We have been spoiled for choice with books this month. Our reading list is longer than ever and we cannot wait to delve into these wonderful titles. If you’re itching to read something new or struggling with the classic you’ve been reading for what feels like forever then why not pick up one of these books from your local bookshop?
Actress by Anne Enright (Penguin)
Actress is the story of Irish theatre legend Katherine O’ Dell, as written by her daughter Norah. It tells of early stardom in Hollywood, of highs and lows on the stage of Dublin and London’s West End. Katherine’s life is a grand performance, with young Norah watching from the wings.
But this romance between mother and daughter cannot survive Katherine’s past, or the world’s damage. Actress is about a daughter’s search for the truth: the dark secret in the bright star, and what drove Katherine mad.
Open by Frankie Bridge (Octopus)
Frankie Bridge, former member of The Saturdays, gets honest about her mental health struggles in this stunning book. Her honesty is nothing but phenomenal in Open, making it a touching and heart breaking read.
Frankie discusses her breakdown, hospitalisation and constant battle with self-loathing and mental health issues in this powerful book. Open helps us realise the importance of talking about our struggles and helping one another get through them in this ever-changing world.
Havenfall by Sarah Holland (Bloomsbury)
Maddie loves spending summers at her uncle’s Inn at Havenfall, but the Inn is much more than Maddie’s safe haven, and life in Havenfall isn’t without its secrets. Beneath the beautiful, sprawling manor in Colorado lie hidden gateways to other worlds, some long-sealed by ancient magic.
When a body is found on the grounds, the volatile peace brokered between these worlds is irrevocably compromised.
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (Penguin)
One summer morning, a flight takes off from New York to Los Angeles. There are 191 passengers aboard: among them a young woman taking a pregnancy test in the aeroplane toilet; a Wall Street millionaire, flirting with the air hostess; an injured soldier returning from Afghanistan; and two beleaguered parents moving across the country with their adolescent sons bickering over who gets the window seat. When the plane suddenly crashes in a field in Colorado, the younger of these boys, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, is the sole survivor.
Dear Edward depicts Edward’s life in the crash’s aftermath as he struggles to make sense of the meaning of his survival, the strangeness of his sudden fame, and to find his place in the world without his family. In his new home with his aunt and uncle, the only solace comes from his friendship with the girl next door, Shay. Together Edward and Shay make a startling discovery: hidden in his uncle’s garage are sacks of letters from the relatives of other passengers, addressed to Edward.
The Weight of Love by Hilary Fannin (Penguin)
London, 1995. Robin introduces the woman he loves to his oldest friend. Their attraction is instant. Powerless. Robin is forced to watch on as Ruth and Joseph begin a passionate affair.
Dublin, 2018. Robin and Ruth are married and have a son. Haunted by the ghost of Joseph, the distance between them grows until one day Robin makes a choice, the consequences of which could be devastating.
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver (Penguin)
Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’ve been together for almost a decade, and Lydia thinks their love is indestructible. But she’s wrong. Because on her twenty-seventh birthday, Freddie dies in a card accident.
So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants to do is hide indoors and sob till her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to live her life well. So, enlisting the help of his best friend and her sister Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world and starts to live- perhaps even to love- again. Then something unbelievable happens, and Lydia gets another chance at her old life with Freddie. But what if there’s someone in her new life who wants her to stay?
