Where the Crawdads Sing / Delia Owens / 384 p.

Kya's story is compelling. She was abandoned by her mother, siblings and father by the age of seven. Kya's strong survival instinct was her only lifeline.  She had so many trials and was wracked with such lonliness, but she survived!  Reading this novel by Delia Owens is an experience not ordinarily felt by the readers of most novels. Our most basic human instincts are revealed and lived by Kya. There is so much to ponder after reading her story. This is, at minimum, a perfect book club discussion novel. I will remember Kya for a long, long time.

The Girl He Used to Know / Tracey Garvis Graves / 291 p.

Jonathan Hoffman and Annika Rose first meet at a Chess Club at the University of Illinois.  Jonathan is at the university to start over from a bad experience at Northwestern.  Annika is studying to be a librarian, is very introverted, shy and awkward with some autistic tendancies. Their meeting eventually evolves into a tender, loving relationship. Jonathan graduates and takes a job in NYC with the plan that Annika will follow after she graduates a year later. Unfortunately, fate is not kind to Annika as she finds herself in a crisis that she can't handle. She drops out of school and discontinues contact with Jonathan.
    A decade later Jonathan and Annika bump into each other. They start to see each other informally. So much has changed and Jonathan realizes Annika has grown into a capable librarian living on her own. Their story takes us through the difficult road back to each other with some very significant bumps along the way - including the fateful September 11, 2001 twin towers tradedy.

How to be a Grown-Up/Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus/240 pages

Blake Turner's career started off with a bang when he was just a tween, but now he's just a mostly working actor kept afloat with regular, substantial residual checks. Rory, his wife, freelances as a stylist for photo shoots. When Blake's latest "big break" falls through, Rory must take a job at a start-up run by twenty-somethings and learn the new buzz words that make up their conversations. Between caring for their two children, trying to bolster up Blake's self-esteem and reasoning with  two bosses who are clearly unsuited for leadership, Rory's hands are full.

McLaughlin and Kraus, authors of the Nanny Diaries, have written a funny and sometimes poignant story of a woman faced with a changing world. Longevity and experience are discarded in favor of youth and bad behavior. Quick, fun read.

The Rumor/Elin Hilderbrand/374 pages

Madeline and Grace have been best friends for 20 years. Grace lives a very pampered and expensive existence with her husband, Nantucket real estate mogul Eddie, and twin daughters, Allegra and Hope. Madeline's life is much more low key with local pilot husband Trevor and son Brick. While Madeline is a moderately successful author, Grace's passion is her hens and her spectacular gardens. Nantucket is a small island and an even smaller community, so when the rumors start to fly about both ladies and their families, everyone gets involved, but the most scandalous events might be the ones no one guessed.

Which is worse: a rumor that is true, one that isn't or one, true or not, attributed to someone erroneously? While Hilderbrand's books will never be touted as great literature, they are entertaining and present some interesting questions. Great summer read!