on?), you will enjoy this book that not only lets you in to the author’s life, but into the emergency room too. It’s a page-turner and a great read.

I have had Memorial Drive on my TBR list ever since I read it was coming out, many months ago. And, imagine my surprise, when I ordered it from P&P and it came as a signed first edition! What fun. And, it’s a beautifully written memoir and a very sad story. Treadway’s mother was murdered by her stepfather. It’s a spare book and gorgeously written. Absolutely worth reading.

When You Read This by Mary Adkins has been on my To Be Read list for a long time. I have no idea why. It’s a sweet, quick read, told entirely in blog posts, emails, and texts. Iris learns at the beginning that she has six months to live. It’s her story, the story of her boss, who owns a failing marketing firm, and each of their families. I didn’t like it at first, but it grew on me. And, it’s available at the library (though I paid a few dollars for it on my Kindle).

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith has been on my shelf for longer than I can remember. I think I have brought it to the beach on multiple occasions and never read it. So, this year I tackled it. Many people have told me they loved it. It was certainly slow to start and very old-fashioned feeling. However, in the end, I did enjoy the story. Would I put it on the list of my top reads? No, but it was good.

I didn’t think it was possible for me to love President Obama more than I already did, but after reading To Obama, with Love, Joy, Anger, and Hope by Jeanne Marie Laskas, I fell deeper in love all over again. The thoughtfulness, humanity, and overall care he took with every part of his job and just being is remarkable. I had no idea that over his presidency, he read 10 letters every night. The book highlights those letters and the stories of the people who wrote them and also teaches about the Office of Presidential Correspondence. It is a fascinating book about a wonderful man. It makes me even more despondent (is that even possible?!) about the current state of our country.

“…he’s exactly who I hoped he was when I voted for him. He made me feel like someone was steering the ship. That, if we just hung on, we’d be OK. It was like, we’ve got somebody at the top who cares. And that matters for something.” (p. 315)

I’m not sure how Pretty Things by Janelle Brown ended up on my list, but it’s an interesting story. I hadn’t liked Brown’s earlier book Watch Me Disappear, but I thought I would give this one a try anyway. It was a good story – about a con-artist couple and the twists that happen when they go through a major heist. At almost 500 pages, the book was definitely too long, but I did enjoy it. And, unlike her last book, the ending of this one wasn’t one I figured out ahead of time. I would give it four stars, but for the length.

Master Class by Christina Dalcher is set in the future in a time when a child’s potential is determined by their Q score, a standardized measure including test scores, behavior, etc. If you do well, you attend a silver school. Have a low score, you are shipped off to a yellow boarding school. The main character is Elena Fairchild, a silver school teacher whose husband helps to run this system. They have a silver school daughter and one who isn’t going to make it. It’s a rather alarming book, but a quick read, however, there were some holes in the plot that didn’t make sense and overall, while I enjoyed it, I was left with questions. It’s like Handsmaids Tale, but not as well executed.

So You Want to Talk About Race (backordered as of 7/15/20) by Ijeoma Oluo is a fantastic book. While I was disappointed that Oluo did not read it herself, the narrator did a good job. I’ve done a lot of driving back and forth to the beach this summer and this was a great listen. I particularly enjoyed Chapter 8 about schools and Chapter 12 on microagressions. Overall, though, it provided such a great way to think about talking about race and issues of race. I also appreciated the stories she told about her own life experiences. Some of the book repeated information I have learned in other books, but overall, if there is only one book you choose to read about race this summer, I would choose this one.