1. Reading (MG): I loved the book, Louder Than Hunger, by John Schu. It’s a novel in verse that follows Jake as he struggles with anorexia and treatment for it. It’s powerful, informative, and emotional—and because it’s a novel in verse, it flies by. Though you may not want it to. (And other times, yes, you will. Schu, after all, examines a very difficult mental illness.)
2. Reading (memoir): “A person was an accretion, constantly growing in strangeness, becoming an accumulation. Healing was found in stretching toward abundance. It was not about leaving the past behind, dividing the self into good and bad, but about opening a path through ruins.” If you haven’t read The Man Who Could Move Clouds, by Ingrid Rojas Contreras, you must pick it up sometime this summer. It’s a brilliant exploration of Contreras’s family history as well as her life growing up in violent Columbia in the 1980s and 1990s. A Pulitzer Prize finalist, the book is one of those you’ll probably never forget.
3. Watching: I know I’ve probably exhausted your tolerance for gushing about Apple’s TV and movie offerings, but seriously. They make good film and TV. And their series Masters of the Air is no exception. But it is exceptional. It follows the 100th Bomb Group, comprised of airmen played by such swoon-worthy actors as Austin Butler (my favorite), Anthony Boyle, and Ncuti Gatwa (who was stupendous in Sex Education on Netflix). Check it out if you’re into historical shows based on true stories.
4. Reading (YA): I recently finished Mariama J. Lockington’s novel in verse, Forever is Now, about Sadie, who, after witnessing an altercation between a young Black woman and the police, struggles with her agoraphobia and anxiety in ways that are debilitating. It was a sometimes painful, sometimes beautiful exploration of anxiety and Black female joy. I highly recommend it.
5. Reading (memoir): “Mom didn’t get better. But I will.” Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died is probably one of my favorite celebrity memoirs that I’ve read (and I’ve been on a kick of them because I’m a nosy person and love learning more about people and harbor a secret wish to one day help write a celebrity memoir or biography). Funny (my favorite—dry humor AND sarcasm), emotional, and full of great quotes about mental illness and mental health, this is one you won’t want to miss.
6. Reading (MG): I enjoyed Corey Ann Haydu’s The Widely Unknown Myth of Apple & Dorothy, which follows the story of Apple and Dorothy, who are modern-day descendants of the gods. They live in their own city, and things are happy—until Dorothy’s mom decides to become human. I enjoyed the mythology and the friendship and the impossible choices the two of them face. If you have a kid who enjoys mythology—or you are one—this book’s for you.
7. Reading (A): “For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be.” I LOVED The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly. This is an old book (published almost 20 years ago!), but it just became available as an audiobook in my library, and the cover intrigued me. The world-building, the magic, the fairy tales—all of it was spectacular. It follows 12-year-old David, who’s mourning the loss of his mother, with only his books to keep him company. He falls into a world of fairy tales and has to find his way back out, with wolves pursuing him every step of the way. The book has a sequel, The Land of Lost Things, which was just published this year. You can bet it’s on my TBR list!
8. Reading (upper MG): And what list would be complete without my newest release, Something Maybe Magnificent, which published in May?! This book is a sequel to last summer’s release, The First Magnificent Summer, but can also be read as a standalone. I would, of course, recommend getting both. 🙂 My heart and soul are in these books!
