Nevermore: Our Missing Hearts, Summer I Turned Pretty, Micro, More!

 

Reported by Rita

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng is a dystopian coming of age novel about a 12 year old boy named Bird trying to unravel the mystery of his missing mother, a Chinese American poet who left when he was nine during a time of great civil conflict. In his quest to find her, he revisits the folktales his mother shared with him using a network of underground libraries. Our reader wasn’t impressed, calling it cumbersome and redundant. NH

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han was a surprisingly enjoyable read according to our reader.  This young adult novel is the first of a series that follows Belly, who lives for summer and time spent at the beach house, and with her crushes Jeremiah and Conrad. Our reader picked it up as a beach read and later found out her nieces love the series so it made for a nice connection between them. In spite of being described as “agonizing and cringe worthy” at times, it was an enjoyable book. HM

Micro by Michael Crichton was described by our reader as Jurassic Park meets Honey I Shrunk the Kids. This sci-fi thriller follows a group of graduate students working for a mysterious biotech company in Hawaii who find themselves shrunk to “micro” size. They must find a way to return to normal before it’s too late while navigating a strange new world where every bug is an enemy and even a blade of grass is a giant obstacle. Our reader really enjoyed the book and said it also includes lots of interesting bug and plant information. AC

R.E.A.D.S. audio made the discussion this week with one reader recommending a short story that is part of the NPR Classic Driveway Moments available through R.E.A.D.S. or the Libby app. “Hitching a Ride with Junior McGee” is a 21-minute audio tale of two people traveling cross-country to attend a bluegrass festival. It was described as a fun and interesting listen. PP

Also Mentioned:

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson with Susy Flory

Dave Barry Turns 50 by Dave Barry

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

I’m Just Saying: A Guide to Maintaining Civil Discourse in an Increasingly Divided World by Milan Kordestani

The Dollmaker by Harriette Simson Arnow

Ripper by Isabel Allende

Long Shadows by David Baldacci

Why Am I Like This: The Science Behind Your Weirdest Thoughts and Habits by Jen Martin

Time Remembered by Miss Read

The Hidden Message in Water by Masaru Emoto

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

The Thorns Remain by JJA Harwood

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

Three Pines/Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny

New Books:

Hillsville Remembered: Public Memory, Historical Silence, and Appalachia’s Most Notorious Shoot-Out by Travis A. Rountree

The Questions That Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom by Jane Smiley

The Summer of 1876: Outlaws, Lawmen, and Legends in the Season that Defined the American West by Chris Wimmer

The Paris Deception by Bryn Turnbull

The Old Lion: A Novel of Theodore Roosevelt by Jeff Shaara