Suggestions for summer reading

SELLING NOVELIST. IT TOOK A LITTLE LONGER THAN SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD, BUT KAREN MCMANUS IS FINALLY LIVING HER DREAM. I ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE. I STARTED WRITING WHEN I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD AND I TOLD EVERYONE GROWING UP, THAT’S WHAT I WAS GOING TO BE. OPTING FOR A MORE PRACTICAL APPROACH. THE WALPOLE NATIVE WORKED IN COMMUNICATIONS INSTEAD, AND NOTHING WAS EVER QUITE RIGHT UNTIL I BECAME A NOVELIST IN 2017. AFTER HUNDREDS OF REJECTIONS. HER THIRD BOOK, ONE OF US IS LYING, WAS PUBLISHED. I JUST THOUGHT I ACHIEVED MY DREAM AND I’VE BEEN PUBLISHED. FOUR WEEKS LATER, THE YOUNG ADULT THRILLER BECAME A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER AND STAYED ON THE LIST FOR FIVE YEARS. SOMETIMES I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT. I FEEL REALLY FORTUNATE. IT’S HARD TO HAVE A BREAKTHROUGH BOOK. IT’S EVEN HARDER FOR THAT BOOK TO SUSTAIN ITS POPULARITY OVER YEARS. MCMANUS HAD FOUND HER CALLING AND FOLLOWED THAT SUCCESS WITH SIX MORE BOOKS IN THE SAME GENRE. I THINK WHAT I WAS DRAWN TO WAS THE VOICE, HOW IMMEDIATE IT WAS, HOW EMOTIONAL IT WAS, AND THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE THIS HIGH STAKES PLOT THAT’S COUPLED WITH THIS COMING OF AGE STORY AND EVERYBODY CAN RELATE TO THAT FEELING OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT YOUR PLACE IN THE WORLD. HER MOST RECENT NOVEL, NUMBER SEVEN, IS SUCH CHARMING LIARS. IT IS ABOUT TWO TEEN PROTAGONISTS WHO MET WHEN THEY WERE TODDLERS BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS MET, MARRIED AND DIVORCED IN LAS VEGAS IN ABOUT 24 HOURS. HAVEN’T SEEN EACH OTHER SINCE, BUT THEY REUNITE WHEN THEIR CON ARTIST PARENTS TARGET THE SAME WEALTHY FAMILY, THE PRODUCT OF A WILD IMAGINATION THAT MIGHT NEVER HAVE DARED TO DREAM. THIS KORIR COME TRUE. JUST FEEL REALLY LUCKY TO GET TO DO WHAT I DO AND THE BEST THING I HEAR IS FROM KIDS WHO SAY THEY DON’T LIKE TO READ, BUT THEY LIKE MY BOOKS. AND THEN I THINK, OKAY, I HELPED MAKE A READER AND OF COURSE, WONDERFUL PEOPLE. MILA HUSSEIN HAS REALIZED HER DREAM IN SOMERVILLE’S DAVIS SQUARE. I WANT THIS TO BE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT ALL OUR NARRATIVES ARE CONNECTED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. NARRATIVE BOOKS OPENED IN MAY OF 2024 WITH A LINE DOWN THE STREET AND A MISSION TO UPLIFT MARGINALIZED VOICES THAT INCLUDES PEOPLE OF COLOR, BIPOC AUTHORS, IMMIGRANT STORIES, QUEER STORIES, STORIES DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH. THESE STORIES ARE FOR EVERYONE, AND THEY SHOULD MATTER TO EVERYONE BORN IN BANGLADESH AND RAISED ON LONG ISLAND, HUSSAIN’S LOVE FOR BOOKS BLOSSOMED AT HER PUBLIC LIBRARY. I JUST FOUND A LOT OF COMFORT AND ESCAPE IN BOOKS AND THAT’S WHERE THIS WHOLE THING STARTED. HERE. AFTER WORKING IN SCHOOLS AND THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, HOSAIN GATHERED THE CONFIDENCE TO OPEN HER OWN BOOKSTORE. AFTER DEVOTING TIME TO WORK ON HER OWN MENTAL HEALTH. IT WAS KIND OF THE FIRST TIME THAT I STARTED THINKING THAT THIS, LIKE CRAZY DREAM THAT I’D HAD OF LIVING AMONGST BOOKS AND CREATING A PLACE FOR CONNECTION AND HAVING A BOOKSTORE, MAYBE WASN’T THAT CRAZY. THE COMMUNITY’S IMMEDIATE AND OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE RESPONSE REINFORCED THAT BELIEF. IT JUST MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME. I WAS TOLD BY MANY PEOPLE THAT IT WAS A RISK TO FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT I’M FOCUSING ON, AND NOT JUST THINK ABOUT THE BESTSELLERS. SO TO HAVE PEOPLE VALIDATE IN THIS WAY AND REALLY SHOW UP FOR IT, IT’S JUST BEEN UNBELIEVABLE. HUSSAIN METICULOUSLY RESEARCHES EACH TITLE ON THE SHELF AND SOURCES SOME OF THE COLLECTION FROM COMMUNITY SUGGESTIONS. THIS IS WORLD OF WONDERS IN PRAISE OF FIREFLIES, WHALE SHARKS AND OTHER ASTONISHMENTS BY AIMEE NEZHUKUMATATHIL I LOVE THIS BOOK. I COME BACK TO IT WHEN I NEED TO FALL BACK IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD. HUSSAIN ALSO RECOMMENDS A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES BY LAURA SHARIF TITLED A SMALL APOCALYPSE. IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO GET INTO READING THIS SUMMER, ONE OF MY BIGGEST PIECES OF ADVICE IS TO GET INTO SHORT STORIES. ALL THE STORIES ARE SET IN FLORIDA. THEY EXPLORE IDEAS OF IDENTITY AND BELONGING. HER THIRD SELECTION IS BY THE FOUNDER OF BROWN GIRL THERAPY, SAHAJ KAKOLI. BUT WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY NAVIGATING MENTAL HEALTH, IDENTITY, LOVE AND FAMILY BETWEEN CULTURES? I WANT THIS TO BE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE SEE THEIR NARRATIVES ON THE SHELVES. A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT USED TO SEEING THEIR NARRATIVES ON THE SHELVES. I WANT IT TO BE A PLACE OF CONNECTION. I WANTED IT TO BE A PLACE OF PEOPLE FINDING JOY AND HEALING AND PERSPECTIVE. AND IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT TO NARRATIVE IN SOMERVILLE, YOU CAN PURCHASE THEIR BOOKS ONLINE AT BOOKSHOP.ORG. THEY ALSO HOST COMMUNITY EVENTS, DISCUSSIONS AND BOOK SIGNINGS, AND BACK TO KAREN MCMANUS. SHE SAYS THAT ACTUALLY, ABOUT HALF OF HER READERS ARE ADULTS. THEY ENJOY THE FAST PACE OF THE BOOKS, AND A LOT OF PARENTS END UP READING THE