May was a slow reading month. I only read eight books last month, and I have no idea why my reading slowed down.
I took a senior trip vacation to the Dominican Republic with my daughter and her friends. I expected to do a lot of reading there, but I spent most of my time hanging out with other parents. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t read quite as much as I usually do. I basically took a week off.
Regardless, I still had a successful reading month. I gave three fiction books perfect grades in May.
The Night Olivia Fell
Abi Knight gets the middle-of-the-night call that no parent wants to receive. Her daughter, Olivia, was in an accident and is in the hospital.
Olivia’s “accident” doesn’t seem right to Abi for many reasons. Her daughter is said to have fallen off a bridge and is brain dead. She also is pregnant, which is a shock to her mother. And, if Olivia was alone and fell, why are their bruises around her wrists like someone grabbed her?
Police rule Olivia’s fall an accident, but Abi doesn’t believe it. She does what any mother would do, she sets out to find out what really happened to her daughter.
The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald is one of my favorite books I’ve read this summer. I stayed up late reading because I wanted to know what happened next. Also, as a mother, it’s hard not to feel for Abi and what her character is experiencing.
The Girls at 17 Swann Street
Anna Roux was a professional dancer until she moved with her husband from Paris to Missouri. The move is good for him, but not for Anna, who spirals into depression and anorexia.
Anna weighs only 88 pounds and is near death with her husband checks her in as a patient at 17 Swann Street. It’s a final effort to save her life.
At 17 Swann Street, Anna meets other women whose suffering is similar and also different from hers. She makes friends and the women try to support each other through their healing.
Yara Zgheib’s book was difficult to read at times. I’m not sure how accurate a depiction of eating disorders it is, but I found it simultaneously interesting and heartbreaking.
Someone Knows
Allie Garvey returns home for the funeral of a childhood friend and confronts a secret she’s kept for 20 years.
As teenagers, Allie and a group of her classmates were drinking in the woods and played a prank that turned deadly. The secret has haunted Allie and shaped all of their lives since.
Now Allie has to decide whether telling the truth will heal her or make her life worse. And what about the others? Will revealing the truth help them or exacerbate their issues?
I love Lisa Scottoline’s non-fiction stories, but I’ve not loved her fiction that I’ve read. Someone Knows changed that. This book is a fabulous summer read.
There they are! My favorite books of May. I hope you find something here to read and love.
Happy reading!
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