Adult Summer Reading Challenge 2022: Submission Form

★★★★★
I have been making my way through all the Keigo Higashino novels I can get my hands on after reading “The Devotion of Suspect X” some years back. So far, each of Higashino’s standalone novels has always presented a distinct storytelling method, keeping them separate both from Higashino’s other novels and from other mystery novels generally. In contrast to the dark, twisted acts in Higashino’s “Journey Under the Midnight Sun,” “Newcomer” had a warmer, almost pleasant approach to the investigation of a woman’s murder and the lives of the people even just tangentially related to her. The way the book is broken up into sections about each of these “related persons” and how the problems in their lives are resolved while also not being told in a purely chronological order adds to the sense of a gentle unraveling of the truth. Finally, in classic Higashino style, the ending casts a light on a central theme woven through the novel— in this case, the relationships of parents and their children, and the lengths a parent will go for their child.
- Leila S-A

★★★★
This book, is another exhaustive memoir, that examines several generations living before, during and after the authoritarian regimes that have ruled China for decades. Ai Wei Wei is an internationally recognized, multidisciplinary artist. The artist's father and grandparents were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution in China, that lasted from 1966 through Mao Zedong's death in 1976. Ai's father was a poet, who was considered an enemy of the people, and legally regarded as a non-person. Wei Wei as a child lived on a rural farming commune, where his father was the toilet cleaner. Humiliation, history, regret, and a sense of resilience emerge from these painfully written memories. A good read, with grand historical sweep. Ai recounts his own 3-month imprisonment and torture. Probably not suited for the faint of heart.
- Melissa S

★★★★
This is an unusual and deeply moving story of hope, despair, insight, trust, and wisdom told through the eyes of an ex-convict determined to reform and to keep his pride in a society that is not there for him nor for many people he encounters.
- Dot V

★★★★★
Whether novel length or within a few pages, Murakami never fails to tell a story of great originality and sur-reality, in the plainest of voices. This may be due to the translators with whom he works. But his technique, of telling the oddest stories as if describing a stroll to the store for a pack of gum, creates an uncanny and compelling tension. For example, in the short story "Thailand," the thyroid specialist doctor vacationing under the wings of the mysterious guide, Nimit, learns that his accent is the result of working for a Danish gem dealer for 30 years time, "One of Satsuki's colleagues at the hospital ... had spoken exactly this kind of English – precise grammar, light accent, no slang. Very clean, very easy to understand, and somewhat lacking in color." The same can be said of Murakami's translated stories. And, this is the key to their integrity. In this collection of seven short stories, he weaves the thread of a binding earthquake image. It's hard to describe how beautiful and singular each story is, and yet they all connect through tone and imagery, each a well matched gem, set in a priceless ring.
- Melissa S

★★★★★
Not actually sure if this can counts because it's technically a children's novel, but as an elementary school teacher, I think the line between genres is grey at best. Sometimes something labeled as a novel for children can have a profound effect on an adult, as George had on me. I'm always looking for inclusive and diverse books for all ages, and this is at the top of my favorites list - specifically in middle-grade LGBTQ+ books, and notable as one of the very few of those that have a trans protagonist or narrator.
The narration by Gino from George/Melissa's point of view feels authentic and nuanced. The genuine internal conflict expressed by the main character through internal thoughts and what they actually feel comfortable saying out loud creates a powerful conflict that younger readers can understand.
BUT, ALSO, it has the power to give an adult the perspective of what it might feel like to be a transgender youth. It has the power to demonstrate on a personal level why it's so important for younger people to have access to LGBTQ+ health care and support.
- Julie L-E

★★
This book was disappointing compared to The Martian and Project Hail Mary (both great books). The story didn't keep capture my attention and felt the characters were dull.
- Eva W

★★★★★
It's a little long, but it has a large impact. It helped me better holistically understand that flashpoint moment in BLM protests and history. I knew the case, watched the entire trial, but I never understood Mr. Floyd as a complete person. This changed that.
- Julie L-E

★★★★★
Themes including physical labor, class identity, family relationships and personal loss are movingly presented in vivid images of real blue-collar workers - outstanding!
- Dot V

★★★
This frank, coming of age memoir, presented as a graphic novel, is filled with dark humor, literary allusion and heartbreaking honesty.
- Dot V

★★
Loved the concept and the tea-based magic system, but overall, I found this book super slow and disappointing. The characters felt so flat—364 pages and I still don’t feel like I know anything about them!
- Chrisanne P

★★★★
Well researched and an easy read, it explores the history - fact and fiction - of Boudicca. It delves into how little historically accurate and factual information we have about Boudicca, who became an iconic symbol of Britain. Most of our knowledge comes secondhand (at best) with historians trying to sort through stories and plays written well after her death to find any common facts within the fiction.
- Julie L-E

★★★★★
This is one of Sherlock's best.
- Dot V

★★★★★
A dog as a narrator doesn't often work well in a novel - but it certainly does here. If you love dogs, you will find yourself thinking, "Yes, I know my dog thinks like that, acts like that and views the world like that".
- Dot V

★★★
A quick thriller with a great twist.
- Eva W

★★★★
Really enjoyable and heartfelt.
- Sara C

★★★★
This engaging plot focuses on the Paris neighborhood of Montmartre and its nightclub life. It is a great context for “the Maigret technique” of going about, seemingly at random, talking to people and gathering bits and pieces of information, and never theorizing until the crime is solved.
- Dot V

★★★★★
Runaway "bad" girls, roughing it in Montana wilderness, a "marriage", and back to civilization. A reunion after many years .Finally life as it was meant to be.
- Paula C-S

★★★
This gentle mystery, set in a small southern town at the time of the depression, provides historical background that elevates the book beyond the typical “cozy mystery."
- Dot V

★★★★
The translation of this early Simeon captures the Maigret's brooding presence and his understanding of the human spirit as he seeks out his man and establishes justice.
- Dot V

★★★
Rom-Com, steamy and fast read!
- Eva W

★★★★★
The tough life of a Warren of Rabbits that have to move, and the horrors of doing so.Meeting unusual friends along their travels.
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
From the beginning of DNA technology till now. How old cold cases are solved using ever evolving technology.
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
A hungry great white shark,4th of July, a crowded beach, watch out! Here it comes!
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
Ten days of trouble and adventure for 18 yr old Emmet and his brother 8 yr old Billy, looking for mom. From Nebraska to New York city.
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
A girls only mini vacation to Vegas! A kidnapping, a cult involved from a former member now one of the girls, death, lies, read all about it.
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
Spy vs Spy, Sniper vs Sniper. Join James Reece as "Alice" takes him down the rabbit hole to avenge the death of friend, who was a Missed operative.Can not wait for another book from Jack Carr to find out what happens next.
- Paula C-S

★★★
2001, 2010, now it's 2061,Monolith and Dave Bowman still around, but on the forbidden planet Europa.Alien race has more in store for us humans.We are their experiment!
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
At first I thought this was just another vampire novel. I was delighted I was wrong, this creepy gothic tale takes place in the 1950's. Well worth your time to read.
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
A book about native Americans, 1953 another "emancipation " Bill (peace treaty),by Congress that will take away more Native Americans land and rights.So Sad the way we have treated the rightful "owners" and careful caretakers of this land we have stolen from them.
- Paula C-S

★★★★
-Eva W

★★★★★
- Cyndi B-L

★★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★
- Eva W

★★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★
- Patricia F

★★
- Dot V

★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★★★
- Rebecca S

★★★
- Kassidy W

★★★★
- Luisa K

★★★
- Eva W

★★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★★
- Kelsey K

★★★
- Eva W

★★★
- Nicole A

★★★
- Kati C

★
- Rebecca S

★★★★
- Rebecca S

★★★
- Quirine H

★★★★
- Sara C

★★★★
- Astrid W

★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★★
- Rebecca S

★
- Kelsey K

★★★★
- Eva W

★★★
- Astrid W

★★★★
- Jeanine N

★★★★
- Kelsey K

★★★★★
- Leah B

★★★★
- Avery B

★★★★
- Sharon K

★★★
- Astrid W

★★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★
- Eva W

★★
- Kati C

★★★★★
Awe-inspiring. An emotional Powerhouse. I can't rave enough. It's a quick read, but I suggest you listen to the audiobook; there's a power and sensitivity in Coates' voice as he reads that brings it to a new level.
- Julie L-E

★★★★★
Fascinating and very readable exploration of the technology and invention of the early 19th century that helped the United States surpass Europe as the center of innovation. It’s way more than war.
- Dot V

★★★★★
I don't usually like time travel but I really loved this book. Heartfelt and sweet.
- Astrid W

★★★★
A great book that wasn't at all what I expected. Wonderful characters and story.
- Eva W

★★★★★
A body on the beach interrupts Hercule Poirot’s seaside vacation in what is surely one of Christie’s best.
- Dot V

★★★★
This book describes monotony and how some people need it. I think it shows that some people who are able to working in a job such as this, is the way they thrive, and when that is disrupted their world starts to unravel. I kind of wish the author went a little bit more into the main character's past but I did enjoy the snippets that led us to a reason maybe why she just worked in the convenience store.

Overall 4/5 stars and something that I will probably pick up again in the future.
- Kelsey K

★★★★
As with all the books in the mystery series, the book gives provides accurate historical detail that gives authenticity of time, place and attitudes.
- Dot V

★★★★★
Pirates, privateers, adventure and booty and death.
- Paula C-S

★★★★
This book was so unexpected and I never would have read something like this...faeries and humans and deceit oh my! The writing was great and characters were well developed making me wanting to know more and reading the second book in the series.
- Eva W

★★★
Cute - reminiscent of Daisy Jones and the Six.
- Astrid W

★★★
I was so enthused when I was able to pick-up this 2021 NY Times Non-Fiction bestseller on the same day I reserved it. Love that the NPL always has current titles readily available. The reviews for "Crying in H-Mart" are very positive. I had high expectations. The story is straight forward. Zauner is half Korean and half American. The relationship with her Seoul-born mother is the core of this memoir. It was bad when Zauner was a rebellious teen, wanting to play music and skip college, as she grew up in Eugene, Oregon. She opposed most of her Mom's guidance and suggestions for her future. She was, admittedly, a handful, and there were lots of damaging fights included (in great detail) in the story. Food brought them together. Zauner grew to appreciate her Korean heritage through the love & devotion her Mom showed by preparing and sharing traditional Korean cuisine. Then the Mom became ill and their roles switched. The memoir depicts the journey through her Mom's death, covering Zauner's quick and happy marriage, trips to Seoul, and then the aftermath. This book is well-written but slow- paced. Perhaps too granular. The quick illness is covered in exhaustive chapter after chapter. It becomes draggy to slog through. Such attention to detail is wonderful when the author describes a porridge made with pine nuts, rice, water and salt. No recipe is needed to follow and recreate. But the narrative arc is a little ... long. Otherwise, a very worthwhile read.
- Melissa S

★★★★★
Christie’s writing and understanding of relationships makes a compelling read even in a book that is as old as I am.
- Dot V

★★★
A fun and easy read.
- Eva W

★★★
This book is written in an excellent almost folksy prose, but I had difficulty believing some of the deep, philosophical thought displayed by these youthful characters.
- Dot V

★★★★
Quirky, very interesting.
- Paula C-S

★★★★
The lyrical prose is the greatest aspect of this somewhat predictable story.
- Dot V

★★★
It is a quick, easy read, and Alafair Burke is a worthy collaborator.
- Dot V

★★★★★
A great book about a slave whose father was the slave owner, who raised him alongside his "white" son. He was taught everything that the "masters" son was taught, including how to live off the land.
Due to a misunderstanding, Jared is told by his mother to run off to Canada, so he won't be sold.
This book follows his journey, as he travels through the states, from Connecticut up towards Canada.
Does he make it? Or is he caught and sold?
- Elaine C

★★★
This is a more approachable and updated presentation of Hawking’s original work on the nature of space and time, and the history and future of the universe.
- Dot V

★★★★★
A wonderful twist on a closed room murder.
- Dot V

★★★★★
I was wondering if this relatively short (252 pp) novel would compare with her earlier works, for a sense of cohesiveness and solidity of the story world created, and I was not disappointed. The writing is so clean and well sequenced that I had a sense of falling seamlessly into the story. The reason I chose Final Frontier for the Challenge category is that this story involves time travel that launches from one of several of Earth's moon colonies. The history of why our moon and close planets have been colonized is quickly and deftly established. Environmental change is noted as the impetus for creating simulated climates in space. But the book is really a time travel sci-fi story. Very well done. Somewhat reminiscent of William Gibson's "Nueromancer" in that a very tiny segment of a video clip is the focus of an investigation. Great ending.
- Melissa S

★★★
Easy read. The story reminded me of The Talented Mr. Ripley but it took place in Morocco.
- Eva W

★★★★
What happens when a plane full of schoolboys are stranded on a deserted Island with no adults. Chaos.
- Paula C-S

★★★★
The realities of real-life vacationing are nicely woven into this mystery, which includes organizational tips for travelers at chapter ends.
- Dot V

★★★★★
2 sisters kidnapped? Or did they go willingly? And why? A couples secret revealed. Alice Vega a missing person's finder, looks for the girls with an ex policeman Max Caplan.What they discover you will have to read to find out.
- Paula C-S

★★★★
An impending hurricane and murder mystery combine to make a good, quick summer read.
- Dot V

★★★★★
Some imaginary friends are fun, some are not.
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
A warm and loving bakery/tea room where the newly deceased learn to accept their death and cross over.
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
If you could go back in time, would you?
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
Australia, a drought ,murder.After 20 yrs.agent Falk is back in Kiewarra, a friend and his family dead.Why? Falk finds out and it is more convoluted than one would think.
- Paula C-S

★★★★
Klara is a solar powered artificial friend, a AI robot who is purchased by 14 yr old Josie's mom.At home Josie and Klara become friends.Josie becomes ill, Klara believes the sun's rays are a cure for Josie, are they?
- Paula C-S

★★★
Harvard's journey through a Christian Gay Conversion therapy unit. Satan made you gay, pray to be purified! It doesn't work.
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
You can change your life many times, would you?
- Paula C-S

★★★★★
A Black girl in England. Her trials and tribulations, break ups and break downs.Therapy and a new, happier respect for Queenie as a beautiful, smart, black girl.
- Paula C-S

★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★★★
- Kati C

★★★
- Eva W

★★★★★
- Kelsey K

★★
- Eva W

★★★★★
- Rebecca S

★★★★
- Tamara W

★★
- Eva W

★★★
- Kati C

★★★
- Tamara W

★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★
- Eva W

★★★★★
- Tamara W

★★★★
- Marianne S

★★★
- Eva W

★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★★★
- Nicole A

★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★★
- Tamara W

★★★★★
- Rebecca S

★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★★
- Quirine H

★★★★★
- Liz A

★★★★
- Eva W

★★★★
- Rebecca S

★★
- Eva W

★★★★
- Eva W

★★★★★
- Nicole A

★★★
- Eva W

★★★
- Rebecca S

★★★★★
- Avery B

★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★
- Kati C

★★★★
- Rebecca S

★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★
- Kati C

★★★★
- Chrisanne P

★★★
- Eva W