The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading What Happened to the Bennetts, the upcoming mystery from the prolific Lisa Scottoline; the upcoming character-driven novel The Oceanography of the Moon by Glendy Vanderah, author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars, a book I loved; and my book club's next read, Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang.
What are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms?
01 What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline
In Lisa Scottoline's upcoming mystery What Happened to the Bennetts, Jason Bennett is a suburban dad whose life takes a horrific turn when his car is hijacked–and his family with it.
The FBI tells Jason he’s in the crosshairs of a drug-trafficking organization. They advise the family to enter witness protection immediately in order to save their lives. But Jason can't shake the fact that they've done nothing wrong, and the witness protection program isn't designed for law-abiding citizens who stumble into a sinister situation.
Now Jason must choose between the law…and justice. (Eeeee!)
Scottoline is the author of Eternal and 31 other mysteries.
I received a prepublication digital galley of this book (to be published March 29) courtesy of NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam.
02 The Oceanography of the Moon by Glendy Vanderah
Riley lives on her cousins’ Wisconsin farm, where she’s grown up since the death of her mother. She cares for her captivating young cousin, finds peace in the natural world around her, and retreats within herself.
Ten years after her arrival, Riley is twenty-one and has begun to chafe at the small scope of her life.
When bestselling author Vaughn Orr stumbles into her family’s remote world, Riley senses that he’s hiding something–a desire to escape that she understands all too well.
Vaughn and Riley feel connected, but they're each burdened by secrets and pain. Can they learn to trust each other and face the past in order to move forward?
Vanderah is also the author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars, a book I loved.
I received a prepublication digital galley of this book (to be published March 22) courtesy of NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.
03 Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang
In Chinese, the word for America translates as "beautiful country." But when Qian Wang and her family arrive in the United States, her parents go from professors to sweatshop workers, as they are illegal immigrants who must remain unnoticed as they struggle to survive.
In her memoir Beautiful Country, Wang shares the small joys she discovered as a little girl in New York City--seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lit up, her first bite of pizza, the dizzying sights and sounds of this "free" city, and others.
But stress and the constant fear of illness and tragedy make for a high-anxiety household, and young Qian escapes into books in her new language.
Through it all, Qian is told over and over: Whatever happens, say that you were born here, that you've always lived here. When her mother faces a health crisis, as they’ve long feared, the family's security and future may be gravely shaken.
This is my book club's next read.