The Girl in the Lake by India Hill Brown

 

The Girl in the Lake  by India Hill Brown  209 pages

Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house with her brother, Owen, and their cousins Capri and Daisy, but she's not. After failing her swimming lessons, she is done with the water--and she knows the trip is just a way to get her in the lake. Her grandparents are strong believers in their family knowing how to swim, especially having grown up during a time of segregation at public pools. They want Celeste to have the opportunities they never did. Celeste insists on spending her visit on dry land. But soon strange things start happening when she's alone: the sound of footsteps overhead late at night. A flickering light in the attic window. And then Celeste's cousins start accusing her of playing cruel pranks on them when she's been nowhere near them! Things at the old house keep getting scarier until, one evening, Celeste looks in the steamy mirror after a shower and sees her face, but twisted, different. Who is the girl in the mirror? And what does she want?

I am not a fan of scary stories and the only reason I read this one is that it is a Mark Twain Nominee.  It wasn't too scary, but still not a favorite.  I do think kids aged 8-12 will enjoy it because it has a ghost in it, but it also teaches a lesson about overcoming your fears.  This book also teaches about civil rights and why some people say "Black people can't swim".  Even though it was a ghost story I did enjoy the main story about the family. 

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee - 288 pages

I have to say up front that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books ever.  My love for it is definitely influenced by Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch in the movie.  I went into this new book with a little trepidation from the media's furor over the portrayal of Atticus.  I was pleasantly surprised to truly enjoy this book.  It is a slice of an entirely different time in which Scout is a grown woman coming back to Maycomb from New York for a yearly vacation.  The portrayal of Atticus as a real-life flawed human being trying to live by a personal code is much very relatable.  This snapshot of southern life on the cusp of the civil rights movement has lessons that still resonate today. 

Loss of Innocence by Richard North Patterson--349 pages

This book is set in the summer of 1968 on Martha's Vineyard.  The main character is a young woman just starting out in life after attending college.  Through her we see the main issues of that time: the blossoming women's movement, the civil rights struggles, assassinations of Jack and Bobby Kennedy as well as Martin Luther King Jr., and conflict over the Vietnam War.  Having grown up during this period, this book made me think back to those issues.  At the time, I had no idea that the late sixties and early seventies would play such an important part in influencing the future of our country.  This was a new author for me, and I must say that I enjoyed his book.  I will definitely read some of his other titles! 

Loss of Innocence by Richard North Patterson

Loss of Innocence by Richard North Patterson--349 pages

This book is set in the summer of 1968 on Martha's Vineyard.  The main character is a young woman just starting out in life after attending college.  Through her we see the main issues of that time: the blossoming women's movement, the civil rights struggles, assassinations of Jack and Bobby Kennedy as well as Martin Luther King Jr., and conflict over the Vietnam War.  Having grown up during this period, this book made me think back to those issues.  At the time, I had no idea that the late sixties and early seventies would play such an important part in influencing the future of our country.  This was a new author for me, and I must say that I enjoyed his book.  I will definitely read some of his other titles! 

Powerful Days: Civil Rights Photography of Charles Moore, by Charles Moore

Powerful Days: Civil Rights Photography of Charles Moore, by Charles Moore, 208 pages

Charles Moore can be remembered for some of the most stirring photographs of the civil rights movement (I'll leave the google image-searching to you).  Each section in this book explains what was going on in the time period that each group of photos represents.  From police dogs attacking protestors, to the funeral procession at Medgar Evers' funeral, the photographs largely speak for themselves.  I thought this was a good reminder of how close such a massive injustice sits in our country's past.

Almost Like Being in Love: a novel by Steve Kluger

Almost Like Being in Love: a novel by Steve Kluger - 354 pages

Travis and Craig discovered the person they loved when they were both seniors in college.  After one summer, they reluctantly part and lose touch.  Twenty years later, Travis realizes that he never got over Craig and is still in love with him.  So he sets out to find Craig again and get him back.  Meanwhile, Craig still thinks about Travis but is happily committed to Clayton -- until he starts to think about running for office.
I picked up this book after reading Kluger's teen novel My Most Excellent Year.  It is very, very similar.  It is also written in diary entries and emails.  The characters even seem like grown-up versions of the teen characters in My Most Excellent Year.  Still, I enjoyed the story.