Who says summer has to be about over? Not me. I still have a little vacation time left that I don’t want to go to waste. If you do too (or you just want to feel like you do), and you need a quick fiction grab for your beach bag, check these guys out. These are all stand alones so no 35 books series. And I can promise no (or at least very little) romance. Just a nice read to tickle your brain as you soak up the last, hopefully not blazingly hot, rays of summer break.

I don’t read much SciFi, so this one was a little outside of my literary comfort zone. That said, it was such a cute read, I’m glad I took a chance on it. Basic premise: after being shut down for five months, a group of robots reboot to discover their restaurant is in danger of failing. So they set out to make the best noodles possible. If you are headed to the beach, this is a great grab because it is small and would fit in any bag. Plus, it’s on the shorter side, so if you start reading it at the beach, when you finish you’ll know that it’s probably time to get out of the sun and maybe sneak a snack. This has been all over recommended reading lists lately, and now I see why. You can’t go wrong with Automatic Noodle. 

I have been waiting for this one for a long time. I loved The Help when it came out 15 years ago. So I was super excited when I saw this one was on the docket for a summer release. Basic premise: it’s 1933, in the middle of the Great Depression in Mississippi. Birdie is dispatched to Oxford to see if she can borrow enough money from her sister, who married rich, to save the family home. Across town, Meg wakes up everyday in the Orphanage and has to deal with many unfun things. A lot of folks have said this is going to be on their short list for Book of the Year. I am probably not one of them. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good read - I think I polished the almost 700 pages off in about five days once I got going. But there is a lot of calamity here for me to really fall in love. I chose print in this case because I like big books and I cannot lie, but I’ve heard good things about the audio as well. Either way, pick your poison and get started. Might as well - it’s too hot to go outside. (PS The wait list is not small, but if you are in the neighborhood, maybe drop by your local branch and see if they have a Lucky Day copy. I saw one at our branch today - great reads, no waiting! Who knows what else you'll find while you're there.)

If you’ve read this blog long, you know that I love Ashley Poston. I will read anything she writes. Even a book about a magic garden. I know, right? I am not someone who is good with plants, but I found Poston’s latest work fascinating. Sophie is a horticulturalist and her summer task is to bring the gardens at fabled Lilymoor back to life in time for it’s bicentennial. While working she keeps stumbling across a magical blue door that mysteriously relocates and contains a cute guy who also likes to work with plants. I’ll be honest, I did not figure this one out right away, but the mystery kept me coming back for more. I know I said these weren’t “romance books,” so I should tell you that there is a little love in the air here. However, the book is mostly about the magic in the gardens. If you liked The Secret Garden when you were little and want to see what that’s like as a grown-up, this one is for you.

I have very definite lanes of where I like to read. But every now and then, I like to step outside of them. Like with this book. I had no idea what to expect. I actually thought it was going to be more in the sci-fi zone than it was. So here’s the plot - a small town in Massachusetts gets sent a message saying: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND, SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Kinda like when we all get severe weather notices on our phones. Then this book proceeds to tell the story of how several different families reacted to this message in the eighteen minutes it takes for the FALSE ALARM. ALL CLEAR. message to come through. (This is all on the book jacket, so I’m not sharing spoilers.) The first half of this book was great. One of the stories was even about the person who sent the message, which I thought was brilliant. I didn’t love the back half - I think I didn’t identify with those characters as much. But I thought this book is still worth reading. It’s definitely an interesting psychological look at how humans behave when they think their lives are in danger. This recently won Barnes and Noble’s Discover Prize and I can see why.

I almost put this one back. I don’t remember where I found out about this one, probably BookTok or IG. So as I was running out of time for this post, I thought, “Hmm, maybe I don’t need to read this one.” But that would have been really sad, because I think it was one of my faves of this batch. Stafford Hopkins has just retired to Hawaii from a big, Hollywood career. He doesn’t really know what to do with himself until an unfortunate letter arrives and changes everything. I had no idea what to expect with this, but it really pulled me in. As Stafford heads home to Canada, we get the layers of history removed one by one to tell us his story. Be warned, this one may need a Kleenex or two, but it was very worth. So glad I didn’t put this one back before reading.

I have seen this book EVERYWHERE this summer. Everybody is talking about it. Some with love. Some with loathing. My hold came in just in the nick of time to include it here, which works out nicely. I can’t say I loved it, but I also can’t say that I hated it. The book was captivating. My biggest issue with it has to do with the fact that I’m not the biggest online person. I don’t follow influencers like there’s no tomorrow and I have no desire to be one. I can’t imagine having to engineer your life so it looks perfect online. Because that’s what our main character was doing. She was selling the perfect tradwife farm lifestyle. Until one day when she woke up and actually had to live the life she was selling -  in the past. If you want to read the IT book of summer, this one may be it. I’m glad I gave it some time.

I love stand up comedy. It can be clever and funny and thought provoking. When I don’t know what to watch, oftentimes I will pull up a set by one of my favorite comedians. So when I saw there was a new(ish) fiction book that featured a main character as a stand up, I was in. Mia works for Vibe magazine during the day, but at night, she hits the club to work on her set. But she had to do it in secret because her Palestinian family would definitely not approve. We also get to learn more about how her grandparents came to America. I got the audio for this one and it was fun because when Mia went up to do her set it felt like I was in the club with her. Did I want more stand up in the book? Sure. But I found myself getting lost in her the story of her family. This would be a great summer read.

Ok friends. Be sure to get your Summer Challenge points logged because you only have until July 31. You don’t want to miss out on all the fun and prizes!

Happy End of Summer,
:) Amanda