The Gist: Join me this September as I dive into an ambitious reading challenge to hit my 2024 goals. From backlist treasures to new releases, discover how I’m combining my fall reads with my reading goals!
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The Gist: Bright Young Women powerfully reclaims true crime stories, centring victims and survivors while critiquing sexism and media glorification of criminals.
Series: Standalone
Release Date: September 19, 2023
January 1978. A serial killer has terrorized women across the Pacific Northwest, but his existence couldn’t be further from the minds of the vibrant young women at the top sorority on Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee. Tonight is a night of promise, excitement, and desire, but Pamela Schumacher, president of the sorority, makes the unpopular decision to stay home—a decision that unwittingly saves her life. Startled awake at 3 a.m. by a strange sound, she makes the fateful decision to investigate. What she finds behind the door is a scene of implausible violence—two of her sisters dead; two others, maimed. Over the next few days, Pamela is thrust into a terrifying mystery inspired by the crime that’s captivated public interest for more than four decades.
On the other side of the country, Tina Cannon has found peace in Seattle after years of hardship. A chance encounter brings twenty-five-year-old Ruth Wachowsky into her life, a young woman with painful secrets of her own, and the two form an instant connection. When Ruth goes missing from Lake Sammamish State Park in broad daylight, surrounded by thousands of beachgoers on a beautiful summer day, Tina devotes herself to finding out what happened to her. When she hears about the tragedy in Tallahassee, she knows it’s the man the papers refer to as the All-American Sex Killer. Determined to make him answer for what he did to Ruth, she travels to Florida on a collision course with Pamela—and one last impending tragedy.
Bright Young Women is the story about two women from opposite sides of the country who become sisters in their fervent pursuit of the truth. It proposes a new narrative inspired by evidence that’s been glossed over for decades in favor of more salable headlines—that the so-called brilliant and charismatic serial killer from Seattle was far more average than the countless books, movies, and primetime specials have led us to believe, and that it was the women whose lives he cut short who were the exceptional ones.
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5-stars
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The Gist: Discover my top book picks for July, including the thrilling fantasy The Hunger of the Gods and the captivating historical novel Great Circle, and get inspired for your summer reading!
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Quick Take: Explore my 2024 Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag, where I share my reading highs, lows, surprises, and progress on various book challenges, including favourite reads, anticipated releases, and goals for the year.
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The Gist: The Women is a powerful novel about the erasure and resilience of women during the Vietnam War through the lens of friendship, societal challenges, and the lasting impacts of conflict.
Series: Standalone
Release Date: February 6, 2024
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over- whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5-stars
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Quick Take: Explore my End of Year Book Tag, diving into unread gems on my shelves, and my 2023 TBR priorities, including a book I’ve owned for ten years!
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About: Dive into my October TBR with nine thrilling books, including my long-awaited read of House of Blood and Earth and continued exploration of the thriller genre.
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About: Explore my August Wrap Up featuring 25 books with a 4.03-star average rating. Discover a long-awaited romance favourite and my mystery/thriller journey!
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About: Checkout my summer book haul of 26 exciting books, including a few perfect fall transition reads. I’m not just summarizing plots but digging into why I bought each book.
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About: As summer draws to a close, check out the summer books I loved from genres including romantasy and historical fiction, all rated 4.5 stars or higher.
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