Each week our wonderful staff share the books that they've been enjoying.
Lian Hingee has been reading
The Grace Year
By Kim Liggett
I just finished reading The Grace Year by Kim Liggett, which is described by one reviewer as being "a must-read for fans of The Handmaid's Tale and The Power" (of which I am). This dystopian thriller also bears more than a glancing similarity with the bloodthirsty television series Yellowjackets with just a soupçon of The Crucible to keep things particularly anxiety-inducing. When they turn sixteen, the girls of Garner County are bartered away as wives to the men of the town. But first, they must endure the Grace Year, where they are sent away to burn away their sinful "magic" to return purified and ready to take their place in society. What happens during the Grace Year is a deeply-held secret, but the girls return traumatised, often bearing grievous injuries. Sometimes they don't return at all. Ostracised by the girls and women of the town, Tierney James dreams of a life beyond domestic servitude, but first she'll have to survive her own Grace Year. This is a riveting feminist thriller about the complex and often twisted relationships between teen girls, the rarely spoken-of violence of women, and how only when we band together do we have a chance of defeating oppressive systems.
Joanna has been reading
Liars
By Sarah Manguso
Liars is Sarah Manguso’s second novel, the vivid and intense telling of the end of the marriage between Jane, a writer and teacher, and John, who aspires to make art in multiple disciplines. After a passionate beginning where the creative couple seems to sit on the same page about the kind of life they want together, things unravel. John resents Jane’s successes then repeatedly threatens their financial stability while he moves them across the country multiple times to chase new business opportunities. He does little to help around their home. That domestic inequality becomes even more fraught after the birth of their son.
Written in sentence and short paragraph length bursts, I found Liars a propulsive read, animated by a raw honesty that makes it feel like reading the most sensitive, brutal diary. Manguso has ripped this novel from a place of real pain and personal experience. But it’s artful and smart about women’s anger and the variety of our self-deception. When John leaves her, deciding during the Covid lockdown that their marriage is over, Jane discovers that he has been lying to her for years, about where he has been going and who he has been seeing. But John’s not the only liar the novel’s title is referring to – Jane realises she has been telling herself stories about their relationship from its start, writing and rewriting its arc. She’s been lying to herself too. Building a life with another person seems to require it. Highly recommended.
Yasmin has been reading
Over the Influence
By Joanna "JoJo" Levesque
Anyone growing up in the mid-2000's remembers Jojo as the rising star with iconic hits like 'Leave (Get Out)' and 'Too Little Too Late'. But from 2007, she seemed to have dropped off the radar. What happened to her and where did she go?
Finally, we have our answers. From early childhood to a rising star, Jojo delves deep into her emotions, family struggles, mental health and her legal battle over her music contract that she signed at 12 years old.
This is a gripping memoir that I thoroughly enjoyed.
