Summer's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:33:12 -0700 60 Summer's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[My Year of Rest and Relaxation]]> 44279110
Our narrator should be happy, shouldn’t she? She’s young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, works an easy job at a hip art gallery, lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan paid for, like the rest of her needs, by her inheritance. But there is a dark and vacuous hole in her heart, and it isn’t just the loss of her parents, or the way her Wall Street boyfriend treats her, or her sadomasochistic relationship with her best friend, Reva. It’s the year 2000 in a city aglitter with wealth and possibility; what could be so terribly wrong?

My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a powerful answer to that question. Through the story of a year spent under the influence of a truly mad combination of drugs designed to heal our heroine from her alienation from this world, Moshfegh shows us how reasonable, even necessary, alienation can be. Both tender and blackly funny, merciless and compassionate, it is a showcase for the gifts of one of our major writers working at the height of her powers.]]> 289 Ottessa Moshfegh 0525522131 Summer 2 overhyped Girl what was all that for 3.62 2018 My Year of Rest and Relaxation
author: Ottessa Moshfegh
name: Summer
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/27
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: overhyped
review:
Girl what was all that for
]]> I Who Have Never Known Men 11996 "As far back as I can recall, I have been in the bunker."

A young woman is kept in a cage underground with thirty-nine other females, guarded by armed men who never speak; her crimes unremembered... if indeed there were crimes.

The youngest of forty—a child with no name and no past—she survives for some purpose long forgotten in a world ravaged and wasted. In this reality where intimacy is forbidden—in the unrelenting sameness of the artificial days and nights—she knows nothing of books and time, of needs and feelings.

Then everything changes... and nothing changes.

A young woman who has never known men—a child who knows of no history before the bars and restraints—must now reinvent herself, piece by piece, in a place she has never been... and in the face of the most challenging and terrifying of unknowns: freedom.]]> 208 Jacqueline Harpman 0380731819 Summer 0 to-read 4.22 1995 I Who Have Never Known Men
author: Jacqueline Harpman
name: Summer
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Looker 36553406 A dazzling, razor-sharp debut novel about a woman whose obsession with the beautiful actress on her block drives her to the edge.

I’ve never crossed their little fenced-in garden, of course. I stand on the sidewalk in front of the fern-and-ivy-filled planter that hangs from the fence—placed there as a sort of screen, I’m sure—and have a direct line of view into the kitchen at night. I’m grateful they’ve never thought to install blinds. That’s how confident they are. No one would dare stand in front of our house and watch us, they think. And they’re probably right: except for me.

In this taut and thrilling debut, an unraveling woman, unhappily childless and recently separated, becomes fixated on her neighbor—the actress. The unnamed narrator can’t help noticing with wry irony that, though she and the actress live just a few doors apart, a chasm of professional success and personal fulfillment lies between them. The actress, a celebrity with her face on the side of every bus, shares a gleaming brownstone with her handsome husband and their three adorable children, while the narrator, working in a dead-end job, lives in a run-down, three-story walk-up with her ex-husband’s cat.

When an interaction with the actress at the annual block party takes a disastrous turn, what began as an innocent preoccupation spirals quickly, and lethally, into a frightening and irretrievable madness. Searing and darkly witty, Looker is enormously entertaining—at once a propulsive Hitchcockian thriller and a fearlessly original portrait of the perils of envy.]]> 182 Laura Sims 1501199110 Summer 3 3.05 2019 Looker
author: Laura Sims
name: Summer
average rating: 3.05
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/24
date added: 2024/06/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Her Body and Other Parties: Stories]]> 33375622 Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies.

A wife refuses her husband's entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store's prom dresses. One woman's surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in the bravura novella Especially Heinous, Machado reimagines every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a show we naively assumed had shown it all, generating a phantasmagoric police procedural full of doppelgangers, ghosts, and girls with bells for eyes.

Earthy and otherworldly, antic and sexy, queer and caustic, comic and deadly serious, Her Body and Other Parties swings from horrific violence to the most exquisite sentiment. In their explosive originality, these stories enlarge the possibilities of contemporary fiction.

The husband stitch --
Inventory --
Mothers --
Especially heinous --
Real women have bodies --
Eight bites --
The resident --
Difficult at parties]]> 248 Carmen Maria Machado 155597788X Summer 0 to-read 3.85 2017 Her Body and Other Parties: Stories
author: Carmen Maria Machado
name: Summer
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> When We Lost Our Heads 58446244 A spellbinding story about two girls whose friendship is so intense it not only threatens to destroy them, it changes the trajectory of history.

Marie Antoine is the charismatic, spoiled daughter of a sugar baron. At 12 years old, with her blond curls and her unparalleled sense of whimsey, she's the leader of all the children in the Golden Mile, an affluent strip of 19th century Montreal. Until one day in 1873, when Sadie Arnett, dark-haired, sly, and brilliant, moves to the neighborhood.

Marie and Sadie are immediately united by their passion and intensity, and they attract and repel each other in ways that light each of them on fire. Marie with her bubbly charm sees the light and sweetness of the world, whereas Sadie's obsession with darkness is all consuming. Soon their childlike games take on a thrill of danger and then become deadly.

Forced to separate, they spend their teenage years engaged in acts of alternating innocence and depravity--until a singular event unites them once more, with dizzying effects. And after Marie inherits her father's sugar empire and Sadie disappears into the city's gritty underworld, a revolution of the working class begins to foment. Each of them will have unexpected roles to play in events that upend their city--the only question is whether they will find each other once more.

Traveling from a repressive finishing school to a vibrant brothel, taking readers firsthand into the brutality of factory life and the opulent lives of Montreal's wealthy, When We Lost Our Heads dazzlingly explores gender and power, sex and desire, class and status, and the terrifying power of the human heart when it can't let someone go.]]> 448 Heather O'Neill 0593422902 Summer 0 to-read 3.94 2022 When We Lost Our Heads
author: Heather O'Neill
name: Summer
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Little Weirds 44284906 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

Hello and welcome to my book. Inside you will find:

× The smell of honeysuckle
× Heartbreak
× A French-kissing rabbit
× A haunted house
× Death
× A vagina singing sad old songs
× Young geraniums in an ancient castle
× Birth
× A dog who appears in dreams as a spiritual guide
× Divorce
× Electromagnetic energy fields
× Emotional horniness
× The ghost of a sea captain
× And more

I hope you enjoy these little weirds.

Love,
Jenny Slate]]> 224 Jenny Slate Summer 0 to-read 3.87 2019 Little Weirds
author: Jenny Slate
name: Summer
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley]]> 36288143
In this powerful exposé, Bloomberg TV journalist Emily Chang reveals how Silicon Valley got so sexist despite its utopian ideals, why bro culture endures despite decades of companies claiming the moral high ground (Don't Be Evil! Connect the World!)--and how women are finally starting to speak out and fight back.

Drawing on her deep network of Silicon Valley insiders, Chang opens the boardroom doors of male-dominated venture capital firms like Kleiner Perkins, the subject of Ellen Pao's high-profile gender discrimination lawsuit, and Sequoia, where a partner once famously said they "won't lower their standards" just to hire women. Interviews with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, and former Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer--who got their start at Google, where just one in five engineers is a woman--reveal just how hard it is to crack the Silicon Ceiling. And Chang shows how women such as former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, entrepreneur Niniane Wang, and game developer Brianna Wu, have risked their careers and sometimes their lives to pave a way for other women.

Silicon Valley's aggressive, misogynistic, work-at-all costs culture has shut women out of the greatest wealth creation in the history of the world. It's time to break up the boys' club. Emily Chang shows us how to fix this toxic culture--to bring down Brotopia, once and for all.]]> 335 Emily Chang 0735213542 Summer 0 to-read 4.01 2018 Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley
author: Emily Chang
name: Summer
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> My Dark Vanessa 44890081
2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.]]> 373 Kate Elizabeth Russell 006294150X Summer 0 to-read 4.09 2020 My Dark Vanessa
author: Kate Elizabeth Russell
name: Summer
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[F*CK Him! - Nice Girls Always Finish Single]]> 32328678 Keep Your Man Interested and Begging for More Without Playing Games

Let me start off by explaining I am in no way talking about the sexual act. F*ck him in this case is not physical, it’s mental.

So many women get in trouble in their love lives, and 99.9 percent of that trouble could have been avoided if they’d said, “Well, f*ck him!� a bit more often. Too many women are way too nice and compliant to their men, especially when these men don’t deserve that kind of treatment.

And yet, every woman I’ve ever met tries to not be needy or wear her heart on her sleeve. She simply wants to protect her feelings. Nevertheless, most women I’ve coached have had men seem very interested only to disappear suddenly. These women are left standing in the dark. Once the guy vanishes, they often find out it’s easier to get the President of the United States on the phone than the man who seemingly really liked them...just not enough to stick around.

This should stop.

I, as a dating coach and author of books for women who want to get men, cannot take it anymore. You deserve better. This is not your fault. It’s his! He needs to learn to be much more transparent and upfront. That said, we both know most men won’t change. We can lead a horse to water, but we can’t make it drink. Or can we? What if there was a way to change a guy’s behavior? What if you could get into his head and take over the driver’s wheel? What if you could make him do more of the things that you appreciate and need and less of the bad behaviors you dislike? At first, this might seem impossible. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’ve already met women who are good at manipulating their men.

Enter the high-value woman. You know her. You’ve seen her. She’s the woman who always has great men drooling over her. It’s the woman you see getting all the attention. You often wonder, “How does she do it? What do they see in her? What does she know that I don’t?�

You might have even complained to your girlfriends that men just don’t seem to notice what a catch you are. Your girlfriends may have even said, “He doesn’t know what he’s missing.� What if you could make him see it?

When you look at these high-value women who get their way with men, it might have surprised you that their looks don’t seem to matter. The high-value woman can be great looking, average looking, or even bad looking. It doesn’t matter. She knows her way around men. She knows how to mentally f*ck them.

Are you ready to implement her strategies?

You’ll see behavior you’ve never seen from him. He’ll start to put in an effort that makes you feel like you’re a queen because to him, you are. At first, it will be strange. If you’ve never truly been in control of a man, it might feel like riding a horse for the first time. But soon, it will make you feel all tingly inside.

I’m not kidding.

There’s nothing more powerful than being in a relationship with a guy and having him do exactly what you want while he thinks it was his idea. (This is important, as you’ll see. He needs to think he is the one in the driver’s seat, even though you actually are.)

This book is not about becoming someone you’re not or turning your boyfriend into a spineless manslave. It’s about your empowerment, about taking back what’s yours. No man should ever be able to play games with you, to take you for granted, to treat you even a tiny bit less than you deserve.]]> 132 Brian Nox Summer 2 4.28 F*CK Him! - Nice Girls Always Finish Single
author: Brian Nox
name: Summer
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2023/10/01
date added: 2023/10/01
shelves:
review:

]]> The Prince and the Dressmaker 34506912 Paris, at the dawn of the modern age:

Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride―or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!

Sebastian’s secret weapon is his brilliant dressmaker, Frances―his best friend and one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect her friend?

Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.]]> 277 Jen Wang 162672363X Summer 0 to-read 4.34 2018 The Prince and the Dressmaker
author: Jen Wang
name: Summer
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Whispers 63222079
The Loverlys sit by the hospital bed of their young son who is in a coma after falling from his bedroom window in the middle of the night; his mother, Whitney, will not speak to anyone. Back home, their friends and neighbors are left in shock, each confronting their own role in the events that led up to what happened that terrible night: the warm, altruistic Parks who are the Loverlys' best friends; the young, ambitious Goldsmiths who are struggling to start a family of their own; and the quiet, elderly Portuguese couple who care for their adult son with a developmental disability, and who pass the long days on the front porch, watching their neighbors go about their busy lives.

The story spins out over the course of one week, in the alternating voices of the women in each family as they are forced to face the secrets within the walls of their own homes, and the uncomfortable truths that connect them all to one another. Set against the heartwrenching drama of what will happen to Xavier, who hangs between death and life, or a life changed forever, THE WHISPERS is a novel about what happens when we put our needs ahead of our children's. Exploring the quiet sacrifices of motherhood, the intuitions that we silence, the complexities of our closest friendships, and the danger of envy, this is a novel about the reverberations of life's most difficult decisions.]]> 336 Ashley Audrain 1984881698 Summer 0 to-read 3.78 2023 The Whispers
author: Ashley Audrain
name: Summer
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Why Men Love Bitches 9201647
Do you feel like you are too nice? Sherry Argov's Why Men Love Bitches delivers a unique perspective as to why men are attracted to a strong woman who stands up for herself. With saucy detail on every page, this no-nonsense guide reveals why a strong woman is much more desirable than a "yes woman" who routinely sacrifices herself. The author provides compelling answers to the tough questions women often ask:

· Why are men so romantic in the beginning and why do they change?
· Why do men take nice girls for granted?
· Why does a man respect a woman when she stands up for herself?

Full of advice, hilarious real-life relationship scenarios, "she says/he thinks" tables, and the author's unique "Attraction Principles," Why Men Love Bitches gives you bottom-line answers. It helps you know who you are, stand your ground, and relate to men on a whole new level. Once you've discovered the feisty attitude men find so magnetic, you'll not only increase the romantic chemistry—you'll gain your man's love and respect with far less effort.]]> 288 Sherry Argov 1605501557 Summer 3 3.78 2009 Why Men Love Bitches
author: Sherry Argov
name: Summer
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/07
date added: 2023/09/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lost Child of Philomena Lee: A Mother, Her Son and A Fifty-Year Search]]> 6791212
Philomena's son, renamed Michael Hess, grew up to be a top Washington lawyer and a leading Republican official in the Reagan and Bush administrations. But he was a gay man in a homophobic party where he had to conceal not only his sexuality but, eventually, the fact that he had AIDS. With little time left, he returned to Ireland and the convent where he was his desperate quest to find his mother before he died left a legacy that was to unfold with unexpected consequences for all involved.

The Lost Child of Philomena Lee is the tale of a mother and a son whose lives were scarred by the forces of hypocrisy on both sides of the Atlantic and of the secrets they were forced to keep. A compelling narrative of human love and loss, Martin Sixsmith's moving account is heartbreaking yet ultimately redemptive.]]> 452 Martin Sixsmith 0230744273 Summer 4 lgbtq 3.63 2009 The Lost Child of Philomena Lee: A Mother, Her Son and A Fifty-Year Search
author: Martin Sixsmith
name: Summer
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/08/02
shelves: lgbtq
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Trans Man Walks into a Gay Bar]]> 63833356
After his relationship with his girlfriend of 5 years ended, Harry realised he was a single adult for the first time � not only that, but a single, transmasculine and newly out gay man.

Despite knowing it was the right decision, the reality of his new situation was terrifying. How could he be a gay man, when he was still learning what it was to be a man? Would the gay community embrace him or reject him? What would gay sex be like? And most importantly, would finding love again be possible?

In this raw, intimate and unflinchingly honest book, we follow Harry as he navigates the sometimes fraught and contradictory worlds of contemporary gay culture as a trans gay man, from Grindr, dating and gay bars, to saunas, sex and ultimately, falling in love. Harry’s brave and uplifting journey will show you there is joy in finding who you are.]]> 224 Harry Nicholas 1839971835 Summer 0 to-read 4.06 2023 A Trans Man Walks into a Gay Bar
author: Harry Nicholas
name: Summer
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Where the Crawdads Sing 36809135
But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life's lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.]]> 384 Delia Owens 0735219117 Summer 3 4.35 2018 Where the Crawdads Sing
author: Delia Owens
name: Summer
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2023/05/04
date added: 2023/05/04
shelves:
review:

]]> You (You, #1) 36430011
There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance� meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation.]]> 464 Caroline Kepnes 1501195433 Summer 0 to-read 4.03 2014 You (You, #1)
author: Caroline Kepnes
name: Summer
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother]]> 61918857
In an era of falling births, it’s often said that millennials invented the idea of not having kids. But history is full of women without some who chose childless lives, others who wanted children but never had them, and still others—the vast majority, then and now—who fell somewhere in between.Modern women considering how and if children fit into their lives are products of their political, ecological, and cultural moment. But history also tells them that they are not alone.
 �
Drawing on deep research and her own experience as a woman without children, historian Peggy O’Donnell Heffington shows that many of the reasons women are not having children today are ones they share with women in the a lack of support, their jobs or finances, environmental concerns, infertility, and the desire to live different kinds of lives. Understanding this history—how normal it has always been to not have children, and how hard society has worked to make it seem abnormal—is key, she writes, to rebuilding kinship between mothers and non-mothers, and to building a better world for us all.]]> 256 Peggy O'Donnell Heffington 1541675576 Summer 0 to-read 3.72 2023 Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother
author: Peggy O'Donnell Heffington
name: Summer
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Men We Reaped: A Memoir 17286683 '...And then we heard the rain falling, and that was the drops of blood falling; and when we came to get the crops, it was dead men that we reaped.' Harriet Tubman

In five years, Jesmyn Ward lost five men in her life, to drugs, accidents, suicide, and the bad luck that can follow people who live in poverty, particularly black men. Dealing with these losses, one after another, made Jesmyn ask the question: why? And as she began to write about the experience of living through all the dying, she realized the truth--and it took her breath away. Her brother and her friends all died because of who they were and where they were from, because they lived with a history of racism and economic struggle that fostered drug addiction and the dissolution of family and relationships. Jesmyn says the answer was so obvious she felt stupid for not seeing it. But it nagged at her until she knew she had to write about her community, to write their stories and her own.

Jesmyn grew up in poverty in rural Mississippi. She writes powerfully about the pressures this brings, on the men who can do no right and the women who stand in for family in a society where the men are often absent. She bravely tells her story, revisiting the agonizing losses of her only brother and her friends. As the sole member of her family to leave home and pursue high education, she writes about this parallel American universe with the objectivity distance provides and the intimacy of utter familiarity.]]> 256 Jesmyn Ward 160819521X Summer 0 to-read 4.28 2013 Men We Reaped: A Memoir
author: Jesmyn Ward
name: Summer
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism]]> 55338982
What makes “cults� so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has . . .

Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing.� But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day.

Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,� revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish� everywhere.]]> 309 Amanda Montell 0062993151 Summer 0 to-read 3.82 2021 Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
author: Amanda Montell
name: Summer
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty]]> 43868109 The highly anticipated portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, by the prize-winning, bestselling author of Say Nothing.

The Sackler name adorns the walls of many storied institutions: Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oxford, the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations to the arts and sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing OxyContin, a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis.

Empire of Pain is a masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, exhaustively documented and ferociously compelling.]]> 535 Patrick Radden Keefe 0385545681 Summer 0 to-read 4.54 2021 Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
author: Patrick Radden Keefe
name: Summer
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Poverty, by America 61358638 Reimagining the debate on poverty, making a new and bracing argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.

The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?

In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow.

Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.]]> 304 Matthew Desmond 0593239911 Summer 0 to-read 4.27 2023 Poverty, by America
author: Matthew Desmond
name: Summer
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The A-List (A-List, #1) 133830 256 Zoey Dean 0316734357 Summer 0 to-read 3.49 2003 The A-List (A-List, #1)
author: Zoey Dean
name: Summer
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl, #1) 22188
S is back from boarding school, and if we aren’t careful, she’s going to win over our teachers, wear that dress we couldn’t fit into, steal our boyfriends� hearts, and basically ruin our lives in a major way. I’ll be watching closely . . .

You know you love me,

gossip girl]]> 224 Cecily von Ziegesar 0316910333 Summer 3 2000s 3.52 2002 Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl, #1)
author: Cecily von Ziegesar
name: Summer
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/25
date added: 2023/04/25
shelves: 2000s
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist]]> 25373
This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be- and where the next great band is playing.

Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you'll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.]]> 183 Rachel Cohn 0375835318 Summer 2 3.71 2006 Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
author: Rachel Cohn
name: Summer
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2023/04/18
date added: 2023/04/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Remarkably Bright Creatures 58733693 Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.]]> 368 Shelby Van Pelt 0063204150 Summer 0 to-read 4.35 2022 Remarkably Bright Creatures
author: Shelby Van Pelt
name: Summer
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Island of Missing Trees 59569448 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

A rich, magical new novel on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker-shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.

Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he's searching for lost love.

Years later a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited--- her only connection to her family's troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.

A moving, beautifully written, and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history, and eco-consciousness, The Island of Missing Trees is Elif Shafak's best work yet.]]> 368 Elif Shafak 1635578590 Summer 0 to-read 4.07 2021 The Island of Missing Trees
author: Elif Shafak
name: Summer
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Club 58536005 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062997425.

From the author of People Like Her comes a smart and sinister murder mystery set in the secretive world of exclusive celebrity clubs.

Everyone's Dying to Join . . .

The Home Group is a glamorous collection of celebrity members' clubs dotted across the globe, where the rich and famous can party hard and then crash out in its five-star suites, far from the prying eyes of fans and the media.

The most spectacular of all is Island Home—a closely-guarded, ultraluxurious resort, just off the English coast—and its three-day launch party is easily the most coveted A-list invite of the decade.

But behind the scenes, tensions are at breaking point: the ambitious and expensive project has pushed the Home Group's CEO and his long-suffering team to their absolute limits. All of them have something to hide—and that's before the beautiful people with their own ugly secrets even set foot on the island.

As tempers fray and behavior worsens, as things get more sinister by the hour and the body count piles up, some of Island Home’s members will begin to wish they’d never made the guest list.

Because at this club, if your name’s on the list, you’re not getting out.]]> 320 Ellery Lloyd Summer 0 to-read 3.19 2022 The Club
author: Ellery Lloyd
name: Summer
average rating: 3.19
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Mrs. Everything 41592780 Alternate cover for ISBN# 9781501133503

Do we change or does the world change us?

Jo and Bethie Kaufman were born into a world full of promise.

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, they live in a perfect “Dick and Jane� house, where their roles in the family are clearly defined. Jo is the tomboy, the bookish rebel with a passion to make the world more fair; Bethie is the pretty, feminine good girl, a would-be star who enjoys the power her beauty confers and dreams of a traditional life.

But the truth ends up looking different from what the girls imagined. Jo and Bethie survive traumas and tragedies. As their lives unfold against the background of free love and Vietnam, Woodstock and women’s lib, Bethie becomes an adventure-loving wild child who dives headlong into the counterculture and is up for anything (except settling down). Meanwhile, Jo becomes a proper young mother in Connecticut, a witness to the changing world instead of a participant. Neither woman inhabits the world she dreams of, nor has a life that feels authentic or brings her joy. Is it too late for the women to finally stake a claim on happily ever after?]]> 416 Jennifer Weiner Summer 4 3.81 2019 Mrs. Everything
author: Jennifer Weiner
name: Summer
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2021/12/10
date added: 2023/04/14
shelves: favorites, worth-the-hype, lgbtq
review:

]]> The House on Mango Street 139253 The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero.

Told in a series of vignettes � sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous–it is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers.]]> 110 Sandra Cisneros 0679734775 Summer 5 favorites 3.69 1984 The House on Mango Street
author: Sandra Cisneros
name: Summer
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1984
rating: 5
read at: 2021/12/28
date added: 2023/04/14
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Convenience Store Woman 38357895
A brilliant depiction of an unusual psyche and a world hidden from view, Convenience Store Woman is an ironic and sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures to conform, as well as a charming and completely fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.]]> 163 Sayaka Murata Summer 3 3.70 2016 Convenience Store Woman
author: Sayaka Murata
name: Summer
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/14
date added: 2023/04/14
shelves:
review:

]]> Text for You 58536104 A heartwarming story of love, loss, serendipity, and texting.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Sam Heughan and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

After a heated argument, Clara's fiancé stormed out of their apartment, but before they have a chance to reconcile, he died in a tragic accident. It has been two years, but she's still paralyzed with grief, and her friends are worried about her. So, to try to say what was left unsaid, she starts texting his old phone. What she doesn't realize is that the number has been reassigned.

Across town, Sven's phone begins receiving mysterious but heartfelt text messages. He doesn't respond, but he is captivated by the sender. His own relationship has been on the rocks, and when it ends he sets out to find the person who has been texting him. Neither Sven nor Clara knew what they were setting out to find, but it would change both of their lives forever.]]> 245 Sofie Cramer 0143136909 Summer 0 to-read 2.52 2009 Text for You
author: Sofie Cramer
name: Summer
average rating: 2.52
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Girl on the Train 30278752
And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything has changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?]]> 324 Paula Hawkins 1594634025 Summer 0 to-read 3.97 2015 The Girl on the Train
author: Paula Hawkins
name: Summer
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)]]> 33387769
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid � a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.� Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

]]> 152 Martha Wells 0765397536 Summer 0 to-read 4.10 2017 All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)
author: Martha Wells
name: Summer
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> One of the Girls 58829857 The latest twisty psychological thriller from internationally-bestselling author Lucy Clarke, One of the Girls is the delicious story of a bachelorette trip on a stunning Greek island... that ends in murder.

It was supposed to be the perfect weekend away. Six very different women travel to a sun-soaked Greek island for a bachelorette trip, to celebrate Lexi’s upcoming wedding. From the glorious ocean views to the quaint tavernas and whitewashed streets, the vacation seems too good to be true. But dangerous undercurrents run beneath the sunset swims and midnight cocktails � because each of the women is hiding a secret. Someone is determined to make sure that Lexi’s marriage never happens � and that one of them doesn’t leave the island alive.

Gripping, twisty, and full of sun-soaked suspense, this timely thriller examines the joys of female friendship…as well as the deadly consequences when a relationship goes wrong.]]> 432 Lucy Clarke 0593422643 Summer 0 to-read 3.84 2022 One of the Girls
author: Lucy Clarke
name: Summer
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Escape Room 41150380 Welcome to the escape room. Your goal is simple. Get out alive.

In the lucrative world of finance, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are at the top of their game. They’ve mastered the art of the deal and celebrate their success in style―but a life of extreme luxury always comes at a cost.

Invited to participate in an escape room challenge as a team-building exercise, the ferociously competitive co-workers crowd into the elevator of a high-rise building, eager to prove themselves. But when the lights go off and the doors stay shut, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary competition: they’re caught in a dangerous game of survival.

Trapped in the dark, the colleagues must put aside their bitter rivalries and work together to solve cryptic clues to break free. But as the game begins to reveal the team’s darkest secrets, they realize there’s a price to be paid for the terrible deeds they committed in their ruthless climb up the corporate ladder. As tempers fray, and the clues turn deadly, they must solve one final chilling puzzle: which one of them will kill in order to survive?]]> 357 Megan Goldin 1250219655 Summer 0 to-read 3.80 2018 The Escape Room
author: Megan Goldin
name: Summer
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> How Can I Help You 60392079 A razor-sharp suspense about two local librarians whose lives become dangerously intertwined.

No one knows Margo’s real name. Her colleagues and patrons at a small town public library only know her middle-aged normalcy, congeniality, and charm. They have no reason to suspect that she is, in fact, a former nurse with a trail of countless premature deaths in her wake. She has turned a new page, so to speak, and the library is her sanctuary, a place to quell old urges.

That is, at least, until Patricia, a recent graduate and failed novelist, joins the library staff. Patricia quickly notices Margo’s subtly sinister edge, and watches her carefully. When a patron’s death in the library bathroom gives her a hint of Margo’s mysterious past, Patricia can’t resist digging deeper—even as this new fixation becomes all-consuming.

Taut and compelling, How Can I Help You explores the dark side of human nature and the dangerous pull of artistic obsession.]]> 256 Laura Sims 059354370X Summer 0 to-read 3.40 2023 How Can I Help You
author: Laura Sims
name: Summer
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Woman in Cabin 10 (Lo Blacklock, #1)]]> 28187230 341 Ruth Ware 1501132938 Summer 0 to-read 3.73 2016 The Woman in Cabin 10 (Lo Blacklock, #1)
author: Ruth Ware
name: Summer
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Miss Aldridge Regrets (Canary Club Mystery #1)]]> 59576012
London, 1936. Lena Aldridge wonders if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn't worked out. Instead, she's stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho, and her married lover has just left her. But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage.

She's feeling utterly hopeless until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn't be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But death follows her onboard when an obscenely wealthy family draws her into their fold just as one among them is killed in a chillingly familiar way. As Lena navigates the Abernathy's increasingly bizarre family dynamic, she realizes that her greatest performance won't be for an audience, but for her life.

With seductive glamor, simmering family drama, and dizzying twists, Louise Hare makes her beguiling US debut.]]> 368 Louise Hare 0593439252 Summer 0 to-read 3.38 2022 Miss Aldridge Regrets (Canary Club Mystery #1)
author: Louise Hare
name: Summer
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Perks of Being a Wallflower]]> 22628 offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see
what it looks like from the dance floor.

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being A WALLFLOWER

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

(back cover)]]> 213 Stephen Chbosky Summer 5 favorites, worth-the-hype 4.24 1999 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
author: Stephen Chbosky
name: Summer
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/11
date added: 2023/04/11
shelves: favorites, worth-the-hype
review:

]]> When No One Is Watching 49398072 Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning...

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she's known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community's past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block--her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo's deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other--or themselves--long enough to find out before they too disappear?

Featured in Parade, Essence, Bustle, Popsugar, Elle, Shondaland, Marie Claire, Buzzfeed, Entertainment Weekly, Good Housekeeping, Brit + Co, Real Simple, Lit Hub, Crime Reads, Blavity, Ms. Magazine, Hello Giggles, The New York Times, Town & Country, Newsweek, New York Post, Refinery29, Woman's World, Washington Post, the Skimm, Book Riot, Bookish, Huffington Post, and more!
]]> 352 Alyssa Cole 0062982656 Summer 0 to-read 3.45 2020 When No One Is Watching
author: Alyssa Cole
name: Summer
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Annie on My Mind 595375
Of the author and the book, the Margaret A. Edwards Award committee said, “Using a fluid, readable style, Garden opens a window through which readers can find courage to be true to themselves.”]]> 234 Nancy Garden 0374404143 Summer 4 lgbtq 4.02 1982 Annie on My Mind
author: Nancy Garden
name: Summer
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/03
date added: 2023/04/03
shelves: lgbtq
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much]]> 56898297
A hilarious and whip-smart collection of essays, offering an intimate look at bisexuality, gender, and, of course, sex. Perfect for fans of Lindy West, Samantha Irby, and Rebecca Solnit—and anyone who wants, and deserves, to be seen.

If Jen Winston knows one thing for sure, it’s that she’s bisexual. Or wait—maybe she isn’t? Actually, she definitely is. Unless…she’s not?

Jen’s provocative, laugh-out-loud debut takes us inside her journey of self-discovery, leading us through stories of a childhood “girl crush,� an onerous quest to have a threesome, and an enduring fear of being bad at sex. Greedy follows Jen’s attempts to make sense of herself as she explores the role of the male gaze, what it means to be “queer enough,� and how to overcome bi stereotypes when you’re the posterchild for all of greedy, slutty, and constantly confused.

With her clever voice and clear-eyed insight, Jen draws on personal experiences with sexism and biphobia to understand how we all can and must do better. She sheds light on the reasons women, queer people, and other marginalized groups tend to make ourselves smaller, provoking the What would happen if we suddenly stopped?​�

Greedy shows us that being bisexual is about so much more than who you’re sleeping with—it’s about finding stability in a state of flux and defining yourself on your own terms. This book inspires us to rethink the world as we know it, reminding us that Greedy was a superpower all along.]]> 336 Jen Winston 1982179171 Summer 2 lgbtq 3.92 2021 Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much
author: Jen Winston
name: Summer
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2023/03/26
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: lgbtq
review:

]]> Drama 13436373
Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she can't really sing. Instead she's the set designer for the drama department stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn't know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen. And when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!]]> 238 Raina Telgemeier 0545326990 Summer 0 lgbtq 4.18 2012 Drama
author: Raina Telgemeier
name: Summer
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: lgbtq
review:

]]> Smile (Smile, #1) 6393631 214 Raina Telgemeier 0545132053 Summer 0 4.22 2009 Smile (Smile, #1)
author: Raina Telgemeier
name: Summer
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo]]> 32620332
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the �80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.]]> 389 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1501139231 Summer 2 overhyped, lgbtq 4.39 2017 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Summer
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2022/01/11
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: overhyped, lgbtq
review:
A compelling story, but Reid's writing style flat for me.
]]> I'll Give You the Sun 20820994
Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways... but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor. The early years are Noah's to tell; the later years are Jude's. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they'll have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant, award-winning novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

Printz Award Winner Stonewall Honor Book.]]> 371 Jandy Nelson 0803734964 Summer 5 4.14 2014 I'll Give You the Sun
author: Jandy Nelson
name: Summer
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/31
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: favorites, worth-the-hype, lgbtq
review:

]]> Her Name in the Sky 20805246
The last thing she wants is to fall in love with a girl--especially when that girl is her best friend, Baker.

Hannah knows she should like Wally, the kind, earnest boy who asks her to prom. She should cheer on her friend Clay when he asks Baker to be his girlfriend. She should follow the rules of her conservative Louisiana community--the rules that have been ingrained in her since she was a child.

But Hannah longs to be with Baker, who cooks macaroni and cheese with Hannah late at night, who believes in the magic of books as much as Hannah does, and who challenges Hannah to be the best version of herself.

And Baker might want to be with Hannah, too--if both girls can embrace that world-shaking, yet wondrous, possibility.]]> 415 Kelly Quindlen Summer 0 to-read 4.32 2014 Her Name in the Sky
author: Kelly Quindlen
name: Summer
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Temptation 44298046 Brook has always had a head for business. Born into a global shipping empire, she sits at the helm running it with skill and savvy. But success comes at a cost. Her priority is her six-year-old son, but she can't be in two places at once. Hiring a nanny isn't the perfect solution, but it would certainly help, and Cassie came highly recommended. If only she wasn't so damn attractive.

Can Cassie and Brook deny their growing attraction and keep things professional? Or will they sidestep propriety and give in to temptation?]]> 240 Kris Bryant 1635555086 Summer 0 to-read 4.12 2020 Temptation
author: Kris Bryant
name: Summer
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Kiss the Girl (Soho Loft, #1) 18406404
Twenty-eight-year-old Brooklyn Campbell is having a bad day. A speeding ticket, a towed car, and a broken heel are all working against her laid-back vibe. To top it all off, her birth mother, whom she’s never met, has requested contact. The only bright spot is an impromptu date with a beautiful and mysterious brunette.

Jessica Lennox is what you would call a high-powered executive. She’s the head of a multimillion-dollar advertising firm in New York City, and it didn’t happen by accident. But when the blonde head turner from the wine bistro turns out to be her number one competitor, her life gets infinitely more complex.

Is New York big enough for both Brooklyn and Jessica? Maybe it’s just time they experienced it together...]]> 305 Melissa Brayden 1626390711 Summer 0 to-read 4.27 2014 Kiss the Girl (Soho Loft, #1)
author: Melissa Brayden
name: Summer
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Gravity Between Us 18456078 Where does friendship stop and love begin?

At just 19, Kendall Bettencourt is Hollywood’s hottest young starlet with the world at her feet � but behind the glamour and designer dresses is a girl who longs for normal.

Payton Taylor is Kendall’s best friend since childhood, and the one person who reminds her of who she really is � her refuge from the craziness of celebrity life.

With her career taking off, Kendall moves Payton to LA to help keep her sane. But Payton is hiding a secret that could make everything ten times worse. Because to her, Kendall is more than a best friend � she is the only girl that she has ever loved.

Just as they need each other more than ever, they’ll have to answer the question of where friendship stops and love begins? And find out whether the feelings they have can survive the mounting pressure of fame�

The Gravity Between Us is a daring, romantic, emotional story about friendship, love, and finding the courage to be yourself in a crazy world.

New Adult novel: recommended for 17+ due to mature themes and sexual content]]> 310 Kristen Zimmer 190949013X Summer 0 to-read 3.76 2013 The Gravity Between Us
author: Kristen Zimmer
name: Summer
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Kissing Kate 270367 Kate was Lissa's best friend. They've shared everything for four years. Then one night at a drunken party, Kate leaned in to kiss Lissa, and Lissa kissed her back. And now Kate is pretending Lissa doesn't exist. Confused and alone, Lissa's left questioning everything she thought she knew about herself, and about life. But with the help of a free-spirit new friend, Lissa's beginning to find the strength to realize that sometimes falling in love with the wrong person is the only way to find your footing.

]]> 198 Lauren Myracle 0142408697 Summer 0 to-read 3.69 2003 Kissing Kate
author: Lauren Myracle
name: Summer
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/27
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]]> If I Was Your Girl 26156987 A new kind of big-hearted novel about being seen for who you really are.

Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret, and she's determined not to get too close to anyone.

But when she meets sweet, easygoing Grant, Amanda can't help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she realizes just how much she is losing by guarding her heart. She finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself, including her past. But Amanda's terrified that once she tells him the truth, he won't be able to see past it.

Because the secret that Amanda's been keeping? It's that at her old school, she used to be Andrew. Will the truth cost Amanda her new life, and her new love?

Meredith Russo's If I Was Your Girl is a universal story about feeling different and a love story that everyone will root for.]]> 280 Meredith Russo 1250078407 Summer 0 to-read 3.97 2016 If I Was Your Girl
author: Meredith Russo
name: Summer
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/27
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]]> Beauty Queens 9464733 When a plane crash strands thirteen teen beauty contestants on a mysterious island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island's other diabolical occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition.]]> 396 Libba Bray 0439895979 Summer 0 to-read 3.62 2011 Beauty Queens
author: Libba Bray
name: Summer
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/27
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]]> Ask the Passengers 13069935
As her secret relationship becomes more intense and her friends demand answers, Astrid has nowhere left to turn. She can't share the truth with anyone except the people at thirty thousand feet, and they don't even know she's there. But little does Astrid know just how much even the tiniest connection will affect these strangers' lives--and her own--for the better.

In this truly original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society's definitions, Printz Honor author A.S. King asks readers to question everything--and offers hope to those who will never stop seeking real love.]]> 304 A.S. King 0316194689 Summer 0 to-read 3.84 2012 Ask the Passengers
author: A.S. King
name: Summer
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/27
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]]> We Are the Ants 23677341 The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes a brand-new novel about a teenage boy who must decide whether or not the world is worth saving.

Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button.

Only he isn’t sure he wants to.

After all, life hasn’t been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer’s. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend’s suicide last year.

Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him.

But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever.]]> 455 Shaun David Hutchinson 148144963X Summer 0 to-read 4.12 2016 We Are the Ants
author: Shaun David Hutchinson
name: Summer
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Openly Straight (Openly Straight, #1)]]> 16100972
Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.

And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.

So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate break down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben . . . who doesn't even know that love is possible.

This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate feeling different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself.]]> 320 Bill Konigsberg 0545509890 Summer 0 to-read 3.86 2013 Openly Straight (Openly Straight, #1)
author: Bill Konigsberg
name: Summer
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed]]> 40203647 From a psychotherapist, and national advice columnist comes a thought-provoking new book that takes us behind the scenes of a therapist's world -- where her patients are looking for answers (and so is she).

One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.

As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients' lives -- a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can't stop hooking up with the wrong guys -- she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.

With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them.]]> 413 Lori Gottlieb Summer 0 to-read 4.41 2019 Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
author: Lori Gottlieb
name: Summer
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> Speak 39280444
"Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say."

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication.

In Laurie Halse Anderson's powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.

Speak was a 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature.]]> 224 Laurie Halse Anderson 0374311250 Summer 4 favorites 4.13 1999 Speak
author: Laurie Halse Anderson
name: Summer
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2022/11/09
date added: 2023/03/23
shelves: favorites
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]]> <![CDATA[Come Fly The World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am]]> 53968539 Mad Men–era of commercial flight, Pan Am World Airways attracted the kind of young woman who wanted out, and wanted up

Required to have a college degree, speak two languages, and possess the political savvy of a Foreign Service officer, a jet-age stewardess serving on iconic Pan Am between 1966 and 1975 also had to be between 5�3" and 5�9", between 105 and 140 pounds, and under 26 years of age at the time of hire. Julia Cooke’s intimate storytelling weaves together the real-life stories of a memorable cast of characters, from Lynne Totten, a science major who decided life in a lab was not for her, to Hazel Bowie, one of the relatively few black stewardesses of the era, as they embraced the liberation of their new jet-set life.

Cooke brings to life the story of Pan Am stewardesses� role in the Vietnam War, as the airline added runs from Saigon to Hong Kong for planeloads of weary young soldiers straight from the battlefields, who were off for five days of R&R, and then flown back to war. Finally, with Operation Babylift—the dramatic evacuation of 2,000 children during the fall of Saigon—the book’s special cast of stewardesses unites to play an extraordinary role on the world stage.]]> 288 Julia Cooke 0358251400 Summer 0 to-read 3.63 2021 Come Fly The World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am
author: Julia Cooke
name: Summer
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/23
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]]> Girl Sex 101 58026411 Learn how to navigate the twists and turns of female sexuality, with special guidance from sixteen guest sex educators including Nina Hartley, Sex Nerd Sandra, Jiz Lee, Sunny Megatron, Dirty Lola, Julia Serano, Reid Mihalko and more!

GIRL SEX 101 WILL TEACH YOU�
* The bits and pieces that make up female sexual anatomy
* Simple ways to communicate in the heat of the moment
* How to build a “Road Map� of your partner’s pleasure
* Essential moves for cunnilingus, strap-ons, hand sex and more!
* Positions to avoid fatigue and generate the power you need to rock your girl’s world!

You’ll gain confidence to please your girl, no matter what your hands-on experience.

BUCKLE YOUR SEAT BELT AND GET READY TO RIDE!]]> 388 Allison Moon 0983830908 Summer 0 to-read 4.47 2015 Girl Sex 101
author: Allison Moon
name: Summer
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/22
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]]> <![CDATA[The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture]]> 54860449 From The Onion and Reductress contributor, this collection of essays is a hilarious nostalgic trip through beloved 2000s media, interweaving cultural criticism and personal narrative to examine how a very straight decade forged a very queer woman

Today’s gay youth have dozens of queer peer heroes, both fictional and real, but Grace Perry did not have that luxury. Instead, she had to search for queerness in the teen cultural phenomena that the early aughts had to offer: in Lindsay Lohan’s fall from grace, Gossip Girl, Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl,� country-era Taylor Swift, and Seth Cohen jumping on a coffee cart. And, for better or worse, these touch points shaped her identity, and she came out on the other side, as she puts it, gay as hell.

Join Grace on a journey back through the pop culture moments of the early 2000’s, before the cataclysmic shift in LGBTQ representation and acceptance―a time not so long ago, that people seem to forget.]]> 256 Grace Perry 1250760143 Summer 0 to-read 3.83 2021 The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture
author: Grace Perry
name: Summer
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/22
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]]> <![CDATA[Empress of the World (Battle Hall Davies, #1)]]> 47944
But on the very first day, she falls in with Katrina the Manic Computer Chick, Isaac the Nice-Guy-Despite-Himself, Kevin the Inarticulate Composer... and Battle.

Battle Hall Davies is a beautiful blond dancer from North Carolina. She's everything Nic isn't. Soon the two are friends - and then, startlingly, more than friends. What do you do when you think you're attracted to guys, and then you meet a girl who steals your heart?]]> 290 Sara Ryan 0142500593 Summer 0 to-read 3.74 2001 Empress of the World (Battle Hall Davies, #1)
author: Sara Ryan
name: Summer
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2001
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/22
shelves: to-read
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]]> Keeping You a Secret 272315
At least, it seems to be.

But when Cece Goddard comes to school, everything changes. Cece and Holland have undeniable feelings for each other, but how will others react to their developing relationship?]]> 250 Julie Anne Peters 0316009857 Summer 0 to-read 3.94 2003 Keeping You a Secret
author: Julie Anne Peters
name: Summer
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/21
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]]> Cracked Up to Be 3521484 214 Courtney Summers 031238369X Summer 0 to-read 3.74 2008 Cracked Up to Be
author: Courtney Summers
name: Summer
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/11/10
shelves: to-read
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]]> Before I Die 1314332
Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of ‘normal� life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.]]> 336 Jenny Downham 0385613466 Summer 0 to-read 3.84 2007 Before I Die
author: Jenny Downham
name: Summer
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/11/10
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]]> The Sky Is Everywhere 6604794
Join Lennie on this heartbreaking and hilarious journey of profound sorrow and mad love, as she makes colossal mistakes and colossal discoveries, as she traipses through band rooms and forest bedrooms and ultimately right into your heart.

As much a celebration of love as a poignant portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often uproarious, and absolutely unforgettable.]]> 288 Jandy Nelson 0803734956 Summer 0 to-read 3.97 2010 The Sky Is Everywhere
author: Jandy Nelson
name: Summer
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/11/10
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]]> Will Grayson, Will Grayson 6567017
It's not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old - including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire - Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical.]]> 320 John Green 0525421580 Summer 0 to-read 3.70 2010 Will Grayson, Will Grayson
author: John Green
name: Summer
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/11/10
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]]> <![CDATA[The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Sisterhood, #1)]]> 452306
But Tibby says they’re great. She'd love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think they’re fabulous. Lena decides that they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them.

Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Even Carmen (who never thinks she looks good in anything) thinks she looks good in the pants. Over a few bags of cheese puffs, they decide to form a sisterhood and take the vow of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . . . the next morning, they say good-bye.

And then the journey of the pants � and the most memorable summer of their lives � begins.]]> 294 Ann Brashares 0385729332 Summer 0 to-read 3.85 2001 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Sisterhood, #1)
author: Ann Brashares
name: Summer
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2001
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/11/10
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]]> My Sister’s Keeper 10917 New York Times best-selling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness.

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age 13 she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate—a life and a role that she has never challenged ... until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister—and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity.]]> 423 Jodi Picoult 0743454537 Summer 0 to-read 4.10 2004 My Sister’s Keeper
author: Jodi Picoult
name: Summer
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2004
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/11/10
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Way I Used to Be (The Way I Used to Be, #1)]]> 23546634
But Eden can’t turn back time. So she buries the truth, along with the girl she used to be. She pretends she doesn’t need friends, doesn’t need love, doesn’t need justice. But as her world unravels, one thing becomes clear: the only person who can save Eden � is Eden.]]> 385 Amber Smith Summer 0 to-read 4.14 2016 The Way I Used to Be (The Way I Used to Be, #1)
author: Amber Smith
name: Summer
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/10/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> This Is Where It Ends 24529123 The #1 New York Times Bestseller
 A Buzzfeed Best Book of the Decade
A Paste Magazine Best Book of the Decade

 Everyone has a reason to fear the boy with the gun�

10:00 a.m.: The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.: The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03: The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05: Someone starts shooting.

In 54 minutes, four students must confront their greatest hopes, and darkest fears, as they come face-to-face with the boy with the gun.

Includes special bonus content: a letter from the author, discussion questions, two bonus chapters, a conversation with the author, and a playlist!

Praise for This Is Where It Ends:
A Buzzfeed Best Book of the Decade
A Paste Magazine Best Book of the Decade
A BookRiot Best Book of the Decade
A Professional Book Nerds Best Book of the Decade

"Marieke Nijkamp's brutal, powerful fictional account of a school shooting is important in its timeliness." —Bustle.com

"A gritty, emotional, and suspenseful read and although fictionalized, it reflects on a problematic and harrowing issue across the nation." —Buzzfeed

"A compelling, brutal story of an unfortunately all-too familiar situation: a school shooting. Nijkamp portrays the events thoughtfully, recounting fifty-four intense minutes of bravery, love, and loss." —BookRiot

]]> 288 Marieke Nijkamp 149262246X Summer 0 3.67 2016 This Is Where It Ends
author: Marieke Nijkamp
name: Summer
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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]]> It's Kind of a Funny Story 248704
Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.

Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness.]]> 444 Ned Vizzini 078685197X Summer 0 to-read 4.08 2006 It's Kind of a Funny Story
author: Ned Vizzini
name: Summer
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/10/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> Luna 316445 A groundbreaking novel about a transgender teen, selected as a National Book Award Finalist!

Regan's brother Liam can't stand the person he is during the day. Like the moon from whom Liam has chosen his female name, his true self, Luna, only reveals herself at night. In the secrecy of his basement bedroom Liam transforms himself into the beautiful girl he longs to be, with help from his sister's clothes and makeup. Now, everything is about to change: Luna is preparing to emerge from her cocoon. But are Liam's family and friends ready to welcome Luna into their lives?

Compelling and provocative, this is an unforgettable novel about a transgender teen's struggle for self-identity and acceptance.]]> 248 Julie Anne Peters 0316011274 Summer 0 to-read 3.83 2004 Luna
author: Julie Anne Peters
name: Summer
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2004
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/10/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> Jacob Have I Loved 337058
For once in her life, Louise wants to be the special one. But in order to do that, she must first figure out who she is . . . and find a way to make a place for herself outside her sister's shadow.]]> 244 Katherine Paterson 0064403688 Summer 0 to-read 3.69 1980 Jacob Have I Loved
author: Katherine Paterson
name: Summer
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1980
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/10/08
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]]> Just Listen 51738
This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.

Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.]]> 371 Sarah Dessen 0670061050 Summer 0 to-read 4.06 2006 Just Listen
author: Sarah Dessen
name: Summer
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/10/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Practical Magic (Practical Magic, #1)]]> 22896 Alternate cover for ISBN 9780425190371 (currently here).

The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman.

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape.

One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic...
]]> 286 Alice Hoffman Summer 0 to-read 3.70 1995 Practical Magic (Practical Magic, #1)
author: Alice Hoffman
name: Summer
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/09/26
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[A House of My Own: Stories from My Life]]> 25614824 From the beloved author of The House on Mango Street: a richly illustrated compilation of true stories and nonfiction pieces that, taken together, form a jigsaw autobiography: an intimate album of a literary legend's life and career.

From the Chicago neighborhoods where she grew up and set her groundbreaking The House on Mango Street to her abode in Mexico, in a region where "my ancestors lived for centuries," the places Sandra Cisneros has lived have provided inspiration for her now-classic works of fiction and poetry. But a house of her own, where she could truly take root, has eluded her. With this collection—spanning nearly three decades, and including never-before-published work—Cisneros has come home at last. Ranging from the private (her parents' loving and tempestuous marriage) to the political (a rallying cry for one woman's liberty in Sarajevo) to the literary (a tribute to Marguerite Duras), and written with her trademark sensitivity and honesty, these poignant, unforgettable pieces give us not only her most transformative memories but also a revelation of her artistic and intellectual influences. Here is an exuberant, deeply moving celebration of a life in writing lived to the fullest—an important milestone in a storied career.]]> 400 Sandra Cisneros 038535133X Summer 0 4.30 2015 A House of My Own: Stories from My Life
author: Sandra Cisneros
name: Summer
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2022/08/28
date added: 2022/08/28
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]]> Big Little Lies 33516773 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

From the author of Truly Madly Guilty and The Husband s Secret comes a novel about the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.]]> 460 Liane Moriarty 0399587195 Summer 0 to-read 4.40 2014 Big Little Lies
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Summer
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/04
shelves: to-read
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]]> Where'd You Go, Bernadette 13526165
When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces--which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where'd You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter's love for her mother.]]> 330 Maria Semple 0316204277 Summer 0 to-read 3.87 2012 Where'd You Go, Bernadette
author: Maria Semple
name: Summer
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/04
shelves: to-read
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]]> SuperMutant Magic Academy 22752445 Unrequited love, underage drinking, and teen angst rule at a high school for mutants and witches.

SuperMutant Magic Academy, which the author has been serializing online for the past four years, paints a teenaged world filled with just as much ennui and uncertainty, but also with a sharp dose of humor and irreverence.Tamaki deftly plays superhero and high-school Hollywood tropes against what adolescence is really like: The SuperMutant Magic Academy is a prep school for mutants and witches, but their paranormal abilities take a backseat to everyday teen concerns.

Science experiments go awry, bake sales are upstaged, and the new kid at school is a cat who will determine the course of human destiny. In one strip, lizard-headed Trixie frets about her nonexistent modeling career; in another, the immortal Everlasting Boy tries to escape this mortal coil to no avail. Throughout it all, closeted Marsha obsesses about her unrequited crush, the cat-eared Wendy. Whether the magic is mundane or miraculous, Tamaki’s jokes are precise and devastating.

This volume combines the most popular content from the webcomic with a selection of all-new, never-before-seen strips that conclude Tamaki’s account of life at the academy.]]> 276 Jillian Tamaki 1770461981 Summer 0 to-read 3.99 2015 SuperMutant Magic Academy
author: Jillian Tamaki
name: Summer
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/04
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]]> Comfort Me with Apples 56179382
It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect.

But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze...

But everything is perfect. Isn't it?]]> 103 Catherynne M. Valente 1250816211 Summer 0 to-read 3.57 2021 Comfort Me with Apples
author: Catherynne M. Valente
name: Summer
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/04
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]]> <![CDATA[A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana]]> 15171
To three-year-old Zippy, it made perfect sense to strike a bargain with her father to keep her baby bottle—never mind that when she did, it was the first time she'd ever spoken. In her nonplussed family, Zippy has the perfect supporting cast: her beautiful yet dour brother, Danny, a seeker of the true faith; her sweetly sensible sister, Lindy, who wins the local beauty pageant; her mother, Delonda, who dispenses wisdom from the corner of the couch; and her father, Bob Jarvis, who never met a bet he didn't like.

Whether describing a serious case of chicken love, another episode with the evil Edythe across the street, or the night Zippy's dad borrowed thirty-six coon dogs and a raccoon to prove to the complaining neighbors just how quiet his two dogs were, Kimmel treats readers to a heroine who is wonderfully sweet and shy as she navigates the quirky adult world surrounding Zippy.]]> 275 Haven Kimmel 0965030067 Summer 0 to-read 3.79 2001 A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana
author: Haven Kimmel
name: Summer
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2001
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/28
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]]> <![CDATA[All Creatures Great and Small (All Creatures Great and Small #1-2)]]> 18929854 The warm and joyful memoirs of the world's most beloved animal doctor.

Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.

For over forty years, generations of readers have thrilled to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.

In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. Some visits are heart-wrenchingly difficult, such as one to an old man in the village whose very ill dog is his only friend and companion, some are lighthearted and fun, such as Herriot's periodic visits to the overfed and pampered Pekinese Tricki Woo who throws parties and has his own stationery, and yet others are inspirational and enlightening, such as Herriot's recollections of poor farmers who will scrape their meager earnings together to be able to get proper care for their working animals. From seeing to his patients in the depths of winter on the remotest homesteads to dealing with uncooperative owners and critically ill animals, Herriot discovers the wondrous variety and never-ending challenges of veterinary practice as his humor, compassion, and love of the animal world shine forth.

James Herriot's memoirs have sold 80 million copies worldwide, and continue to delight and entertain readers of all ages.]]> 442 James Herriot 1250057833 Summer 0 to-read 4.37 1972 All Creatures Great and Small (All Creatures Great and Small #1-2)
author: James Herriot
name: Summer
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1972
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century]]> 38212124 An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780393356311 can be found here.

The inspiration for Chloé Zhao's celebrated film starring Frances McDormand, winner of the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress
March and April pick for the PBS Newshour-New York Times "Now Read This" Book Club
New York Times bestseller

"People who thought the 2008 financial collapse was over a long time ago need to meet the people Jessica Bruder got to know in this scorching, beautifully written, vivid, disturbing (and occasionally wryly funny) book." —Rebecca Solnit




From the beet fields of North Dakota to the National Forest campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older Americans. Finding that social security comes up short, often underwater on mortgages, these invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in late-model RVs, travel trailers, and vans, forming a growing community of nomads.

On frequently traveled routes between seasonal jobs, Jessica Bruder meets people from all walks of life: a former professor, a McDonald’s vice president, a minister, a college administrator, and a motorcycle cop, among many others—including her irrepressible protagonist, a onetime cocktail waitress, Home Depot clerk, and general contractor named Linda May.

In a secondhand vehicle she christens “Van Halen,� Bruder hits the road to get to know her subjects more intimately. Accompanying Linda May and others from campground toilet cleaning to warehouse product scanning to desert reunions, then moving on to the dangerous work of beet harvesting, Bruder tells a compelling, eye-opening tale of the dark underbelly of the American economy—one that foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, she celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of these quintessential Americans who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive. Like Linda May, who dreams of finding land on which to build her own sustainable “Earthship� home, they have not given up hope.]]> 288 Jessica Bruder Summer 0 to-read 3.98 2017 Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
author: Jessica Bruder
name: Summer
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/27
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]]> Running with Scissors 242006 336 Augusten Burroughs 031242227X Summer 0 to-read 3.77 2002 Running with Scissors
author: Augusten Burroughs
name: Summer
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2002
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/27
shelves: to-read
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]]> Banana Heart Summer 2686630
Twelve-year-old Nenita is hungry for food, love, life. Growing up with five sisters and brothers, she searches for happiness in the magical smell of the deep-frying bananas of Nana Dora, who first tells Nenita the myth of the banana heart; in the tantalizing scent of Manolito, the heartthrob of Nenita and her friends; in the pungent aromas of the dishes she prepares for the most beautiful woman on Remedios Street. To Nenita, food is synonymous with love—the love she yearns to receive from her disappointed mother. But in this summer of broken hearts, new friendships, secrets, and discoveries, change will be as sudden and explosive as the monsoon that marks the end of the sweltering heat—and transforms Nenita’s young life in ways she could never imagine.]]> 257 Merlinda Bobis 0385341121 Summer 0 to-read 3.94 2005 Banana Heart Summer
author: Merlinda Bobis
name: Summer
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/12
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Mango Bride 15808657 Two Women, Two Cultures, And The Fight To Find A New Life In America, Despite The Secrets Of The Past...

Banished by her wealthy Filipino family in Manila, Amparo Guerrero travels to Oakland, California, to forge a new life. Although her mother labels her life in exile a diminished one, Amparo believes her struggles are a small price to pay for freedom...

Like Amparo, Beverly Obejas—an impoverished Filipina waitress—forsakes Manila and comes to Oakland as a mail-order bride in search of a better life. Yet even in the land of plenty, Beverly fails to find the happiness and prosperity she envisioned.

As Amparo works to build the immigrant's dream, she becomes entangled in the chaos of Beverly's immigrant nightmare. Their unexpected collision forces them both to make terrible choices and confront a life-changing secret, but through it all they hold fast to family, in all its enduring and surprising transformations.]]> 371 Marivi Soliven Blanco 0451239849 Summer 0 to-read 3.88 2013 The Mango Bride
author: Marivi Soliven Blanco
name: Summer
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/12
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]]> The Last Time I Saw Mother 375883 --The New York Times Book Review

Caridad's mother never writes. So when a letter arrives for her in Sydney from Manila, Caridad doesn't even recognize her mother's handwriting. There is more distance than just miles between the two women. And that is why Caridad is called home. Her mother needs to talk. And to reveal a secret that has been weighing heavily on her for years.

As Caridad hears at last the unspoken stories, and the never forgotten tragedy of the war years, she will learn a startling truth that will change her life forever. For Caridad is not who she thinks she is. . . .

"Beautifully written . . . Reading each chapter is like having a conversation with a close friend."
--Chicago Tribune

"A sensitive . . . portrait of a family of Filipina women . . . The novel illuminates much modern Philippine history."
--The Boston Globe]]> 352 Arlene J. Chai 0449912345 Summer 0 to-read 3.94 1996 The Last Time I Saw Mother
author: Arlene J. Chai
name: Summer
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/12
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]]> <![CDATA[The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake]]> 7048800
On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents� attention, bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother—her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother—tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose.

The curse her gift has bestowed is the secret knowledge all families keep hidden—her mother’s life outside the home, her father’s detachment, her brother’s clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up she learns to harness her gift and becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a luminous tale about the enormous difficulty of loving someone fully when you know too much about them. It is heartbreaking and funny, wise and sad, and confirms Aimee Bender’s place as “a writer who makes you grateful for the very existence of language� (San Francisco Chronicle).]]> 292 Aimee Bender 0385501129 Summer 0 to-read 3.24 2010 The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
author: Aimee Bender
name: Summer
average rating: 3.24
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Garden Spells (Waverley Family, #1)]]> 1158967 In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it.�

The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.

A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants—from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys—except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before.

When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet life is turned upside down—along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy—if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom—or with each other.

Enchanting and heartfelt, this captivating novel is sure to cast a spell with a style all its own�.]]> 304 Sarah Addison Allen 0553805487 Summer 0 to-read 4.07 2007 Garden Spells (Waverley Family, #1)
author: Sarah Addison Allen
name: Summer
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/11
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]]> <![CDATA[We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves]]> 16176440
Meet the Cooke family: Mother and Dad, Lowell, Rosemary and her unusual sister Fern. Rosemary begins her story in the middle. She has her reasons. “Until Fern’s expulsion...,� Rosemary says, “she was my twin, my funhouse mirror, my whirlwind other half and I loved her.� As a child, Rosemary never stopped talking. Then, something happened, and Rosemary wrapped herself in silence.

In We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler weaves her most accomplished work to date—a tale of loving but fallible people whose well-intentioned actions lead to heartbreaking consequences.]]> 310 Karen Joy Fowler 0399162097 Summer 0 to-read 3.70 2013 We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
author: Karen Joy Fowler
name: Summer
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe]]> 9375 Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a now-classic novel about two women: Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age, and gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode, who is telling her life story. Her tale includes two more women, the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, offering good coffee, southern barbecue, and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder. And as the past unfolds, the present will never be quite the same again.]]> 416 Fannie Flagg 0375508414 Summer 0 to-read 4.28 1987 Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
author: Fannie Flagg
name: Summer
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1987
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/11
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]]> Purple Hibiscus 126381
When Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili’s father sends her and her brother away to stay with their aunt, a University professor, whose house is noisy and full of laughter. There, Kambili and her brother discover a life and love beyond the confines of their father’s authority. The visit will lift the silence from their world and, in time, give rise to devotion and defiance that reveal themselves in profound and unexpected ways.

This is a book about the promise of freedom; about the blurred lines between childhood and adulthood; between love and hatred, between the old gods and the new.]]> 336 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Summer 0 to-read 4.14 2003 Purple Hibiscus
author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
name: Summer
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/11
shelves: to-read
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]]> Under the Feet of Jesus 348273
“Viramontes depicts this world with sensuous physicality...working firmly in the social-realist vein of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle .”� Publishers Weekly

At the center of this powerful tale is Estrella, a girl about to cross the perilous border to womanhood. What she knows of life comes from her mother, who has survived abandonment by her husband in a land that treats her as if she were invisible, even though she and her children pick the crops of the farms that feed its people. But within Estrella, seeds of growth and change are stirring. And in the arms of Alejo, they burst into a full, fierce flower as she tastes the joy and pain of first love. Pushed to the margins of society, she learns to fight back and is able to help the young farmworker she loves when his ambitions and very life are threatened in a harvest of death.

Infused with the beauty of the California landscape and shifting splendors of the passing seasons juxtaposed with the bleakness of poverty, this vividly imagined novel is worthy of the people it celebrates and whose story it tells so magnificently. The simple lyrical beauty of Viramontes� prose, her haunting use of image and metaphor, and the urgency of her themes all announce Under the Feet of Jesus as a landmark work of American fiction.

Winner of the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature
Selected as the Univesity of Oregon's 2019 Common Reading book]]> 180 Helena María Viramontes 0452273870 Summer 0 to-read 3.63 1995 Under the Feet of Jesus
author: Helena María Viramontes
name: Summer
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/06/11
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]]> Lucky 58977917
What if you had the winning ticket that would change your life forever, but you couldn't cash it in?

Lucky Armstrong is a tough, talented grifter who has just pulled off a million-dollar heist with her boyfriend, Cary. She's ready to start a brand-new life, with a new identity--when things go sideways. Lucky finds herself alone for the first time, navigating the world without the help of either her father or her boyfriend, the two figures from whom she's learned the art of the scam.

When she discovers that a lottery ticket she bought on a whim is worth millions, her elation is tempered by one big problem: cashing in the winning ticket means she'll be arrested for her crimes. She'll go to prison, with no chance to redeem her fortune.

As Lucky tries to avoid capture and make a future for herself, she must confront her past by reconciling with her father; finding her mother, who abandoned her when she was just a baby; and coming to terms with the man she thought she loved--whose dark past is catching up with her, too.

This is a novel about truth, personal redemption, and the complexity of being good. It introduces a singularly gifted, multilayered character who must learn what it means to be independent and honest ... before her luck runs out.]]> 232 Marissa Stapley 1668002450 Summer 2 3.51 2021 Lucky
author: Marissa Stapley
name: Summer
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2022/05/31
date added: 2022/05/31
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]]> The Wreckage of My Presence 54798456 Laugh-out-loud, deeply insightful, and emotion-filled essays from multi-talented actress, comedian, podcaster, and writer Casey Wilson.

Casey Wilson has a lot on her mind and she isn’t afraid to share. In this dazzling collection of essays, skillfully constructed and brimming with emotion, she shares her thoughts on the joys and vagaries of modern-day womanhood and motherhood, introduces the not-quite-typical family that made her who she is, and persuasively argues that lowbrow pop culture is the perfect lens through which to understand human nature.

Whether she’s extolling the virtues of eating in bed, processing the humiliation over her father’s late in life perm, or exploring her pathological need to be liked, Casey is witty, candid, and full of poignant and funny surprises. Humorous dives into her obsessions and areas of personal expertise—Scientology and self-help, nice guys, reality television shows—are matched by touching meditations on female friendship, grief, motherhood, and identity.

Reading The Wreckage of My Presence is like spending time with a close friend—a deeply passionate, full-tilt, joyous, excessive, compulsive, shameless, hungry-for-it-all, loyal, cheerleading friend. A friend who is ready for any big feeling that comes her way and isn’t afraid to embrace it.

Bed person --
The wreckage of my presence --
To all the boys I loved before --
Cool girl --
A saber story --
Send in the clowns --
Flyentology --
Hide your phones --
Expect a miracle --
Hiked out --
The BBQ --
Tears of a clown --
Happy endings --
My husband's just not that into me; or Afrin: a love story --
Grandpa's pretty girl --
It doesn't do --
What dis --
Open-door policy --
Mother's day --
People don't know how to act --
Gimme some sugar; or, the wreckage of my presence redux]]> 288 Casey Wilson 006296058X Summer 0 to-read 4.13 2021 The Wreckage of My Presence
author: Casey Wilson
name: Summer
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/05/25
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]]> <![CDATA[Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar]]> 13152194 The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild - is the person thousands turn to for advice.
Tiny Beautiful Things brings the best of Dear Sugar in one place and includes never-before-published columns and a new introduction by Steve Almond. Rich with humor, insight, compassion - and absolute honesty - this book is a balm for everything life throws our way.]]> 354 Cheryl Strayed Summer 0 to-read 4.26 2012 Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
author: Cheryl Strayed
name: Summer
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/05/06
shelves: to-read
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]]> A Thousand Steps 57693523 A Thousand Steps is a gripping thriller, an incisive coming-of-age story, and a vivid portrait of turbulent time and place by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker.

Laguna Beach, California, 1968. The Age of Aquarius is in full swing. Timothy Leary is a rock star. LSD is God. Folks from all over are flocking to Laguna, seeking peace, love, and enlightenment.

Matt Antony is just trying get by.

Matt is sixteen, broke, and never sure where his next meal is coming from. Mom's a stoner, his deadbeat dad is a no-show, his brother's fighting in Nam . . . and his big sister Jazz has just gone missing. The cops figure she's just another runaway hippie chick, enjoying a summer of love, but Matt doesn't believe it. Not after another missing girl turns up dead on the beach.

All Matt really wants to do is get his driver's license and ask out the girl he's been crushing on since fourth grade, yet it's up to him to find his sister. But in a town where the cops don't trust the hippies and the hippies don't trust the cops, uncovering what's really happened to Jazz is going to force him to grow up fast.

If it's not already too late.]]> 358 T. Jefferson Parker 125079353X Summer 0 to-read 3.51 2022 A Thousand Steps
author: T. Jefferson Parker
name: Summer
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/04/05
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]]> Island of the Blue Dolphins 41044096 Scott O'Dell's Newbery Medal-winning classic is a gripping tale of survival, strength, and courage. Based on the true story of a Nicole�o Indian girl living alone on an island off the coast of California, Island of the Blue Dolphins has captivated readers for generations.

On San Nicolas Island, dolphins flash in the surrounding blue waters, sea otter play in the vast kelp beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, a girl named Karana spent eighteen years alone.

Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that killed her younger brother, constantly guard against Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply. Her courage, self-reliance, and grit has inspired millions of readers in this breathtaking adventure.

As Smithsonian magazine put "For kids all over the country, reading the book in language arts classes, Karana is a powerful symbol of their growing independence. Through her, they can imagine themselves making their way in the world alone--and thriving."]]> 194 Scott O'Dell 0547488890 Summer 5 favorites 4.02 1960 Island of the Blue Dolphins
author: Scott O'Dell
name: Summer
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1960
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/04/04
shelves: favorites
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]]> <![CDATA[Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions]]> 514313 272 Ben Mezrich 0743225708 Summer 3 3.95 2002 Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions
author: Ben Mezrich
name: Summer
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2022/04/04
date added: 2022/04/04
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]]>