June Book Reviews

Whew! I was so happy when summer hit because that meant I could read a lot! I was a bit behind in my book count for the year, but now I am all caught up.

Here is what I read in June:
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
A Time to Kill by John Grisham
The Bill from my Father by Bernard Cooper
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper

Again, all of the books I read vary so much in style, content and attraction.

The Tiger's Wife is the One Read this year for Columbia. I found it enchanting and a fun read. What was frustrating about the book is there are no real markers to identify when or where the story is taking place. The magical realism leads the reader on an interesting trail where a young woman is trying to deal with the death of her grandfather, whom she was very close with. I would recommend this book

A Time to Kill was good and exciting. It is fast-paced and rife with racial tensions. I haven't seen the movie, but maybe I will check it out, who knows? I don't have much to say about this book except that it is entertaining and easy to read.

The Bill from my Father was given to me by my dad after he read it and thought I would like it. This book is a memoir about the author's experience growing up with his impulsive and eccentric father. After reading it, I just felt so lucky to be connected to a great family.

Lolita was really an interesting read. It has become a prolific part of American culture and most people know the premise but have not actually read it. I am glad to say that I have! I found it really difficult to separate the idea of the author and the protagonist. Nabokov does such a good job of getting inside the head of a pedophile that at times it is hard to believe he could write like this and not be one himself.

Tears of a Tiger is so sad! This is the young adult lit book in a series about high school students. I've read several of her other books and they are all good. I read this book in a day during summer school. It is about a basketball student who drinks and drives and kills his best friend in a car crash. His guilt overwhelms him. The book is told through multiple perspectives and mediums, such as homework assignments, conversations, newspaper articles, and journal entries. I like reading books like this because it reminds me of the mindset of my students and how they might handle difficult situations.

I definitely waited too long to write about these books after reading them. I will promise to do a better job in July!

For July: The Road by Cormac McCarthy and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Any other suggestions?