Great Reads: Upheaval abounds in summer reading

The Summer Reading Program for 2012 is done for another year but as I wait to see if I’ve won a Barnes and Noble gift card, I can pat myself on the back for reaching the 40-hour goal.

I read three novels and one work of nonfiction and I’m proud of my accomplishment. Next year I hope to read up to 60 hours or more; that will be my personal goal for 2013.

In this edition of Great Reads, there’s a unique collection of fiction to choose from, as well as a compelling biography and recipe book of tasty meals for those on a tight budget.

So let’s begin.

Nantucket student Penny Alistair dies in a tragic car accident and her brother is in a coma after a night of celebrating high school graduation. For the two survivors and the families involved questions remain and the emotional upheaval that lingers after the accident is at the heart of Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand.

Hannah Bernal’s husband has died, her finances are a mess and a series of incidents have her friends fearful for Hannah. Then one night near a large avocado tree in her backyard she cries out “why?” and when she hears the answer “why not?” an incredible life journey begins in The After Wife: A Novel by Gigi Levangie Grazer.

Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a very famous woman so she’s accustomed to a life of privilege. On her wedding day, she ditches her most perfect groom, her lifestyle and hitches a ride on the back of a motorcycle driven by a rude and very angry stranger in The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Clover is a woman in her 50s who wakes up one morning and discovers she’s invisible. Devastating as that may be, she comes to the shattering revelation that her family has never really looked at her and have no idea the predicament she now finds herself in. In Jeanne Ray’s Calling Invisible Women, Clover sets out to help those just like her find their purpose in life and be recognized as the people they’re meant to be.

The Red House by Mark Haddon takes readers to the English countryside for a family drama told through the differing viewpoints of the eight characters gathered together for a vacation.

Will Trent is an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and is kept off the case of a missing college student by his boss Amanda Wagner in Criminal by Karin Slaughter. Complicating matters a case from 40 years ago may provide insight into Will’s mysterious birth and parentage as he and Amanda come face to face at an abandoned orphanage Will once called home.