Thanks to my newfound determination to make a dent in the mountain of books sitting on my nightstand and my transition from AP Lang to AP Lit, I’ve managed to knock out quite a few books over the summer (which has been good for the 2024 reading challenge I set for myself on Goodreads). 

Though all six books I’ve read recently have been excellent, I have ordered my reviews from those that entertained and intrigued me to those that truly captivated or impacted me. From prose to graphic novel and classic to modern, from realistic fiction to fantasy and memoir to mystery, I’ve explored a lot of different styles and genres—and maybe, amongst all of that variation, you’ll find something that interests you here.

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Literary Fiction Short Story Collection

I had never heard of this book before it was assigned as AP Lit summer reading. It’s a short story collection centering around Indian-American immigrants and the connection—or disconnection—they feel to their heritage and identity, and each story within is brimming with emotion and symbolism. Author Jhumpa Lahiri was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Pen/Hemingway Award and the New Yorker’s Debut Book of the Year for her collection, which was her first ever publication.

The stories that make up this wonderful anthology feel like a patchwork assortment; none are directly related, but they feel deeply connected because of the profound sense of loneliness shared by every character. Though readers only spend around twenty pages with each character, we come to know them deeply and understand them intimately as their stories unfold. Each ending is beautifully fitting, whether ironic or heartfelt, fortunate or sorrowful. 

Lahiri’s writing is vivid and engaging because of its striking imagery, allowing readers to feel the characters’ emotions and experience their stories firsthand, whether the narration is first-person or not. She pushes readers to think, form their own opinions, and piece each puzzle together themselves, playing with narrative structure and voice to give her characters a unique realism and insert readers into each story as active participants.

Though I loved each story, my favorite was probably “The Third and Final Continent,” which is the collection’s final work. It follows an unnamed narrator’s struggle to connect with the fiancée his family has chosen for him after moving to Boston alone.

With all of this in mind, I would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys short stories or realistic fiction, connects with melancholy and tragedy, or who is interested in exploring the universal struggles of loneliness and identity.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Philosophical & Gothic Fiction Novel

I’ve wanted to read Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece for a long time now. It’s a classic with an absolutely fascinating premise, as well as an interesting exploration of the thoughts and emotions of Wilde himself.

Set in England in the late 19th century, the book follows the mesmerizingly handsome Dorian Gray, who, torn between the subtle influences of his two closest friends, inadvertently sells his soul to maintain eternal youth and beauty. It is a captivating study in character and soul, sin and corruption, and judging books by their cover—both literally and metaphorically.

The book starts very slowly, a choice I reluctantly accept as necessary in order for readers to get a proper understanding of the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of the three central characters before the story truly starts to unfold. Wilde’s writing is some of the most graceful and embellished I’ve ever read—sometimes so much so that the words went, for lack of a better phrase, in one ear and out the other. Still, the characters’ inner monologues reveal intriguing perspectives, and their spoken lines—particularly Henry’s—are often composed of profound witticisms that the story puts to the test.

Unfortunately, The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1891, so it and its characters are inevitably tainted by symptoms of some of the worst plagues of the time period: sexism, racism, antisemitism . . . you name it. Reading it is a good chance to be critical of 19th and 20th century power structures, as well as authors like Wilde, who are a product of their time.

Overall, Dorian Gray’s descent is hypnotizingly tragic, and the novel’s conclusion is a beautifully fitting way to tie his story together. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys classics and tragedies or is enthralled by intellectual writing and philosophical questions.

The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty

Mystery & Police Procedural Novel

I’ll be honest—this book sat on my nightstand for over a year before I finally found the time to pick it up. I love mysteries, but this one in particular intrigued me because it is set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a period of violent conflict between Protestant loyalists that wished to remain a part of the U.K. and Roman Catholic nationalists who sought to join the Republic of Ireland.

The story follows Detective Sean Duffy, a Catholic policeman in Protestant Carrickfergus who is assigned to investigate a murder with a strange and violent M.O. and to close the cold case of a missing young woman. It is the first in a line of Sean Duffy crime novels that follow the same stubborn, clever detective through the height of the Troubles.

I loved the book from start to finish. The action starts in the very first chapter and does not let up until the final page, keeping readers guessing at every turn. The historical setting is very compelling, especially because of Duffy's Catholic background, which adds gripping tension both within the largely Protestant police force and in Duffy’s everyday life. Though the case’s resolution did not sit right with me at first, McKinty’s unconventional finale is, in hindsight, one of the most thrillingly flawed and authentically human conclusions I’ve ever read in a mystery novel. It was exactly the ending that the story needed.

The primary issue I have with this book is that it was not entirely respectful to women and LGBTQ+ people. The female characters are simply flat and shallow, and the queer characters are looked down upon and even harmed. To a certain extent, the latter problem is actually both a key plot point and an attribute of the time period that McKinty aims to call out, but that does not mean that its execution wasn’t flawed.

This book is for fans of mysteries, thrillers, crime, historical fiction, or any blend of those genres.

A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

Adult Fantasy Novel

I will never not love a book by V. E. Schwab. I’ve been methodically reading her works for a few years now, from the adult sci-fi Villains series and the young adult This Savage Song duology to her absolutely captivating 2020 standalone novel, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. None disappointed, and this book is no different.

A Gathering of Shadows is the second book in the Shades of Magic series, which follows Kell, one of the last magicians with the ability to travel between parallel Londons, and Lila, an ambitious and talented thief in Grey London, where magic is forgotten. The worlds within the series are a stellar blend of wonder and reality, discussing classism and privilege through a fantasy lens and weaving a tale of characters who fundamentally want to feel like they belong.

I absolutely loved the magnificent Essen Tasch storyline, the magnetic pull between the distant protagonists, the heartwrenching new dynamic between Kell and his brother, and Lila’s struggle to find her place in an unfamiliar world. With new, loveable characters like Hastra and Alucard, as well as more interesting challenges facing our protagonists, I would even go so far as to say that A Gathering of Shadows stands out more than its predecessor.

As always, Schwab’s writing is stunning. She’s known for adjusting the cadence and style of her writing for each story’s world, as well as subtly for each character’s perspective within those worlds, bringing her work to life and making her books impossible to put down. Though the book moves slowly, this striking narrative choice and the author’s beautiful, flowing descriptions allow it to entrance readers regardless.

My only qualm with this series is that I’ve never been a huge fan of its villains—I don’t find them as compelling as the others that Schwab has written. However, because this book is largely driven by its protagonists and its worldbuilding, this does not detract from its quality or allure.

I would recommend this book to fantasy lovers, readers who enjoy descriptive writing, or anyone looking for a bridge between young adult and adult fantasy.

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

Historical & Psychological Fiction Novel

This book was a stellar, striking emotional rollercoaster. In short, it is a fictionalized account of O’Brien’s experiences serving in the Vietnam War as a young adult, narrated by a fabricated version of O’Brien himself. At the core of the novel is the idea that a fictionalized story can be just as real as a truthful one; though O’Brien does not distinguish any of his anecdotes as authentic or fabricated, he believes wholeheartedly that their relative factuality does not make them any less true to his experience.

At times, O’Brien’s novel reads like an anthology, despite being a single flowing work. The writing is very touching, disorienting, and emotional—I cried while reading it. Its depiction of the brutality, death, and destruction of the war, as well as the grief of losing oneself in the violence and the journey of finding a way back, is utterly heartbreaking. 

Alongside reading this book, I watched The War and Peace of Tim O’Brien, a 2020 documentary about the author’s experiences both recently and immediately in the aftermath of serving and publishing The Things They Carried. It provided a lot of insight into his core motivations for writing the book, as well as the ways in which his service still affects him and his relationships to this day. I was shocked to learn that, even though he is not proud of his service and wishes he had never been conscripted, he believes in a draft; his view is not that a draft forces innocents like himself to fight and die in a war they don’t support, but that its absence allows upper class citizens who do support it to evade service while letting others die in their stead.

The Things They Carried will be with me for a long time. If you’re someone who loves history, memoirs, psychological narratives, or poignant and stirring odysseys, this book is for you.

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Graphic Novel Memoir

This book is everything.

On a sunny afternoon in the middle of August, I bought Gender Queer at Ten Trees in Natick Center, and sat down to read “just a few pages” when I got home. Naturally, ninety minutes later, I’d read the entire book.

This graphic novel by Maia Kobabe is a raw, heart-wrenching, and intensely vulnerable depiction of eir lifelong journey of self-discovery, including eir struggle with identity, grappling with coming out, and the difficulty and euphoria that both come with existing as a queer person in modern society.

Gender Queer was the single most banned book in 2021, landing Kobabe in the heart of a battle over censorship and self-expression. To ban a book is to erase someone’s work, culture, and identity; to read a banned book is to promote free access to ideas and encourage empathy for others.

The art in the book is beautiful, and the language Kobabe uses to describe being nonbinary and asexual is both touching and accessible. The clarity and compassion with which e describes eir most difficult experiences make eir story an effortless yet transformatively emotional read. It felt like having an intimately honest conversation with em, or even experiencing the joys, sorrows, and wonders of eir life right alongside em.

I would recommend this book to . . . well, everyone. For queer people, it is a source of connection and community. For those who aren’t queer, it is an essential beacon of empathy and understanding. In the end, it’s simply a story worth consuming, no matter who you are.

Happy reading!