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THE PULL OF THE STARS
by Emma Donoghue
(Releases July 21, 2020)
Emma Donoghue, author of Room, is back with an unforgettable work of historical fiction. Spanning three days in a Dublin hospital during the 1918 flu pandemic, we follow the story of nurse Julia Powers. Julia works in the understaffed wing of the maternity ward, where expectant mothers are quarantined together. Life and death, darkness and light are intertwined in this beautiful, stirring novel. "As far as I could tell, the whole world was a machine grinding to a halt." It is important to remember Donoghue wrote this before the COVID-19 pandemic. I devoured this book-put this at the top of your summer reading list!
-Morley Vahey
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by Paolo Cognetti
International best-selling author Paolo Cognetti brings us his travel journal from a trip to the Himalayas. Never intending to climb any mountains, but to trek the Dolpo region of Nepal and trace the path of others before him. Accompanying him are several friends as well as his copy of The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen, which is something of a spiritual guide for him. The takeaway is that the journey always matters as much as the end result, and this journey is tough! I imagine that I will return to this little gem multiple times, and will definitely read Matthiessen's book as well.
-Di Grumhaus
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| THE GOLDEN CAGE
by Camilla LÓ“ckberg
For readers who loved Gone Girl, Camilla LÓ“ckberg's new Swedish thriller, The Golden Cage, is a shocking and compelling summer read. Faye Adelheim has an outwardly perfect life in Stockholm with her husband and young daughter but is increasingly isolated as her controlling billionaire husband travels the globe. When she discovers his affair she develops a darkly cunning revenge plot. Full of twists and turns, this is a suspenseful and creative thriller full of sex, secrets and scandal.
-Lisa Dietrich
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| 28 SUMMERS
by Elin Hilderbrand
Set on Nantucket Island and based on the movie Same Time, Next Year, the novel follows Mallory and Jake as they meet the summer of 1993 after Mallory inherits a beachfront cottage. After a whirlwind romance over Labor Day weekend, they vow to meet at the same time and same place every year, despite any life event they encounter during the year spent apart. Would you rather have year-round companionship lacking in true love, or true love and happiness for a short time each year? Mallory and Jake grapple with that question for 28 summers until Mallory learns she is dying. This is an easy, light novel that gives Hilderbrand her title "The Queen of Beach Reads."
-Morley Vahey
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by Michele Harper
Michele Harper is an African-American ER doctor in a profession dominated by white males. I loved this memoir that recounts her experiences with various patients and the lessons learned that helped her to heal herself as well as her patients. She takes on painful topics of trauma and abuse as well as the many incidences of racism that are faced by people of color, especially in the medical profession. Her complicated upbringing help us to understand why she was drawn to become a physician.
-Di Grumhaus
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by Samantha Downing
Downing's sophomore thriller does not disappoint. Three siblings and their spouses set off on a road trip in the south with a goal of driving to the west coast. This is not any ordinary road trip, as it has been orchestrated by their deceased grandfather with the promise of equally inheriting a sizable amount of money if they follow his specific instructions and make it to their destination. As they embark, the reader soon learns how utterly dysfunctional these siblings are with dark secrets and even darker motivations. Like the road trip, the plot moves along with many twists and turns.
-Morley Vahey
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| ARTIFACT
by Arlene Heyman
One of the most unusual books I've read because while I could hardly put it down, there were also sections that were hard to read! It's the story of Lottie, a woman we follow from high school through middle age. As a young person, Lottie has few inhibitions and is fascinated by her body. She ends up pregnant by the high school star football player, and isn't ashamed until she is shamed by her peers, one of whom comes back later in life in a violent sexual act. Lottie grows and morphs, using her intellect to become a lab assistant and scientist. She works on rats; some squeamish scenes here as she examines their salivary glands and relationship to sex hormones, a fitting task! Well written and engaging, with some startling scenes along the way.
-Beth Mynhier
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PLAYING NICE
by J. P. Delaney
(releases July 28, 2020)
In this startling debut novel, Marie's respectable world is totally upended when she is raped by her boss. As she struggles with guilt, anxiety and despair, she turns inward starting a disturbing breakdown that is difficult to observe, yet hard to look away from. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she assumes her rapist is the father, not her husband, plunging her deeper into the destructive world inside her head. An illuminating, yet chilling look at how a life can be shattered.
-Laura Capstick |
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A BURNING
by Megha Majumdar
(Releases June 16, 2020)
This is the story of three lives intersecting around a single lie. Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of committing a terrorist attack on a train because of her careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is a gym teacher whose rise in a right wing political party is tied to Jivan's fall. Lovely is an outcast who dreams of being an actress and has the alibi that can set Jivan free. A standout debut about class, fate, corruption and justice. For fans of The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Home Fire.
-Kathy Petray |
| CHILDRENS & YOUNG ADULTS SUGGESTIONS |
Dear Beast by Dori Hillestad Butler & Illustrated by Kevan Atteberry
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Lake Forest Book Store
662 N. Western Avenue
Lake Forest IL 60045
847-234-4420
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