American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 

So much controversy around this compelling book. I did read it quickly and it was a great story.  Gave a good (I think) picture of migrants escaping terrible circumstances south of the border.

The author got a lot of flack for not being "authentic" but I am not sure that is justified. I don't think she was portraying it as based on her own personal experience. It was a story told about a woman and her son who experienced this horror.

From the LA Times: 

“American Dirt,” according to the author’s note, was shaped by four years of research and a concern for the plight of undocumented immigrants."

More from LA Times: 

 Indeed, it is Luca who surmises that, “though they all come from different places and different circumstances, some urban, some rural, some middle-class, some poor, some well educated, some illiterate, Salvadoran, Honduran, Guatemalan, Mexican, Indian, each of them carries some story of suffering on top of that train and into el norte beyond.”

As I got further into the book, my interest waned a bit. Maybe it dragged on too long. But then I think, Wow, what if that was me? It would drag on and on and on.

Heartbreaking story, but with a good ending. Thank God! 

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

 

A fast, fun read, even though it has some depressing themes. Dannie, a corporate lawyer on a fast track, engaged to her "perfect" boyfriend, has a five year plan.  It gets shattered one day. The author tells the story in an interesting way: Dannie jumps ahead five years one evening so that she knows what is to become of her life in five years. Not what she expected.

This is a fun read, but does deal with cancer and death, so not all that light. I enjoyed it somewhat, but it does not go on my "you have to read this" list.

News of the World by Paulette Jiles

Another good read that didn't hook me.  Interesting story and characters, but I felt like I knew how it would end way before it ended!

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

I have never read Stegner so checked this out.  I started out with keen interest, but I have to say, my interest waned as I went along. Not sure why. The writing is fabulous, the locale was Madison, WI, so that was a plus, too.
Maybe I just was not in the mood. But I will also read Angle of Repose soon, since that was my goal.

🌟 Writers and Lovers by Lily King

Another great book about writers and writing. I just loved this and breezed through it quickly.   The writing is great the story engrossing and the main character, so real! I didn't know this author and want to read more!

The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine

Wow, did this book just suck me in. First for its wit and humor, but then for its thoughtful and sentimental depth.  I loved the characters, I loved the structure.  The ending threw me for a loop.  Very emotional. I highly recommend this book!
Excerpt from the NY Times review (they like the book but not as much as I did!)

"...at the novel’s heart lies a profound philosophical question about the nature of the self, as Daphne and Laurel struggle to figure out who they are on their own and in relation to each other. Who gets to be the subject of their story and who is the object? Where does one person end and the other begin? When the sisters were babies, their mother worried that they were, perhaps too much, “each other.” Their father disagreed: “They were alike, two peas in a pod, but each had its own circumference. Daphne followed Laurel, a tiny acolyte. He wondered if Daphne would ever turn around and walk away. He wondered if Laurel would follow.” Their parents fear the girls will never evolve independently and also worry that they inevitably will."

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

His second Pulitzer! What a powerful book. Different in its power from The Underground Railroad, I thought. Much more spare in its detail. The detail was between the lines. I can't quite explain that, but I felt it strongly.  He said a lot with few words. The atrocities were alluded to but not described in detail. And the reader was glad!
Definitely worth reading and a real twist in the end.
Highly recommended.  Read this right at the time of the George Floyd shooting which made it even more powerful