Book Review: "Ghost Town" by Tom Perrotta

I started thinking about this and can’t believe it. I’ve been reading Tom Perrotta’s books since 1994! (And no, I’m not interested in knowing how young you were in 1994, or hearing you weren’t born yet, lol.) Thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the complimentary advance copy of his latest!

When Jimmy, a middle-aged writer and television producer, gets a letter from the mayor of his New Jersey hometown, he’s thrown for a loop. Apparently they’re naming the new municipal complex in memory of his father, and they’d love to have him attend. Jimmy hasn’t been back home since 1974 when he was 13, and he’s not sure he wants to return.

“Maybe all that stuff catches up to you in the end, the demons you think you’ve outrun, the bad memories you locked away in a metal box, and then you hid the box in a dark corner of the basement under a heap of dirty blankets, and then you moved far away and did your best to pretend you were someone else. But that box is always right there, right where you left it.”

Thinking about the invitation takes him back to 1974, the year that everything changed. His mother died of lung cancer, his hippie cousin and his wife moved in next door, and he was just trying to make sense of growing up and really see the world around him.

For the most part, the plot is composed of Jimmy’s reminiscences about losing his mother, befriending a local dirtbag, having a crush on a girl, feeling betrayed by his best friend, and watching everything fall apart. There’s also his desire to hold onto his mother’s memory, and perhaps see and feel her presence.

As always, Perrotta’s observations of New Jersey suburban life are dead-on. But for me, unfortunately, the rest of the book never felt complete. There’s some brief discussion of racial tensions—but not enough for Perrotta to give voice to them—and a weird, unfinished ghost story plot thread. Beyond that, nothing really was that interesting, not even Jimmy himself.

The book will publish 4/28.

Book Review: "Upward Bound" by Woody Brown

This book gave me lots of feels! But on top of the wide range of emotions it took me through, I found it really eye-opening. It definitely made me think about how we view adults with disabilities.

“No utopia has presented itself. Adult day care is adult day care.”

Upward Bound is an adult daycare facility for adults with disabilities. While the name sounds cheerful, for many of the clients, it’s a depressing, boring haven—but at least they’re not in an institution. Many of the clients are nonverbal, but some try to communicate the best they can.

We meet Jorge, the nonverbal gentle giant who likes to escape and go across the street to hide. Jorge is primarily cared for by Carlos, once a young man on a downward trajectory until his sister got him a job at the facility. Tom is a handsome man with cerebral palsy, who can’t talk or move much, but he has a rich inner life. Emma is autistic and nonverbal, but Beatles music brings her piece. And then there’s Dave, the director, who is very particular—especially about Upward Bound’s annual fundraiser and Christmas show.

We learn about each of these folks in their own chapters, and in some cases, they even narrate for themselves. But our guide for most of the book is Walter, a highly intelligent man with autism, who can communicate through an aide, and he aspires to be a writer. Through his eyes we see what the clients are really thinking, even if they can’t speak.

I found this to be funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking, sometimes simultaneously. Walter is a wry narrator who definitely has a grasp on the world around him. Impressively, the book’s author has minimal speech and types to communicate, but he is a summa cum laude graduate of UCLA and received an MFA from Columbia.

Book Review: "A Good Person" by Kirsten King

“When I was ten years old, I nearly pushed a girl into a gorilla pen at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts.”

That opening sentence certainly sets the tone for what a wild book this is. It may very well be the most stable statement that the main character, Lillian, makes in the entire book!

Lillian works for a marketing firm. Well, she does enough to get by, but she spends most of her days stalking her boyfriend Henry’s LinkedIn profile. She and Henry have been seeing each other for a few months now, and she’s been completely acquiescent to his every wish. But Henry hasn’t fully committed to her yet, although he’s certainly been signaling that he’s getting there.

Just when she’s expecting him to go from, “I have fun with you” to “I love you,” he tells her he wants to end things. She’s certainly not happy about that and demonstrates that in a few, umm, unique ways. Inspired by one of her clients, she decides to put a hex on Henry.

Imagine her surprise/horror when he is murdered the next day. Did she do that? She doesn’t think so, even if the more she learns about Henry the angrier with him she gets. And the more she starts to go off the rails, until even she’s not quite sure if she can pull herself together—if she doesn’t get arrested first.

Lillian is truly one of the most unhinged characters I’ve seen in a while. I couldn’t get enough of her, even as I cringed at some things she did. But she is 100 percent true to herself, despite her unpredictability. This was quite a ride!

Book Review: "The Summer Boy" by Philippe Besson

This was such a beautiful little book. Philippe Besson always writes books that evoke the complicated emotions of one’s teenage years, and they’re tinged with a sense of nostalgia and longing. Thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the advance copy!

“Again I find myself thinking about the things people tell us between their words that we don’t understand, about what they show us of themselves that we don’t see, because we’re busy doing something else or simply distracted, because another person’s life doesn’t interest us that much, or because the swimmer, far out to sea, who appears to be waving to us is actually drowning.”

It’s the summer of 1985. Philippe and his parents spend a few weeks on an island off the coast of France. This is a tradition for them: they stay with close family friends who have a son Philippe’s age. He and François are close even though they only see each other once a year, plus Philippe is gay, while François is not.

The two spend languorous summer days wandering around with their friend Christophe and a new friend, Nicolas. They spend time at the beach, they talk in the serious manner that 18 year-olds do, and at night they drink and go to bars and clubs. Philippe feels a connection with Nicolas very quickly; they seem to see each other more clearly.

They meet Alice, whom François is attracted to, and her older brother Marc, who takes an interest in Philippe. The six of them know this is their last summer before the obligations of adulthood take hold. They weather a bout of jealousy, but enjoy each other’s company. Until one night something happens that changes them all.

I know what it’s like to form a connection quickly, one that still lingers in the mind long after it ends. This book is a beautiful paean to simpler times that suddenly become complicated, and shows how one fleeting moment can move and shape us. What a lovely book!

It will publish 5/26.

Book Review: "Seven Points" by Amy James

I’m loving what seems to be an influx of M/M sports romances lately. Obviously, hockey romances are still the most popular, but recently I’ve read (and enjoyed) tennis, soccer, baseball, and now, F1 romances.

⁣ ⁣ Jacob has been a test driver for Crosswire Racing, the top Formula 1 team out there. Given that he survived a life-threatening crash, the fact that he’s driving at all is a pretty big deal, but he’d like a permanent seat on the team.⁣

⁣ At the same time that he’s working hard on his career, he’s also putting the work in on his relationship with Travis, who drives for Crosswire’s biggest rival, Harper Racing. Travis’ career has been on the rise, and while some people question whether he should date a rival, he’s fully on board with Jacob.⁣

Travis is racing at the Singapore Grand Prix, and Jacob will be a reserve driver for his company, so they can spend their free time together. But the night before qualifying begins, Jacob learns that Crosswire’s driver has gotten injured, so he’ll need to fill in for the race. This could be his ticket back!⁣

⁣ Jacob wants to give the race everything he has. Then he starts to worry whether his success could impact Travis’ chances of being the champion. Should Jacob let Travis win for the sake of their relationship?⁣

⁣ This is a bit of a follow-up to Crash Test, Amy James’ first book about Travis and Jacob. These two are a really appealing couple, more so than they were in the first book. I’ll admit that I don’t know much about F1 racing so I’ve really enjoyed learning about it. And if you read about sports, does it make you more athletic? (Asking for a friend.)⁣

Book Review: "A Violent Masterpiece" by Jordan Harper

This was definitely one of the darker and more disturbing crime novels I’ve read in a while. But the images that Jordan Harper’s prose evoked definitely were cinematic, which really amplified the book’s power. Thanks to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for the complimentary advance copy!

Like most big cities, Los Angeles is both playground and a hotbed of crime. Jake is a live-streaming nightcrawler, taking his audience on a no-holds-barred trip through the city each night, showing up at crimes in progress and the detritus of crime scenes. It’s all an adrenaline rush for him.

Kara works for a private concierge company that serves an exclusive clientele. Whatever their clients need—drugs, sex, even more nefarious things—the company provides. Yet Kara is haunted by the disappearance of her best friend Phoebe, and the scene she witnessed at Phoebe’s apartment after she went missing.

Doug is a defense lawyer for the downtrodden. But when he is hired to defend a Hollywood pedophile, it launches him into the public spotlight—and into a web more tangled and dangerous than he can ever imagine.

These three characters become intertwined with each other as the city is reeling from an apparent serial killer and the pedophile’s vow to seek revenge. The scandal, the fear, the danger all run very deep—can they find the answers they’re seeking before their enemies attack? And who are they anyway?

This is a really gritty book which pulsates with violence, rich and powerful people behaving badly, and those who try to keep their heads above water. It would make one hell of a movie, but it’s a pretty terrific read.

The book publishes 4/28.

Book Review: "Everybody's Favorite Guy" by Katherine Center

Lily and Walker’s families were best friends, so they grew up together. When Lily’s father died, Walker and his parents did everything to help her and her mother deal with their grief.

That was back in high school. Walker was tall, handsome, athletic, popular—everything that Lily was not. But of course she had an enormous crush on him, and one night, it appeared that her feelings were reciprocated. The next morning, however, Walker humiliated Lily and preyed on her biggest insecurity.

Seven years later, the two families are traveling to a cabin in the Rockies where they used to vacation in order to spread the ashes of both Lily and Walker’s fathers. Thankfully, Walker won’t be able to join them. And then—surprise! He’s able to join them after all.

Expecting unseasonably warm weather, they’re surprised to find a snowstorm brewing, which delays their mothers’ arrival. So it’s just Walker and Lily in the cabin—and then the power goes out. Throw in a fire, rehashing old memories, and a bear wanting to join them, and it becomes a night to remember.

“I was just a delusional nerd standing in a freak spring snowstorm with the boy who’d never loved her.”

I love Katherine Center’s writing so much. This was sweet and emotional, and just so enjoyable. Honestly, my only criticism is that it was too short!