Summer is in full swing! Beach days, summer camps and vacays! Things have slowed down over here. Schools out and kids are relaxing and looking for fun stuff to do. The same goes for their mamas. While we will be enjoying carefree beach days, we’ll be taking some fun Summer reads along with us. We’ve put together a list of some books that should be in your tote bag this Summer!
This book was already on the must read list. Then while listening to a podcast by Demetria Lucas, she confirmed that it’s definitely a page turner. How long did it take to read? About a day! Two writers are reunited 15 years after a weeklong wild and intense connection as teens.
While it’s not all roses at the beginning, they eventually realize how much they didn’t know that had them carrying unneeded baggage for so long. It’s a sexy romance, for sure. It’s also a look into the world of the Black literati, invisible illness and family trauma. This was such a good read! Perfect for Summer.
This book kept popping up in my timeline. It is on a few book club lists this Summer. So much so, that there was a 6 month hold at the library. That being said, figured, might as well give it a read. It surrounds a family that lives in Malibu. They’re not the dreamy, house on the beach, wealthy family that you associate with Malibu – in the beginning. Their road to wealth is not one you’d volunteer for. There’s lots of struggle, tragedy and family drama. The kids in this family end up raising themselves and saving themselves. You want to see them win. Their dad – not so much. You’ll want to see him fail – HARD!
I don’t know how many interviews I’d heard from James McBride on the press tour for Deacon King Kong. I was still on the fence about whether I wanted to jump into this book. I’m glad I jumped off the fence! This was one I did not want to put down. The main character is a deacon at a small church. His wife dies after leaving their home one night saying she was chasing the light of God. He struggles with her being gone and the unanswered questions he has for her. He has visions of her in his daily life and walks around bickering with her as if she’s still alive.
On a random day he walks up to a local drug dealer in the neighborhood. He’s a kid the deacon has watched grow up and knows well. He suddenly pulls a gun and shoots the teen. While he doesn’t die, he is injured and struggles to come to terms with why the deacon, who was like a father figure to him shot him. For his part, the deacon, doesn’t recall even shooting the kid. There’s a plot to take revenge on the deacon and things get even more interesting from there.
I chose this book for the title and the cover photo. It’s not one I’d heard about. I saw a Black woman on the cover and I’m always supporting Black stories. To say I was completely drawn into this book is an understatement. I wanted to fight for the main character. More than that, I wanted her to fight for herself. She struggled to find and USE her voice. Her parents are Jamaican. They moved to Canada which is where she and her sister were born. Their parents divorce and they don’t see their dad as much since he’s moved back to Jamaica.
One Summer they are sent to Jamaica to spend the Summer with their father and his side of the family. The oldest daughter (18) immediately feels the disdain of the family and has no idea why. Her father leaves the girls there with the family in the country and he goes back to the city for weeks. While he’s gone they treat the older girl horribly! They lie to her father about her and make her Summer hell. He believes every word and it goes crazy from there.
What are you reading this Summer?