In First Impressions this week, our reviewers explore The Personal Librarian by authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, a captivating historical fictional account of a Black woman who managed the library of banker J.P. Morgan while passing as white. Yesterday, the Good Morning America Book Club announced it as their July pick.

Also, Lady Sunshine, Amy Mason Doan's atmospheric novel set in the California music scene of the 1970s which reviewers particularly recommend for fans of Crossing California and Daisy Jones and the Six.

Our Editor's Choice review focuses on yet another fascinating book based in a past era: Rivka Galchen's Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch is a clever work of historical fiction inspired by the real-life witchcraft charges brought against the mother of famous astronomer Johannes Kepler.

Very best,

Davina

Each month we give away books to BookBrowse members who live in the U.S. to read and review. Members who choose to participate receive a free book about every 3-4 months. Here are their opinions on two recently released titles.

"As a retired public librarian, I was drawn to this title for obvious reasons. Yet I was unprepared for the non-stereotypical, incredible story of Belle da Costa Greene, personal librarian to J.P. Morgan. This fictional account of Belle Marion Greener, who became da Costa Greene in order to hide her racial heritage, is a history lesson both fascinating and humbling... Never a shushing bespectacled matron dusting shelves, Greene was known for her clever negotiation savvy and vibrant style... This portrayal of the diminutive (in stature only) Greene and her ability to navigate a purely (white) man's world with her wit, tenacity and intelligence is unforgettable." - Patricia L. (Seward, AK)

"Once I got into the story of Belle da Costa Greene, I was swept away — and knowing that she was real made it even more enticing... I think this would be an excellent book club book: there's something for everyone to identify with or want to discuss, from professional identity, to romance and subverting societal expectation around sexual morality, to books as objects of art and reverence, to the U.S.'s complicated history of race relations at the core of the novel." - Jessamyn R. (Fayetteville, NC)

"Both authors of The Personal Librarian were new to me, but I've already added some of their other titles to my reading list... I was impressed by the level of historical detail in this work of fiction, as I was by the relevance of the subject matter. Focusing on both racial and gender rights in the first half of the 20th century, the story line shows both the progress we've made and the work still ahead." - Patricia E. (Sugarcreek, OH)

"In 1999, Jackie Pierce is a music teacher for kids. She's surprised when she learns she has inherited The Sandcastle, the sprawling estate of her late uncle, a rock star, upon her aunt's death. It immediately takes her back to the summer of 1979, when she spent the season at the home of her father's brother... Jackie returns to the estate to pack it up and sell it. But she soon learns her aunt promised a music producer he could record a tribute album at the studio in the basement. Before she empties it out, she agrees to fulfill her aunt's last request... Although I wasn't alive in the 1970s, this novel felt like it transported me there. I could practically smell the campfire, hear the waterfall and feel the sunshine on my face as I read." - Rebecca K. (Chicagoland)

"Lady Sunshine is a book to savor with a cold beverage at the beach or while relaxing on a comfortable porch sofa. From the California setting to summer to music jam sessions and complicated family drama, it provided the entertainment I was looking for in a great summer read. It is both a coming-of-age story and a retelling and rekindling of the past with a few twists and turns along the way. And the setting makes you feel like you are on summer vacation or at an extended getaway music jam session with the rest of the characters. It was sad coming to the end, much like the last day of a great summer vacation!" - Anne M. (Madison, WI)

"I was attracted to this book for the 1970s California music setting. Jackie as both narrator in 1979 and 1999 keeps the tension building toward the surprising conclusion. The story has just enough suspense to keep the reader turning the page and also provides a descriptive backdrop of the ocean, beach and natural surroundings." - Melanie B. (Desoto, TX)

Rivka Galchen's novel Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch is a historical fiction tale set in the 17th century in what is now Southwest Germany. Katharina Kepler, mother of famed astronomer Johannes Kepler, is engaged in an ongoing war of words with her neighbor Ursula Reinbold, to whom Katharina refers as "the Werewolf." Ursula spreads the rumor that Katharina is a witch and the gossip gains traction, leading to Katharina's arrest. It's up to Johannes to defend his mother against the accusation, with her fate being death by burning at the stake if he fails.

Johannes Kepler's mother really was accused of witchcraft, and he had to defend her in court. Galchen combines translations of letters and legal papers with era-specific tidbits to give her readers an immersive sense of time and place. This makes for extremely well-done historical fiction, and the author's extensive research is evident throughout...

The narrator of Rivka Galchen's novel Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch is Katharina Kepler, mother of noted astronomer Johannes Kepler. Kepler was born in 1571 in Weil der Stadt, Württemberg, a German territory within the Holy Roman Empire. His father, whom Kepler pronounced "an immoral, rough and quarrelsome soldier," was a mercenary who abandoned the family when Johannes was five years old. Though he was sickly and from a poor background, Kepler's intellect was quickly recognized and encouraged. After grammar school, he went on to a Protestant seminary at Adelberg and continued his religious studies at the Protestant university in Tübingen.

Kepler's interest in astronomy began when he was young; he watched the Great Comet of 1577 and observed an eclipse in 1580... His passion was encouraged at Tübingen by astronomer Michael Maestlin, who introduced him to the theories of Copernicus, which state that the Earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around as was commonly believed...

Review and article by Kim Kovacs

See more articles about People, Eras and Events

Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win a 6-month membership to BookBrowse.

The answer to the last Wordplay: H I T Best P

Some sources trace this idiom back to the early 17th century and particularly to European Speculum (1605) by English politician Sir Edwin Sandys, with a reference appearing shortly after in Cervantes' Don Quixote. But, like so many sayings, the sentiment dates back thousands of years and is found across multiple continents...