Category: Three to Read

Bookstr’s Three to Read This Week 7/11/19

The 4th of July celebrations have concluded, you finally have time for yourself, and you can now resume your hobbies and introvert needs (celebrating independence was the whole point of the holiday after all, wasn’t it?). You can finally return to that book that’s been collecting dust over the vacation. Or, you can start something new, and we have plenty of suggestions.

Check out Bookstr’s Three to Read, the three books we’ve picked for you to read this week!

OUR HOT PICK

GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW

 

 

Synopsis:

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

“Simultaneously heartbreaking and heart-mending, Gods of Jade and Shadow is a wondrous and magical tale about choosing our own path.”—Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.

 

Why?

Silvia Moreno-Garcia, critically-acclaimed author of Signal to Noise, returns with her latest novel that successfully interweaves fantastical elements with Mexican folklore and mythology, while also taking a nostalgia trip to the Jazz Age of the 1920s. Moreno-Garcia’s epic can be considered a modern retelling of Cinderella, but with an even more expansive and imaginative setting. The newest iteration of the classic fairy tale is immersive with its cultural embellishments and is one to look forward to when it reaches shelves on July 23rd.

 

 

OUR BEACH READ

TEEN TITANS: RAVEN

 

 

Synopsis:

When a tragic accident takes the life of 17-year-old Raven Roth’s foster mom–and Raven’s memory–she moves to New Orleans to recover and finish her senior year of high school.

Starting over isn’t easy. Raven remembers everyday stuff like how to solve math equations and make pasta, but she can’t remember her favorite song or who she was before the accident. And when impossible things start happening, Raven begins to think it might even be better not to know who she was before.

But as she grows closer to her new friends, her foster sister, Max, and Tommy Torres, a guy who accepts her for who she is now, Raven has to decide if she’s ready to face what’s buried in the past… and the darkness building inside her.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia and first-time graphic novel artist Gabriel Picolo comes this riveting tale of finding the strength to face who you are and learning to trust others–and yourself.

 

Why?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia and artist Gabriel Picolo deliver an emotional and exciting new tale with fan favorite Teen Titan, Raven. The Teen Titans have experienced a pop culture resurgence in recent years, after making an impression on young audiences everywhere back in 2003 with the beloved animated series, and now with the hit Titans TV show on DC Comics’ streaming service. Here, Raven takes center stage. Garcia’s and Picolo’s graphic novel expands upon Raven’s comic book origins and coming-of-age trials, in which she finds trust and love while also combating the adversities of her dark past. Take this read with you for your next ride to the beach for a larger than life adventure.

 

 

OUR DARK HORSE

ALPHA GIRLS

 

 

Synopsis:

An unforgettable story of four women who, through grit and ingenuity, became stars in the cutthroat, high-stakes, male dominated world of venture capital in Silicon Valley, and helped build some of the foremost companies of our time.

In Alpha Girls, award-winning journalist Julian Guthrie takes readers behind the closed doors of venture capital, an industry that transforms economies and shapes how we live. We follow the lives and careers of four women who were largely written out of history – until now.

Magdalena Yesil, who arrived in America from Turkey with $43 to her name, would go on to receive her electrical engineering degree from Stanford, found some of the first companies to commercialize internet access, and help Marc Benioff build Salesforce. Mary Jane Elmore went from the corn fields of Indiana to Stanford and on to the storied venture capital firm IVP – where she was one of the first women in the U.S. to make partner – only to be pulled back from the glass ceiling by expectations at home. Theresia Gouw, an overachieving first-generation Asian American from a working-class town, dominated the foosball tables at Brown (she would later reluctantly let Sergey Brin win to help Accel Partners court Google), before she helped land and build companies including Facebook, Trulia, Imperva, and ForeScout. Sonja Hoel, a Southerner who became the first woman investing partner at white-glove Menlo Ventures, invested in McAfee, Hotmail, Acme Packet, and F5 Networks. As her star was still rising at Menlo, a personal crisis would turn her into an activist overnight, inspiring her to found an all-women’s investment group and a national nonprofit for girls.

These women, juggling work and family, shaped the tech landscape we know today while overcoming unequal pay, actual punches, betrayals, and the sexist attitudes prevalent in Silicon Valley and in male-dominated industries everywhere. Despite the setbacks, they would rise again to rewrite the rules for an industry they love. In Alpha Girls, Guthrie reveals their untold stories.

 

Why?

Silicon Valley is currently home to the most influential, innovative, and contemporary minds of our time. In today’s age of the inventor and entrepreneur, it is important to know that anyone can succeed, regardless of circumstance or background. Acclaimed journalist Julian Guthrie highlights the stories of four brilliant tech juggernauts whose names are not Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Elon Musk, and who have shaped the technology landscape in spite of insurmountable odds with their companies. This collection of previously untold stories about these pioneering women is described as Hidden Figures meets The Social Network, and is even being made into an upcoming TV series!

 

 

 

All In-text Images Via Amazon.
Featured Image Via PhotoCollage

Bookstr’s Three to Read This Week 6/27/19

The weather’s not the only thing getting hotter! This week, we’ve got some highly-acclaimed summer crime novels that simmer with drama and tension—unreliable narrators, creative play with chronology, paranoia, and rich character development that’s guaranteed to knock you off your feet (that is, if the beach waves don’t get you first). Just because YOU’RE relaxing doesn’t mean your beach read has to be, and these heart-pounding thrillers will leave you at a loss for words… unless the words, of course, are “more please!”

And let’s not forget, it’s still LGBT+ Pride Month: this week, we’re bringing you one of the first #ownvoices non-binary coming out stories to hit the shelves. While Bookstr aspires to celebrate diverse voices every month, we’re especially excited to use this time to draw particular attention to identities that may remain misunderstood even within the LGBT+ community. So whether you’re reading on an airplane, beach, or even your commute home, we’ve got three stories that are guaranteed to captivate.

 

 

 

 

 

Check out Bookstr’s Three to Read, the three books we’ve picked for you to read this week!

 

 

OUR HOT PICK
The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda

 

'The Last Houseguest' by Megan Miranda

 

 

Synopsis:

Littleport, Maine is like two separate towns: a vacation paradise for wealthy holidaymakers and a simple harbour community for the residents who serve them. Friendships between locals and visitors are unheard of – but that’s just what happened with Avery Greer and Sadie Loman.

Each summer for a decade the girls are inseparable – until Sadie is found dead. When the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name before the facts get twisted against her.

Why?

Megan Miranda’s All the Missing Girls dazzled critics: a New York Times Book Review “Editor’s Choice,” the smash-hit bestseller gleaned favorable reviews from The Wall Street Journal, Refinery29, Cosmopolitan, Publisher’s Weekly, and Booklist. Now, Miranda is back at it with her next searing summer thriller: a Publisher’s Weekly starred review admires Miranda’s “clever, stylish mystery that will seize readers like a riptide.” Like her debut, this novel plays with time in a creative and compelling way, switching back and forth between 2017 and 2018 to keep up the palpable narrative tension. Unlike many thrillers, this one packs some serious commentary—the novel deftly explores the class tensions that complicate both the criminal investigation and the nature of Sadie & Avery’s friendship. This thriller is sure to thrill you with its character development and richly-realized web of secrets!

 

OUR BEACH READ
Man of the Year by Caroline Louise Walker

 

'Man of the Year' Caroline Louise Walker

 

 

Synopsis:

Beware the Man of the Year. You may praise him, resent him, even want to be him: but beneath the elegant trappings that define him, danger looms. Caroline Louise Walker’s stunning debut novel, for fans of Herman Koch’s The Dinner and Shari Lapena’s The Couple Next Door, delves into the increasingly paranoid mind of a man whose life as the most upstanding of citizens hides a relentlessly dark heart.

Dr. Robert Hart, Sag Harbor’s just-named Man of the Year, is the envy of his friends and neighbors. His medical practice is thriving. He has a beautiful old house and a beautiful new wife and a beautiful boat docked in the village marina. Even his wayward son, Jonah, is back on track, doing well at school, finally worthy of his father’s attentions. So when Jonah’s troubled college roommate, Nick, needs a place to stay for the summer, Hart and his wife generously offer him their guest house. A win-win: Jonah will have someone to hang with, and his father can bask in the warm glow of his own generosity.

But when he begins to notice his new houseguest getting a little too close to his wife, the good doctor’s veneer begins to crack. All the little lies Robert tells—harmless falsehoods meant to protect everything he holds dear—begin to mount. Before long, he’s embroiled in a desperate downward spiral, destroying the lives that stand in his way. It’s only the women in his life—his devoted office manager, his friends, his wife—who can clearly see the truth.

Biting and timely, Man of the Year races along at an electric pace, with a wicked twist that you won’t see coming.

Why?

This acclaimed summer thriller boldly flaunts its credentials: Booklist, Refinery29, and Publisher’s Weekly features and favorable reviews. Coming from a debut author, the novel Kirkus Reviews calls “a darkly beguiling summer mystery that exposes the shaky foundations of a complicated family” is all the more impressive. While some thrillers focus solely on the plot, Walker’s debut is deeply-character driven, offering the reader a tantalizingly voyeuristic look into the mental unraveling of a man who seems, superficially, to have (and be) it all. Until he doesn’t seem that way at all. Rife with plot twists, the novel follows an awful protagonist whose awfulness, frighteningly, is secret to most of the characters in the story. This leaves readers with an intense and delicious sense of dramatic irony, both wondering (and dreading!) when these malignant qualities will show themselves unambiguously. With a relentless plot and masterful analysis of character, this book is the perfect vacation read. But be careful—your beach umbrella won’t be the only thing blown away.

 

OUR DARK HORSE
i wISH yOU alL THE beST BY mASON dEAVER

 

'I Wish You All the Best' by Mason Deaver

 

Synopsis:

When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they’re thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents’ rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.

But Ben’s attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan’s friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.

At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.

Why?

It’s LGBT+ Pride Month and, while rainbows may be visible tacked up in a few shop windows, even many well-meaning allies remain unaware of the nuance in LGBT+ identities. While all such identities are underrepresented in the media, non-binary identities are especially absent from many LGBT+ narratives. As readers, we’re fortunate enough to have had a selection of coming-out stories; however, most of these titles pertain to sexual orientation rather than gender identity. Mason Deaver’s thoughtful #ownvoices debut offers us one of the first non-binary coming out stories available today, in the process challenging many stereotypes about non-binary and LGBT+ people in general. NB protagonist Ben’s bisexuality reaffirms that bisexuality is not trans-exclusionary, a nagging (and false!) misconception of the bi identity. And although Ben’s parents are not supportive, the novel is largely optimistic, focusing on Ben’s coming-of-age rather than their suffering. As Deaver said on BookCon’s Read With Pride panel, “queer joy is revolution.” (Click the link for my article profiling Deaver and other hot new LGBT+ authors!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

All In-Text Images Via Amazon.
Featured Image Via PhotoCollage.

Bookstr’s Three to Read This Week 6/19/19

When it comes to taking a vacation from your life, there’s no better bang for your buck than a good book. It’s irrefutable: books are magic. You might not be able to fit a queen-sized bed into your humbly-sized room, but you CAN fit hundreds of entire worlds. You can’t find a plane ticket to Kyoto, Istanbul, or Vienna for under a few hundred dollars, but you can go as far as outer space for less than $20. What is there not to love? That is, besides the fact that you don’t actually OWN our Three to Read selections yet. Fortunately, unlike a small bedroom and a sad bank account, that can be easily remedied.

This week, check out our collection of edge-of-your-seat thrillers and imaginative fantasy! Want to read an author who’s been showered in praise by Stephen King, Lee Child, AND James Patterson? We got you. Want to read a thriller set in an airport while waiting in an airport? We got you. Want a chance to rediscover an incredible work of Eastern European & Jewish inspiration? We got you.

Check out Bookstr’s Three to Read, the three books we’ve picked for you to read this week!

 

 

OUR HOT PICK

Blood Relations

'Blood Relations' by Jonathan Moore

 

Synopsis:

A new thriller from a writer who’s been compared to Michael Crichton, Alfred Hitchcock, Raymond Chandler, Blake Crouch, and David Cronenberg takes us to the most menacing core of California’s upper crust, a class of billionaires with more money than they could spend in an eternity.

Who is Claire Gravesend? 

So wonders PI Lee Crowe when he finds her dead, in a fine cocktail dress, on top of a Rolls Royce, in the most dangerous neighborhood in San Francisco. Claire’s mother, Olivia, is one of the richest people in California. She doesn’t believe the coroner: her daughter did not kill herself. Olivia hires Crowe, who—having just foiled a federal case against a cartel kingpin—is eager for distraction. But the questions about the Gravesend family pile up fast.

First, the autopsy reveals round scars running down Claire’s spine, old marks Olivia won’t explain. Then, Crowe visits Claire’s Boston townhouse and has to fend off an armed intruder. Is it the Feds out for revenge? Or is this connected to the Gravesends? He leaves Boston afraid, but finds his way to Claire’s secret San Francisco pied-à-terre. It’s there that his questions come to a head. Sleeping in an upstairs bedroom, he finds Claire—her face, her hair, her scars—and as far as he can tell, she’s alive. And Crowe’s back at the start:

Who is Claire Gravesend?

 

Why?

Jonathan Moore has received positive reviews from international sensations Lee Child, James Patterson, & Stephen King, some of the biggest names in thriller fiction today. Kirkus Reviews lauded the novel for its “speculative twist” while also professing that it “[has] a lot to say about humanity’s hubris and preoccupation with eternal youth.” Some thrillers don’t make readers think about anything more than the possibility of a killer in their closet; Blood Relations makes readers think AND keeps them on the edge of their seat. Publishers Weekly assures thriller fans that this release is “relentless pacing” and a “highly-satisfying conclusion,” which is good news: you won’t want this book to end, but you’ll also celebrate when it does. Bram Stoker Award-winning author Jonathan Moore is sure to delight. This title’s so hot, you’ll need to cool off after reading… possibly with a dip in the ocean? That brings us to our…

OUR BEACH READ

LAYOVER

'Layover' by David Bell

 

 

Synopsis:

In this high concept psychological suspense novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter, a chance meeting with a woman in an airport sends a man on a 
pulse-pounding quest for the truth… 

Joshua Fields takes the same flights every week for work. His life is a series of departures and arrivals, hotels and airports. During yet another layover, Joshua meets Morgan, a beautiful stranger with whom he feels an immediate connection. When it’s time for their flights, Morgan gets up to leave, leans over and passionately kisses Joshua, lamenting that they’ll never see each other again.

As Morgan slips away, Joshua is left feeling confused by what just happened between them. That’s when he looks up and is shocked to see Morgan’s face flashing on a nearby TV screen. He’s even more shocked when he learns the reason why–Morgan is a missing person.

What follows is a whirlwind, fast-paced journey filled with lies, deceit, and secrets to discover the truth about why Morgan is on the run. But when he finally thinks every mystery is solved, another rears its head, and Joshua’s worst enemy may be his own assumptions about those around him…

 

Why?

Many of us are surely taking trips this summer… and what better book could there be to read in an airport than a thriller set in an airport!? You’d think that nothing could be more thrilling than the perfect vacation, but a chance encounter with a missing person might just have to top it. Even if you aren’t going on a trip, you can always take a vacation from your average life with a heart-pounding, original, and addictive new release. Booklist swears that “readers will find themselves immersed in this riveting thriller” and agrees that it’s “the perfect book to read on a long flight.” David Bell is a bestselling, award-winning author whose work has been translated to meet the demands of readers worldwide, and this story certainly reflects the mastery of his craft. Meet-cute gone wrong? More like meet your next beach read gone very, very right! Bestselling author Kaira Rouda reminds us: “make sure your belt is fastened and enjoy!”

 

OUR DARK HORSE

The Sisters of The Winter Wood

 

 

Synopsis:

Raised in a small village surrounded by vast forests, Liba and Laya have lived a peaceful sheltered life – even if they’ve heard of troubling times for Jews elsewhere. When their parents travel to visit their dying grandfather, the sisters are left behind in their home in the woods.

But before they leave, Liba discovers the secret that their Tati can transform into a bear, and their Mami into a swan. Perhaps, Liba realizes, the old fairy tales are true. She must guard this secret carefully, even from her beloved sister.

Soon a troupe of mysterious men appear in town and Laya falls under their spell-despite their mother’s warning to be wary of strangers. And these are not the only dangers lurking in the woods…

The sisters will need each other if they are to become the women they need to be – and save their people from the dark forces that draw closer.

 

Why?

Upon its original publication, this book garnered staggering acclaim and praise. Now that it’s time for the paperback release, take your chance to catch this incredible read you may have missed. Madeleine Miller, international #1 NYT bestselling author of Circe, called this stunning debut “a gripping, powerful story.” Kirkus Reviews touted author Rena Rossner’s “ambitious and surprising” voice, unsurprising praise, given that this story is richly-woven tapestry of Russian & Ukrainian mythology and Jewish history & culture. Unbelievably imaginative and unique, the novel’s Publishers Weekly starred review raves that the story is “creepy and moving by turn, full of heart, history, and enchantment.” The story itself may be a fairy tale, but the relationship between the sisters is very real: the sisters’ bond and the expertly-realized blend of myth & history makes this one your perfect summer read.

 

 

 

All In-text Images Via Amazon.
Featured Image Via PhotoCollage