LibraryReads List for July

The LibraryReads list for July came out this week. All titles are available for holds in the catalog. Some of these I wholeheartedly agree with - others, perhaps not so much. See what you think of these titles.

The top choice coming out in July is Landline by Rainbow Rowell. Rowell has recently published some very successful teen titles. I expect the demand by teens to be up for this one also. Georgie and Neal McCool's marriage is in trouble. When Georgie backs out of a planned trip, Neal packs up the children and leaves without her. While they are gone, Georgie discovers a way to revisit the past. Should she fix her marriage before it started to go bad or would they have been better off never marrying at all? Said to be written with humor and grace with incredible insights into ordinary life.

Jojo Moyes has become very popular. She has one out in July that made the list, One Plus One. In this plot, a weird and quirky family with a smelly dog meet a wealthy computer geek. One can only imagine the outcome. Jess works as a cleaner trying to support her math genius 10 year old daughter and you goth stepson. When her daughter is offered a chance of a lifetime, the family piles in the car along with the dog and the geek. What a trip that will be. Said to be perfect for a quick summer read.

Next on the list is a debut. Lori Rader-Day has The Black Hour coming out. A psychological thriller said by reviewers to be riveting. Amelia Emmet is a professor trying to get back to teaching classes after being shot by a student who then kills himself. The suspense is in the why - not the who. Right from the beginning we know who did it but why would an unconnected student whom she didn't teach, try to kill her. Her new graduate student, Nathaniel Barber, isn't doing too well himself and he would like to figure out why also.

Next on the list is The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. You can tell from the title, I think, that this will be a fantasy. It is and it is also the first of a trilogy. Some reviewers have loved the book and couldn't put it down but others are dismayed because of some inconsistencies. Regardless, there were enough who loved it to get it on the list. There is a princess trying to claim the family throne, magic and a really bad queen. If you like fantasy, give it a try. There is an apocalyptic twist.

Best selling list favorite, Chris Bohjalian, made the list with Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands. Said to be an amazing portrait of a teen in crisis; emotionally gripping and realistic - reviewers universally loved this book. Many noted it is very different from his prior work. Emily Shepherd is on the run after the nuclear plant in her Vermont hometown suffers a meltdown and her father seems to have caused it. She is orphaned and homeless and on her own at 16. Reviewers say it will grab hold of any age reader and pull them in because of Bohjalian's ability to convey emotions.

Next is World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters.This is the third and final conclusion from his 'Last Policeman' series before a 6 mile comet crashes into earth. Hank Palace, a former police detective that can't stop detecting wants to see his sister one last time before the end of the world.Maybe not the upbeat story you want to take to the beach but said to be an extremely satisfying conclusion to a masterpiece of an idea series.

Edan Lepucki's California made the list for July. Cal and Frida leave the crumbling city of Los Angeles behind and go to live in a shack in the wilderness by themselves. They can survive without civilization - at least they thought they could until Frida finds out she is pregnant. Unsure of their ability to raise a child on their own, they set out for the nearest community which turns out to be a place with dark secrets. Described both as beautiful and haunting AND tense and thrilling.

Next, Dollbaby by debut author Laura Lane McNeal. Ibby Bell's father unexpectedly dies in the summer of 1964 and her mother deposits her with her eccentric grandmother Fannie in New Orleans. Fannie, is .... well perhaps not the best person to raise a child but she has a cook, Queenie, and Queenie has a daughter, Dollbaby, who take up the chore of raising Ibby in the ways of the south.

The one nonfiction work on this month's list is The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee by Marja Mills. Chicago Tribune journalist Mills got the Lee's blessing to move into the house next door to the sisters and spend 18 months getting to know Harper and her sister and the south. As the only journalist with that kind of access, this should be quite a read.

Lastly, Dry Bones in the Valley by Tom Bouman. Another debut that takes place in northeastern Pennsylvania where secrets and feuds go back generations. The lone policeman, Henry Farrell, has watched the coming of gas drilling and the drug trade - both heroin and meth. When a stranger ends up dead, Henry's investigation may open old wounds. Said to have wonderful characterization and flawless pacing.

That is it for this week. See if any of these sound good to you.