It’s time for my first half of June book review post! I am sharing what I read in June so far, although I am skipping any 5 star reads to share later in the month. I have also already shared three books in separate posts so I will link to those here. The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Title: Summer Stage
Author: Meg Mitchell Moore
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow, 5/23/23
Source: Biblio Lifestyle
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book takes place on Block Island – I visited there a few years ago so it’s fun to revisit it here! It is about Timothy, an actor who takes on a role directing a summer production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with his ex wife in the lead role. His sister Amy comes on as the production manager and Amy’s daughter Sam is involved as well. Sam has returned from a TikTok house where things didn’t go as she’d hoped.
“Amy Trevino, a former aspiring playwright, has stayed close to her Rhode Island hometown while her famous brother, Timothy Fleming, pursued and achieved his Hollywood dreams. Now a high school English teacher and occasional drama director, Amy takes on the production manager role for her brother’s play in an effort to mend rifting family relationships. Sam, Amy’s daughter, was a Disney child star who continued her pursuit for fame in a Manhattan TikTok house. Now she’s returned home unexpectedly. Her sudden arrival is shrouded in secrets, and Sam refuses to open up to her mother, deciding instead to join her uncle on Block Island for the summer. Timothy, a successful and well-loved actor, is directing a summer production at a storied Block Island theater—and his famous ex-wife has the lead role. As they work together to ensure the production is a success, Amy, Sam, and Timothy are forced to grapple with their desires for recognition and fortune, stand up for what they believe art and fame actually mean, and discover what they really want out of life.”
I started out enjoying this one but getting to the end took a bit more time. I enjoyed the discussion of the use of one’s platform, but overall the plot seemed to be a bit lacking to make me love this one, as I loved her previous book, Vacationland.
Title: The Galveston Diet
Author: Mary Claire Haver
Genre: Non Fiction / Self Help
Publisher: Rodale Books, 1/10/23
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3.5 Stars, Rounded up to 4
I’ve been doing intermittent fasting since the beginning of this year but while it initially showed me some results, it tapered off after a small while. I thought this book could be helpful as it includes a diet plan for those who are pre-menopausal and beyond, focusing on intermittent fasting, eating anti inflammatory foods, and readjusting where you get your fuel.
“Why is the scale moving in the wrong direction even though I haven’t changed my diet or exercise habits? Time and again, this is the question Dr. Mary Claire Haver’s patients asked. At first, a practicing OB/GYN, she’d dutifully advise what she’d been taught in medical school: eat less and work out more. But that standard advice didn’t solve the problems caused by perimenopause and menopause because back then she—and so many other doctors—hadn’t taken into account the physiological factors affecting women. They tend to store fat, they can have a hard time accessing that stored fat as active fuel, and their hormonal fluctuations in midlife exacerbate the situation. Then, Dr. Haver found herself in this exact predicament with the added issues of low energy, hot flashes, and brain fog. So she set out to develop a nutrition program that would meet her own and her patients’ needs once and for all. Now, more than 100,000 women have found success in Dr. Haver’s unique plan for losing dangerous belly fat and reducing menopausal symptoms by following her three interconnected strategies:
• Fuel Refocus: Starting in their thirties, women need a specific ratio of healthy fats, lean protein, and quality carbohydrates to optimize their overall health and efficiently burn fat as fuel.
• Intermittent Fasting: 16 hours of fasting with a flexible 8-hour eating window coaxes the body to draw energy from stored fat and decreases inflammation.
• Anti-inflammatory Nutrition: Limit added sugars, processed carbs, chemical additives and preservatives and layer in anti-inflammatory foods like leafy greens, olive oil, berries, nuts, and tomatoes.
With these three principles working together, women can lose the weight they tend to gain in middle age as well as enjoy newfound energy, better sleep, less brain fog, and fewer hot flashes. Featuring forty delicious recipes, six weeks of easy-to-follow meal plans, shopping lists, and success stories of women who have changed their lives on this lifestyle plan, The Galveston Diet—named for Dr. Haver’s hometown—will revolutionize the conversation around health and empowerment during menopause and perimenopause, with health benefits that last a lifetime.”
The book spent a lot of time explaining why the plan works, focusing on the science behind it. It includes meal plans, shopping lists, and recipes including for vegetarian options, which seem useful. All in all, it isn’t so groundbreaking, but does provide a place to start.
Title: Two Friends, One Dog, and A Very Unusual Week
Author: Sarah L. Thomson, Vin Vogel (illustrator)
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publisher: Peachtree, 4/18/23
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
You can find my review for Two Friends, One Dog, and A Very Unusual Week right here.
Title: I’m Still Here (Adapted For Young Readers)
Author: Austin Channing Brown
Genre: YA Memoir
Publisher: Convergent Books, 4/4/23
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I previously listened to the adult version of I’m Still Here in 2020 and found it interesting to learn about Black life in America through the author’s story. This book has updated and new stories written for Young Adult readers.
“Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with race in America came at age seven, when she discovered that her parents had named her Austin to trick future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Channing Brown writes, ‘I had to learn what it means to love Blackness,’ a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion. In this adaptation of her bestselling and critically acclaimed memoir, she explores how America’s racial dynamics show up in the classrooms, friend groups, and conversations kids inhabit every day. ‘I love being a Black girl,’ she writes. ‘And sometimes being a Black girl in America is hard.’ Covering topics like representation, self-love, allyship, and being Black in public, Brown helps kids nourish their identity and make sense of how they fit into the world. For students navigating a time of racial hostility, and for the adults and educators who care for them, I’m Still Here is an empowering look at the experiences of young Black kids, inviting the reader to confront apathy, find their voice, and discover how Blackness—if we let it—can save us all.”
Although this book is written for Black girls to read and identify with, it is a way that those of us who want to learn more can begin to try to understand what it is like to live as a Black person in America.
Title: The Society of Shame
Author: Jane Roper
Genre: Contemporary / Literary Fiction
Publisher: Anchor Books Books, 4/4/23
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book felt like it sat on the borderline between satire and stupidity. Some of it was funny and some of it was overdone. When Kathleen goes viral due to a photo of a period stain, she becomes the face behind a new movement, #yeswebleed. She is invited to join a society for those who have been canceled or who are dealing with scandals, and soon becomes obsessed with how she appears online, to the detriment of her relationship with her daughter Aggie.
“Kathleen Held’s life is turned upside down when she arrives home to find her house on fire and her husband on the front lawn in his underwear. But the scandal that emerges is not that Bill, who’s running for Senate, is having a painfully cliched affair with one of his young staffers: it’s that the eyewitness photographing the scene accidentally captures a period stain on the back of Kathleen’s pants. Overnight, Kathleen finds herself the unwitting figurehead for a social media-centered women’s right movement, #YesWeBleed. Humiliated, Kathleen desperately seeks a way to hide from the spotlight. But when she stumbles upon the Society of Shame—led by the infamous author Danica Bellevue—Kathleen finds herself part of a group who are all working to change their lives after their own scandals. Using the teachings of the society, Kathleen channels her newfound fame as a means to reap the benefits of her humiliation and reclaim herself. But as she ascends to celebrity status, Kathleen’s growing obsession with maintaining her popularity online threatens her most important relationship IRL: that with her budding activist daughter, Aggie.”
I liked the story overall and the inclusion of various news sources between the chapters were fun to read. Some of the satire did make me roll my eyes though!
Title: Heart of Junk
Author: Luke Geddes
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 1/21/20
Source: Library Audio, Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review / Waiting on my shelf
My Rating: 3 Stars
A long time ago I requested this book from the publisher and somehow never got around to reading it. I was interested in it as a fan of antique malls, and this even takes place in Kansas! It is about a group of collectors who each have their own viewpoint – 7 of them – whose jobs are effected by a child going missing nearby.
“The city of Wichita, Kansas, is wracked with panic over the abduction of toddler pageant princess Lindy Bobo. However, the dealers at The Heart of America Antique Mall are too preoccupied by their own neurotic compulsions to take much notice. Postcards, perfume bottles, Barbies, vinyl records, kitschy neon beer signs—they collect and sell it all. Rather than focus on Lindy, this colorful cast of characters is consumed by another drama: the impending arrival of Mark and Grant from the famed antiques television show Pickin’ Fortunes,who are planning to film an episode at The Heart of America and secretly may be the last best hope of saving the mall from bankruptcy. Yet the mall and the missing beauty queen have more to do with each other than these vendors might think, and before long, the group sets in motion a series of events that lead to surprising revelations about Lindy’s whereabouts. As the mall becomes implicated in her disappearance, will Mark and Grant be scared away from all of the drama or will they arrive in time to save The Heart of America from going under?”
I think I need to step away from reading books that are meant to be satirical, because I obviously don’t understand that type of humor! This one relies on stereotypes to provide comedy, but I didn’t find it all that funny. I did like some of the characters and was interested in the missing child story line as well.
Title: Lolo Weaver Swims Upstream
Author: Polly Farquhar
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publisher: Holiday House, 4/25/23
Source: Rock Star Book Tours
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
You can find my review for Lolo Weaver Swims Upstream right here.
Title: The Jake Show
Author: Joshua S. Levy
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books, 5/23/23
Source: Library Audio
Why I Read It: Sounded like a book I’d like!
My Rating: 4 Stars
The Jake Show was a lot of fun. It was about a boy caught between worlds as his mother is a religious Jewish person and his father is secular. Their divorce has put Jake in the middle of his parents and also in the middle of these two worlds.
“For TV-obsessed Jake Lightman, his parents’ divorce is like his favorite show getting canceled: The worst. Now he’s stuck between playing the role of ‘Yaakov’ for his mother and ‘Jacob’ for his father. On Jake’s first day at a new school, Caleb and Tehilla barrel into his life. Suddenly, he has two friends who seem to like the real Jake. And when they invite him to Camp Gershoni for the summer, Jake knows he has to go—even if his parents won’t let him. With help from Caleb and Tehilla, Jake concocts a web of lies to get to camp. But he struggles to keep up the ruse—and be a good friend at the same time. As the cost of lying grows, he must decide what’s truly important, or risk losing the people he cares about the most.”
Jake tries to play the parts of Yaakov and Jacob and to be what he thinks his parents want him to be – no matter how different those two roles are. His parents go to the extreme and were pretty awful in expecting Jake to fall in line! Luckily, Jake’s step-parents are much more reasonable, and he finds supportive new friends at his new school. These friends attend a Jewish but modern camp and Jake has to lie to both of his parents to go with them. I enjoyed the TV trope explanations – including the saying “Jump the Shark”! and the ways that Caleb and Tehilla taught Jake about how to be a good friend. They each have their own problems – Caleb is gay and came out at a school where very few have done so before, and Tehilla’s family doesn’t have a lot of money – and Jake tends to only focus on his own. I loved the camp setting – the Shira club was hilarious! All in all this was a great middle grade listen and the narrator did an excellent job with pronunciations (translations are also included in the text)!
Title: The Other Family Doctor
Author: Karen Fine
Genre: Non Fiction – Memoir
Publisher: Anchor Books, 3/14/23
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Karen Fine writes about her life as a veterinarian, including being a woman in a male dominated field in the 80s. She shares how having pets can improve lives and how her own pets supported her over time.
“Karen Fine always knew that she wanted to be a vet and wasn’t going to let anything stop her: not her allergy to cats, and not the fact that in the ’80s veterinary medicine was still a mostly male profession. Inspired by her grandfather, a compassionate doctor who paid house calls to all his (human) patients, Dr. Fine persevered, and brought her Oupa’s principles into her own practice, which emphasizes the need to understand her patients’ stories to provide the best possible care. And in The Other Family Doctor, Dr. Fine shares all these touching, joyful, heartbreaking, and life-affirming tales that make up her career as a vet. There’s:
• The feral cat who becomes a creature out of a fable when he puts his trust in a young vet to heal his injured paw
• The pot-bellied pig who grows too big to fit in the car but remains a cherished part of her family
• The surprising colony of perfectly behaved ferrets
• The beloved aging pet who gives her people the gift of accompanying them on one final family vacation
• The dog who saves his owner’s life in a most unexpected way
Woven into Dr. Fine’s story are, of course, also the stories of her own pets: the birds, cats, and dogs who have taught her the most valuable lessons—how caring for the animals in our lives can teach us to better care for ourselves, especially when life seems precarious.”
I enjoyed the stories about the various animals she cared for in her practice.
Title: The Senator’s Wife
Author: Liv Constantine
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Bantam, 5/23/23
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This thriller started out strong, slowed a bit in the middle, and had me turning pages to get to the end. It is about Sloane, who marries Whit after her husband and his wife are killed. Sloane has lupus and needs a hip replacement, so they hire Athena to help care for her as well as help her with her foundation while she is recovering.
“After a tragic chain of events led to the deaths of their spouses two years ago, D.C. philanthropist Sloane Chase and Senator Whit Montgomery are finally starting to move on. The horrifying ordeal drew them together, and now they’re ready to settle down again—with each other. As Sloane returns to the world of White House dinners and political small talk, this time with her new husband, she’s also preparing for an upcoming hip replacement—the latest reminder of the lupus she’s managed since her twenties. With their hectic schedules, they decide that hiring a home health aide will give Sloane the support and independence she needs postsurgery. And they find the perfect fit in Athena Karras. Seemingly a godsend, Athena tends to Sloane and even helps her run her charitable foundation. But Sloane slowly begins to deteriorate—a complication, Athena explains, of Sloane’s lupus. As weeks go by, Sloane becomes sicker, and her uncertainty quickly turns to paranoia as she begins to suspect the worst. Why is Athena asking her so many probing questions about her foundation—as well as about her past? And could Sloane be imagining the sultry looks between Athena and her new husband?”
I was surprised and happy about the ultimate reveal in the book, but some things annoyed me while getting to it! Also, the dialogue in the book is a bit awkward and doesn’t serve the pace of the book well.
Title: Summer Reading
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Berkley, 5/17/23
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This was a cute read about Sam, who head to Martha’s Vineyard for the summer to chaperone her younger half brother Tyler while their parents head to Europe. Sam has dyslexia, so it’s opposites attract when she meets the hot librarian Ben.
“For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha’s Vineyard at her family’s tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she’s tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there’s no place Sam, who has dyslexia, likes less than the library. And because the universe hates her, the library’s interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry ride to the island. Bennett Reynolds is on a quest to find his father, whose identity he’s never known. He’s taken the temporary job on the island to research the summer his mother spent there when she got pregnant with him. Ben tells himself he isn’t interested in a relationship right now. Yet as soon as Sam knocks his book into the ocean, he can’t stop thinking about her. An irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she’s always dreamed about and she jumps all in on helping him find his father, and soon they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after.”
I appreciated that this book was published in a way that makes it more readable for those with reading differences by using a dyslexic friendly font and wider margins. I also liked how the book advocated for audio books as an alternate form of reading. The love story was a little quick and there were some cheesy parts to the story, though it did make me laugh at times as well. I really liked the way Sam and Tyler bonded as siblings and that recipes are included, as Sam is a chef who cooks her Portuguese grandmother’s foods throughout the story!
This post includes 11 of the books I read this month. Of these books, 9 were print and 2 were audio. 5 were adult books, 1 was YA, and 3 were Middle Grade. Genres included contemporary, memoir, non fiction, thriller, and rom com.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?