Best Summer Books

10 must-read summer books include dark fantasy, quirky history and a grouchy cat

When people described Book Expo America to me in the past, I imagined a cross between fashion week, an industry trade show and ComicCon. Experiencing the event in New York City earlier this month made me realize a more apt analogy would be book Mardi Gras.

The annual early-summer trade fair is where publishing houses, authors, booksellers and educators come together to harvest and sell the year’s book crop, but that doesn’t accurately describe the sometime figurative, sometimes literal drunken free-for-all that occurs when the book industry throws mounds of books and authors at each other.

After sorting through my Book Gras loot, I’ve put together a summer-read list of some of the most buzzed about titles. There seems to be a definite trend in dark tales this year, but that might be just the cool treat we need to get through the sizzling Texas days.

Mythical and Supernatural

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (out now)

It was standing room only for the novelist, television writer and twitter king at Book Expo. Calling his first adult novel since 2005 a “particular, dark little book,” about magic and memory, Gaiman confessed it’s also an accidental book that started as a short story based on a forgotten piece of childhood history and the tragic suicide of his family’s lodger.

The Returned by Jason Mott (out Aug. 28)

Though The Returned revolves around the fantastic conceit that the dead are being returned to the living exactly as they were before they died, Mott says he tried to treat the subject matter as realistically as possible.

The inspiration came from a haunting dream Mott had of coming home from work one day to find his deceased mother waiting for him at the kitchen table ready to hear about the years of his life she had missed. ABC has already adapted the book for television.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (out Aug. 30)

If you grew up on Harry Potter or A Song of Ice and Fire and think a seven novel series is just the right length, this might be the summer sensation for you. Both fantastic and futuristic, this debut novel is set in an alternate future dystopian Britain, where psychics and clairvoyants are a persecuted minority.

The 21-year-old Shannon created her “voyant” hero Paige Mahoney while working on an English degree at Oxford. She’s managed to stay in school while completing the novel and mapping out the next six. She already signed a movie deal.

Yeah, I kind of hate her too, but this series looks like it could become addictive.

Sometimes the Best Stories Are True

Two nonfiction books titles won me over before I even turned the first page.

The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese by Michael Paterniti (out July 30)

Traveling through Spain the author visits a “telling room” — a room built inside a cave where wine and cheese were counted before being stored for winter. Within this counting room that over centuries also served as a storytelling room, Paterniti meets a cheese maker who recounts a tale of mystery, murder and magical cheese.

He had me at magical cheese.

Topsy: The Startling Story of the Crooked Tailed Elephant, P.T. Barnum, and the American Wizard, Thomas Edison by Michael Daly (out July 2)

I’m always fascinated when disparate historical figures bump into each other in books, and this chronicle of P.T. Barnum, Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, the War of Currents and an electrocuted elephant seems to be a lost, true story of early 20th century American history we all should know.

Literary and historical

TransAtlantic by Colum McCann (out now)

The National Book Award winner’s new novel spans three countries and many time periods, focusing on U.S. to Ireland and back Atlantic crossings. Read now, then meet the author when Inprint brings McCann to Houston in November as part of their 2013-2014 season.

The Son by Philipp Meyer (out now)

I heard a lot of local buzz for this century-spanning, Texas-set novel, especially from the Brazos Bookstore guys. While regional excitement might be biased because Meyer just completed four Texas stops on his book tour, even The New York Times is saying The Son should be raised to the ranks of the greatest historical novels.

If you missed out on meeting Meyer, check out Kent Wascom’s debut novel The Blood of Heaven. The 26-year-old New Orleans native reads from his dark, violent depiction of early 19th century Gulf Coast settlers and revolutionaries at Brazos on June 28.

A different kind of memoir

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward (out Sept. 1)

I’m playing favorites because I recently interviewed this National Book Award winner. Her passion to tell the true stories of the lives and deaths of five young African-American men from her small Mississippi town sold me on this book before I ever saw it.

Dark Crime

Alex by Pierre Lemaitre (out Sept. 3)

The book, already a best-seller in France, is being compared to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. After seeing so many editors and publicists in a perpetual state of forced excitement about their books at Book Expo, hearing the Random House rep happily tell a room of librarians that Alex was “very, very sick” was so refreshing and hilarious, I wanted to check out this thriller immediately.

Celebrity Books

Celebrity books are as as prevalent as celebrity fragrances, but the latest trend is the celebrity penned children’s book. Jessica Lange, Julianne Moore and Jim Carrey all made Book Expo appearances. Octavia Spencer's Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective especially looks like a fun romp for kids. But if the Book Expo signing line length is an indication, the hottest celebrity book this summer will be. . .

Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book (out July 23)

Internet domination wasn’t enough, so Grumpy Cat has pawed a photo-heavy book filled with grumpy games and activities.

Sure it’s a crass, cash-in on an Internet meme, but after all that magical, historical and literary darkness, a grouch cat just might bring some sun to your summer.

Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book

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Movie Review

Twin sisters set out for revenge in Tarantino-esque film 'Is God Is'

Photo by Patti Perret

Kara Young and Mallori Johnson in Is God Is.

The revenge story is one of the most enduring in all of cinema as it can be adapted to multiple different genres. It most naturally fits in the action/thriller genre, but comedies, dramas, Westerns, and more have made good use of characters seeking revenge. The new film Is God Is demonstrates that malleability by detailing an intensely personal story that turns into something bigger.

Twins Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) have lived a difficult life, going in and out of foster care and forced to endure stares and taunts because each bears burn scars from a childhood attack. Racine, whose scars are “only” on her left arm, has developed into the protector of Anaia, who suffered burns over much of her face.

An unexpected call from their mother, Ruby (Vivica A. Fox), who was burned almost beyond recognition in the attack, gives them a purpose: Seeking revenge on the man who ruined their lives. Setting out in a barely working car and with only a small amount of direction, the sisters attempt to fulfill the mission without losing their souls.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Aleasha Harris, the film may remind some viewers of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, and not just because Fox has small roles in both films. Harris has a knack for dialogue, especially between the twins, that ably gets across the story exposition and entertains at the same time. There are many instances where she has the sisters hold silent conversations told on screen via subtitles to convey twin-speak, a method that deepens their connection and draws the viewer in.

Harris also has her characters engage in the type of shocking violence that Tarantino has used to great effect. The difference here, though, is that even though the story is heightened to a certain degree, the egregious nature of the crime perpetrated upon the girls and their mother makes the whole thing feel bracingly real. This revenge plot is not meant to merely entertain; it’s designed to put the audience in Racine and Anaia’s shoes and fully embrace the call for justice.

There are a few times when the lack of experience by Harris shows up, especially in the climactic sequence where the stunt work could have used some more precision. But overall, it’s a self-assured filmmaking debut for the playwright-turned-director, who’s adapted her own play with a richness and depth that is not often found from someone stepping behind the camera for the first time.

Young and Johnson don’t especially look alike, but they embody the essence of twin sisters, and it’s their chemistry together that makes the story as impactful as it is. They’re joined by other strong female performances by Fox, Erika Alexander, and Janelle Monáe, each of whom brings a different vibe. And anyone who loves This is Us or Paradise should prepare themselves for a completely different kind of role for Sterling K. Brown.

Is God Is uses a variety of inspirations for its storytelling, but in the end it becomes its own thing. The filmmaking world can always stand to have another strong Black voice, and Harris has made an auspicious debut, one that should have cinephiles wondering what she’ll do next.

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Is God Is opens in theaters on May 15.

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