Lit Hit List: Recent Summer Reads
Here’s a quick round-up of some books I’ve read recently with mini reviews.
“The Lions of Fifth Avenue” by Fiona Davis (Bookshop | Kindle)
Rating: 4 out of 5
I loved this historical fiction book at how the lives of two women—the wife of the superintendent of the NYPL in 1914, and a curator at the library in 1993—intersected. There was a little bit of white feminism which made me cringe (Margaret Sanger was name-dropped in the 1913 storyline) but I otherwise found this an engaging look at two women finding their way in the world, during very different times, and coupled with the mystery of the disappearing books at the NYPL, thoroughly enjoyed it.
“Self Care” by Leigh Stein (Bookshop | Kindle)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
I’ve read mixed reviews of this novel, but I found it a hilarious satire of the commodification of self care. It bops back and forth between the POVs of two white founders of Richual, a self care social media app, and the Black woman who basically writes all of their content. There’s a Me Too moment toward the end of the book, but the real “aha” moment for me was how terrified Khadijah was after she discovers she’s pregnant and realizes there is no parental leave policy at this so-called “progressive” company. Each of the founders is awful in their own way; one exploits the worst moments in her community’s lives for profit and the other is so self-absorbed and lonely that she doesn’t realize she’s being sexually abused.
“The Mall” by Megan McCafferty (Bookshop | Kindle)
Rating: 3.25 out of 5
I adored McCafferty’s Jessica Darling books when I was in high school, so I was excited to read this one. While the nostalgia factor was strong (remember Sam Goody???), the main plotline of our protagonist and acquantaince (who later becomes a friend, of course), hunting for hidden treasure in the mall was kind of ridiculous. It was a fun afternoon read, but nothing like the Jessica Darling books. But, reading this inspired me to order “Sloppy Firsts,” “Second Helpings,” and “Charmed Thirds,” which I am greatly looking forward to re-reading.
“Wow, No Thank You” by Samantha Irby (Bookshop | Kindle)
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
I laughed out loud several times while reading Samantha Irby’s latest collection of essays. She writes about imposter syndrome, moving from a big city to a small town, living temporarily in LA while writing on Hulu’s “Shrill,” all while ruminating on how odd society and its expectations can be. It took me awhile to get through this but each essay stands on its own, and even though Irby has now “hit it big,” so to speak, her observations are no less funny.
“The Last Mrs. Parrish” by Liv Constantine (Bookshop | Kindle)
Rating: 2.25 out of 5
Ugh. I’m not even sure what to say about this. Told in three parts, the first follows Amber a newcomer to an affluent Connecticut community, as she befriends the wife of a wealthy man in an attempt to steal he husband. The second part switches POVs to the wife and demonstrates that we never really know what goes on behind closed doors. The book’s only redeeming quality was that it did accurately portray an emotionally and financially abusive relationship, but it also tried to make us think that the first woman deserves to be in such a relationship because of previously committed crimes. …Wow, no thank you.
“All Adults Here” by Emma Straub (Bookshop | Kindle)
Rating: 4 out of 5
I enjoyed this intimate portrayal of a family based in a small town just outside New York City. Our matriarch is grappling with a late-in-life realization that she’s gay, and how to tell her three gown children and their families. Each grown child’s family is going through their own crisis; the oldest is trying to prove he’s capable of success in business, the middle is having a baby by herself with the help of a sperm donor (while also sleeping with her married high school boyfriend), and the youngest sends his daughter to live with the matriarch after she allegedly gets in some trouble at school. The writing was emotional without being overwrought, funny, and insightful.
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