Video: August Wrap-Up
I’m stunned that it’s already time for our August wrap-up of books.
Every time it gets to be this time of year, I gape at the calendar and lament about how fast time flies.
So, in keeping with tradition: My, how time flies!
Here’s a wrap-up of what I read in August. Click each title for my full reviews:
A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell
Stephanie and Emily are friends despite being opposites. When Emily goes missing, Stephanie rallies her mommy blogger friends in a plea to find her. The real question is WTF is going on with Stephanie and her precedent of bad decision making.
The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth
This domestic fiction novel follows three moms and their day-to-day lives. When a single woman moves into the family neighborhood, the women are suspicious, but welcoming. We never fully know the secret dramas of the family next door.
The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir
Essie is 17, costars with her family on a religious reality television show, and is pregnant. Her mother and the producers plot how to spin her pregnancy for maximum ratings and public acceptance. Essie comes up with her own plan, though.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Between the World and Me is a nonfiction collection of essays about race in modern America. Coates talks about fear, safety, his college years at Howard, Paris, otherness, and a sense of not fully owning his own body. It’s eye opening and eloquent.
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
When a besotted, honeymooning couple happens across a mystery bag while scuba diving, they open it up and bad decisions tumble out. Innocence becomes greed. Crimes mount. And love is put to the test.
Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott
Scientist Kit had a fiend named Diane as a ten. Diane shared a horrible secret that caused Kit to end the friendship, but now Diane is back. Kit’s life sinks into mayhem as Diane edges her way increasingly into her life.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Hal is broke as a joke. When she’s told she’s a beneficiary of an inheritance, she knows it’s a mistake. But she goes along anyway, encountering a family of wacky characters, a house with a prison room, and a Danvers-esque maid.
You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
This collection of short stories goes deep inside its characters, showing the inner monologues that are never voiced. It shows the conflicts, voices, thoughts, and insecurities that people carry in secret
Watch this August wrap-up and other book reviews on my Read Remark YouTube / booktube channel.
Music credit: bensound.com.
