Now that pool season has begun, I should get a lot more books read. Evidenced by this month already. Shall we get into it then? 11 books. 3,343 pages total. An average of 111 1/2 pages per day.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (389 pages). When they were 16, twins Desiree and Stella Vignes ran away from their small home town of Mallard, Louisiana. A town where everyone was black, but none of them were dark-skinned. 14 years later, Desiree returns with a child. A child she had with "the darkest man she could find." Stella, on the other hand, went out into the white world and made a life for herself, getting married and also having a daughter. Over the next 40 years, the twins' lives never intersect. But their daughters' do. Jude, Desiree's daughter who knows about her ethnicity, falls in love after she moves to California for college. She eventually goes to medical school. Kennedy, Stella's daughter who doesn't know she is black, is a struggling actress who travels everywhere trying to find herself. I both liked and didn't like this one. I love the idea of twins living such different lives, one embracing her black self with her daughter while the other spends her life passing and living a lie. But the execution wasn't great- the story was a little all over the place for me. I finished in 4 days.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (382 pages). Haymitch's story! It's the 50th Hunger Games, the Quarter Quell. And this time, it's double the tributes from each district. 16 year old Haymitch Abernathy just wants this reaping to pass so he can care for his mother, younger brother and the love of his life, Lenore Dove Covey (yes, one of those Covey if you've read The Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents). But he finds himself on his way to the Games, with a childhood friend, one of the meanest girls in town and the son of the odds-maker who bets on their deaths. Haymitch will not let the Capital beat him, not without a fight. So he makes use of his mentors, Mags and Wiress, and the advice of another mentor, Beetee. Yes, characters we will see again in the 75th Games. It's been 65 years since a long-forgotten tribute from District 12 has won (lucy Gray Baird). But Haymitch has a lot to fight for and nothing left to lose. Y'all- this one explained SO much about Haymitch. I already liked him from the original series- yes, he was a grumpy alcoholic but gosh he was funny. Now, I kind of love him. And now that they have started announcing <chef's kiss> casting for the movie, I am so excited! I finished in 3 days.
The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden (383 pages). Millie is finally living her dream life. She and Enzo have been married for over a decade and have two wonderful children, Ada and Nico. And they have moved from their small apartment in the Bronx to a beautiful home on Long Island. But dream lives aren't always perfect lives. And Millie soon realizes that. But when their neighbor is found murdered and Enzo is accused, Millie needs to learn the truth. And fast! Y'all- I love twists in books. And I should expect them in the Housemaid series. But I never can figure them out! I finished in 3 days.
Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (390 pages). On April 15, 4 debutantes are arrested. 9 months earlier, one of them, Sawyer, is offered a deal she cannot turn down. Half a million dollars to give up 9 months of her life for debutante season. The twist? She'll be living with her grandmother, who kicked her mother out when she was pregnant. As deb season gets underway, Sawyer quickly befriends her cousin Lily and Lily's best friend Sadie-Grace. And as mysteries are uncovered, Sawyer learns who her father is, who can be trusted and that she isn't alone in the world. I finished in 4 days.
The Housemaid's Wedding by Freida McFadden (64 pages). This was a little short story about Millie and Enzo's wedding day. Technically, I should have read it BEFORE The Housemaid is Watching. But I didn't know it existed! It's Millie and Enzo's wedding. Millie is pregnant. And she wants everything to be perfect. But when a threatening phone call starts her morning off on the wrong foot, everything seems to go wrong. But Millie and Enzo are meant to be. It was short. It was sweet. It was the perfect wedding day for these two! I finished in less than an hour.
Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (345 pages). The second in the Debutante series. On Labor Day, 2 girls are almost buried alive. A few months earlier, on Memorial Day weekend (about a month after the first book), Sawyer Taft is still living with her grandmother. She's learned who her father is (and a lot of other secrets along the way). And she and her friends all get invited to join The White Gloves, a secret society. One of the girls describes is as Junior League, by way of Skull and Bones. Best. Description. Ever! During the summer of initiation activities, the girls uncover a long buried secret that will rock all of their families. As truths begin to come out, Sawyer finally learns that the family she'd been searching for is now by her side. I finished in 3 days.
The Island by Elin Hilderbrand (403 pages). The Cousins family is thrown into an upheaval when Chess calls off her engagement to her picture perfect fiance just 4 months before the big day. With absolutely no explanation other than she didn't love him enough. When he dies a few weeks later in a freak rock climbing accident, Chess is beside herself. So her mother Birdie, sister Tate and aunt India rally around her and head to the family summer home on Tuckernuck Island for a month. An island off of Nantucket that doesn't even have electricity! As the month goes on, each of the women come to terms with what has happened in their lives. Birdie faces a first love after divorce that doesn't quite go the way she planned. India must decide if opening her heart up again is a good idea, even though her husband committed suicide 15 years ago. Tate learns that sometimes the crush of your childhood might be the love of your life. And Chess learns that life doesn't have to be picture perfect to be perfect. Honestly, it's a story where nothing really happens but SO much happens! I finished in 2 days (hurray for the first pool day of the year!)
Dating Hamlet: Ophelia's Story by Lisa Fiedler (183 pages). Hamlet. But as a novel and from Ophelia's perspective. In Ophelia's story, she and Hamlet are madly in love. And when he learns of his uncle's treachery, together they hatch a plan of madness and murder. But when Hamlet is sent to England to his death, Ophelia must go it alone to finish the job. Through a very Romeo and Juliet trope, Ophelia fakes her own death. With best friend Anne, her father the gravedigger and brother Laertes in on the plan, will Ophelia and Hamlet get the happily ever after that the play denied them? Having exact lines from the play in the novel was perfection. And such a great way to turn a classic play into a YA novel. I finished in 2 days.
The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander (318 pages). When Jess loses her beloved grandmother and her librarian job in rapid succession, she decides she needs a change. When she finds a little cottage in a small village, she realizes this place is the perfect spot to start her new life. The oddest thing about the house? It comes with a little red phone booth out front. A phone booth that Jess turns into the smallest library in England with her grandmother's books. As her grandmother's book work to revitalize the village and Jess begins to make friends with her new neighbors, she feels like she's finally found her place in the world. I finished in 4 days.
Zero Days by Ruth Ware (354 pages). In cybersecurity, a "zero-day" refers to a vulnerability in software or hardware that is unknown to the vendor or the public but has already been exploited by attackers. This means that when the vulnerability is discovered, there are "zero-days" available to the vendor to develop a fix before attackers can fully utilize it. Jack Cross and her husband Gabe Medway are the best in their field of penetration testing- Jack physically breaks in and Gabe does it through technology. But when Jack returns home from a job to find Gabe murdered, the police begin to suspect her. And Jack realizes that she has to find the real murderer. And fast. Turns out, Gabe had discovered a zero day. And people were willing to kill him to keep it hidden. I finished in 1 day (you guessed it, pool day).
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (132 pages). Yes, Pippi. The strongest girl in the world with her red pigtails sticking straight out and her freckles. When Pippi moves into Villa Villekulla, next door to siblings Tommy and Annika, she brings with her adventures and stories and fun. After all, what else can you expect from the daughter of a South Sea Island king and her monkey and her horse? Each chapter focused on a different adventure- going to school, going to the circus, facing off against thieves. Such a cute children's book! As there is a Gilmore Girls episode that features the girls watching Pippi, I found myself singing the theme song nonstop. But that's more of a me problem! I finished in 1 day (actually during lunch).
This month's favorite is.....Sunrise on the Reaping. I just love Hunger Games! Although The Island was a very close second.