In Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, Amy’s father has recently died. Consequently, Amy has been left to finish high school in CA by her mother, who has taken a new job in CT and her brother who is in rehab in NC. Amy’s mother asks a friend’s son, Roger, to drive their car and Amy (who no longer drives for reasons we suspect, but aren’t named for a while in the story) across the country. As the title promises, they chart a new course than the one Amy’s mother has planned. While this book has its down moments, overall it has a fun premise. Even though there is heavy subject matter overlaying the story, it’s a quick read and delightful story. My only disappointment was the ending, which dropped off rather abruptly.

I love Julia Alvarez. I always have and I have read most of her books. Afterlife is her newest. I was lucky enough to get it immediately from Hoopla, a new app shared by the Montgomery County Library. Hoopla, however, does not play nice with the Kindle Paperwhite, so I had to read it on the iPad, which is not my favorite, but #firstworldproblems, it was free. This is the story of Antonia whose husband has just died. She is an immigrant herself, she is dealing with immigrants next door, and she is trying to help her sisters in various ways. Immigration is a key theme of this one, obviously, as is coping after the rug is pulled out from under you. It was good, but not great. I didn’t really feel hugely invested in the characters and it fell a little flat for me.

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb is a sweet, short story of the author’s grandmother. It’s an absolute delight. You can read it in under two hours and I know you will be glad you did.

The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess was an OK read. It’s about a woman in NYC publishing who moves to the Cape, where her family has a summer home, to be a personal assistant to a writer. This writer and his wife host a party each summer where each attendee dresses as a literary figure. It’s a slow story that reads quickly, but it left me cold – a story that has too often been told. So, not one I would grab, if I were you.

Natalie Tan’s Book of Love and Fortune by Roselle Lim was a delightful book. While I don’t normally enjoy magical realism, this book was so barely sprinkled with it, that it was OK. Natalie returns home after her mother’s death to say goodbye and open her grandmother’s restaurant. She is gifted her grandmother’s cookbook and uses it to help her neighbors. The recipes and food descriptions were all appealing as well. It’s reminiscent of Like Water for Chocolate and a book about orange slices that I can’t remember the title of for the life of me.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller is the memoir of Emily Doe. Amazon says it better than I can: “She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford’s campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral–viewed by eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time.” It is both a difficult read and a fascinating look into the criminal justice system. I recommend you pick it up, but be prepared…it’s tough.

Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod was a delightful read. It’s a memoir of the time when McLeod decided to leave her advertising work, save for a life without working, and travel to Paris. It’s a wonderful romp that will make you jealous of her choices and pleased to hear about how she completely changed her life. I’m not sure how this book ended up on my list, but it was the perfect antidote for the times. Highly recommend. And, the illustrations are wonderful.

I was lucky to get my hands on a bunch of items on my to-be-read list from the library before the world closed. Lady in the Lake by Laura Lipman was one of them. Lots of other books I was more interested in took precedent (and, of course, the amazing Kindle reads from the library just kept coming…), so this has been on the back burner for a while. Like all Lippman books, this was a quick read and a mystery. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. And, the ending surprised me, which is always good for a mystery.

Something to Live For by Richard Roper was originally titled How Not to Die Alone. It was very confusing when it was checked out to me by the library. Amazon reports (see me getting lazy here – work is crushing me right now – even from home!)…”All Andrew wants is to be normal. He has the perfect wife and 2.4 children waiting at home for him after a long day. At least, that’s what he’s told people. The truth is, his life isn’t exactly as people think and his little white lie is about to catch up with him. Because in all Andrew’s efforts to fit in, he’s forgotten one important thing: how to really live. And maybe, it’s about time for him to start.” This is a cute and light read, which I enjoyed, though there’s not much too it. The characters are like-able and the story, while predictable, is a nice one.