Welcome to the August 2024 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

Like many others, my husband purchased a copy of J.D. Vance’s memoir, Hillybilly Elegy, following the Republican National Convention. I’m not sure if it was Prime Day pricing, but it was a considerably reduced price. I’d had my eye on this several years ago but hadn’t gotten around to reading it, so I’ll likely read it as well. So far, from the stories my husband has shared, I think it’s fair to say Vance’s Appalachian family was very colorful. I read the introduction, and the writing was so smooth, I wanted to continue.

Summer Sweethearts was a quick, fun read. It’s a collection of short summery contemporary romances put together by authors Katie Fitzgerald and Rachel Lawrence. Each story was well-written, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. Plus, I was introduced to many new-to-me authors. It’s available via the contributors, including Katie.

Cole and Laila Are Just Friends, as you might guess by the title, is a friends-to-more trope contemporary rom-com. I’d read another Bethany Turner novel awhile back and didn’t care for the main character, but I wanted to give the author another try, and I’d seen lots of positive reviews of this one. I did like the characters in this one, which is filled with snappy dialogue, solid writing, and fun settings from mountainous Colorado to New York City. Cole and Laila’s (eventual) romance is tender, sweet, and honest, but I could never quite buy that they’d been intimate, touchy-feely, inseparable friends for nearly four decades and hadn’t considered the possibility of romance.

It had been a minute (as they say) since I’d read a Denise Hunter novel, so I picked up Love, Unscripted. A romance novelist enters a fake dating relationship with the star of the movie adaption of her book. She ensures he gets the main character right, and he rehabilitates his playboy image. As you’d guess, they fall in love, but there are some hurdles preventing them from getting together. I was disappointed that unlike all the other Denise Hunter books I’ve read, this one didn’t have a faith theme in a story that would readily lend itself to one.

Many years after my daughter prompted me to read a favorite of hers, Johnny Tremain, I finally did! This American Revolutionary War novel by Esther Forbes follows a young, orphaned silversmith, the title character, who through a series of events finds himself playing a key role in the colonial rebellion despite his age and a serious injury. Since the story is set in Boston and its environs, I was grateful our family had visited Boston, Concord, and Lexington for a family vacation once. It helped ground me in the setting and the action.

I’d also been meaning to read To the Heights: A Novel Based on the Life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati by Brian Kennelly for many years. It was a moving introduction to the life of soon-to-be-saint Pier Giorgio Frassati. There is so much to admire in this young man – his zest for life, his love of family, his patriotism, passion, and piety. The novel gave historical context to the details I knew of his life, grounding it in early 20th century Italian culture and the political milieu. The author did a good job of allowing the reader to see Pier Giorgio’s heroism and virtue but also his weaknesses and flaws. It could be improved with additional proofreading. 

I previewed a copy of Forgiven: A Guide to Confession and the Examen Prayer by Sr. Orianne Pietra René Dyck and Sr. Allison Regina Gliot. It’s as thorough a guide to confession for young people that I’ve ever seen. In easy-to-understand language, it offers practical answers to common questions about the sacrament. It also includes many relevant prayers, all in a compact size that’s easily portable. Full review coming at CatholicMom.com.

My oldest son, who enjoys Michael Crichton books, read The Andromeda Strain. He’s read enough of the author’s books to recognize the pattern: a team of people are brought in to address a crisis brought about by man and nature. Premise from the blurb: Five prominent biophysicists have warned the United States government that sterilization procedures for returning space probes may be inadequate to guarantee uncontaminated re-entry to the atmosphere.

He also read Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S. C. Gwynne. From his review: “An amazing book about one of the more forgotten American heroes of the Civil War. Jackson is a simple yet complex figure, revered and feared by Confederates and Unionists alike. Gwynne does a beautiful job of bringing Jackson and the broader Civil War to life once again!” His only criticism of the book is that the maps, critical to understanding the battles, were insufficient.

My oldest daughter read 1776 by David McCullough, a Pulitzer Prize winner, as part of a summer reading project. She really enjoyed the book, which she described as an outline of the Revolutionary War from late 1775 through 1776. It focuses on generals from both sides of the conflict and their campaigns. She appreciated that it included historical accuracy without contemporary judgment.

My younger daughter is reading in series that she or her siblings have read and have been featured here at least once: I Am Margaret, The Three Most Wanted, and Drive!, all by Corinna Turner; A World Such as Heaven Intended by Amanda Lauer; and the second and third books in Raymond Arroyo’s Will Wilder series. She’s becoming a Catholic Teen Books poster child. 

She’s also been re-reading parts of Cece Louise’s Forest Tales series in addition to a series prequel, Saving Vengeance. The description: “Forced to choose between loyalty to the king and what is right, Gavin spares an innocent woman’s life, only to discover that saving her won’t be as easy as he thought. All Laurel wants is revenge on the man who murdered her sister, even if that means sacrificing herself in the process. When a masquerade ball provides the perfect opportunity for her plan, will she succeed?”

I’ve been reading Where the Red Fern Grows aloud to my youngest son. The classic by Wilson Rawls is one I’ve meant to read, and it’s on his summer reading list. So far, it’s a story of a boy determined to get his own pair of hunting dogs. Every time someone spies the cover, they make a remark about a tragic ending, so I guess that’s where we’re headed.

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