Summer is the best time to catch up on all the books that have been piling up on a reading list all year. It’s the time of relaxation and relatively more free time than the academic year. If you’re finding yourself bored in the last home stretch of summer, here are some books that will surely captivate your attention.
“Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins
From the best-selling series first published back in 2008, “The Hunger Games,” Collins’ dystopian world is expanded with its newest release. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a prequel to the original trilogy and follows a young President Snow as he becomes a mentor to the District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray, in the 10th Hunger Games. Although Gray seems like an unlikely winner, as readers of the Hunger Games we all know, Snow will find a way to come out on top.
The biggest criticism of this book which was released back in 2020 was the idea of a redemption arc for the villain of the original series. However, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a far cry from a redemption story. It does show the complexities of Snow while also staying true to the character he’s known to be.
Another reason why you should definitely pick up this book is because it gives context to Panem and how the Hunger Games really became the spectacle Katniss and Peeta lived through decades later. Not to mention, this book will soon see the big screen November 17 of this year.
“In Watermelon Sugar” by Richard Brautigan
This postmodern classic published in 1968 is a short, sweet and definitely strange novel. Following an unnamed character who lives in an alternative (some would say post apocalyptic world) community style system all made of watermelon sugar, the narrator guides readers through the main characters and everyday life in the society’s meeting center, “iDEATH.”
The central tension revolves around Margaret, the narrator’s ex, who conspired with the villain of the story, iBOIL and his followers who leave the community for the Forgotten Works. The Forgotten Works is where all knowledge and remnants of past society are left and iBOIL’s mission is to show the community “the truth” about iDEATH.
One of the most compelling things about “In Watermelon Sugar” is the narration style and obscure plot. The unnamed narrator uses short, robotic sentences that assume the reader already knows about the world and its rules. The plot is also told in past tense with the end being the explanation for what happens in the first few chapters.
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jekins Reid
From old Hollywood to today, “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” spans through the career of movie star, Evelyn Hugo, and her seven husbands. Journalist Monique Grant, received an invitation from Hugo for an exclusive interview/tell-all where she discusses her choices in love and acting back in the 1950s.
The truth however, behind Hugo’s love life and intentions with Grant is revealed by the end of the story in shocking twists. This novel will keep you at the edge of your seat as there’s always a turn of events that is completely unexpected.
This daring sapphic story deals with themes of abuse of power, womanhood, queerness in the 1900s, bisexuality and so much more. There is never a dull moment.
“All This Could Be Different” by Sarah Thankam Mathews
The debut 2022 novel by Mathews, “All This Could Be Different,” follows Sneha as she graduates from college during the Great Recession and Obama presidency. She takes a job in Milwaukee, makes new friends and begins dating women.
Sneha is a South Asian immigrant who is left alone in the United States by her family to build her own life which comes with challenges and hardships all throughout the journey. Mathews drew from her experience as an Indian-American who faced her own financial and career struggles during the pandemic.
Sneha is a fresh narrator with a new voice that is raw, blunt and unforgivingly real. From the first few pages, readers can tell that this novel will bring to light a new voice that is often overlooked in the media; highlighting the brown queer experience. This book will make you laugh and cry simultaneously.