July Reading List

I know I say this every month, but where does the time go?! Summer is flying. Which I’m pretty happy about because I’m more of a fall person anyway. Here’s what I’ve been reading the past month. Thank you Random House for gifting me these books, noted with a star!

With the Fire on High 
Elizabeth Acevedo

Last month (?) I read another one of Elizabeth’s books so when I saw this new release I nabbed it right away. This one is prose rather than poetry but it’s just as beautiful and engaging as her first book. It follows a teen mother trying to pursue her love of the culinary arts while balancing bills, childcare and a tough family situation. I think it’s SO important that teens have access to books like these that show non-white, non-upper class stories. 

Marcelo in the Real World
Francisco Stork

I found this book on my crusade for books set in Boston by people of color. My book club only reads books set here and I’ve been hoping to get more diverse authors in our lineup. A librarian at the BPL recommended this book by local, Mexican author Francisco Stork. It’s the story of a neurodivergent teen trying to navigate a job and relationships in the “real world” that doesn’t cater to his different abilities. It was excellent. A fast, engaging, and well told read. 

Miami Century Fox
Legna Rodriguez Iglesias 

This is a great book of poetry with a really interesting structure that provides input on the writer’s motives and process before each poem. It also rhymes which is unusual in contemporary poetry and I think puts a cool spin on things. Legna is an award-winning Cuban poet and I’ll definitely be looking for more of her work. 

Papi
Rita Indiana Hernandez 

Rita is a singer/songwriter turned novelist and I’m amazed that she can be so talented in so many ways. This surrealist, stream-of-consciousness piece talks about a young girl’s father from her perspective. The line of what’s real and what’s not is completely blurred but the feelings and beyond-her-age perception of the narrator come through loud and clear. This is a beautiful book, but you’ve got to like non-linear, challenging narratives.  

The Last Leonardo*
Ben Lewis

Random House sent me this book and I started reading it on a whim. It was spectacular. The story follows a supposed Leonardo da Vinci painting that just sold a few years ago for 450 million dollars. That’s the record rate for a painting sale ever. Lewis takes you through the discovery, conservation, and authentication processes and basically argues why it’s not a Leonardo. Great, great book, and another indicator that truth is stranger than fiction.

From Broken Glass
Steve Ross

This was my book club book this month. It’s written by the founder of the New England Holocaust Memorial here in Boston about his experiences in concentration camps. That narrative splits back and forth between his imprisonment and his work with struggling youths in Boston’s low income neighborhoods. It’s heavy material, he describes the horrors of the death camps very clearly, but it’s well done. 

No Matter 
Jana Prikyl

I wrapped things up with another poetry book. This new volume by Jana Prikyl explores urban spaces and the feelings, of loneliness, of fear, of boredom, that come with them. She uses a number of different poetic styles to keep readers on their toes. As a city dweller myself I really related to a lot of this material.