August Recommendations

Adult Book Recommendation

A wounded stranger arrives at a pub on the river Thames, carrying the body of a small girl in his arms. An hour later, she miraculously returns to life but doesn’t speak, and is claimed by three different families. The gothic unwinding of the truth follows as many twists as the Thames. It would have been hard to find a book less suited for summer beach reading, but it was a testament to Setterfeld’s storytelling that I was drawn in regardless!

Children’s Book Recommendation

Something More by Jackie Khalilieh

In this sophisticated young adult romance novel, Jessie K is diagnosed with autism shortly before her first day of high school. As she tries to fit in to her new school and make new friends and hide her diagnosis, she keeps a list of to-do items to keep herself on track—like getting rid of her unibrow and having a perfect first kiss. At the beginning there is a lot of teen drama, but by a third of the way into the book I was completely rooting for Jessie and had to stay up way past my bedtime to find out how she’d navigate her new and complicated friendships and first love.

Behind the Scenes

I’ve just returned from several weeks on my favourite island, the basis for the setting of both Jake Reynolds books. My current work in progress is also set on the island. Having a real location makes the writing so much fun. I have the freedom to include strong details like the sun glinting off whitecaps when a strong west wind is blowing—while making up outlandish characters and dialogue. Part of the problem with using a real setting is that everyone thinks my characters are based on people I know. I promise in advance—this book is fiction and all characters came from my imagination!