One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston****
One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance from Casey McQuiston in which the impossible becomes reality. Book published on June 21 2022 with a story of a young woman who meets the love of her life on the subway. But her dream girl is actually a time traveler from the 1970s. August Landry navigates the complexity of opening her heart to her first major crush. The story does drag on a bit too long, but readers who persevere through the slower bits will be rewarded with a moving look at true love. McQuiston’s One last Stop has a way of destroying readers’ hearts in all the best deepest ways.
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead****
Harlem Shuffle’s is another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead. This book is about an ingenious story that plays a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. The novel is divided into three parts and covers three separate capers, set in 1959, 1961, and 1964. It culminates with the Harlem riot of 1964 when a series of robberies took place in the city. In 1959, Ray Carney lives in Harlem with his wife Elisabeth and their second child. Although descending from a criminal family, Ray makes his living working as a furniture salesman. Author Colson Whitehead returns with this book that sets his mastery in a new genre: the crime novel.
All That She Carried by Tiya Miles****
Tiya Miles is the winner of the 2021 National Book Award for nonfiction. This accessible book shows a historian’s journey to draw out what can be known and surmised about a single historical artifact. All That She Carried is a powerful story of perseverance and love. The book’s story has been passed down through generations of women in the face of defeat. The stories of this book began with the time zone of1850s South Carolina. Where an enslaved woman packed a cotton bag with a few precious items as a token of love for her daughter. Decades later, Ashley’s granddaughter embroidered this family history on the bag in spare yet haunting language. Historian Tiya Miles carefully unearths these women’s faint presence in archival records to follow the paths of their lives.
