~ Sue’s Bookshelf ~

Charlotte Jewish News August 2021

Sue Littauer

There are a slew of Jewish authors with new books for the summer, and I have many to recommend!

Jennifer Weiner’s “That Summer”

I haven’t been too excited about some of Jennifer Weiner’s recent books, but “That Summer” is one of her best, and I devoured it. Like her other books, “That Summer” is a witty and heartfelt book about female friendship, teenage angst, family relationships, love, and finding the strength to confront the future.

“‘That Summer’ is a powerful and insightful book about the #metoo movement, friendship, and family, and the role of men and women. Even after years of bestsellers, Weiner’s ability to keep her books fresh and relevant speaks to her talent as a writer” (Sarah Gelman’s Amazon Book Review).

“Last Summer at the Golden Hotel” by Elyssa Friedland

Elyssa Friedland’s first book “The Floating Feldmans” was a very readable, light, funny yet poignant story of a family celebrating the family matriarch’s 70th birthday. “Last Summer at the Golden Hotel” is the story of two families who own an aging hotel in the Catskills. Watching their hotel fall into a state of disrepair, facing a huge financial burden to restore it, and seeing so many of the old Catskill hotels close is all very disheartening for the owners, and it’s time to decide whether to accept a generous offer from a resort group. The clash between the generations about the future of the hotel is the focal point of the book. The characters are well drawn, their situations are highly relatable, and the points of reference are nostalgic even if you’ve never “summered” in the Catskills.

“Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty” by Lauren Weisberger

From the bestselling author of “The Devil Wears Prada” and “When Life Gives You Lululemons” comes a highly entertaining, sharply observed novel about sisters, their perfect lives - and their perfect lies (Amazon).

This novel capitalizes on the recent scandals involving stars paying and cheating to get their children admitted to college. It’s the story of the relationships between sisters, between husbands and wives, and between mothers and daughters. Throw in a topranked TV news show forced into the limelight by a scandal, and you’ve got yourself Lauren Weisberger’s newest novel.

“The Woman with the Blue Star” by Pam Jenoff

I’ve read more Holocaust-themed books than I can count, so it’s always interesting to me to read one that comes from a completely different perspective. “The Woman with the Blue Star” is that book. It is a harrowing tale of a mother and daughter who are forced to live in the sewers under the streets of Poland to escape capture by the Nazis. This book demonstrates the lengths people went to to survive.

The descriptions are lengthy and repetitive at times, but on the whole, it is a worthy read. The friendship between two unlikely young women is a second theme that emerges throughout the novel, each woman displaying moral and physical courage to save the other.

The next CJE Book Club is Wednesday, August 8 at 10:30 a.m. in Room 110 on Main Street at Shalom Park. The book we will be discussing is “Eli’s Promise” by Ron Balson. All are welcome. For more information, please contact sueb.littauer@ jewishcharlotte.org.