Last week, I took some time out for my birthday and drove to this really cute beach town in Delaware. And of course, I visited the indie bookstore (Browesabout Books) that literally had a Taylor Swift shrine. I’m neither here nor there with Tay Tay, but I respect the hubbub. Since it was a week of celebration for me, I allowed myself to make a little money while I was there, my many unread books at home or not!
Now that I’m back and refreshed, I have a list of best books for July’s book club, about adolescent girls in 1950s Iran, a wealthy family whose children keep disappearing from summer camp, loud women, and more.
Chocolate cake is always a hit, I think, and this one has a bit more theatricality, inspired by The Cake from Matilda. To prepare it, you will need cake ingredients (milk, flour, baking powder, etc.) and, of course, lots of chocolate. Nikk Alcaraz provides a video on YouTube with instructions and a full list of ingredients.
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
Set in 1950s Iran, Ellie and Homa are two young girls who find themselves together after Ellie’s father dies and she and her mother are forced into a less comfortable lifestyle. But when Ellie is allowed to return to her bourgeois life, she – now a popular student at a prestigious girls’ school – almost forgets her childhood best friend. When Homa re-enters Ellie’s life, political unrest is about to boil over and the two girls must figure out what the future holds for them.
The God of the Forest by Liz Moore
It’s August 1975, and 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar has disappeared from camp. Moreover, she is not the first missing Van Laar child – her brother also disappeared 14 years ago. As the search for Barbara begins, secrets come to light about the Van Laars – the owners of the Adirondack summer camp where their children disappeared and where many of the area’s workers work.
Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve by Drew Afulo
I admit I’m a little late to the Drew bandwagon, but I’m happy to go wherever she takes it. If you don’t know her either, I suggest joining the 7.9 million+ who already follow her on TikTok.
Now, on to the things I love about Drew – nails: done; shit: talked; sexists: done. Period. Ad infinitum.
In Loudshe addresses many of the things that have made her such a popular influencer – calling out terrible men, promoting self-confidence and a fierce philosophy of life, and doing it all with her own personal touch.
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Cynical screenwriter Misha has just been nominated for an Oscar after years of toiling in Hollywood, but things get serious when his producers ask him to kill off a queer character “for the algorithm” in the finale of the show he’s working on. Now it seems his former fictional creations are out to get him in real life.
