Welcome back to Get Rec’d! How are we all doing?
I haven’t said it in a while, but thanks to all the people who lurk on these posts and interact in the comments. I hope I’m able to introduce hidden gems to your TBR pile or find that perfect book for the reader in your life.
What great recommendations have you received lately? I want to hear all about ’em!
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Here We Are
Oliver Jeffers creates some truly beautiful picture books and is my go-to for people who wants gorgeous illustrations and something more existential in its storytelling.
Oliver Jeffers, arguably the most influential creator of picture books today, offers a rare personal look inside his own hopes and wishes for his child–and in doing so gifts children and parents everywhere with a gently sweet and humorous missive about our world and those who call it home.
Insightfully sweet, with a gentle humor and poignancy, here is Oliver Jeffers’ user’s guide to life on Earth. He created it specially for his son, yet with a universality that embraces all children and their parents. Be it a complex view of our planet’s terrain (bumpy, sharp, wet), a deep look at our place in space (it’s big), or a guide to all of humanity (don’t be fooled, we are all people), Oliver’s signature wit and humor combine with a value system of kindness and tolerance to create a must-have book for parents.Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
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The Jane Austen Escape Room Book
If you have a young Austenite in your life, check out this book of Austen-themed puzzles. I’d say they can be a little on the easy side, which is why I’d recommend this as a gift for high school age or younger.
An exciting new take on a literary classic, The Jane Austen Escape Room Book is sure to delight and intrigue fans, old and new, of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice.
This elegant book presents a chance to experience a classic piece of literature in an all-new way. The Jane Austen Escape Room Book combines the characters that you know and love with the intrigue of mystery as you solve puzzles and riddles to help Elizabeth find her way back to the arms of Mr. Darcy. This thrilling new take on the ever-adored Pride and Prejudice, exquisitely illustrated by Marjolein Bastin, is the perfect gift for the Jane Austen fan in your life!
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Miracle Creek
The comparisons to Celeste Ng (especially Little Fires Everywhere) are pretty accurate. This a literary, legal thriller with a divided community at its center.
WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
The “gripping… page-turner” (Time) hitting all the best of summer reading lists, Miracle Creek is perfect for book clubs and fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste NgHow far will you go to protect your family? Will you keep their secrets? Ignore their lies?
In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident.
A powerful showdown unfolds as the story moves across characters who are all maybe keeping secrets, hiding betrayals. Chapter by chapter, we shift alliances and gather evidence: Was it the careless mother of a patient? Was it the owners, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester, trying to prove the treatment isn’t safe?
“A stunning debut about parents, children and the unwavering hope of a better life, even when all hope seems lost” (Washington Post), Miracle Creek uncovers the worst prejudice and best intentions, tense rivalries and the challenges of parenting a child with special needs. It’s “a quick-paced murder mystery that plumbs the power and perils of community” (O Magazine) as it carefully pieces together the tense atmosphere of a courtroom drama and the complexities of life as an immigrant family. Drawing on the author’s own experiences as a Korean-American, former trial lawyer, and mother of a “miracle submarine” patient, this is a novel steeped in suspense and igniting discussion.
Recommended by Erin Morgenstern, Jean Kwok, Jennifer Weiner, Scott Turow, Laura Lippman, and more–Miracle Creek is a brave, moving debut from an unforgettable new voice.
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The Reading List
If you like books about books, and unlikely people coming together over a love of reading, check out this one! It’s very sweet and tender.
An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb.
Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in Wembley, in West London after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.
Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.
When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list…hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
One more for the godgranddaughter’s growing library. She’s two, shouldn’t she be reading by now?
I found out about “Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden” by Camille Dungy through an opinion interview article on CNN. It looks really good, so I placed a hold at the library.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/27/opinions/opinion-garden-poetry-camille-dungy-soil-taylor/index.html
There is a “Five Books that . . .” post on Tor.com about books that Cole Rush (the poster) finds helps them on the days when dealing with depression and anxiety meean you need a book you can trust. It’s an interesting selection, including SBTB favourite Allie Brosh, but also Ursula K Le Guin’s “the Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” which I’m not so sure about, but these things are very personal.
You know I did proof read that, *sigh*
Thank you @Jazzlet for that suggestion. The comments offer good suggestions too 🙂
I just want to flag that Miracle Creek deals heavily with disability “cures” and includes scenes of parental abuse towards an Autistic child. While I don’t think the author condones the parent’s behavior, I do think we were supposed to feel some sympathy for the mother. Overall, I did not feel good about the disability rep in the book, so I would definitely caution folks to check reviews before reading if that might be triggering.
The Reading List is $1.99, so I snapped that up to try… thank you!
I’m concerned about the “curing autism” aspect of Miracle Creek. I thought this site appreciated neurodivergent folks, but the book description sounds the the hateful negativity of Autism Speaks.