Concrete Playground's 2017-18 Summer Reading List
Eight books to get stuck into by the pool, the beach or with an ice cream.
With long summer evenings at the beach approaching, it's time to stock up on the best new releases to fill your days with adventure, laughter, mystery and cool conversation starters. Here is our list of the best titles you'll want to pick up this summer, including a New York Times best-seller, a page-turning detective thriller and an apocalyptic tale about the extinction of bees.
THE SUN AND HER FLOWERS BY RUPI KAUR
Rupi Kaur is best know for her collection of moving poetry titled Milk and Honey. After the book won its place on the New York Times best-seller list, it was perfect timing for Rupi to release yet another book, which has gained just as much, if not more attention. The Sun and Her Flowers focuses on growth, love and healing, honouring your ancestral roots and expatriation. As an Indian born, Canadian raised poet, Rupi draws on personal experiences to express deeply touching work. She also shares a lot of excerpts from her work on Instagram where she has over 1.4 million followers.
THE WORD IS MURDER BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ
Six hours after a wealthy woman walks into an undertakers parlour to plan her funeral, she is found strangled to death. The story takes a dark turn as two characters are introduced as suspects, the fictional, abrasive Daniel Hawthorne is one, and the other happens to be Horowitz himself. This new detective series is a page-turning thriller with an unorthodox protagonist and unexpected plot twist. With a chilling blurred line between fiction and reality, you'll find it hard to put this book down.
YOU BELONG TO ME BY COLIN HARRISON
A gritty, gripping story set in New York pays a stylish homage to the fascinating city, and it's compelling storyline is fuelled by the dark undertones of the underground culture. Paul Reeves is a successful immigration lawyer who has a unique passion for collecting old maps of New York City. The tale takes a thrilling turn when Paul misplaces his highly sought after map, and undertakes the challenge to retrieve it at all costs. It's a fast paced urban crime novel, with a noir vibe and a great dose of satire as comic relief.
THE HISTORY OF BEES BY MAJA LUNDE
Norwegian author Maja Lunde has just released her first novel, and it's scarily close to non-fiction, which has us worrying for our future. As Maja describes the rapid road to extinction of bees, the story takes us down an apocalyptic path into a very different world from what we know today. In attempt to "save the world" teams of humans emulate worker bees as they manually sweep pollen from one flower to the next. The narrative focuses on the character Tao, wants a better life for her three-year-old son. A battle of morality and futuristic sustainability gives us readers some interesting topics to ponder.
THE POOL HOUSE BY TASMINA PERRY
Jem and her partner Gus have moved from London to New York City, and decide to take on a $2000 a weekend house-share in the Hamptons with some other couples. In pursuit of a glamorous summer by the pool, an eeriness looms over the property. Jem befriends an investigative journalist who helps her uncover dark secrets about the death of the previous owner. She becomes intrigued by the mystery and quickly uncovers more clues, taking the narrative on an interesting quest.
THE FLOATING THEATRE BY MARTHA CONWAY
Set in 1838, May Bedloe is a seamstress and dresser who finds herself taking on an opportunity to work on a 19th century riverboat theatre. If you're a fan of historical fiction, this book will take you on a fascinating journey of an honest and somewhat naive protagonist who struggles with the insidious nature of slavery and probes the boat crew with controversial questions. The story is less centred around abolitionists, and more around the heroine's journey through her coming of age and development of courage.
THE CITY ALWAYS WINS BY OMAR ROBERT HAMILTON
British-Egyptian filmmaker Omar Robert Hamilton has released his debut novel The City Always Win, which is based around the triumphs and disappointment chronicling the aftermath of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The story is told through the experiences of Khalil (an Egyptian-Palestinian-American), his Egyptian girlfriend and their colleagues of podcast 'Chaos'. The podcast was created in an attempt to provide an alternate voice to the state-controlled media, and pays homage to the author's real-life media outlet 'Mosireen Collective' which is a civilian and activist non-profit platform to "empower the voice of a street-level perspective". The novel is a fascinating exposé based on real events, told in a compelling, contemporary fashion.
HOW HARD CAN IT BE? BY ALLISON PEARSON
While sequels can be a hit or miss for authors, Allison Pearson's follow up title 'How Hard Can It Be?' tells the tale of a 50-year-old mother returning to the workforce in an honest and witty way. Protagonist Kate has a lot on her plate, with children turning into tyrant teens, a husband going through a mid-life crisis, and ailing parents, it's somewhat relatable, definitely hilarious and touchingly candid. An easy light read.
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