Open Book ~ July'20

A Man called Ove by Fredrik Backman is a charming story of a curmudgeon's opinions and how he adjusts to changes in his neighborhood.  Backman through flashbacks and current misadventures tells a wonderful story of the measure of a man and when you realize long held grudges no longer matter.

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams tells the story of Lily Dane and her friend Budgie of New York, Smith and summers in Rhode Island.  Alternating between 1931 and 38; you see these young women grow into adulthood and how the sin of omission can do as much harm as an actual lie.  I found Lily to be a bit too gullible but the writing pulled me in and kept me interested.  Explicit in places so would definitely pre-read if considering for a older teen.

Summer at Tiffany is a memoir by Majorie Hart of the summer of 1945 when she and a college friend became the first girls ever to work as pages at Tiffany's.  Coming from Iowa to New York to work for the summer the author recounts their adventures at Tiffany's, throughout the city, and particularly in Time Square on VJ Day.  A fun, fast read ~ just right for a summer afternoon.

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber is a fictional but well researched look at the experience of the black homesteader.  Rachel is a cook working in a boarding house in Chicago when the owner's son a Calvary soldier about to retire from the Negro troop comes home for a visit.  By the end of the visit in exchange for her claim to 160 acres; Isaac DuPree agrees to marry her.  The book is a wonderful glimpse of life at the turn of the 20th Century first in Chicago and then the Badlands

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park tells in an alternating way the daily life of a young Sudanese boy in 1985 and a young Sudanese girl in 2008.  As I read further in this very well written YA book I borrowed from my oldest; I learned that Salva's story of being one of the 'lost boys' of Sudan escaping the war and living first in refugee camps and later coming to the US is true told to the author.  Nye's story is a composite of the many children of Sudan he is now trying to help.  A lovely book which has proven to be the source of some good conversations with my 12 year old about the world and giving back.

For more Open Books please head over to Carolyn's!