If you’re looking for books to add to your summer reading list, here are a few of my recent reads.
An Untamed State | Type: Novel/Thriller | Rating: 4/5 – This book while riveting, it is definitely not a chill beachy read to pack on your upcoming vacay. It’s a harrowing page-turner that kept me thinking about the protagonist long after I finished it. This story of a privileged Haitian American woman who gets kidnapped for ransom in broad daylight while in Haiti visiting family. The book delves into issues surrounding class, family issues, socio-economic politics, racism, and the experience of being an immigrant from an impoverished country like Haiti. It’s not a light read. I just became familiar with Roxane Gay’s writing this year (and awesome Twitter account), but I’m officially now a fan.
Queen Sugar | Type: Novel/Romance/African American Interest | Rating: 5/5 – I didn’t think I’d enjoy this book as much as I did, but once I finished it, I felt like flipping the book to the beginning and starting again. Charley Bordelon’s father passes and leaves her many acres of sugar cane land in his hometown in Louisiana. So, Charley, a widowed single mother packs up her daughter in LA and heads to Louisiana to become a sugar cane farmer. Will Charley be successful in changing her life and saving her farm? Definitely read the book to see what’s in store for Charley the host of lively characters in the book. I read recently that this book was going to be turned into a TV series by Oprah and I really hope that happens, I’d definitely tune in.
The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl | Type: Rating:Humor/Memoir | Rating: 5/5 – I love Issa Rae’s webseries (also titled Awkward Black Girl), so I knew I would actually go out and purchase this book when I heard about it. I rarely buy books these days but the laugh out loud passages in this book will definitely be re-read at some point, so I’m glad I have my own copy. Whether you are black or not, if you can relate to being an awkward, introverted teen or young adult and not quite fitting in, this book to is a great addition to your reading list.
Next up on my to-read list this summer are:
The Fringe Hours | Don’t Waste Your Pretty | Bad Feminist | The House at Sugar Beach
What have you read lately? What books are you planning to read this summer?
