Good Reads {June 2017}

"A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it." -- Samuel Johnson

I read ten books in June. Here are my favorite reads of the month:

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

This YA novel about the Tulsa race riot of 1921 explores racial tensions both in the past and in the present. The story begins when seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds remains in the garage behind the house, and then alternates between Rowan's modern day search for the truth and Will Latham's story leading up to to the race riot in 1921. I could not put down this fascinating tale!

Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy

I read this nonfiction work for June book club. Ghettoside is an in-depth study of murder in the ghettos of LA, and why it happens. I wouldn't have picked this up on my own, but I'm so glad I read it.  

Windfall by Jennifer Smith

Windfall is a light but well-written YA novel about a trio of friends. When Teddy turns 18, Alice buys him a lottery ticket and he wins $140 million. The story explores their friendship and how it changes with this huge windfall. I loved this story; it's a great summer read.

A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner

I don't read a lot of ghost stories, but A Bridge Across the Ocean was the first of two ghost stories I read this month (the other was A Million Junes by Emily Henry). This work of historical fiction alternates between the past and present, telling three different stories. Annaliese Lange is a German girl trying to escape a brutal past at the end of WWII, Simone Deveraux is a war bride with passage book on the RMS Queen Mary, and Brett is a modern-day woman who sees ghosts. I found this novel utterly enjoyable!

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

This was one of my favorite books of the month. Rabbit Cake is a story of a disfunctional family. The narrator, young Elvis Babbitt, has just lost her mother after she drowned after sleepwalking into a lake. Elvis has such a unique voice and this is just a fantastic story!

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin

This nonfiction works examines the desperately poor in America, and how these families survive on virtually nothing. This work dovetails perfectly with Evicted, which I read last month. $2.00 a Day is both fascinating and devastating; a must-read. 

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn

Will and I both read this epistolary novel and it is a must-read for anyone who loves language and wordplay. Ella Minnow Pea is a teenager living on the fictional island of Nollop, named after Nevin Nollop who created the pangram, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Once the letters from this phrase on the memorial statue of Nollop begin to fall down, the government officials begin banning the letters from use in written and spoken language, and the letters leave the book. It is both humorous and frightening and absolutely worth reading.

Beartown by Frederik Backman

I have been a huge fan of the Swedish author Frederik Backman since I read A Man Called Ove last fall. Beartown is quite a departure from his more whimsical previous works and explores some tough topics, but Backman is an incredibly talented writer. This book is brilliant.

What have you been reading lately?