June Book Picks

Ok girls, here's what I came up with for our choices for June. Let me know what you think! (I read the first one in college for a class and remember loving it)

Graced Land by Laura Kalpakian The spirit of Elvis hovers over this powerful novel, the story of the indomitable Joyce (Rejoice) Jackson, keeper of the flame, a famous front porch shrine to Elvis. With the King's healing help, Joyce resists the forces that can break a woman's heart- the men in her life, the welfare system, and poverty. Joyce's unsophisticated case worker, Miss Emily Shaw, plans to be a social worker only until her fiance finishes law school, but once assigned to Joyce Jackson's case, Emily's life revs up. Entwined with Joyce's unique family, her two daughters, Priscilla and Lisa Marie, Emily finds herself propelled into the midst of a huge cast of exuberant characters, fron Holy Rollers to rock 'n rollers, from cops to robbers. Rejoice Jackson knows how to deal creativly with those institutions where society tosses its castoffs, the county hospital, the county jail, the welfare rolls, and garage sales. You can't help falling in love with Graced Land.

The Last Summer of You and Me by Ann Brashares (she also wrote Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants :))Set on Long Island's Fire Island, The Last Summer (of You and Me) is an enchanting, heartrending page- turner about sisterhood, friendship, love, loss, and growing up. It is the story of a beach community friendship triangle-Riley and Alice, two sisters in their twenties, and Paul, the young man they've grown up with-and what happens one summer when budding love, sexual curiosity, a sudden serious illness, and a deep secret all collide, launching the friends into an adult world from which their summer haven can no longer protect them.

House Rules by Jodi Picoult Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject--in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do...and he's usually right. But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's--not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect--can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family, who only want to fit in, feel the spotlight shining directly on them. For his mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?