Five Books You Won’t Want to Put Down This June
If you are looking for some great books to read this month, look no further. We have compiled a list of five must-read books that will keep you hooked, entertained, and inspired. Whether you are into fiction, non-fiction, romance, or thriller, there is something for everyone in this selection. Read on to find out more.
- Yellowface by R. F. KUANG
“Yellowface” deftly deals with serious, pressing topics. It offers an important analysis of the publishing world, which tramples authors underfoot and tokenizes minorities. In the novel, readers see authors of color forced by their publishing houses to write stories only about their experiences as minorities, and white authors complaining that authors of color are just trendy instead of talented. Kuang demonstrates sides of the book world that readers often choose to ignore, including how publishing houses see authors of color only through the lens of diversity, how the industry normalizes casual racism, and the various excuses that white authors make for insensitivity and ignorance. Kuang doesn’t refrain from holding publishing houses accountable for their treatment of writers of color, and “Yellowface” explores an underbelly of the writing world that few acknowledge.
2. The Half Moon by MARY BETH KEANE
Malcolm Gephardt, the handsome and gregarious longtime bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar. When his boss finally retires, Malcolm stretches to buy the place. He sees unquantifiable magic and potential in the Half Moon and hopes to transform it into a bigger success, but struggles to stay afloat. Award-winning author Mary Beth Keane’s new novel takes place over one week when Malcolm learns shocking news about Jess, a patron of the bar goes missing, and a blizzard hits the town of Gillam, trapping everyone in place. With a deft eye and generous spirit, Keane explores the disappointments and unexpected consolations of midlife, the many forms forgiveness can take, the complicated intimacy of small-town living, and what it means to be a family.
3. Warrior Girl Unearthed by ANGELINE BOULLEY
Perry Firekeeper-Birch was ready for her Summer of Slack but instead, after a fender bender that was entirely not her fault, she’s stuck working to pay back her Auntie Daunis for repairs to the Jeep.
Thankfully she has the other outcasts of the summer program, Team Misfit Toys, and even her twin sister Pauline. Together they ace obstacle courses, plan vigils for missing women in the community, and make sure summer doesn’t feel so lost after all. Using all of their skills and resources, the Misfits realize a heist is the only way to bring back the stolen artifacts and remains for good. But there is more to this repatriation than meets the eye as more women disappear and Pauline’s perfectionism takes a turn for the worse. As secrets and mysteries unfurl, Perry and the Misfits must fight to find a way to make things right – for the ancestors and for their community.
4. The Senator’s Wife by LIV CONSTANTINE
A D.C. philanthropist suspects that her seemingly perfect employee is secretly plotting to steal her husband, her reputation—even her life—in this seductive novel of psychological suspense from the internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish.
After a tragic chain of events led to the deaths of their spouses two years ago, D.C. philanthropist Sloane Chase and Senator Whit Montgomery are finally starting to move on. The horrifying ordeal drew them together, and now they’re ready to settle down again—with each other. Riveting, fast-paced, and full of unbelievable twists, The Senator’s Wife is a psychological thriller that upends the private homes of those who walk the halls of power. Because when you have it all, you have everything to lose.
5. The Celebrants by STEVEN ROWLEY
It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves. A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley’s signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.
Staff Reporter
