SUMMER LOVING

BOOK CLUB

SUMMER LOVING

Sun’s out, book’s open! From the best tech tales to portraits of love, loss and reinvention, here are our favourite hot new reads for those lazy, hazy days we adore.

BY ALEXANDRA DONALDSON

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

The Gypsy Moth Summer is about a black man named Jules, his white wife, Leslie, and their children, who move to an affluent entirely white neighbourhood on an island called Avalon. It’s also about teenager Maddie, who experiences the excitement of young love as she considers her violent and unstable home life, and Veronica, a woman who finally has a little bit of freedom The Gypsy Moth Summer (St. Martin’s Press) by Julia Fierro, $38. now that her controlling husband, the Colonel, has dementia. In the background is the understanding that the island’s main source of employment, an industrial military company, is poisoning the residents and that this particular summer, there’s an invasion of gypsy moths that are breeding at an alarming rate. Here, author Julia Fierro shares her experience writing a story about race, privilege and class while also reminiscing about her own gypsy moth childhood and the inescapable ties of family history.

How did you get the idea for this story? I grew up on Long Island, N.Y., in the ’90s, very much like Maddie did. It was really amazing, we had the woods to run around and play adventure games in, but it was also very isolating—it felt almost wild. I hoped to capture that atmosphere. Also, I had written a sketch featuring the Colonel almost two decades ago in college, and I wanted to come back to that character. Finally, I wanted to write about race and class and the intersection of the two—it’s shocking how relevant the topics feel right now.

Why did you decide to weave the gypsy moth invasion into the story? Gypsy moth invasions were part of my childhood, and it’s the weirdest atmospheric experience. It was a pestilence, a scientific occurrence, but, as kids growing up without the Internet, we had no idea what was going on. It was my own personal pest, so I wrote from experience.

Why did you tell the story from so many different points of view? There’s something comforting about characters who experience the same events but interpret them completely differently. I think it must be a reflection of our own anxieties—that we’ll never be able to really understand how a person thinks and feels. It’s a privilege as a reader to have access to that. As a writer, there’s a great responsibility to make every perspective as authentic as possible, and that structure makes it feel like everyone’s perspective is important.

I loved the thread of inheritance—both physical and emotional—from our parents that many characters go through in the book. Where we come from and our parents’ stories and struggles are inescapable—as much as we want to believe we can transcend them to rewrite our stories. It should be everyone’s responsibility to educate themselves beyond their own very narrow, privileged perspective. And one way you can do that is through reading.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Former Hollywood bombshell and aging recluse Evelyn Hugo is set to tell her life story for the first time. But instead of choosing the hottest journalist, she picks Monique Grant, a lowly staff writer with little experience. As Monique interviews the icon, she unravels a woman who has a much more interesting story than anyone expected—full of sex, ambition, sacrifice and a fierce conflict of identity. Monique unwittingly finds herself relating to and liking the brash Evelyn. But why did Evelyn choose Monique as her biographer? The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Atria Books) by Taylor Jenkins Reid, $22.

FORTUNATE HEIR

Everybody’s Son

Anton’s addict mother never meant to leave him alone in their apartment for so long—especially not during a heat wave. On the seventh day of his abandonment, the 10-year-old breaks out but is soon placed in child services. He finds a temporary foster family in the Colemans; David, a judge and the son of a U.S. senator, and his wife, Delores, have recently lost their only son in an accident and use their connections to ensure that Anton stays with them. As he rises through the ranks of political and social society, Anton wonders about his background and contemplates his privilege—and begins to recognize the moral failings of the people who love him the most. Everybody’s Son (Harper) by Thrity Umrigar, $24.

PARADISE LOST

Flesh and Bone and Water

As André’s marriage falls apart in London, he can’t help but look back to his youth in Brazil. It’s a childhood defined by the tragic early loss of his mother, the workaholic nature of his plastic-surgeon-to-thewealthy father and his nearly decade-younger brother, Thiago. But his recurring wine-soaked dreams of the past are not of those three; instead, he dreams of Luana, the stunning daughter of his family’s maid. An unexpected letter from Luana brings to the surface repressed and forgotten memories of their teenage years—and a different perspective of their coming- of-age story that André is finding hard to let go. Flesh and Bone and Water (Scribner) by Luiza Sauma, $32.

DIGITAL WOES

It wasn’t so long ago that we didn’t create online personas, when we were more concerned with privacy than followers. Why do we do it? For the connection to people outside of our own little bubble, of course—and the visibility and, in some cases, the fame. The trade-off is that most things you do online you can’t take back. These two novels offer a compelling look into the personal consequences of the digital age.

1

Mitzi Bytes

Fifteen years ago, before everyone had a blog, Sarah Lundy took to the Internet to anonymously document her postdivorce dating life. She was authentic and witty, and her online persona, Mitzi Bytes, garnered a loyal following. Today, happily remarried with kids, she’s still blogging, except no one “IRL” knows that Mitzi has been spilling not just her own secrets but also the exploits of her friends. When she starts getting emails from the mysterious Jane Q that threaten to out her, she goes into panic mode. Sarah needs to learn Jane Q’s identity— before her world comes crashing down. Mitzi Bytes (Harper Avenue) by Kerry Clare, $23.

2

Young Jane Young

All it takes is one mistake to ruin your reputation. Unfortunately, Aviva Grossman made two. The first was beginning an affair with a congressman twice her age; the second was blogging about it. As she quickly finds out, the Internet’s memory and wrath is long and swift. Unable to get a job due to her highly recognizable name, Grossman packs up and heads across the country to shed her old self and become a wedding planner named Jane Young. This does the trick—for a while. And if it wasn’t for her precocious daughter’s detective skills, nobody would have ever connected Aviva to Jane in this wry tale about reinvention. Young Jane Young (Viking Canada) by Gabrielle Zevin, $30.

Visit canadianliving.com/bookclub for reviews, excerpts and author interviews. Follow us on Facebook for giveaways and to join the conversation when we chat about each month’s hot reads.

Healing Herbs

Sure, fresh herbs can elevate any meal from the everyday—but that’s not the only reason you should keep a planter on your kitchen counter. Herbs are also health ninjas flush with nutrients. So get growing and plant these three today!

Basil

From the Greek word meaning “royal,” this fragrant herb packs a king-size punch. It’s loaded with magnesium, which promotes cardiovascular health, and rich in beta-carotene, which aids in protecting cells from free-radical damage.

Parsley

Whether curly or flat, parsley boasts immune-boosting vitamins A and C as well as a flavonoid found to help prevent skin cancer.

Mint

Small but mighty, mint has one of the highest antioxidant capacities of any herb. And its antimicrobial properties can help with gut health.