welcome to my bookshelf
Adrienne Celt’s book, Invitation to a Bonfire, pieces together diary pages from a fictional young woman named Zoya, and love letters from a fictional Russian writer named Leo "Lev" Orlov (based on Vladimir Nabokov). In doing so, she builds up sexual and violent tension to a point where I hit the end of the novel and thought, HOLY SHIT.
The book is a really fun mix of fantasy, espionage, and navigating paranormal monsters and government bureaucracy.
If you read one book this summer, let it be this one.
The plot is relatively straightforward: four girls attend a sleepaway camp in the Pacific Northwest. They set out on an overnight kayaking trip, get separated from the counselor, and shit goes down.
You may remember Otsuka from her debut novel, When the Emperor Was Divine, about the life of a Japanese-American family during World War II. This follow up is not as critically praised as the first, but captures a wider swath of experience.
For anyone who has ever mourned, written, or loved a dog.
He tells his Palestinian neighbor the story of the Jewish people.
Adeyemi explained that her mission is: “Write a story that’s so good and so black that everyone’s going to have to read it — even if they’re racist.”
Okay, I rarely read romance novels but I'm about to recommend this with all my heart.
