Author: Tirzah Price

Lily is a teenager living in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1953. She’s always known that she is different, but is unable to put into words what that means until she sees an ad for a male impersonator at the nearby Telegraph Club. Then a chance encounter with a white classmate named Kath provides Lily with a chance to sneak out, and they discover an underground community of independent, queer women who welcome them. At first, Lily and Kath are convinced they’re just friends, but when feelings develop between them, they’re unsure how to navigate them. There are more than a few reasons to be cautious in 1953—and when Lily’s family finds themselves a little too close to suspected communists, the stakes for Lily are even higher.

What I love about this book (and I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this) is that this novel is a realistic and sometimes heart-wrenching look at what it was to be queer in the 1950’s, but it’s not a tragic book. Lo does a brilliant job at capturing the uncertainty that Lily feels when she first begins to understand what it means to be attracted to other women, and the euphoria at finally having the language to identify herself and the context to understand her feelings. The sense of community is also really strong—both within Lily’s Chinese American family, and at the Telegraph Club, where many of the women have learned the essential value of found family the hard way. For a book that’s largely about self-discovery, it shimmers with tension—there’s Lily’s fear of getting caught sneaking out, her anxiety about her family finding out about how she feels about girls, her tumultuous feelings for Kath, the constant threat that the club will be raided, and the heightened fear that if Lily is arrested it could jeopardize her family’s status in the U.S., despite being citizens. I found myself racing through this book, fearing the worst and yet hoping for the best. The ending wasn’t what I expected, but it left me deeply satisfied.

Bonus: Malinda Lo just announced that her next YA book, A Scatter of Light, out next fall, will be a contemporary companion to this one, set in 2013. I can’t wait to see how Lily and Kath fit into it!

Evie is on the cusp of achieving her wildest dreams: She’s just graduated from high school and been cast in a major movie, following in the footsteps of her legendary grandmother, the actress Evelyn Conaway. But when she puts her trust in the wrong person, Evie’s acting career is sabotaged and she finds herself fleeing LA to visit Gigi in New York, where her grandmother has been living rather reclusively for the past ten years, hoping that her famous grandmother can help her get back on track.

But Evie gets a shock when she discovers that Gigi isn’t living alone—she’s taken in a young man Evie’s age named Milo, who does her grocery shopping and keeps her company. Evie suspects that Milo is out to take advantage of her grandmother’s wealth, but before she can prove it, Gigi takes off and vanishes, leaving a note that says she’ll be back “soon.” With the clock ticking down on Evie’s last chance at acting success, she turns to Milo to help find Gigi…and learns some surprising truths about herself and her family along the way.

First off, I loved that this book is about Hollywood without being about the shallow trappings of Hollywood. Even though Evie is on the outs and desperate for a way back in, the story is far more grounded than you would expect. Gigi taking off and not lending a hand forces Evie to confront herself and her own ambition, and decide just how far she’ll go to achieve her goals. She must also reckon with how the world perceives her, and how the people who matter to her perceive her. That makes this book especially impactful as she and Milo go on a whirlwind scavenger hunt across NYC and through her grandmother’s past to find her. Evie’s goals shift throughout the story, taking you to unexpected and unexpectedly wonderful places, and there’s just enough romance to keep you satisfied and swooning. This is a book about staying true to yourself while chasing your dreams, and tending to your relationships, all told in a really relatable way…although most of us probably aren’t likely related to movie stars or Hollywood hopefuls ourselves. I was thoroughly charmed by the story and the characters and I’m actually sad that none of the fictitious movies and actors that Forest filled this story with are real! I highly recommend this is you’re looking for a funny and romantic book that has some hefty family issues, but isn’t dark!

Happy reading!
Tirzah

When Kieran was a teenager, a horrific storm hit his small coastal town in Tasmania and as a result of a mistake he made, they lost his older brother Finn and Finn’s business partner. Another life was lost that day as well, but no one really knows what happened to the teenage girl who was presumably swept out to sea. Now an adult with a new baby of his own, Kieran and his partner head back for a visit for the first time in years. It’s clear that some wounds run deep, but Kieran is unprepared for how the past gets stirred up when the body of a young woman is found on the beach.

I think one of the things that Jane Harper does really well (aside from really vivid settings!) is balancing dramatic or impactful moments in her characters’ pasts with a contemporary mystery. We’ve seen her pull it off in The Dry and The Lost Man (both excellent books and worth checking out, too) and here in The Survivors she really makes you feel the tension in this small town as a result of the painful past and the storm years earlier. It’s something that touched everyone’s lives, and all of the characters are living with the consequences of it still, albeit to varying extents. The details she drops are expertly planted and everything comes together in a really smart, surprising way, interspersed with memories and flashbacks that really give you a lot of insight to the characters and their motivations.

I also really enjoyed the Tasmanian setting! I’ve read a fair number of books set in Australia but I’d never really explored Tasmania through fiction, and I appreciate that the small town, the beach, and the rugged wilderness of the area really leapt off the page and added to the unsettling vibe of the book. The depictions of the storm were also really chilling. What’s scarier than being at the mercy of Mother Nature when she’s in a rage?

Overall, if you like a moody mystery that doesn’t get too dark or graphic, you can’t go wrong with Jane Harper’s work and her newest book is certainly a winner!

Izzy is a sixteen-year-old high school student who has a running monologue of what she really thinks going on in her head at all times. She doesn’t dare actually voice her opinions, though. Between a busy and high-powered family always overlooking her and a boyfriend who always talks over her, Izzy knows its better to keep her true feelings to herself. Until one day she accidentally crashes a stand up comedy open mic, and finds herself on the stage. In her panic, she bursts forth with all her real opinions, and to her shock, she gets a few laughs. Suddenly, Izzy is hooked on comedy, and she even has some new friends who are helping her tighten her routines and encourage her to go out for a showcase. The only problem? They all think Izzy is in college.

I really loved this book because, and this might sound super obvious here, it’s really funny! Comedy is hard to pull off, and humor is very subjective, but I was laughing aloud multiple times throughout this book, especially as Izzy had to balance the awkwardness of accidentally lying about her age and trying to pass herself off as a college junior rather than a high school junior. These comedic moments are countered with some much more serious stuff, such as Izzy’s unhealthy relationship with her controlling boyfriend, and her sense of not quite belonging in her family. Henry understands that humor isn’t used to write off the bigger, scarier, more complex realities, but it can be used to help explore them and more sense of them. Izzy uses humor to find her voice and her courage, and to connect with the people she’s struggled to talk to, for better or worse. This is such a funny, charming, and really heartfelt coming-of-age story with a quiet but realistic plot!