Beach Reads
The Beach Reads column for the Memorial Day edition is always my favorite to write. With the thought of summer bringing nice, long, hot beach days comes the thought of getting my summer reading list together. I can remember as a little girl, patiently waiting for the bookstore to open so I could grab the latest Sweet Valley High or Babysitters Club book. There’s just something about summer that makes me want to read and there’s nothing like diving into a great book while listening to the waves in the background. Here are a few of the most anticipated books from the spring. If you haven’t already read them, make sure they are on your summer reading list!
“The Stars Are Fire” by Anita Shreve
“The Stars Are Fire” is based on the true story of the largest fire in Maine’s history, in 1947. Grace Holland and her husband, Gene, have a loveless marriage; they hardly even speak. Pregnant and with two young toddlers to take care of, Grace accepted that this was sadly how her life was going to be. One night the family is awakened by wildfires that are coming up the coast and closing in on their home. While Gene leaves to see where he can help, the fire surrounds them and Grace is forced to jump into the ocean with her children to escape the flames. In the morning, Grace realizes she has lost everything. Her home is destroyed, she has no money and her husband is gone, his fate unknown. Tapping into an inner strength she didn’t realize she had, Grace seizes these tragic events as a way to change the outcome of the life she thought she was doomed to live.
The author, Anita Shreve, gained popularity with her best sellers, “The Pilot’s Wife” and “The Weight of Water.” “The Stars Are Fire” was published around this time last year. Sadly, it was the last book written by Shreve, who died of cancer this spring at 71. Shreve was an incredible writer. Her characters were identifiable and her stories realistic and emotional. I always looked forward to her new releases. The literary world will miss her.
“Laura & Emma” by Kate Greathead
Laura grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She was born into old money and spent her childhood at private schools and summer homes. One weekend in 1981, she meets a man named Jefferson. The two sleep together and then he completely disappears. Laura subsequently realizes she’s pregnant. Nine months later, Emma is born. Laura raises Emma by herself in the same world that she grew up in, surrounded by the same cast of characters: Laura’s eccentric mother, Laura’s pediatrician father, her brother and her best friend who is Park Avenue all the way except when it comes to having children. Laura’s mother tells her friends, and even Emma herself, that her father was a Swedish sperm donor. In time, Emma and Laura both begin to question the world they grew up in, the people in their lives and even themselves.
“Love and Ruin” by Paula McLain
Ernest Hemingway was a romantic long before our time. “Love and Ruin” is about his passionate yet rocky marriage to Martha Gellhorn. Ahead of her time, Martha was independent, ambitious and went on to become one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century. In her late 20s, she travels alone to Madrid to report on the Spanish Civil War. She finds her story in the lives of the civilians caught in the middle of the conflict. At the same time, she’s quickly and furiously falling in love with Hemingway, who is busy making a name for himself. When Hemingway publishes “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” the biggest literary success of his career, things shift between them. They are no longer equals professionally. Martha needs to choose between making a name for herself and becoming a famous man’s wife. At a time when the world is watching women make names for themselves in every facet of life, we are reminded of one incredible woman who set the trend long before its time.
“Warlight” by Michael Ondaatje
If you liked “The English Patient,” you will love “Warlight.” Michael Ondaatje once again brings us complicated characters in a complicated world, where questions are common and answers are not. It is just after World War II and 14-year-old Nathaniel and his older sister, Rachel, remain in London while their parents move to Singapore. They are left in the care of a mysterious figure they call “The Moth.” At first they are scared and think the worst, but as time goes by they come to know his friends, all of whom served in the war and are determined to educate and protect Nathaniel and Rachel. But who are they, really? When their mother returns without their father, more questions arise with no explanations. It isn’t until more than a decade later that Nathaniel learns the truth about what happened then and what he finally understands now.
“After Anna” by Lisa Scottoline
Maggie Ippolitti has a young daughter she hasn’t seen since Anna was a baby. Finally finding happiness again, Maggie marries Dr. Noah Alderman, a widower and single father. Maggie’s happiness only increases when she gets another chance to be a mother to her daughter, whom she thought she would never see again. Now, Anna is 17 and on the difficult side. Unfortunately, Maggie is so happy to have Anna back that she seems to overlook the obvious warning signs that Anna is causing trouble for her marriage and in her home. In an unfathomable turn of events, Anna is murdered and Noah is charged with the crime. Maggie is forced to deal not only with losing her only daughter, but the thought that her husband could have killed her. New information comes to light that causes Maggie to search for the truth, but what she finds is worse than she could have ever imagined. Once again, Lisa Scottoline keeps us on the edge of our seats until the bitter end!
“The Gunners” by Rebecca Kauffman
Mikey, Alice, Lynn, Jimmy, Sam and Sally were all childhood friends who called themselves “The Gunners.” Today, Mikey is 30 years old, suffering from the clouded vision of macular degeneration and struggling to make connections in his life. Sally had distanced herself from the group before committing suicide. In the wake of her death, the group has reconnected, bringing back dark secrets from the past for all of them, most especially Mikey. Will uncovering long-forgotten secrets and finding forgiveness be enough for everyone to start over? A captivating story with characters that are hard to forget, “The Gunners” will remind readers what it’s like to be young, make mistakes, and learn to live again.
