Read with Jenna: Swift Riber by Essie Chambers

It’s the summer of 1987 in Swift River, and Diamond Newberry is learning how to drive. Ever since her Pop disappeared seven years ago, she and her mother hitchhike everywhere. But that’s not the only reason Diamond stands out: She’s teased relentlessly about her weight, and the fact that since Pop’s been gone, she is the only Black person in all of Swift River. This summer, Ma is determined to declare Pop legally dead so they can collect his life insurance money, get their house back from the bank, and finally move on.

But when Diamond receives a letter from a relative she’s never met, key elements of Pop’s life are uncovered. She is introduced to two generations of African American Newberry women, spanning the 20th century and revealing a much larger picture of prejudice and abandonment, of love and devotion. As pieces of their shared past become clearer, Diamond gains a sense of her place in the world and in her family. But how will what she’s learned of the past change her future?

GMA: Malas by Marcela Fuentes

In 1951, a mysterious old woman confronts Pilar Aguierre in the small border town of La Cienega, Texas. The old woman is sure Pilar stole her husband and, in a heated outburst, lays a curse on Pilar and her family.

More than forty years later, Lulu Muñoz is dodging chaos at every turn: her troubled father’s moods, his rules, her secret life as singer in a punk band, but most of all her upcoming quinceañera. When her beloved grandmother passes away, Lulu finds herself drawn to the glamorous stranger who crashed the funeral and who lives on the alone and shunned on the edge of town.

Their unexpected kinship picks at the secrets of Lulu’s family’s past. As the quinceañera looms—and we move between these two strong, irascible female voices—one woman must make peace with the past, and one girl pushes to embrace her future.

Rich with cinematic details—from dusty rodeos to the excitement of a Selena concert and the comfort of conjunto ballads played at family gatherings—this memorable debut is a love letter to the Tejano culture and community that sustain both of these women as they discover what family means.

Reese’s book club: The undwedding by Ally Condie

Ellery Wainwright is alone at the edge of the world.

She and her husband, Luke, were supposed to spend their twentieth wedding anniversary together at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California. Where better to celebrate a marriage, a family, and a life together than at one of the most stunning places on earth?

But now she’s traveling solo.

To add insult to injury, there’s a wedding at Broken Point scheduled during her stay. Ellery remembers how it felt to be on the cusp of everything new and wonderful, with a loved and certain future glimmering just ahead. Now, she isn’t certain of anything except for her love for her kids and her growing realization that this place, though beautiful, is unsettling.

When Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool in the rain, she realizes that she is not the only one whose future is no longer guaranteed. Before the police can reach Broken Point, a mudslide takes out the road to the resort, leaving the guests trapped. When another guest dies, it’s clear something horrible is brewing.

Everyone at Broken Point has a secret. And everyone has a shadow. Including Ellery.

Dua Lipa’s Service 95 book club: Say nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

In December 1972, Jean McConville, a thirty-eight-year-old mother of ten, was dragged from her Belfast home by masked intruders, her children clinging to her legs. They never saw her again. Her abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville’s children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress–with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes.

Patrick Radden Keefe’s mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders.

The eyes are the best part by Monika Kim

Horror in the summer can be amazing – I was given an ARC of this earlier this year and a review can be found here.

The making of a female asian serial killer. It’s pretty good, I’d recommend it to fans of “My sister, the serial killer”. I gave it four stars!

Release date:  June 25

The housemaid is watching by Freida McFadden

I binged both the housemaid books earlier this year and I’m ready for the third installment! We catch up with Millie the maid 11 years from when we last saw her. She’s no longer is scrubbing other people’s houses; in fact, she’s moving into a new home of her own. But…something’s off about the neighbors, plus there’s a shadowy figure watching her family at night. Welp, time to call the neighborhood watch! (Please tell me she’s still with the Italian hottie!)

Release date:  June 11

Bear by Julia Philips

Sisters Sam and Elena are barely scraping by working terrible jobs on a Pacific Northwest island, in the middle of nowhere at all. But everything changes when an ursine stranger swims up and into their lives. Author Julia Phillips (Disappearing Earth) writes of love and sisterhood, and reminds us that nature works in mysterious ways.

We all choose bear right? Release date:  June 25

Fire Exit by Morgan Talty

Morgan Talty, author of the acclaimed short story collection Night of the Living Rez, returns with a debut novel about families and legacies. Charles Lamosway lives across the river from Maine’s Penobscot Reservation, separated from his past by painful secrets. Who gets to know the truth? Who gets to tell it?

Release date: June 4

Margo’s got money troubles by Rufi Thorpe

A decidedly 21st-century story, this new comic novel from author Rufi Thorpe (The Knockout Queen) follows the adventures of young single mom Margo. Alert readers will have deduced already that Margo has financial issues, but the real fun comes with the solution to that particular problem, which involves pro wrestling, estranged fathers, and the online weirdness that is OnlyFans.

Release date: 

The next Mrs Parrish by Liv Constantine

I absolutely loved the Last Mrs. Parrish (it’s also quite similar to the housemaid) but I’m not sure we need a sequel? Will I be reading it anyway? Most likely. I’m ready for revenge, shocking turns, and twists of betrayal in a cat and mouse game.

Release date: June 18

Cue the sun! by Emily Nussbaum

Besides featuring the funniest title of the summer, Cue the Sun! is the first thorough exploration of the phenomenon that is reality television. Veteran TV critic Emily Nussbaum explores the genre’s way-back origins (Candid Camera!) up through modern ratings monsters like The Bachelor and Survivor. This is serious scholarship, too: Nussbaum won a Pulitzer Prize in 2016 for her cultural criticism. And if there’s anything I like more than reading it’s trash tv! Sign me up!

Release date: June 25

I shouldn’t be telling you this (but I’m going to anyway) by Chelsea Devantes

Chelsea Devantez has led a Very Interesting Life. And she’s feeling chatty. Billed as a “memoir-in-essays,” Devantez’s book details the comedian’s amazing journey from dead-broke single-parent family to her Emmy nomination as head writer for The Problem with Jon Stewart. On the docket: drive-by shootings, Mormon church camp, seduction tips…you know, stuff like that.

Release date: June 4

I’m mostly here to enjoy myself, one woman’s pursuit of pleasure in Paris by Glynnis Macnicol

The subtitle says it all, really: One Woman’s Pursuit of Pleasure in Paris. This memoir from Glynnis MacNicol documents the author’s 16-month carnal adventure in the City of Lights, circa 2021. Banging away at the myth that middle-aged women can’t have fun, MacNicol’s odyssey is filled with friends, food, sex, and night swimming—all in the wake of a global pandemic.

Release date: June 11