Just because summer is coming to a close in just a few weeks doesn’t mean that you still can’t use the magic of a book to escape the confines of reality. We all know how powerful books can be; it’s simply amazing that we can be so easily immersed in countless different universes. You may not be able to afford that ticket to Italy you wanted all these years, but you can go to your room, shut your door and turn off your phone, and take a trip into a world which can light your imagination on fire. Want to know where to get started?
Check out Bookstr’s Three to Read, the three books we’ve picked for you to read this week!
OUR HOT PICK
Legacy and the Queen
Created By Kobe Bryant, Written By Annie Matthew
Synopsis:
From the mind of basketball legend and Academy Award–winning storyteller Kobe Bryant comes a new tale of finding your inner magic against all odds.
GAME. SET. MAGIC.
Game – Tennis means life and death for the residents of the magical kingdom of Nova, and for twelve-year-old Legacy, it’s the only thing getting her through the long days taking care of the other kids at the orphanage. That’s all about to change when she hears about Silla’s tournament.
Set – Silla, the ruler of Nova, hosts an annual tournament for the less fortunate of her citizens to come and prove themselves and win entrance to the Academy, where they can train to compete at nationals. The prize is Silla’s favor and enough cash to keep open the orphanage, and Legacy has her heart set on both.
Magic – What Legacy has yet to know is that the other players have something besides better skills and more money than she does. In Nova, tennis can unlock magic. Magic that Silla used to save the kingdom long ago and magic that her competitors have been training in for months already.
Now, with the world turned against her and the orphanage at stake, Legacy has to learn to use her passion for the game to rise above those around her and shine.
Why?
Legacy and the Queen is a highly imaginative story that blends fantasy and realism with themes of determination, sacrifice, friendship, and individual growth. Kobe Bryant, the creator of the book, is an Academy Award-winning story teller, and spends his time creating stories to inspire future generations of athletes to be the best version of themselves. He is a five time NBA champion, league MVP, and Olympic gold medalist, and with this book, he hopes to share what he has learned with young, aspiring athletes around the world.
Our Beach Pick
The Floating Feldmans
by Elyssa Friedland
Synopsis:
A family vacation dredges up a boatload of trouble in the next witty, insightful novel from the acclaimed author of The Intermission.
Sink or swim. Or at least that’s what Annette Feldman tells herself when she books a cruise for her entire family. It’s been over a decade since the Feldman clan has spent more than twenty-four hours under the same roof, but Annette is determined to celebrate her seventieth birthday the right way. Just this once, they are going to behave like an actual family.
Too bad her kids didn’t get the memo.
Between the troublesome family secrets, old sibling rivalries, and her two teenage grandkids, Annette’s birthday vacation is looking more and more like the perfect storm. Adrift together on the open seas, the Feldmans will each face the truths they’ve been ignoring—and learn that the people they once thought most likely to sink them are actually the ones who help them stay afloat.
Why?
Emily Giffin, a #1 New York Times bestselling author, says this book is “an irresistible drama filled with humor and heart-tugging emotion… I absolutely adore Friedland’s warm, witty writing!” Other reviews praise the book for its vivid characters and its ability to depict the meaning of family in a unique way. Friedland’s latest novel makes for both an entertaining read and a guiding cautionary tale for your next trip to the beach.
Our Dark Horse
Pretty Revenge
by Emily Liebert
Synopsis:
The name of the game is revenge—no matter the cost—in this emotionally charged thriller reminiscent of The Wife Between Us and The Perfect Nanny.
Kerrie O’Malley, jobless and in an unfulfilling relationship, can isolate the singular moment in her life when things veered off course—the night she was irrevocably wronged by someone she looked up to. Eighteen years later, when Kerrie sees the very woman who destroyed her life on television, a fire ignites inside her. The stakes are high. The risks are perilous. But she’ll stop at nothing to achieve the retribution she deserves.
Jordana Pierson is a gilded New Yorker who appears to have it all: wealth, glamour, a successful and handsome husband, and a thriving wedding concierge business. Her record is spotless. Her business is flourishing. No one knows the truth about her and the dark shadows of her past.
No one, that is, except Kerrie.
Exploring just how far someone will go for vengeance, Pretty Revenge is a riveting, compulsively readable novel bursting with twists and turns and plenty of suspense.
Why?
Reviewers of the book have praised Pretty Revenge for it’s skillful character development and its ability to illustrate the complexity of human motivations, as well as encourage the reader to sympathize with unlikely characters. It’s been noted as a “page-turner” with elements such as retribution, glamour, twists, and turns. It’s a depiction of the dark sides of friendship and retribution, and we highly recommend it.
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