What we Read in September
Our Reader Services Librarian Lucy shares her top picks for the month of September including Booker Prize nominees, new titles from local authors, and gritty thrillers.
Ash is an amazing work, combining poetry, parenting, misogyny, small town New Zealand and a climate disaster into a mighty punch. I felt it so deep in my soul. Ash is a book I need to own and to revisit often. Read a full review here.
In the trenches of France, 1917, John lies, struggling to move, remembering his life before the war. Three years later he is home, married, running his father's photography studio and clinging on to sanity. But when a photograph generates a ghostly image, past and present collide. Spanning four generations, Held is a gorgeously written ode to memory, loss, identity, and the power of the human spirit.
Craven has largely ruined other thriller authors for me, his writing is everything I look for in the genre. Tightly plotted storylines, with engaging and likeable characters, truly villainous bad guys and plenty of plot twists to keep you guessing. This is the sixth book in Craven's Washington Poe series featuring the titular grumpy detective and his math genius partner Tilly Bradshaw set in the wilds of the English Lake District. It's bloody, it's shocking and it's very good.
A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke
When is a gift not a gift? Aubry is just a spoiled nine year old girl when an impulsive decision casts her into the path of a wrathful hex. Cursed to always be on the move, unable to stay in one place for more than a few days, unable to make relationships or put down roots, her journey is a whirlwind of breathtaking sights and hidden horrors, revealing a universe far more vast and mysterious than she ever imagined. A beautiful story of magic and exploration for those who loved The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
Evan Keogh is many things. A hugely talented young footballer with international aspirations, he grapples with homophobia in a sport that often shuns diversity. Haunted by a traumatic past, he seeks solace in art. But when a devastating accusation threatens to derail his life, Evan must confront his demons and decide who he truly wants to be. Following on after the events in Water, the Elements quartet contains some of Boyne's finest works.
Hannah & Huia by Charlotte Lobb
Shattered by the loss of her husband and infant son, Hannah commits herself to a mental hospital. Haunted by sleepless nights and the overwhelming grief of her losses, she encounters Huia, an elderly woman seemingly lost in her own world. Intrigued by Huia's cryptic three-word statements, Hannah seeks connection, but Huia's past, shrouded in trauma, proves difficult to penetrate. Lobb's exploration of grief and depression is both poignant and powerful, as we journey back to Huia's youth, when she was forced to give up her child as a pregnant teenager.
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Overlooked by authorities and ravaged by poverty, addiction, and isolation, the Rosebud Indian Reservation is a haven for drug dealers looking to move heroin. Virgil Wounded Horse, a local tough guy, joins forces with his ex-girlfriend Marie to investigate the drug gang plaguing their community. Winter Counts is a gripping thriller that delves into the harsh realities of life on the reservation, exposing corruption and the devastating consequences of colonisation.
