We're rolling into the absolute final dog days of summer. It’s been insanely hot in the Northeast, which has me wishing and waiting for the colder days ahead. Labor Day is right around the corner (which, no matter what the calendar says, marks the end of summer), and on the other side of that is beloved fall. I read somewhere recently that Starbucks is rolling out their infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte even earlier this year (August 28th, to be exact), which means fans across the country can rejoice and prep their palates. While I haven’t made it to the beach this year (I know, I know), maybe I can squeeze in a last-minute trip.
The hotly anticipated book-to-screen Crazy Rich Asians finally hit theaters nationwide yesterday. It’s already getting a solid 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, so my expectations will stay super high. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to peep it this coming weekend, if not before.
On Monday, Rebecca Munro (Editorial Manager of Teenreads.com and Kidsreads.com) and I attended a special talk with author Kevin Kwan at Buzzfeed. You can imagine how thrilled we were when we got the invite --- obviously, we instantly jumped on the opportunity with our RSVP. So, late afternoon, in the damp and humid haze of the city, we made the trek across town to check out the scene. We were greeted with like-minded millennials sweating our excitement at every step. (Side note: the Buzzfeed office is a sight to be seen!) There was beer for imbibing, trendy sparkling water for the tamer set and a plethora of dumplings...shrimp, veggie, chicken, pork, red bean. We were already knee-deep in the good stuff when Kwan came on stage for a brief 30-minute conversation with two other Buzzfeed staffers, leaving only a couple of minutes at the end for a few questions from the audience.
Kwan started writing CRAZY RICH ASIANS when he began feeling creatively unfulfilled. He had spent two decades working in New York City and did everything to avoid his own voice. None of the projects he had been working ever spoke to him. And so he began writing as a fun side project, spending a lot of time writing in airport terminals as he traveled. The book was primarily inspired by romcoms (a genre he’s always been attached to) he watched on repeat growing up: Pretty Woman, Sixteen Candles, Four Weddings and a Funeral. The novel began as a cluster of short stories, and before it was even complete, he looked for an agent who would be behind his work entirely.
In due time, the book got published. Fast forward a couple years to 2017, the book starts being made into a movie with the same production company as The Hunger Games behind it. They hired the screenwriter, got a director, Jon M. Chu, and a stellar core cast, who all worked together with each other, including Kwan, to make sure the book’s vision and aesthetic translated well to the screen. Kwan thinks Constance Wu playing Rachel Chu is pure perfection, credits director Chu for bringing in the comedians, and relates most to Alistair in the sense that he’s also the “creative” in a family that doesn’t quite get it.
As a whole, Kwan had a great time making the movie, which is super rare for authors. He got an Executive Producer credit, which authors covet. You may or may not know this, but often times authors have zero input for the movie adaptation. Kwan was on board and involved almost every step of the way. He said the set designer was amazing and visually ingenious, really playing into all the glitz and glamour the book is so focused on. With only a $30 million budget, it was difficult to incorporate all the luxury regalia that the characters are so known for, but the production, stylist and set designers really nailed it. Remember: These characters are to be dripping in Louis Vuitton, Chanel and the like. Kwan notes that the wedding scene is one that will be remembered for all of eternity.
So what’s an author to do next when he’s got a BIG, BIG hit on his hands? Kwan’s been working on his next project, an original TV series with Amazon. It will be a one-hour drama based in Hong Kong, and will be “Game of Thrones”-esque. The sequels to CRAZY RICH ASIANS, CHINA RICH GIRLFRIEND and RICH PEOPLE PROBLEMS may be in the works for the silver screen, but are contingent upon how well Crazy Rich Asians does in the theaters. That’s a nod to all you folks to get out there and watch. That said, the movie has grossed $5 million already (since yesterday!) and is projected to pull in $25 million by the end of the weekend. Woooweee!
Kwan’s parting piece(s) of advice for aspiring writers: It’s important to explore and express in any way you can. Trust your voice. Don’t censor yourself. Your story is original. Your story is beautiful. Take that risk.
If you haven’t already read it, I suggest picking up CRAZY RICH ASIANS before you see in it theaters, obviously. If that’s not your cup of tea, here are a few others to check out:
THE BUCKET LIST by Georgia Clark is the story of 25-year-old Lacey Whitman, who is blindsided when she’s diagnosed with the BCRA1 gene mutation: the “breast cancer” gene. Her high hereditary risk forces a decision: increased surveillance or the more radical step of a preventative double mastectomy. Small-town Lacey is not so in touch with her sexuality: she doesn’t want to sacrifice her breasts before she’s had the chance to give them their heyday. To help her make her choice, she (and her friends) creates a “boob bucket list”: everything she wants do with and for her boobs before a possible surgery. This kicks off a year of sensual exploration and sexual entertainment for the quick-witted Lacey Whitman.
In THE INCENDIARIES by R.O. Kwon, Phoebe Lin and Will Kendall meet during their first month at prestigious Edwards University. A grieving Phoebe, who blames herself for her mother’s recent death, is increasingly drawn into a religious group --- a secretive extremist cult --- founded by a charismatic former student who has an enigmatic past that involves North Korea and Phoebe's Korean American family. Meanwhile, Will struggles to confront the fundamentalism he's tried to escape, and the obsession consuming the one he loves. When the group bombs several buildings in the name of faith, killing five people, Phoebe disappears. Will devotes himself to finding her, seeking answers to what happened to Phoebe and if she could have been responsible for this violent act.
Maeve Higgins was a bestselling memoirist and comedian in her native Ireland when, at the grand old age of 31, she left the only home she’d ever known in search of something more. Like many women in their early 30s, she both was and was not the adult she wanted to be. At once smart, curious and humane, MAEVE IN AMERICA: Essays by a Girl from Somewhere Else is the story of how Maeve found herself --- literally and figuratively --- in New York City.
See you in September!
5 Things To Obsess About This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. Spotify for cookbooks is on its way
2. Min Jin Lee's PACHINKO will be a TV series
3. Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club reading list
4. Cookbook-of-the-year SALT, FAT, ACID, HEAT is headed to Netflix
5. Hollywood darling Jeff Goldblum is getting his own NatGeo show
Happy reading,
Nicole Sherman
BAD CALL: A Summer Job on a New York Ambulance by Mike Scardino (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Daniel Thomas May
BAD CALL is Mike Scardino's account of the summers he spent working as an "ambulance attendant" on the mean streets of late-1960s New York. Fueled by adrenaline and Sabrett's hot dogs, young Mike spends his days speeding from one chaotic emergency to another. His adventures take him into the middle of incipient race riots, to the scene of a plane crash at JFK airport and into private lives all over Queens, where New Yorkers are suffering, and dying, in unimaginable ways. Learning on the job, Mike encounters all manner of freakish accidents, meets countless unforgettable New York characters, falls in love, is nearly murdered, and gets an early and indelible education in the impermanence of life and the cruelty of chance. Reviewed by Bianca Ambrosio.
BAD MAN by Dathan Auerbach (Horror)
Audiobook available, read by Lincoln Hoppe
Eric disappeared when he was three years old. Ben looked away for only a second at the grocery store, but that was all it took. His brother was gone. Five years later, Ben still looks for Eric. Now 20 and desperate for work, he takes a night stock job at the only place that will have him: the store that blinked Eric out of existence. He can feel that there's something wrong there. With the people. With his boss. With the graffitied baler that shudders and moans and beckons. There's something wrong with the air itself. He knows he's in the right place now. That the store has much to tell him. So he keeps searching, but misses the most important message of all: That he should have stopped looking. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
BIBLIOMYSTERIES: Volume Two: Stories of Crime in the World of Books and Bookstores edited by Otto Penzler (Mystery/Short Stories)
If you like mysteries and you like books, what could be better than combining both worlds, with mysteries set against a background involving books? This collection of crime for bibliophiles includes stories about rare books, bookshops, libraries, manuscripts, magical books, collectors --- in short, the wonderful universe that makes this precious object we all love so important and priceless. Whether your taste is for the traditional mystery, something a little more hard-boiled, or the bizarre and humorous tale, you will find exactly your cup of tea in this collection of 15 stories by the most distinguished mystery writers working today. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE BOY AT THE DOOR by Alex Dahl (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available; read by Mozhan Marno, Sophie Amoss and Jenna Lamia
Cecilia Wilborg has it all --- a loving husband, two beautiful daughters and a gorgeous home in the affluent Norwegian town of Sandefjord. However, one mistake from her past could bring it all crashing down around her. Annika Lucasson lives a dark life with her abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend. She's lost everything one too many times, and now she has one last chance to save herself, thanks to Cecilia. Annika knows her secret --- and just how much she's willing to do to make it all go away. When someone forgets to pick up their little boy at the local pool, Cecilia agrees to take him home, only to find an abandoned, empty house. It's the first step in the unraveling of her meticulously crafted life, as her and Annika's worlds collide. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
BLOOD HIGHWAY by Gina Wohlsdorf (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Amy McFadden
Seventeen-year-old Rainy Cain’s life is upended by the sudden appearance of her father, Sam, who she thought was long dead, but instead had been in prison for his part in an armored truck robbery gone murderously wrong. Now escaped and on the run, he kidnaps Rainy, who he is convinced knows where the money from the robbery is hidden. Accompanied by a henchman with secret motives of his own, they set off on a cross-country dash to Big Sur, where Sam suspects his late wife stashed the cash. On their heels is a Minneapolis cop intent on bringing Rainy safely home. What does Rainy really know --- and what is she willing to sacrifice in order to live? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE BUCKET LIST by Georgia Clark (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Lauren Ezzo
Twenty-five-year-old Lacey Whitman is blindsided when she’s diagnosed with the BCRA1 gene mutation: the “breast cancer” gene. Her high hereditary risk forces a decision: increased surveillance or the more radical step of a preventative double mastectomy. Small-town Lacey is not so in touch with her sexuality: she doesn’t want to sacrifice her breasts before she’s had the chance to give them their heyday. To help her make her choice, she (and her friends) creates a “boob bucket list”: everything she wants do with and for her boobs before a possible surgery. This kicks off a year of sensual exploration and sexual entertainment for the quick-witted Lacey Whitman. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.
A DOUBLE LIFE by Flynn Berry (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Fiona Hardingham
Claire’s father is one of the most notorious murder suspects in the country, though no one knows it. Nearly 30 years ago, while Claire and her brother slept upstairs, a brutal crime was committed in her family's townhouse. The next morning, her father's car was found abandoned near the English Channel, with bloodstains on the front seat. Her mother insisted she'd seen him in the house that night, but his powerful, privileged friends maintained his innocence. The first lord accused of murder in more than a century, he has been missing ever since. When the police tell Claire they've found him, her carefully calibrated existence begins to fracture. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
THE FIFTH TO DIE by J. D. Barker (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Edoardo Ballerini and Graham Winton
Detective Porter and the team have been pulled from the hunt for Anson Bishop, the Four Monkey Killer, by the feds. When the body of a young girl is found beneath the frozen waters of Jackson Park Lagoon, she is identified as Ella Reynolds, missing three weeks. But how did she get there? The lagoon froze months earlier. More baffling? She’s found wearing the clothes of another girl, missing less than two days. Obsessed with catching Bishop, Porter follows a single grainy photograph from Chicago to the streets of New Orleans and stumbles into a world darker than he could have possibly imagined, where he quickly realizes that the only place more frightening than the mind of a serial killer is the mind of the mother from which he came. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
HER PRETTY FACE by Robyn Harding (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available; read by Rebekkah Ross, Cassandra Campbell and Kirby HeyborneFrances Metcalfe is struggling to stay afloat. A stay-at-home mom whose troubled son is her full-time job, she thought that the day he got accepted into the elite Forrester Academy would be the day she started living her life. Overweight, insecure and lonely, she is desperate to fit into Forrester’s world. But after a disturbing incident at the school leads the other children and their families to ostracize the Metcalfes, she feels more alone than ever before. Until she meets Kate Randolph. As the two bond over their disdain of the Forrester snobs and the fierce love they have for their sons, a startling secret threatens to tear them apart. Because one of these women is not who she seems. Her real name is Amber Kunik. And she’s a murderer. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.
IF YOU LEAVE ME by Crystal Hana Kim (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Greta Jung and Keong Sim
When the communist-backed army from the north invades her home, 16-year-old Haemi Lee, along with her widowed mother and ailing brother, is forced to flee to a refugee camp along the coast. For a few hours each night, she escapes her family’s makeshift home and tragic circumstances with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan. Focused on finishing school, Kyunghwan doesn’t realize that his older and wealthier cousin, Jisoo, has his sights set on the beautiful and spirited Haemi --- and is determined to marry her before joining the fight. But as Haemi becomes a wife and then a mother, her decision to forsake the boy she always loved for the security of her family sets off a dramatic saga that will have profound effects for generations to come. Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.
THE INCENDIARIES by R.O. Kwon (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Keong Sim
Phoebe Lin and Will Kendall meet during their first month at prestigious Edwards University. A grieving Phoebe, who blames herself for her mother’s recent death, is increasingly drawn into a religious group --- a secretive extremist cult --- founded by a charismatic former student who has an enigmatic past that involves North Korea and Phoebe's Korean American family. Meanwhile, Will struggles to confront the fundamentalism he's tried to escape, and the obsession consuming the one he loves. When the group bombs several buildings in the name of faith, killing five people, Phoebe disappears. Will devotes himself to finding her, seeking answers to what happened to Phoebe and if she could have been responsible for this violent act. Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.
THE LATE BLOOMERS’ CLUB by Louise Miller (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Emily Rankin
Nora, the owner of the Miss Guthrie Diner, discovers that she and her younger sister Kit stand to inherit the home and land of the town's beloved cake lady, Peggy Johnson. Kit, an aspiring (and broke) filmmaker, thinks her problems are solved when she and Nora find out that Peggy was in the process of selling the land to a big-box developer before her death. But Nora isn't quite ready to let go of the land, complete with a charming farmhouse, an ancient apple orchard and the clues to a secret life that no one knew Peggy had. Troubled by the conflicting needs of the town, and confused by her growing feelings towards Elliot, the big-box developer's rep, Nora throws herself into solving the one problem that everyone in town can agree on --- finding Peggy's missing dog, Freckles. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
MAEVE IN AMERICA: Essays by a Girl from Somewhere Else by Maeve Higgins(Humor/Essays)
Audiobook available, read by Maeve Higgins
Maeve Higgins was a bestselling memoirist and comedian in her native Ireland when, at the grand old age of 31, she left the only home she’d ever known in search of something more. Like many women in their early 30s, she both was and was not the adult she wanted to be. At once smart, curious and humane, MAEVE IN AMERICA is the story of how Maeve found herself --- literally and figuratively --- in New York City. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
A MEASURE OF DARKNESS by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman(Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Dennis Boutsikaris
A wild party in a gentrifying East Bay neighborhood. A heated argument that spills into the street. Gunshots. Chaos. For Clay Edison and his fellow coroners, it’s the start of a long night and the first of many to come. The victims keep piling up. Then the smoke clears and the real mystery emerges --- one victim’s death doesn’t match the others. And it falls to Clay to give her a name and a voice. Haunted by the cruelty of her death, he embarks upon a journey into the bizarre, entering a hidden world where innocence and perversity meet and mingle. There, his relentless pursuit of the truth opens the gateway to a dark and baffling past --- and brings him right into the line of fire. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
OPEN ME by Lisa Locascio (Fiction)
Roxana Olsen has always dreamed of going to Paris, and after high school graduation finally plans to travel there on a study abroad program. But a logistical mix-up brings Roxana to Copenhagen instead, where she is picked up at the airport by Søren, a 28-year-old guide who is meant to be her steward. Instantly drawn to one another, Roxana and Søren’s relationship turns romantic, and when he asks Roxana to accompany him to a small coastal town for the rest of the summer, she doesn’t hesitate to accept. But as their relationship deepens, Søren’s temperament darkens, and Roxana finds herself increasingly drawn to a local outsider, Zlatan, whom she learns is a Muslim refugee from the Bosnian War. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
THE QUIET SIDE OF PASSION: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Davina Porter
Isabel Dalhousie and her husband, Jamie, hire a new au pair, and Isabel brings on an intelligent assistant editor to share her workload. Both women, though, have romantic entanglements that threaten to interfere with their work, and Isabel must decide how best to navigate this tricky domestic situation. Meanwhile, Isabel makes the acquaintance of Patricia, the mother of her son Charlie’s friend Basil. She tries to be supportive, especially given that Patricia is raising her son on her own, without the help of his father, a well-known Edinburgh organist also named Basil. But when Isabel sees Patricia in the company of an unscrupulous man, she begins to rethink her assumptions. Reviewed by Roz Shea.
THE SINNERS: A Quinn Colson Novel by Ace Atkins (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by MacLeod Andrews
The Pritchards were an evil, greedy family who made their living dealing drugs and committing mayhem. Years ago, Quinn Colson's late uncle had put the clan's patriarch in prison, but now he's getting out, with revenge, power and family business on his mind. To make matters worse, a shady trucking firm with possible ties to the Gulf Coast syndicate has moved into Tibbehah, and they have their own methods of intimidation. With his longtime deputy Lillie Virgil now working up in Memphis, Colson finds himself having to fall back on some brand-new deputies to help him out. But with Old West-style violence breaking out, and his own wedding on the horizon, this is without a doubt Colson's most trying time as sheriff. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
SOMETHING IN THE WATER by Catherine Steadman (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Catherine Steadman
Erin is a documentary filmmaker on the brink of a professional breakthrough, and Mark is a handsome investment banker with big plans. Passionately in love, they embark on a dream honeymoon to the tropical island of Bora Bora, where they enjoy the sun, the sand and each other. Then, while scuba diving in the crystal blue sea, they find something in the water. Suddenly the newlyweds must make a dangerous choice: to speak out or to protect their secret. After all, if no one else knows, who would be hurt? Their decision will trigger a devastating chain of events. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
THE THIRD HOTEL by Laura van den Berg (Metaphysical Mystery)
Shortly after Clare arrives in Havana, Cuba, to attend the annual Festival of New Latin American Cinema, she finds her husband, Richard, standing outside a museum. He’s wearing a white linen suit she’s never seen before, and he’s supposed to be dead. Grief-stricken and baffled, Clare tails Richard, a horror film scholar, through the newly tourist-filled streets of Havana, clocking his every move. As the distinction between reality and fantasy blurs, Clare finds grounding in memories of her childhood in Florida and of her marriage to Richard, revealing her role in his death and reappearance along the way. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
AN UNWANTED GUEST by Shari Lapena (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Hillary Huber
It's winter in the Catskills, and Mitchell's Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing weekend away. So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity --- and all contact with the outside world --- the guests settle in for the long haul. Soon, though, one of the guests turns up dead --- it looks like an accident. But when a second guest dies, they start to panic. Within the snowed-in paradise, something --- or someone --- is picking off the guests one by one. And there's nothing they can do but hunker down and hope they can survive the storm. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
STAR-TOUCHED STORIES by Roshani Chokshi (Fantasy)
Audiobook available, narrated by Priya Ayyar
From New York Times bestselling author, Roshani Chokshi, comes STAR-TOUCHED STORIES: a fantasy collection of three lush and adventurous stories set in the Star-Touched world. Stories include "Death and Night," the story of the Lord of Death, cursed never to love, and his meeting with Night incarnate, destined to stay alone; "Poison and Gold," the tale of Asha's battle with her own powers and insecurities as she fights to help her friends; and "Rose and Sword," the tale of a bride who loses her bridegroom on the eve of her wedding. But is it a tale or a truth? Reviewed by Grace P., Teen Board Member.
THESE REBEL WAVES by Sara Raasch (Fantasy)
Audiobook available, narrated by Kate Rudd
Five years ago, Adeluna helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Agrid, a country ruled by religion. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks, Argrid demands brutal justice, but Lu suspects something dangerous is at work. An expert navigator named Devereux agrees to help Lu find the Argridian, but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war. Meanwhile, Benat, the crown prince of Argrid, has been tasked with reversing Argrid’s fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country --- or if he’s building his own pyre. As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex and Ben will have to decide who they really are...and what they are willing to become for peace. Reviewed by Isabel C., Teen Board Member.
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