Hello, librarians!
We hope you are hanging in okay as we head into these warmer months. Below, you'll find our staff suggestions for the July LibraryReads list. These July publications all have something special, so whether it's historical fiction, memoir, thriller, romance, or beyond, you'll find something to love. We can't wait to hear what you think.
-The LLF Team (Virginia, Chris, and Lainey)
Remember, votes for the July LibraryReads list are due June 1st!
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The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama
For fans of: Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok and
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
From the New York Times bestselling author of Women of the Silk and The Samurai's Garden comes a gorgeous and evocative historical novel about a Japanese-American family set against the backdrop of Hawai’i's sugar plantations.
"Writing with supple and entrancing grace, Tsukiyama has each of her caring, charismatic characters share their memories and heartaches…. Tsukiyama also evokes the wild, opulent beauty of the island, the harsh lives of migrant workers, racist and domestic violence, mystical connections, the repercussions of a love triangle, and the tolls of age.... Tsukiyama’s dramatic yet discerningly congenial novel confronts the precariousness of existence and celebrates the healing power of generosity and love."
—Booklist 
review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey
For fans of: How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones and Why Religion? by Elaine Pagels
A chillingly personal and exquisitely wrought memoir of a daughter reckoning with the brutal murder of her mother at the hands of her former stepfather, and the moving, intimate story of a poet coming into her own in the wake of a tragedy.
Exploring personal trauma, memory, and closure, Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize–winner Trethewey returns to the site of her mother’s murder.... Through spare prose and vivid imagery, the author presents a narrative of a trauma survivor’s need to remember a past that, for 30 years, lapsed into the mind’s shadows. A moving, heartbreaking memoir about a traumatic event and the path to healing."
—Library Journal 
review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees
For fans of: Transcription by Kate Atkinson and
Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson
A striking historical novel about an ordinary young British woman sent to uncover a network of spies and war criminals in post-war Germany that will appeal to fans of Kate Quinn's The Huntress.
"In her first book for adults, YA author Rees provides the perfect tale for readers seeking a Cold War novel starring a female protagonist and an espionage element that is devoid of the female objectification found in the Bond novels and the like."
—Booklist
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs
Also from the author: Between You and Me, The Oysterville Sewing Circle, and Map of the Heart
In this thought-provoking, wise, and emotionally rich novel, New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs explores the meaning of happiness, trust, and faith in oneself as she asks the question, "If you had to start over, what would you do and who would you be?"
"A wonderful exploration of the past and the future and, most importantly, of what it means to be present in the here and now. Full of the love of words, the love of family, and the love of falling in love, The Lost and Found Bookshop is a big-hearted gem of a novel that will satisfy and entertain readers from all walks of life. Lovely!"
—Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing In The Rain
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
For fans of: The Book of M by Peng Shepherd and LaRose by Louise Erdrich
A bold and brilliant new indigenous voice in contemporary literature makes her American debut with this kinetic, imaginative, and sensuous fable inspired by the traditional Canadian Métis legend of the Rogarou—a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of native people’s communities.
"Empire of Wild is doing everything I love in a contemporary novel and more. It is tough, funny, beautiful, honest and propulsive—all the while telling a story that needs to be told by a person who needs to be telling it."
—Tommy Orange, author of There There
"Deftly-written, gripping and informative. Empire of Wild is a rip-roaring read!"
—Margaret Atwood
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay
Also from the author: Growing Things and Other Stories and Disappearance at Devil's Rock
A riveting novel of suspense and terror from the Bram Stoker award-winning author of The Cabin at the End of the World and
A Head Full of Ghosts.
"Tremblay has earned worldwide acclaim because he is able to seamlessly combine reality with speculative elements, and his newest may be his most prescient yet.... Gorgeously written about terrible things, the relatively short Survivor Song is a good choice for fans of pandemic epics...and novels that probe themes of friendship, family, and social commentary amidst chillingly realistic horror."
—Booklist 
review
"A cinematic scope, scenarios grounded in the real world, and a breathless pace make this thriller one of the must-read titles of the summer. A prescient, insidious horror novel that takes sheer terror to a whole new level."
—Kirkus Reviews 
review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
You Again by Debra Jo Immergut
For fans of: Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott and Sunburn by Laura Lippman
From the Edgar Award-nominated author of The Captives, a taut, twisting work of suspense about a woman haunted by her younger self.
"With mesmerizing deftness, You Again brilliantly reimagines a woman’s search for her lost ambition as a psychological thriller. This book takes the questions of middle age—What happens to an artist’s creative force when she becomes a mother with a day job? Can we recover lost time and neglected passion? Is idealism the purview of the young?—and turns them inside out. An extraordinary book."
—Heather Abel, author of The Optimistic Decade
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
Fast Girls by Elise Hooper
Also from the author: Learning to See and The Other Alcott
Acclaimed author Elise Hooper explores the gripping, real life history of female athletes, members of the first integrated women’s Olympic team, and their journeys to the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Nazi Germany.
"For fans of Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat (2015), historical fiction about real people, and stories about little-known female heroes breaking through barriers."
—Booklist 
review
"Fast Girls is a high-speed romp as ambitious and heart-pounding as its trio of track-star heroines.... A gold medal read from Elise Hooper!"
—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and
The Huntress
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
Mother Land by Leah Franqui
For fans of: Family Trust by Kathy Wang and A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
From the critically acclaimed author of America for Beginners, a wonderfully insightful, witty, and heart-piercing novel, set in Mumbai, about an impulsive American woman, her headstrong Indian mother-in-law, and the unexpected twists and turns of life that bond them.
"Lively and evocative, Mother Land is a deftly crafted exploration of identity and culture, with memorable and deeply human characters who highlight how that which makes us different can ultimately unite us."
—Amy Meyerson, author of The Bookshop of Yesterdays and The Imperfects
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
The Truth Hurts by Rebecca Reid
For fans of: The Unbreakables by Lisa Barr and A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell
In this twisty, compelling thriller, a young woman quickly embarks on what she thinks is the relationship and love of a lifetime, and she’s thrilled when her new husband insists they follow one rule: they don’t talk about the past, but it’s a rule that has dangerous consequences.
"...[The Truth Hurts] is a sly, slow-burn thriller that builds tension higher through each subtle scene. Reid teases the reader with each subversive reveal, placing the truth on the table in the last explosive pages."
—Booklist
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh
Also from the author: My Fake Rake and Dare to Love a Duke
In the second book in Eva Leigh's new 80s movie-inspired Union of the Rake's series, an ambitious entrepreneur pretends to be a lady of means and she catches the eye—and heart—of a duke.
"Eva Leigh is one of my favorite authors. Her books are pure romantic delight."
—Tessa Dare, New York Times bestselling author of
The Wallflower Wager
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
The Nesting Dolls by Alina Adams
For fans of: The Guest Book by Sarah Blake
Spanning nearly a century, from 1930s Siberia to contemporary Brighton Beach, a page-turning, epic family saga centering on three generations of women in one Russian Jewish family—each striving to break free of fate and history, each yearning for love and personal fulfillment—and how the consequences of their choices ripple through time.
"The Nesting Dolls is a vividly rendered, sweeping historical novel.... I absolutely devoured this compulsively readable gem of a novel."
—Jillan Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of The Lost Letter and In Another Time
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
Unspeakable Acts edited by Sarah Weinman
For fans of: The Real Lolita by Sarah Weinman and Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
A brilliant anthology of modern true-crime writing that illustrates the appeal of this powerful and popular genre, edited and curated by Sarah Weinman, the award-winning author of The Real Lolita.
"This enthralling volume insists that there can and should be humanity within true crime. Whether readers are spellbound or disgusted by the genre, this is a must."
—Library Journal 
review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2020
Listen to our podcast episode featuring a conversation between Sarah Weinman and LLF's Lainey Mays!
The Son of Good Fortune by Lysley TenorioFor fans of: A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum and The Leavers by Lisa KoA bighearted debut novel following an undocumented Filipino teenager as he redefines his relationships with his mother, his culture, and the place he calls home.
"Lysley Tenorio's The Son of Good Fortune is flat-out brilliant, and what makes it so wondrous is how Tenorio controls the complexity of the narrative. How can a book be filled with so much humor, such a light touch, and yet still touch that weird place in our heart that can break us apart?"
—Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here
"The Son of Good Fortune is a nuanced and subtle account of that most basic American dynamic, the melancholic and sometimes devastating fluctuation between promise and failure, happiness and its opposite."
—Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer
A Dangerous Breed by Glen Erik HamiltonAlso from the author: Mercy River, Every Day Above Ground, and Hard Cold Winter
Van Shaw’s past and present collide when an ingenious blackmailer pushes him to the brink in this electrifying fifth novel in Glen Erik Hamilton’s gritty and emotionally powerful thriller series.
"This guy has got what it takes."
—Lee Child
"If you like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, you will absolutely love Van Shaw."
—Deborah Crombie, New York Times bestselling author of A Bitter Feast
Yes, I Can Say That by Judy GoldFor fans of: Next Level Basic by Stassi SchroederFrom award-winning comedian Judy Gold, an equal-parts thoughtful and hilarious polemic on the current efforts to censor comedians, arguing that they undermine the art—and purpose—of comedy itself.
"No one makes me laugh harder than Judy Gold. If I had to pick one comedian to write a book about free speech, it would be Judy." —Amy Schumer
For more great reading suggestions for July, check out our
The deadline to submit your votes is June 1!
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We hope you enjoy the books! For more information about LibraryReads, visit their website. Remember: Vote early! Vote often!
-Chris
www.librarylovefest.com
