This week, our book club discusses Kristan Higgins' Look on the Bright Side, a light and touching summer story of family and romance that still involves serious themes and stellar character development.
In Editor's Choice, we present Frankie Barnet's Mood Swings. This ambitious, topical novel juggles big plot elements, like an apocalyptic reality and time travel, while also focusing on the everyday details of people's lives.
Alongside our review of Briony Cameron's fascinating The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye, we bring you a "beyond the book" article on what is (and isn't) known about the inspiration for the titular protagonist, a Haitian woman pirate living in the 17th century.
We also have a list of book clubs' all-time favorite reads, previews of July books, and a giveaway of Susannah Gibson's The Bluestockings, about a group in 1700s England who fought for women to have a place in public and intellectual life.
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With best wishes,
The BookBrowse Team
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Discussions are open to all to view and participate, so if you've read a book, click on "discuss."
If you have not, we suggest you go to "about the book" to avoid spoilers.
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Look on the Bright Side
by Kristan Higgins
From the Jacket
From the author of Pack Up the Moon comes a funny, romantic, and deeply moving novel about the unexpected rewards that come from life's detours.
From the Discussion
"This one will stay with me for a while. It’s a heartwarming and heart-wrenching novel that has serious themes but remains light and hopeful. The character development is superb, with each character growing in ways that feel authentic and moving." —suzi
"I really enjoyed the book. It held my interest, and I looked forward to going back to read more. An overall good story about family life." —conniehg
"It's a great summer read and introduction of the author for me. I will be looking for another of Kristan Higgins' books to read this summer." —louisee
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Mood Swings
by Frankie Barnet
This book begins with a bombastic premise. Seemingly fed up with the heating planet, the world's animals have launched a revolution against humans. Rats swarm city streets while once gentle cats and dogs go wild and attack their owners. As humanity is forced indoors for safety, billionaire Roderick Maeve steps in with a solution. He funds the creation of a machine that uses a special sound wave to instantly kill every non-human creature on Earth. While some people are relieved that the animals are gone, others are devastated. Roderick, convinced of his role as savior, announces that all hope is not lost. He's commissioned a genius physicist to build a time machine that will not just bring back the animals, but solve climate change by introducing solar panels during the Industrial Revolution.
Despite its concept-heavy premise, this is a surprisingly character-driven story. Against its high-stakes backdrop, the plot zooms in on the reactions of Jenlena, a university student in Montreal, and her friends. ... continued
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The Mysterious Life of Pirate Captain Jacquotte Delahaye | |
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Briony Cameron's debut novel, The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye, is an imagined look at the life of a female pirate captain sailing the Caribbean in the 17th century. While some of her contemporaries, like Anne Bonny and Mary Read, have become well known, Delahaye has been largely lost to history due to a lack of reliable records. Cameron acknowledges in the foreword that the narrative required many creative liberties, given the scarcity of information available about the heroine. In fact, several scholars now dispute whether she ever existed at all.
What alleged details do we have about Jacquotte Delahaye? She was supposedly born in Saint-Dominique in 1630, the daughter of a Haitian mother and a French father. Her mother is believed to have died in childbirth with Jacquotte's younger brother, who was disabled. When her father was killed during a raid by the British Navy, Jacquotte took to the sea and a life of piracy in order to provide for her brother and avenge their losses. ... continued
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New BookBrowse Facebook Group | |
Join our new Facebook group! BookBrowse's mission is to help readers discover books that not only entertain, but engage and teach us more about the world around us. To further that mission we created a new Facebook group for BookBrowsers and other book lovers to share their favorite reads, ask for help with what to read next, and discuss all things books.
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Book Clubs' All-Time Favorites | |
What are your favorite book club books of all time?
In our most recent survey, we asked subscribers to tell us what their overall top three book club books were. More than 800 responded, and we've compiled their answers to calculate the current top ten books for book club discussion.
While some of these books have clearly stood the test of time, it's also clear that it doesn't take long for new book club favorites to emerge. ... continued
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We know it can be tough to keep up with all the new books coming out every month, so we do the hard work for you. We've carefully selected 100+ of the most noteworthy books publishing in July and are continually updating our selections — check them out and get yourself on the library wait-list ahead of the crowd!
Non-subscribers can view books up to the current month and a limited selection of future months. If you don't already, you may also wish to subscribe to our Publishing This Week newsletter.
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The Bluestockings
by Susannah Gibson
From the Jacket
In England in the 1700s, a woman who was an intellectual, spoke out, or wrote professionally was considered unnatural. After all, as the wisdom of the era dictated, a clever woman―if there were such a thing―would never make a good wife. But a circle of women called the Bluestockings did something extraordinary: coming together in glittering salons to discuss and debate as intellectual equals with men, they fought for women to be educated and to have a public role in society.
Praise
"The author's engaging account honors the determination and charm with which her subjects seized as much freedom as society would allow them. Vivid popular history illuminating some neglected feminist pioneers." ―Kirkus Reviews
"Spirited, lively, and scholarly….A close-up view of some notable bluestockings leaves the reader gasping at their energy." ―Literary Review
About This Sweepstakes
We have up to 30 copies of The Bluestockings by Susannah Gibson to give away. If a winner is in a book club they will receive a copy for each member of their group (up to a maximum of 10 copies); if a winner is not in a book club they will receive 4 copies (one for themselves and three to share with friends).
This offer is open to residents of the USA, except for BookBrowse members, who are welcome to enter wherever they live. If a member not resident in the US wins, they receive an extension to their membership.
Giveaway ends July 15, 2024
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BookBrowse Highlights is one of our four free newsletters. We also offer Publishing This Week every Sunday, and Book Club News and Librarian News monthly.
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