BOOKS
Blockbuster thrillers, provocative novels and inspiring nonfiction—this month’s hot reads cover the bases.
Check out this month’s sizzling reads
We knew it was only a matter of time before Paula Hawkins, the international bestselling author of 2015’s The Girl on the Train, released another deeply emotional and psychologically disturbing story. In her new novel, Hawkins’ protagonist is Lena, a 15-yearold who’s orphaned when her successful single mother, Nel, is found dead—fully clothed, her injuries consistent with “a fall from the cliffs above”—at the bottom of a river in her small hometown of Beckford, U.K. It’s also the river where a teenage girl had drowned earlier that summer—and, it turns out, they aren’t the only women who’ve succumbed to those dark waters, which locals call the “Drowning Pool.” The two deaths bring up waterlogged secrets of the past, including the demise of half a dozen other women.
While the story is told through the points of view of several characters (in the same rotating-narrative style as The Girl on the Train), it’s Lena and her aunt, Jules, a virtual stranger who has been forced back to Beckford to identify her estranged sister’s lifeless body and deal with her grieving niece, who the reader fixates on most. The pair must forge a relationship while embroiled in the police investigation of Nel’s apparent murder.
Suspenseful, compelling and full of masterful twists and turns, a literary approach we’ve come to expect from Hawkins, this book will have you enthralled. — Lisa van de Geyn
You’d be forgiven if you haven’t yet heard of 28-yearold Toronto-born comedian, actor and Youtube star Lilly Singh, but we guarantee the kids in your life are huge fans. The new media mogul, who goes by the moniker Superwoman, has been building her online “fempire” since 2010 and, in that time, has racked up more than 11 million subscribers and a billion views. Last year, she ranked third on Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid Youtube stars, and Singh has parlayed her vlogging success into movie roles, a world tour and even a clothing line. Her latest project, a field guide to nailing life like a boss (or, rather, bawse), is sure to inspire her fans to achieve great things. Is Singh a modern-day Ann Landers? Not quite, but she does tackle a dizzying number of topics in 50 short chapters, and always with a snappy, humorous and inspiring tone. She draws on personal struggles and experiences, including her depression, to address real-life issues, such as how to deal with failure (make mistakes quickly) and the best way to live online (be secretive—don’t share everything about yourself). — Grace Toby