Family Evolution

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano is a story about families. The plot is conveyed through different characters’ viewpoints over a lifetime. Each chapter progresses the timeframe.

William is an outsider. He’s a tall, quiet man who has been disconnected from his own parents his whole life. This is due to his older sister’s death when he was first born. Basketball has been his therapy. While in college, he meets Julia. She is one of four Padavano sisters, and they are extremely close.

William marries Julia and becomes part of the family. They have a daughter quickly and this is when William begins to unravel. His depression changes everything. He gives up rights to his daughter Alice. Julia moves to NYC with her. She breaks off all contact with her family after discovering that one of her sisters is in a relationship with William.

Years progress and we witness each character’s ups and downs until one sister’s brain tumor reunites everyone.

This book is beautifully written and captivating in its exploration of family dynamics over time. There is love, loss, change and acceptance. A top read!

Struggles at Sea

The Blue by Lucy Clarke gradually unrolls events surrounding a crew mate’s disappearance from a sailing yacht.

The book switches between Then and Now to tell the story. In the now, Lana is living on her own in New Zealand when she hears of a recovery attempt of a capsized yacht named The Blue. This sets her to remembering her time on the yacht about eight months earlier.

Lana and her lifelong friend Kitty we’re traveling to escape their family issues when they crossed paths with Blue crew members. Everyone seemed to be using the yacht as an escape. They were excited to join for as long as they could. At first their experiences were idyllic, but once a crew member disappeared it all changed.

Lana felt that there was foul play behind the crew mate’s disappearance. She begins to be more isolated from the rest of the crew, until events reach a breaking point. Lana turns her back on Kitty and the other relationships she made once the yacht docks.

Now she must face the survivors and finally figure out the truth.

Marriage Therapy

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is my first summer read!

Marissa and Matthew Bishop begin seeing Avery for marriage counseling. Avery is no longer a licensed therapist, but she is known for her effective approach. During their first session, Marissa admits to cheating on Matthew.

They begin working through Avery’s ten step process in order to save their marriage. Along the way we discover more about how Avery lost her license. Avery’s methods involve investigating anyone within the Bishop’s circle.

Everyone seems to have secrets and/or shady behavior. Eventually events unfold to reveal the odd connections among them all, and to determine whether their marriage is salvageable.

Having Faith

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni explores Sam Hill’s life from his childhood through adulthood.

Sam was born with a rare form of albinism presenting him with red eyes. This led to his nickname Sam Hell or hell boy. Sam’s mother is an extremely devout Catholic who refused to see this abnormality as anything other than extraordinary. Her faith and strong will pushed Sam to attend Catholic school. This is where he endures bullying from students and adults, but also meets his lifelong friends Ernie and Mickie.

Sam’s childhood bully is reintroduced to Sam as an adult, and he hasn’t changed his abusive ways. The story explores Sam’s involvement in trying to stop him and the aftermath.

Sam’s relationships with his parents and friends are important. Through these relationships, Sam learns to forgive himself and to find true love.

Becoming

In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee is a beautifully drawn graphic memoir of Deb’s teen years. I finished reading this book several weeks ago so the details are a bit fuzzy.

Deborah is Korean American. She faces immense pressure and at times physical abuse from her mother to do better. Her struggles with school and friendships contribute to her mental instability and suicide attempts.

Deb eventually graduates high school and goes to Korea for an eyelid surgery. While in Korea, she spends time with her maternal grandmother. This along with events before the trip lead her to view her life and upbringing differently.

This was an impactful piece of writing and art made even more so by the author’s willingness to share painful moments from her own life.

Not Into It

Loveless by Alice Oseman is a book about self discovery.

Georgia is finishing high school without a single romantic involvement or even a kiss. She wishes she could be confident and experienced like everyone else seems to be, but she is struggling to make it happen. She hopes that going to university will be a chance to ignite her love life. Luckily, her best friends will be there too.

Georgia’s new roommate is an outgoing party girl who decides she is going to help Georgia. As Georgia tries new experiences, she realizes that she may not be like everyone else when it comes to love. Her best friend relationships are seriously challenged as Georgia discovers more about her sexual preferences.

Spoiler- Eventually Georgia figures out her identity, and in doing so strengthens her old friendships while also forming new ones.

Embracing Nature

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is an account of Christopher McCandless’s untimely death. Shortly after graduating college, he decided to go off the grid. He cut contact with his family and belongings to travel around much of the western half of the U.S. before reaching his final destination in a remote section of Alaska.

The author shares various perspectives surrounding Chris’s death. He includes some of the people he befriended, his life and travels leading up to the trip, and other accounts of young men who died due to an encounter with nature. There are also snippets and quotes from Chris’s journal along with the author’s musings.

These various pieces all create a thought provoking and emotional look at a person whose deep love of freedom and nature cost him his life.

A Fateful Love

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon is a story about love, fate and family.

Natasha is experiencing one of the worst days of her life. It is the day her family is being deported to Jamaica. Daniel is on his way to a college interview when he catches sight of Natasha. He decides to follow her. Daniel is under pressure from his Korean parents to attend Yale for a medical degree.

Natasha’s no-nonsense, scientific approach is challenged by Daniel’s poetic, spiritual side. They spend an incredible day together. During this time they support each other with family issues and their respective life goals while falling in love. The story is told through multiple characters’ points of view which results in an intricate and meaningful plot.

Love Letters

To all the boys I’ve loved before by Jenny Han is a fun, teen read.

Lara Jean is middle sister to Margot and Kitty. Margot breaks up with her boyfriend/neighbor before going off to college in Scotland, leaving Lara Jean to take over big sister responsibilities. Lara Jean’s world is rocked even more when her private love letters to previous love interests all get mailed. One of her love interests was her sister’s ex-boyfriend.

This creates some crazy scenarios as Lara is forced to face a couple of these boys face to face. In one case, an actual relationship even begins to emerge.

I enjoyed this read. It was mostly lighthearted and had cute humor that made me laugh out loud a couple times.

Island Secrets

We were liars by E. Lockhart combines elements of romance, family drama and mystery.

Cadence is the eldest granddaughter of the beautiful and wealthy Sinclair family. She spends every summer on her family’s island with her grandfather, aunts and cousins. Her mom is the youngest of three daughters and they each have a home on the island. Her closest cousins are Merrin and Johnny. In their teen years they are joined by her aunt’s boyfriend’s nephew Gat. The group of four are inseparable. Feelings develop between Cady and Gat; however, Gat will always be an outsider due to his Indian heritage.

A terrible near drowning changes everything at the end of Cady’s fifteenth summer. Afterward, she becomes very sick with headaches, withdraws from all activities, and spends the next summers away from the island. She can’t remember anything that happened.

Her seventeenth summer is finally a chance to go back to the island and figure out the missing pieces of her memory. In doing so she remembers the toxicity of her family’s relationship as it revolves around wealth and status. She also is reminded of the unspeakable acts that drove her to nearly drowning.

The writing portrays Cady’s spotty memory and emotional state, and her story kept my attention.