Author: Tirzah Price

Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!

This week’s pick is American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson.

Content warning: Home invasion, some violence–sorry, I don’t remember anything else!

American Spy is one of my favorite books of 2019, and even a full year later I still cannot shut up about this book! It’s about Marie Mitchell, a Black FBI agent working in the 1980s. Her ambitions are high, but her career has stalled out thanks to racism and sexism in her home office, and she’s not really sure what the future holds for her. Then she’s recruited by the CIA for a one-off mission that turns into an ongoing, overseas assignment: spying on Thomas Sankara, president of Burkina Faso, first on his U.S. visit and then in his own country. Marie is cautious, but she takes the job. Thomas is intellectually engaging, charismatic, and sensitive, a born leader despite his tendency towards Communist values. It’s not long before Marie finds herself agreeing with his politics more often than not, and increasingly uneasy about the level of U.S. meddling with foreign affairs…and when violence breaks out, she must act quickly to establish where her loyalties lie.

This is an absolutely stellar spy thriller, and I’m so excited about it because it centers a Black woman–in the ’80s and ’90s, no less! It’s also beautifully written, structured as Marie’s letters to her young children, written in the ’90s as she looks back on her choices to get involved with the mission to spy on Sankara, and the fallout which persists to her present day. There’s also a strong subplot involving Marie’s sister, whose career choices inspired Marie’s journey to the FBI, and whose mysterious death has haunted her for years. This book is intense, but not in the traditional spy thriller way. There aren’t endless shoot-out scenes and high speed car chases, but there are deeply unsettling meetings, mysterious strangers, and shady dealings that force Marie to question her moral compass, the motivations of every one around her, and what it means to be a good person, a good spy, a good mother, and a good American. If you’re looking for a deeply human spy novel, then you cannot go wrong with this book. Bonus: I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated brilliantly by Bahni Turpin, one of my favorite narrators.

Happy reading!
Tirzah

Find me on Book Riot, the Insiders Read Harder podcast, All the Books, and Twitter.

If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, click here to subscribe.

Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!

This week’s pick is Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen!

If you’re a regular listener to All the Books!, then you might have heard me gush about this book in our April 21st episode! Maybe it’s because I’ve been in a reading slump, or because I just needed an infusion of something happy, but I really loved Late to the Party! It’s about 17-year-old Codi, who is a queer teen with two amazing best friends Maritza and JaKory, who are bisexual and gay respectively. They’re great friends who genuinely enjoy hanging out, watching movies, and just chilling–but they aren’t partiers, and neither of them have ever been kissed. They’re itching for an epic teen experience, but they don’t know how to go about it, and Codi feels a lot of anxiety about stepping outside of her comfort zone.

But when she shows up late to a party she didn’t even want to attend in the first place, Codi meets a neighbor, Ricky, who turns out to be gay as well. For some reason, they just click and a great friendship is born, but it’s not like Codi’s friendship with JaKory and Maritza. It’s something newer, more exciting. Ricky introduces Codi to his friend group, where Codi finds acceptance and new crush, and they go on to have an epic summer…but Codi doesn’t tell JaKory and Maritza about any of it.

I think what I loved most about this book is that it’s a really deft exploration of friendships and identity, especially when it comes to sexuality and LGBTQ+ issues, without defaulting to a tired coming out narrative. For these teens, coming out isn’t really a huge issue–finding acceptance and connection is what’s important. Quindlen balances a large cast of secondary characters beautifully, and they all felt like real, genuine people that I knew in high school. The plot unfolded so organically, and it actually made me quite a bit nostalgic for high school shenanigans and the rush of first crushes. The friendship angle was also really nuanced, as Quindlen explored how friendships can be both soul-sustaining but also limiting at times. If you’re in the mood for something on the lighter, funnier side, with great LGBTQ+ characters, themes of friendship and identity, then you cannot go wrong with Late to the Party!

Happy reading, and have a great weekend!

Tirzah

Find me on Book Riot, the Insiders Read Harder podcast, All the Books, and Twitter.

If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, click here to subscribe.

Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!

This week’s pick is Passing Strange by Ellen Klages!

Content warning: Domestic abuse, homophobia

Passing Strange is a really excellent SFF novella that begins with an elderly woman settling her affairs in present day, but is largely set in 1940 San Francisco. It follows five women, all queer, who are eking out a living and supporting each other through racial and legal oppression. The book centers around three of these women: Helen is a Chinese immigrant and newly minted lawyer who is barred from working at a firm, so she keeps busy setting up wills and legal documentation to protect women who live together. Haskel is a talented but emotionally guarded artist who makes her money illustrating racy covers of pulp magazines under a male pseudonym. Emily is new to town, making a living by cross-dressing and singing in bars, which is very dangerous in an age where police are all too happy to arrest people for social deviance. When Haskel and Emily fall in love and their romance is revealed, Helen and the rest of the gang must go above and beyond to protect them.

I think this is an excellent (short!) pick for anyone who really likes historical stories and is interested in getting into fantasy. The magical elements are fairly light, but they play an absolutely crucial role to the plot. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’ll just say that it was a twist I didn’t see coming–and when it finally played out, I was thrilled. But the real magic to me was how Klages brought 1940 San Francisco to life in these pages. You can feel the love the author and the characters have for the city, and the scenes feel perfectly designed to showcase the city in all of its excitement and grit, from well-known landmarks to seedier underground bars. This is also an excellent pick if you like books about a sisterhood of women who support and love each other, with a dash of epic romance. It doesn’t end tragically, although the ending might not be what you expect.

Bonus: This is a novella, so if you read it you’ll fulfill one of the Read Harder 2020 challenges! (It’s over 120 pages, but that’s okay!)

Happy reading!
Tirzah

Find me on Book Riot, the Insiders Read Harder podcast, All the Books, and Twitter.

If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, click here to subscribe.

Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!

This week’s pick is the powerful memoir Know My Name by Chanel Miller.

Content warning: sexual assault, trauma, PTSD, suicide ideation

Many people recognize the name Brock Turner, but fewer know the real name of Emily Doe, the woman that Brock Turner assaulted behind a dumpster at a party on the Stanford University campus. Her name is Chanel Miller, and in this incredible memoir, she shares her story and reclaims her name. She recounts the events of the night that Brock Turner assaulted her, and the immediate effects as she came to terms with what happened and how her life was changed. She takes readers through the confusing, isolating experience of pressing charges, and her harrowing experience in court, and after, when Brock was only sentenced to six months in jail. But it’s so much more than just her side of what happened–it’s also about everything that happened to her in between those moments, her life before the assault, her art, how she processed her assault mentally and emotionally, and how she reclaimed her voice.

“If a victim speaks but no one acknowledges her, does she make a sound?”

Chanel Miller is an incredible writer–articulate, thoughtful, and deeply caring. She was destined to be published, and while my heart breaks to think of what she went through, I am at least glad for her book. She not only puts a real human face to a terrible crime, but she illuminates how difficult it is for many victims to come forward and how arduous it can be to navigate the legal system, even under the best of circumstances. She’s honest about the strain this event put on her and her entire family, but she is adamant about not being seen only as a victim–she’s a sister, friend, ally, artist, and writer as well. Her memoir is a brilliant homage to all of those parts of herself that were erased in the media coverage of her trial, and an inspiring call to action for people to continue to stand up to injustice everywhere. The subject matter isn’t always easy, but you’re in good hands with Chanel, and I would happily read anything she writes from here on out.

Bonus: I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Chanel Miller herself. I HIGHLY recommend this experience!

Happy reading,

Tirzah

Find me on Book Riot, the Insiders Read Harder podcast, All the Books, and Twitter.

If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, click here to subscribe.

Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!

This week’s pick is The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan.

Content warning: child abuse, murder, assault

Last week we received the very welcome news that a new Tana French novel called The Searcher will be hitting shelves this fall, and I couldn’t be more thrilled–I love her atmospheric Irish mysteries. My love of French is what drove me to seek out more Irish mysteries, which is how I discovered Dervla McTiernan’s books! Her mysteries have been helping me ease the wait time in between French’s releases.

The Ruin is McTiernan’s debut novel, and it introduces us to Cormac Reilly, a detective who has relocated from Dublin to Galway to be with his girlfriend, Emma. While Emma has her dream job, Reilly’s work situation is less than ideal–he’s stuck on cold cases, and he can’t figure out why his new coworkers seem to have it in for him. But when a recent suicide death reveals a startling connection to a death and disappearance that Reilly worked as a rookie, his interest is piqued. Especially when the victim’s girlfriend claims he wasn’t suicidal. And then when the victim’s missing sister makes a surprise appearance, everyone is pointing fingers, but only Reilly can get to the truth.

This is a mystery with real presence–the setting and heavy suspicions that follow most of the characters really heighten the tension. Cormac Reilly is a steady, reliable, likable protagonist, even though he’s not without his faults. The book is told mainly through his perspective, but McTiernan also seamlessly slips into the points of view of a handful of other characters surrounding the mystery, giving the reader a wider view of the story. The unraveling of this mystery is also very much dependent on the strengths, pitfalls, and hang ups of the characters investigating, and everyone has their own motivations and secrets. And yet for a mystery that starts with a cold case, much of the action and high stakes are very real and in the present, and McTiernan threw a couple of twists that I certainly didn’t see coming! I definitely recommend this book for Tana French fans, but also Jane Harper fans and to anyone who enjoys character-driven procedurals!

McTiernan has written two other books about Cormac Reilly, but you’ll want to read these books in order! Start with The Ruin, follow up with The Scholar, and then look for The Good Turn. It’s out now in Australia and the UK, but no U.S. release date yet, much to my eternal disappointment. (I’m still crossing my fingers for a fall 2020 release!)

And if you’re looking for one place to stay up to date on the effects of COVID-19 on the book world, we’ve got a story stream for you.

Be safe, and happy reading!

Tirzah

Find me on Book Riot, the Insiders Read Harder podcast, All the Books, and Twitter.

If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, click here to subscribe.