The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake

THE LAST TRUE POETS OF THE SEA by Julia Drake has a beautiful cover, doesn’t it? This young adult novel introduces the story of Sam, who has tried to kill himself, but it focuses primarily on Violet, his sister who feels guilt, remorse, anger. Well actually, she is not sure what she feels or how to react when she is sent to live with her Uncle Toby for the summer in a small, coastal town named Lyric, Maine.  Violet meets new friends (Orion, Liv, Mariah, and Felix) and develops a romantic relationship as she struggles to repair her ties with her brother (under treatment in Vermont) and parents (working in New York City).  Drake explores bisexuality in this coming of age novel that also has an element of suspense and family history due to a long ago shipwreck. I thought that THE LAST TRUE POETS OF THE SEA started well and was quite engaging, but it also slowed a bit in the middle (too much angst over boyfriends and girlfriends?) before resolving many of the issues (“no one thing could fix us, because no one thing was wrong. The fixing would be in keeping going, in trying.”) and chronicling some of the healing. Drake writes beautifully: “I felt the weight of my brother’s sadness in my own chest. He was a jellyfish being asked to float on land.” Loosely evoking Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, THE LAST TRUE POETS OF THE SEA received a number of starred reviews, including ones from Booklist (grades 10+), Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Connection, and School Library Journal (grades 8+).

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

THE DUTCH HOUSE by Ann Patchett (Bel Canto) is the newest novel from this award winning author and advocate for books and reading. Spanning much of the second half of the twentieth century, this story centers around a dysfunctional family and is set primarily in Philadelphia and New York City environs.  Siblings Maeve and Danny depend on each other, even as young children after their mother leaves and their aloof father remarries. His second wife arranges to inherit almost everything including the family home. This changes the course of Danny’s life as he eventually studies to be a doctor and Maeve does her best to support him.  The character development is strong and while that may contribute to a slower pace, readers will be drawn in by a lingering sense of menace – will these two manage to overcome circumstances and realize their dreams?  

THE DUTCH HOUSE is a LibraryReads selection recommended for “fans of Anne Tyler and Anna Quindlen.” I concur with that comment -- this title is my personal favorite from the September list.  Definitely worth considering for book groups, THE DUTCH HOUSE received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.

A Pure Heart by Rajia Hassib

A PURE HEART by Rajia Hassib received well-deserved starred reviews from both Booklist and Kirkus. This is the contemporary story of two Egyptian sisters.  One, Fayrouz, chooses to be called Rose and is an archeologist who marries an American journalist, studies at Columbia University and eventually works at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The other sister, Gameela, is more obviously religious (for example, she wears a hijab), harbors a number of secrets, and is killed in a suicide bombing. Hassib uses flashbacks to develop the characters and motivations of both sisters. She deftly weaves in questions of fate and identity: [Rose] “thinks that maybe there are multiple versions of her, too, just as there are multiple versions of him and multiple versions of Gameela, and that her different Roses will have to learn to co-exist, that Gameela’s sister and Mark’s wife cannot go on believing they are enemies …” and of faith: “so much of faith as she [Gameela] understood it lay in a constant struggle to improve oneself, in the true meaning of jihad as an ongoing striving to be better, to do better, to let go of egotistic, selfish notions….”   A PURE HEART is very informative about Egyptian culture and history; plus, this novel explores so much more, including family relationships, sibling jealousy, dissent, poverty, privilege, religion, the role of women, guilt, after-life and death. This would be an excellent title for our Global Voices students as well as adventurous book groups.