More great summer reading awaits with August’s new releases!
8/1: Bellies by Nicola Dinan
Two young gay men, Tom and Ming, connect in college and begin a life together in London. When Ming transitions to living her life as a trans woman, secrets come to light and threaten their relationship. (general fiction) A Peak Pick!
8/1: The End of August by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles
A woman living in Japan and training to run a marathon performs a transcendent ritual, calling the ghost of her grandfather, his brother, and their neighbor, uncovering stories of death, love, and betrayal, spanning 100 years of a Korean family living under Japanese occupation. By the author of Tokyo Ueno Station. (general fiction)
8/1: Evergreen by Naomi Hirahara
Returning to Los Angeles after release from the Manzanar World War II Japanese detention camp, nurse Aki investigates a murder in Little Tokyo. (historical mystery)
8/1: Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
Flor requests a living wake, a party to celebrate her long life that she can also enjoy. In the three days prior, Flo, her sisters, and the next generation look back on their lives as they prepare for their futures. (general fiction) A Peak Pick!
8/1: Lush Lives by J. Vanessa Lyon
Artist Glory Hopkins inherits a Harlem brownstone and finds a rare manuscript, as well as a relationship with auction appraiser Parkie de Groot. (general fiction)
8/1: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
In spring 2020, Lara and her three daughters retreat to the family orchard in Northern Michigan, where they enliven cherry-picking days with family stories that lead them to reconsider their own lives, and the daughters’ perceptions of their mother. (general fiction) A Peak Pick!
8/1: Witness by Jamel Brinkley
Ten stories feature characters bearing witness and choosing to take action – or not – and the families, friendships, and communities holding these moments. (general fiction)
8/8: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
In 1972 Pottstown, Pennsylvania, a skeleton is discovered at the bottom of a well. In a neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side-by-side, the discovery reveals long-held secrets as well as the power of community. (historical fiction) A Peak Pick!
8/8: The Last One by Will Dean
Caz has a fantastic first night on the cruise ship RMS Atlantica, but wakes the next morning to find herself alone on the ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. But that’s just the beginning… (thriller)
8/8: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
Soon after Lewis and Wren’s marriage, a rare diagnosis: Lewis will retain his mental capacity, but physically will become a shark. As Wren grapples to conceive of her life going forward, suppressed memories come to the forefront. (general fiction/magical realism)
8/8: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
Scuba diver Jay Gardiner dives looking for the remains of his deceased father, and instead finds himself swallowed by a sperm whale with just one hour of oxygen left. (thriller) A Peak Pick!
8/15: A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll
After Abby marries a widower, she begins to wonder if his first wife really died by natural causes and finds herself ensnared in an obsessive mystery. (horror/graphic novel)
8/15: The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
Growing up in a restrictive cult in western Massachusetts, Mia Jacob discovers Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and sees herself reflected, a connection that transports her to 1837 Salem. (general/historical fiction)
8/15: More Perfect by Temi Oh
In a near-future London, many people embed an implant allowing them to experience social media as augmented reality, even as government oversight presages dystopian overreach. A science fiction novel built on the structure of the Greek myth of Eurydice. (science fiction)
8/15: Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
You may know the fairy tale story of Sleeping Beauty, but do you know the darker story of Toadling, the almost-faerie keeping her in the tower for very good reason? (fantasy)
8/15: Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
A healer and a rancher face off against vampires on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western. (horror/historical fiction)
8/22: I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto
A writer-turned-stalker decides to surprise her former best friend, with whom she lost touch after a horrific event nine years earlier, at a book convention. (thriller)
8/22: Knockout by Sarah MacLean
Lady Imogen Loveless loves experiments and explosives, and is part of the clandestine vigilante group the Hell’s Belles. When her family decides to assigner her someone to keep her in check, they hire detective Thomas Peck. (book 3 of the Hell’s Belles series; historical romance)
8/29: Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto
In a short story collection that examines Hawaiian identity and womanhood, mixed native Hawaiian and Japanese women explore the edges of reality and the world of superstition and myth. (general fiction)
8/29: Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
20-year-old Mia Parkson’s dad and brother go for a walk, but only her brother Eugene comes home, covered in blood but unable to describe what happened to their father. A hunt ensues, even as Mia sifts through family history and closely-held secrets. By the author of Miracle Creek. (general fiction)
8/29: Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue
In 19th century York, England, girls Anne and Eliza fall in love at boarding school, a relationship that has wildly different impacts on their divergent lives. Based on the real diaries of Anne Lister. (historical fiction)
~ posted by Andrea G.
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