July’s theme for Spell the Month in Books, hosted by Jana at Reviews from the Stacks is Stars/Sky, in honor of summer skies and the July 4th holiday.
J and Y were challenging for this one, so in order to use books I’ve read and recommend, I stretched a little bit (see if you can make the connections).
J:
Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane: One of my favorite authors, McFarlane excels at writing stories about interesting characters with real world problems. Her books feature romance but love isn’t the main story. This book is one of her darker ones, about a group of friends who face a devastating loss, and the impact on all of their relationships.
U:
Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert: Kolbert writes about how science is being used to address some of our biggest environmental concerns, such as invasive species, carbon emissions, and global warming (at the same time, recognizing that science has also created these problems). Her book is broken into three parts, earth, water and sky. Kolbert recognizes the many ways that humans have harmed the environment, but she acknowledges that we can’t undo most of that harm. Instead of looking backwards, we should look forward at how science can help address our current environmental challenges. (How it fits the theme: sky in the title)
L:
The Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki: I really enjoyed this unusual story about a damned violinist, a starship captain running a California donut shop, and a young transgender woman running from abuse. (How it fits the theme: this one is obvious!)
Y:
You Had Me at Hola by Alexia Daria: I enjoyed this romance about a soap opera star and a telenovela star paired together on a new bilingual show. Their careers are riding on the success of the show and neither one of them wants it to get messy. But of course it does…
July is over, but next month’s theme is water, so check out Reviews from the Stacks and dive right in! (groan) Hope you’re enjoying the summer and reading something good.
