2019 Summer Reading Re-cap: Fiction

Happy mid-summer! I hope your summer has been full of adventure and fun plus some meaningful work, or at the very least, really good books! I’ve read a slew of both new and vintage fiction summer, so I’m going to join Modern Mrs. Darcy/Anne Bogel and do a quick lit recap for June and July reading of the fiction I’ve been reading. Click over to her site and see what other readers and reviewers have liked or disliked so far this summer. Our summer started mid-May and we gave ourselves permission to be lazy about projects and curriculum planning and all the the normal school year things until July, so I’m now realizing I haven’t updated the blog on any books since April! So this is going to be quite a long list.

New Fiction

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The Spies of Shilling Lane – Mrs. Braithwaite is our main character in this unexpectedly cozy, adventurous read. She is a middle-aged, domineering village woman, who is suddenly demoted from her position in her village and decides to go visit her daughter in London during WWII, only to find her daughter missing. Mrs. Braithwaite puts herself on a mission to find her and runs into more intrigue and danger than she ever expected. Despite some adult themes, this book is not a heavy WWII book. It’s reminiscent of The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax but with a more familiar setting… or maybe that’s just for those of us who have read way too many books set in WWII England. There were some sections that were a bit on the cliche side, and some character development that happened very fast at times, but overall it’s a fun read with a lot of heart for historical fiction fans.

Time After Time – This magical realism novel starts out with tons of potential, between the characters, setting, and history. If you liked The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or The Age of Adeline, you will probably like this book! That being said, I think I would have liked it better as a short story or novella. The first quarter of the book was 4-5 stars. The dialogue between the two main characters was swingy and the concept for the story was grabbing, plus Grand Central Station was a fascinating setting. In the last three-quarters the good things the novel had going for it fell apart and fell in the 2 star range, so it’s somewhere at 2.5 star as an entire book for me (but don’t grade me on my math!). The middle is too long and tumultuous, in my inexperienced opinion. On a side note, the comparisons to The Time Traveler’s Wife don’t ring true. The Time Traveler’s Wife was much more graphic and tragic. This one isn’t exactly lighthearted or “clean,” as far as themes go, but leaves out details and has less language.

The Lieutenant’s Nurse – I couldn’t put this one down. Ackerman wove fascinating pieces of radio communications in the Pacific throughout her story leading up to the attack at Pearl Harbor. The characters were also interesting, though the romance focus was a little much for me. I could’ve done without about half of it and still thought that was more than plenty. I enjoyed the book, though, and was pleased that, like Ackerman’s first book, there was no smut and just a smattering of language. I liked her first book, Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers, better than The Lietuenant’s Nurse, but both were enjoyable and Sara Ackerman is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers of compelling, readable, and clean summer reads.

I’m Fine and Neither Are You – The cover of this book and even the publisher’s write up did not prepare me for how tender, fragile, at times beautiful, and thought provoking this novel about the modern woman’s pursuit of the perfect life would be. The life of Penelope Ruiz is painted in vivid detail and echoes many real life conversations I’ve had with friends about the burden in the modern goal to “do it all.” This book begs the question, “but why?” It was not at all light, but there was a sense of humor woven throughout the weighty themes. It was easy to read, hard to forget, and reminded me of Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot. I am probably the target audience for this book–it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea–but I’d give it four stars.

Vintage Fiction

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The Scent of Water – Goudge is a long drink of water for a thirsty, old-fashioned soul. Like her other adult books, The Scent of Water is an introspective novel centered around a home, a country town, and the people in it. The book approaches life on the soul level, and though the plot won’t drive you to turn pages as fast as possible, I keep on reading Goudge because the wisdom, truth, and beauty in it are timeless.

Amberwell, Summerhills, and Celia’s House – More of my favorite D.E. Stevenson! She’s the current home base of my reading life for her glorious settings in the Scottish or English countryside and strong, noble, likable characters.

Corner Shop – Though I love Elizabeth Cadell, this one was not my favorite of hers. It was hard to follow.

Jane of Lantern Hill – I re-read this L.M. Montgomery novel for the first time as an adult while we were at the beach in May. It is wonderful, right up there with the Anne and the Emily books. I hate how L.M. Montgomery’s work is considered children’s literature—almost all of it is much more enjoyable when you read it as an adult! But since she and C.S. Lewis are my all time favorite authors, I may be incredibly biased.

Thrush Green – I always think I should be the perfect candidate to enjoy the works of Miss Read, but alas, I simply cannot get into them. Oh well.

And that’s all for the summer reading fiction update! I’ll be adding a non-fiction post just as soon as I finish the three non-fiction books I’m in the middle of. For all my fiction reading speed, I operate on a slow intake when it comes to nonfiction. But I’ll have that nonfiction reading list up soon! Until then, happy summer reading!