Shake last year’s sand out of your summer shoes, because we’ve got some titles you’ll want to dive into. This month, both #ReadwithMC and Read with Jenna have chosen These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany as their book club pick of the month. Joining this month’s line up of sizzling reads are two titles by Akwaeke Emezi and Oprah's latest book club pick, which was written by (no kidding) a teenager. No matter your summer plans, with us you’ll always be Fully Booked.
To submit titles for inclusion in this roundup, email us.
The book: Half-Blown Rose by Leesa Cross-Smith (Grand Central)
Recommended for: Those going through a midlife crisis (or quarter-life crisis, or a life crisis in general) and thinking of moving to another country to start a whole new life.
Our reviewer says: “A woman grapples with love and the emotional turmoil that comes with it in the long-winded latest from Cross-Smith.” Read more here.
The book: PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America by Claud Anderson (PowerNomics Corp.)
Recommended for: Those who are curious about the progress of the Black community in a racist country and how to maximize the growth that has already been accomplished.
The book: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (Delacorte)
Recommended for: Those who saw the movie and want to read the original source material, and if you’re one of those people who says “trust in the universe” a lot.
Our reviewer says: “Is it fate or chance that brings people together? This is the question posed in this impressively multilayered tale of a one-day romance featuring practical Natasha, whose family is facing deportation to Jamaica, and Daniel, a first-generation Korean American with a poet’s sensibility.” Read more here.
The book: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Recommended for: Those who get hyped when the song Stacy’s Mom plays, anyone who has lost a loved one and is hesitant about moving on, and people who are invested in the classic daytime soap opera trope of “she’s dating the son and his father?!”
Our reviewer says: “Bestseller Emezi unpacks the ever-present weight of grief in this deeply emotional love story.” Read more here.
Good Morning America Book Club
The book: More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez (Morrow)
Recommended for: Those who are convinced that they could be the one to solve an age-old mystery (looking at all you true crime aficionados and Only Murders in the Building fans).
Our reviewer says: “In Gutierrez’s engrossing debut, Cassie Bowman, a true crime aficionado living in Austin, comes across a decades-old story about an international banker, Dolores “Lore” Rivera, who was married to two husbands, Fabian Rivera and Andres Russo, the former in Texas and the latter in Mexico.” Read more here.
Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Book Club
The book: Circa by Devi S. Laskar (Mariner)
Recommended for: Those who feel like no matter what they do, the universe seems to have it out for them—and maybe it does, but why depend on the universe when you can depend on yourself?
Our reviewer says: “Laskar delivers a poignant coming-of-age story of a Bengali American young woman and the death of her best friend.” Read more here.
The book: Willa & Hesper by Amy Feltman (Grand Central)
Recommended for: When you find yourself thinking about all those failed past relationships and wistfully wishing that it had somehow worked out with that one particular person.
Our reviewer says: “In this thoughtful and fascinating debut from Feltman, two students in Columbia’s MFA program in 2016 spiral into a romance—and just as quickly spiral out.” Read more here.
The book: Lot Six David Adjmi (HarperCollins)
Recommended for: Whoever has felt like they don’t know who they are or how they fit into the world, so trying on different personas and characters depending on the situation has become both a way of survival and a lifestyle.
Our reviewer says: “A gay playwright struggles with his claustrophobic Jewish community as he attempts to define himself in this raucous if flawed memoir.” Read more here.
Marie Claire’s #ReadwithMC and Read with Jenna, the Jenna Bush Hager Book Club
The book: These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany (Grand Central)
Recommended for: Muslim women who have found themselves dating (or wanting to date) outside their faith and are searching for a like-minded support system despite family and cultural objections.
Our reviewer says: “El-Wardany’s entertaining debut follows the romantic relationships of three Muslim women living in London in the early 2010s.” Read more here.
The book: Concrete Cowboy by G. Neri (Candlewick)
Recommended for: Whoever wanted to be part of the wild, wild west growing up, but didn’t actually live in the west (some might even call you a city kid, but that’s up for interpretation).
The book: The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi (Riverhead)
Recommended for: When you want an emotional story and a good cry featuring a Nigerian family and the child they never really knew.
Our reviewer says: “Emezi returns to adult fiction with a brisk tale that whirs around the mysterious death of a young Nigerian man, Vivek Oji.” Read more here.
The book: Nightcrawling by Leila Motley
Recommended for: Reassuring yourself that the kids are, in face, alright, by reading a brilliant book by a teen.
Our reviewer says: “This heartrending story makes for a powerful testament to a Black woman’s resilience.” Read more here.
The book: Counterfeit by Kristin Chen (William Morrow)
Recommended for: Fashion savvy readers who find themselves scrolling through Instagram for #OOTD inspiration and self-proclaimed experts who can spot a fake designer form a mile away.
Our reviewer says: “Chen spins a clever tale offering two sides of a story involving a complicated friendship and knockoff handbags.” Read more here.
The book: The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe (Harper Voyager)
Recommended for: Fans of the singer Janelle Monáe, and those who could spend an entire party discussing the nuances of a future society run by technology.
Our reviewer says: “In this moving, triumphant collection, singer Monáe returns to the dystopian world of her Dirty Computer concept album and short film.” Read more here.
