Summer Reading
Recommendations for Adults
Introduction Welcome to our annual booklet filled with great summer reads! This year’s theme is Libraries Rock! and our librarians have selected some of their favorites for you! From classics to modern novels, and from genres such as mystery and fantasy to history and biographies, we read a wide a variety and you’re sure to find some great summer reads to love in these pages!
Reading Tools, Services & Programs for Adults! WCPL has great tools for finding books on our reading page: wakegov.com/libraries/reading Our librarians offer individualized professional services such as assistance with downloading ebooks/eaudio books, scheduling and selecting book club kits, advice on cover letters and resumes, and custom book lists just for you! For information and registration: wakegov.com/libraries/services/adults We offer a variety of adult programs and book discussions at our regional libraries. From live music to monthly crafts, from small business expertise to author visits – we have programs to suit your interests! For information and registration: wakegov.com/libraries/events
Have a great summer! 1
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden Fiction ARDEN In the northern reaches of medieval Russia, freespirited Vasya has been raised on fairytales. The daughter of a witch, she is able to see and converse with spirits in her home and in the forest. Her extremely pious new stepmother fears and despises Vasya, and wishes her gone. When a young priest comes to their village, the people turn away from their old beliefs, and devastation ensues as the protective spirits are forgotten. A beautifully written and enchanting literary fantasy. 2017 ~ Elizabeth D.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman Fiction BACKMAN Known as “the bitter neighbor from hell,” Ove is a curmudgeon with staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. Ove’s world is turned upside down after a chatty young family moves in next door and accidentally flattens his mailbox. Find out how unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul can change the beliefs of even the grumpiest man in this heartwarming story. 2015 ~ Jen B. The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter Science Fiction BAXTER Released as the sequel to The War of the Worlds, the novel takes place 14 years after Earth’s invasion. The human race has now developed new technology left by the Martians, accepting the belief that the invasion will not happen again. When launches are noticed from Mars, Walter Jenkins feels that this time the invaders will have adapted and be ready to conquer again. His assumptions are proven correct with the invasion’s arrival. The massacre of mankind is beginning. 2017 ~ Thad M
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The Whale: A Love Story by Mark Beauregard Fiction BEAUREGA From the moment of their first encounter, pondering the philosophical nature of a hunk of cheese on their picnic, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville formed a special bond. This mutual understanding and deep connection leads to a crisis of intimacy, and the two struggle to deal with balancing their families, work, longings, and morals. An intriguing and unusual romance, filled with intellectual humor and backed by historical research. 2016 ~ Joy J. Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero Horror CANTERO Edgar Cantero’s imaginative novel Meddling Kids explores a darker view of “The Scooby Gang” and similar teen sleuths. The “kids” are all grown up and haunted by a case they encountered which was a little TOO real. Fans of the show may enjoy some of the inside jokes as well as the spooky, unsettling undercurrents of how the gang’s future lives were affected traumatically by youthful detecting. 2017 ~Janet M.
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey 551.46 CASEY Casey immerses you in the hunt for the monstrous and deadly 100ft high phenomena called a rogue wave. From science and surfing, to shipwrecks and history, you travel the world with those who hunt them, trying to discover a way to predict and prepare for a run in with one. Casey’s use of vivid and descriptive language makes you feel as if you are in the water with her, tasting the salty spray and watching the waves roll in. 2010 ~ Astrid H.
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What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons Fiction CLEMMONS What We Lose is a coming of age story about a young African-American girl named Thandi. Feeling isolated and unable to form a connection to those around her, Thandi’s life takes an unfortunate turn after her mother succumbs to cancer. We follow Thandi’s life as she experiences romantic love and motherhood, yet her greatest love is noticeably absent –that of her mother. Thandi’s journey, both beautiful and haunting, shows us what it is to choose life after loss. 2017 ~ Crystal M.
Warriors of the Storm by Bernard Cornwell Fiction CORNWELL Ninth in the epic Saxon Tale series, Warriors of the Storm finds Uthred of Bebbanburg, the greatest warrior of the British kingdoms, ruling Mercia. A blood-drenched storm is looming as the Irish, their Danish allies, and the Northumbrians gather to invade Mercia, Wessex, and East Anglia. Uthred has some hard choices to make. Warriors of the Storm is a barrage of battles replete with enough political, social, and religious intrigue to satisfy readers of many genres. 2016 ~ Edward W. The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani Fiction DISCLAFA In the summer of 1930, 15-year-old Thea Atwell is exiled to a riding camp in the mountains of North Carolina, ostensibly to make a lady out of her, but really to remove her from the scene of her supposed scandal. This coming of age story movingly portrays a young woman, hemmed in by the era and place she lives in, who nevertheless, persists. 2014 ~ Cathy P.
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The Wonder by Emma Donoghue Fiction Donoghue Twelve years after the famine ended, 11-year-old Anna O’Donnell has not eaten for months. Villagers believe that her ability to thrive on a few sips of water and air must be a miracle, and word spreads. Elizabeth (Lib) Wright, an English nurse trained by Florence Nightingale, is sent to uncover the mystery in this psychological thriller. Working with doctors, priests, and most importantly, Anna, Lib finds her assumptions repeatedly challenged. Is she prepared for what she will find? 2016 ~ Mary A. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich Fiction ERDRICH Cedar Songmaker writes a spiritual and sometimes darkly funny journal to her unborn child as she comes to terms with the truth about her Native heritage. As her pregnancy advances, Cedar witnesses an ongoing apocalypse in the form of climate change and evolution gone haywire. Fleeing from fundamentalists who imprison women to harvest and study babies, Cedar clings to the hope of raising her child. Cedar’s fate is never certain until the final pages of this provocative and chilling book. 2017 ~ Deborah H. Fresh Complaint: Stories by Jeffrey Eugenides Fiction EUGENIDE Award winning author Jefferey Eugenides (The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex) returns with this collection of ten stories spanning his career from 1988-2017. Each story tackles a unique perspective on hard-hitting issues (or complaints) such as dementia, financial crisis, struggling marriages, and failed dreams. Eugenides’s writing style is honest and thoughtprovoking and always leaves you feeling as if you have been through the same trials as each character of his stories. 2017 ~ Cris E.
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My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book One by Emil Ferris Graphic Novels FERRIS Nothing in the pages of Ghastly’s Ghastly Comics or featured on late-night Horror Theater is as fearsome as the monsters and ghosts present in the world around us. This truth is impossible for Karen Reyes to avoid as she navigates her mother’s illness, her brother’s secrets, her neighbor’s mysterious past and violent death, and her own early adolescence in 1968 workingclass Chicago. Lose yourself in the beauty of Ferris’ jaw-dropping artwork while you wait for part two, coming later this year. 2016 ~ Daniel S. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins Fiction HAWKINS Jules has been trying to shed herself of her childhood; ignoring her sister’s calls, pretending she never lived in small town Beckford. When her sister turns up dead, in what appears to be a suicide at the Drowning Pool, she must return to face her past and tend to her sister’s ornery teenage daughter. Home again, she learns the daughter’s best friend also apparently jumped at the Drowning Pool. Were both deaths actual suicides or did something more sinister happen? 2017 ~ Tess A. My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix Horror HENDRIX Gretchen and Abby have been best friends since Abby’s 10th birthday party at the roller rink, and when a weekend acid trip ends in demon possession for Gretchen, only Abby can save her. Hendrix’s blend of 80’s music, teenage drama, and mounting horrors create a refreshing backdrop for a harrowing showdown between good and evil; showcasing the power of true friendship, creativity, and tenacity in a battle that is both enduringly creepy and surprisingly heartwarming. 2016 ~ Kate B.
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The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood Fiction HOOD Ava joins a book group where the goal is for each member to present the book that matters most to them. She is hoping not only to find new books to read, but also new friends as her life has begun to unravel and she is feeling left behind. Ava rediscovers a book from her childhood to present to the group. Her mission to find both the book and its mysterious author takes her on a journey that helps her uncover secrets from her past and offers hope for the future. 2016 ~ Dayna S. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz Mystery HOROWITZ Magpie Murders is a book within a book, and a mystery about a mystery. Editor Susan Ryeland receives a manuscript from a popular mystery author. The manuscript, an Agatha Christie style whodunit, is included in the book – except for the last chapter. When Susan goes to track it down she finds the author has suddenly and mysteriously died, the chapter is missing, and she needs to do a little sleuthing herself to find out what happened. 2017 ~ Lisa W. News of the World by Paulette Jiles Fiction JILES Two different people journey through 1870s Texas in a harsh and unforgiving terrain that is full of danger, outlaws, and political uncertainties. Old Captain Kidd has committed to delivering little Johanna to her German relatives, despite her attempts to get back to her captive Kiowa family. They don’t speak the same language, yet they are bonded in true grit. A beautiful story of survival and human spirit with Civil War history comes to life. 2016 ~ Celia G.
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Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas Romance KLEYPAS Lady Pandora Ravenel wants to create board games instead of getting married. But while trying to help a friend at a ball one night, she and Gabriel, Lord St. Vincent, are caught in a scandal. While trying to reconcile her feelings for Gabriel and her budding board game, Pandora finds more trouble than the scandal - a conspiracy that could take her life. 2017 ~ Amy R. An Age of License: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley Graphic Novels 910 KNISL Twentysomething cartoonist Lucy Knisley is at a crossroads in her life when she’s offered an expensespaid book tour in Scandinavia and Europe. Eager to explore — and to escape the pain of a recent breakup — Lucy embarks on what an older traveler calls An Age of License, “...to experience, mess up, license to fail, license to do...whatever, before you’re settled.” What unfolds is a charmingly illustrated memoir full of food, wine, friends, family, romance, and youthful joie de vivre. 2014 ~ Kristina G. World of Tomorrow by Brendan Mathews Fiction MATHEWS An oceanliner carries two brothers from Ireland to New York in 1939. Young thieves, Michael and Francis flee from the Irish mob they swindled in their hometown only to find themselves on the run in America. Debut author Mathews takes you on an Oliver Twist worthy adventure in pre World War II America where you will encounter the many intertwining plots of gangsters and newly arrived immigrants from the jumping jazz joints of Harlem to the World’s Fair. 2017 ~ Melissa K.
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Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul by James McBride Biography BROWN National Book Award winner James McBride traveled from New York to rural South Carolina and Georgia hoping to learn more about the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, from his friends, family, band members and everyone else who knew the Number One Soul Brother the best. In his travels, McBride found a larger story about race and class, fame and wealth, music and politics, and what really drove the Hardest Working Man in Show Biz. 2016 ~ Robert C. Arrowood by Laura McHugh Fiction MCHUGH After her father’s death, Arden Arrowood returns to her majestic family home long-abandoned after the mysterious disappearance of her twin sister. Arden is at a crossroads in her life rife with failures and setbacks, although nothing rivals the need to find out what happened to her sister. Set in Iowa along the Mississippi River, the small town full of secrets and the large house full of mystery, gives this book a Southern Gothic feel perfect for summertime reading. 2016 ~ Amy W. The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore 363.17 MOORE In the early 20th century, Marie Curie discovered a new element called radium. Little was known about the drug, other than the benefits it provided. From tonic water to clock dials, radium became a wonder element for the ages. As years passed, people became ill from the toxicity of the radium, particularly the young women who painted the dials onto clocks. This book follows these women from the beginning of what was considered a “golden opportunity” to their battle against the companies who knowingly put them in harm’s way. 2017 ~ Rita B.
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Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel Science Fiction NEUVEL Transformers meets Arrival in this thrilling and mysterious intellectual adventure. When a child unearths part of an ancient, giant robot, her discovery propels a team of researchers into a world of scientific discovery, complex physics, alien linguistics, and political intrigue. Sleeping Giants is smart, high-stakes science fiction, told through a series of memos, notes, interviews, and first-person narration. With the final installment of the Themis Files trilogy arriving this summer, it’s the perfect time to start Sylvain Nuevel’s compelling series. 2016 ~ Melanie S. I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson Fiction PEARSON Thirteen-year-old Petra and her friend Sharon are obsessed with teen idol David Cassidy and enter a contest to meet him. Fate intervenes in the interfering form of Petra’s mum, and 25 years later, Petra is a housewife on the verge of divorce, still having not met David. Seeking adventure, Petra and Sharon head to Las Vegas to track down their love object once and for all. A story of enduring female friendship and the proof that first love never really dies. Atmospherically set in 1970’s and present day Wales. 2011 ~ Heidi R. Year One by Nora Roberts Fiction ROBERTS The pandemic, aptly named the Doom, came with the new year to New York. As people sickened and died, terror and madness spread throughout the world. Some were immune: they didn’t know why or how, but they knew they had to escape the madness while they could. Survivors begin to emerge from the wrecked cities to find a new world where magick — both good and evil — divides a population that’s forced to rebuild. 2017 ~ Morgan P.
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Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Fiction SAUNDERS A Dantesque tour through a Georgetown cemetery mixing memory and desire with shades of Samuel Beckett, Saunders’s ghost-history floats in the limbo of “the Bardo.” Abraham Lincoln’s midnight visit to the grave of his recently interred son has a “vivifying effect” on the anxious, irritable, and chatty spirits inhabiting the graveyard, unbeknownst to him and unexpectedly to the spirits. In this collage of a novel, the visit rattles them all and makes way for hard truths and bitter empathy. 2017 ~ Gordon J. Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher Fiction SCHUMACH Jay Fitger is an English professor at the aptly named Payne University. Jay is 55 years old, divorced twice, the kind of guy who is just too honest and too smart for his own good. The book is composed of funny, angry letters written by a man who has been around too long and seen too much, but who can’t stop caring about his job and the people it touches. 2014 ~ Sue S. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson Science Fiction STEPHENS In this dark version of the future, readers are introduced to the idea that all information is a virus. From recipes to religion, all of our perceived reality is a virus spread from mind to mind. 1992 ~ Tara B.
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Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Fiction VONNEGUT John with no last name is gathering material for The Day the World Ended, a book about what certain Americans were doing on the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He focuses on scientist and bomb creator Dr. Felix Hoenikker and the doctor’s three children. While researching, John discovers Dr. Hoenikker’s deadly invention, ice-nine. The results are catastrophic, but this social satire is a fun ride with a cast of zany characters. 1963 ~ Ashlyn B. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware Fiction WARE The Lying Game is a suspenseful thriller set in the English coastal town of Salten, home to the boarding school where Isa, Kate, Fatima, and Thea became inseparable friends as teenagers. They haven’t reunited in years, but when Kate sends the cryptic text message “I need you,” the other three women immediately go to her, no questions asked. However, this isn’t just out of loyalty to an old friend. They also share a terrible secret that refuses to stay hidden. 2017 ~ Carrie L.
Artemis by Andy Weir Science Fiction WEIR Life on the moon is not easy. Jazz Bashara makes it work by smuggling contraband from Earth, but she barely makes enough for a coffin-sized sleeping pod and food replacement aptly called “Gunk.” When one of her customers asks her to sabotage a business competitor in exchange for a life-changing sum of money, Jazz sees it as a risky, but achievable proposition. Things go spectacularly wrong and soon she’s hiding from the good guys AND the bad. A funny, entertaining read. 2017 ~ Amy F.
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Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate Fiction WINGATE Based on a true story, Before We Were Yours tells the story of a family ripped apart by the black market adoptions that occurred in Tennessee in the early 20th century, under the guise of providing loving homes for “orphans.” Rill Foss is eldest in a family broken apart by the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, while Avery Stafford is a lawyer from a high-society South Carolina family who becomes intimately involved with Rill’s heart-wrenching story decades later. 2017 ~ Erin D. Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson Fiction WOODSON Another Brooklyn follows August, Sylvia, Gigi, and Angela as they make their way through adolescence. 1970s Brooklyn is the backdrop, and Jacqueline Woodson vividly paints cultural happenings, current events, and the loss of innocence into their story. Each of these young ladies has obstacles they’re dealing with at home, but in the company of each other, those obstacles are forgotten. In this coming of age novel, Woodson easily draws you into this dynamic circle of friendship. 2016 ~ Carla P. The Lost Girls by Heather Young Fiction YOUNG When Justine, a single mother with two girls, inherits a lake house from her great aunt Lucy, she thinks it will be a chance to make a new start. The lake house in Minnesota is where one of Lucy’s sisters went missing back in the 1930’s. Lost Girls is both suspenseful and nostalgic. A coming of age story of different generations filled with plenty of dark secrets and family drama. A perfect summer read. 2016 ~ Lisa L.
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