7 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in August
Summer might be coming to a slow, hot end, but the fabulous new books keep coming. From Thelma & Louise reimagined with present-day teenagers to an exploration of sexism in the world of butchers, here are seven new titles to pick up in August.
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When I Was White: A Memoir by Sarah Valentine (August 6)
When she was 27, Valentine discovered that she wasn’t the white girl she always believed she was—her father was black. Seeing herself as mixed race for the first time, Valentine writes about coming to terms with this new knowledge and wondering why her entire family had conspired to maintain her white identity.
Hello Girls by Brittany Cavallaro & Emily Henry (August 6)
A kind of teenage Thelma & Louise, Cavallaro and Henry’s new YA novel is about two friends, Winona and Lucille, who are both having a rough time at home. Realizing they can’t wait until graduation to start their new lives, they flee their small Michigan town to make better lives for themselves in Chicago. It’s a celebration of friendship and the ingenuity of strong young women.
We Are All Good People Here by Susan Rebecca White (August 6)
Eve and Daniella are fast friends when they’re paired as college roommates in the fall of 1962. As they become aware of the injustices of the ‘60s, they take different approaches: Eve veers toward radicalism—a choice Daniella can’t understand. Still, their friendship stays strong, spanning more than 30 years of American history. We Are All Good People Here explores the complex relationship between two very different women and the secrets they keep.
Girl on the Block: A True Story of Coming of Age Behind the Counter by Jessica Wragg (August 6)
When she was 16 years old, Wragg applied for a job at the local farm shop in her hometown of Chesterfield, England, not expecting that the position she’d land would be behind the all-male butcher counter. Wragg quickly realizes that she is an outcast, surrounded by men reluctant to share the tricks of their trade with a novice. Alongside recipes, guides to knives and tips about dry aging, Wragg gets real about the industry’s still-not-there-yet approach to gender equality.
Inland: A Novel by Tea Obreht (August 13)
The latest from the author of The Tiger’s Wife is set in the lawless lands of the Arizona Territory in 1893 and charts the occasionally intersecting lives of two protagonists. One is an unflinching frontierswoman awaiting the return of her husband and older sons. The other is an orphan and outcast who killed a boy. How their lives come to intersect is surprising and suspenseful.
I'm Telling the Truth, but I'm Lying: Essays by Bassey Ikpi (August 20)
Born in Nigeria in 1976, Ikpi’s family moved to Oklahoma when she was four years old. In her early 20s, she was a spoken word artist and traveling with HBO's Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam. But beneath the façade of the confident performer, Bassey’s mental health was in decline, culminating in hospitalization and a diagnosis of Bipolar II. Now a mental health advocate, her debut essay collection is about her own experiences and the greater implications of mental illness.
Polite Society by Mahesh Rao (August 20)
In this modern reimagining of Jane Austen's Emma, a young woman from a wealthy family in Delhi aspires to be a matchmaker for her friends and family, only to find herself caught up in an unforeseen scandal.
