By Marjorie Preston
“The Boys in the Boat”
By Daniel James Brown
Penguin
As the Paris Olympics come to an end, it’s time to revisit this 2013 bestseller, which became a blockbuster film last year.
“The Boys in the Boat” is the incredible story of 1936 gold medalist Joe Rantz, who rowed his way to glory with a team of unlikely oarsmen from the University of Washington.
Joe was just a boy when his mother died. And he was still a boy when his father’s intolerant new wife forced him to leave his own home. Cast out and desperately poor, young Joe found a semblance of family—with its own dysfunctions—on the sophomore rowing team.
Crew was considered a gentlemen’s sport, but the rich kids couldn’t take the rigors of training. The crew members who remained were the sons of loggers and laborers and fishermen—young men with a lot to prove. Each one persisted through hell and high water to be part of the team that went to the Berlin games. There they shocked the world—and Adolf Hitler—by streaking to victory, and taking home the gold.
Joe Rantz and his teammates are heroes for their time, and for ours. This book is a spellbinder.
“The Wedding People”
By Alison Espach
Henry Holt & Co.
Adjunct lit professor Phoebe Stone is at the end of her rope.
Her marriage has ended, after a long struggle with infertility. Her soon-to-be-ex, Matt, has left her for one of her colleagues. Her beloved cat, Harry, has just died. Phoebe sees no happiness in her future, and no way out unless she ends it all.
She decides to check into the 5-star Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, so she can die in style. There’s one hitch, literally: the hotel has been booked for a lavish, six-day wedding. But one suite remains. Alison checks in, then meets Lila, the Bridezilla du jour, who faces her own emotional crises. Soon the women form a bond, and find themselves confiding profound truths that change both lives.
This is a moving, funny, and generous novel, with characters you’ll grow to love.
“Funny Story”
By Emily Henry
Berkley
Daphne is ready to walk down the aisle when her fiancé, Peter, confesses his love for a childhood friend, Petra. The revelation leaves Daphne not only single, but stuck in small-town Michigan, and barely getting by on her pay as a children’s librarian.
She’s not the only one to get the old heave-ho. When she finds her counterpart in Petra’s ex, Miles, the two agree to cut costs by rooming together. They could not be more different. Daphne is practical, serious, solemn. Miles is extravagantly emotional.
For a while, the roomies merely tolerate each other. Then they come up with a plan to settle a few scores with their exes. Could love be far behind? This is a sweet little romance that you’ll consume in one nice beach day.
“You Never Know”
By Tom Selleck
Dey St. Books
In the celebrity-memoir category, this one stands out. Tom Selleck has no scandalous or salacious tales to tell. He declines to share details of his marriages. And he sidesteps every opportunity to dish on the rich and famous people he’s met over the years.
Yet the account is entertaining and fun to read.
At college, Selleck was a capable athlete, but a mediocre student. With those looks, he easily fell into commercials (Pepsi, Safeguard soap), appearances on The Dating Game, and a contract at 20th Century Fox. Only then did the 6-foot 4-inch hunk start to take acting seriously.
He starred in bit parts in Westerns, then graduated to appearances on series like “The Rockford Files.” He resolved to always conduct himself with integrity, like that show’s star, his role model, James Garner.
Eventually, Selleck found fame in “Magnum PI” (a role that cost him Indiana Jones in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”). And he has been a star ever since. Interestingly, even at the height of his success, he never felt fully secure, and always had to remind himself, “Tom, you’re enough.”
This memoir has no lurid side, because Selleck resolutely stays out of that neighborhood. It contains nothing shocking or mean-spirited, and the story is better for it.
“Sandwich”
By Catherine Newman
Harper
Every summer for 20 years, Rachel and her family have gathered for get-togethers on Cape Cod.
While she looks forward to this year’s reunion, the 50-something known as Rocky is dealing with menopause—the full-blown variety, complete with mood swings, hot flashes, and bouts of regret as she considers the passage of time. Rocky finds herself sandwiched between two generations—aging parents and adult children—serving both, and sometimes forgetting herself in the process.
This summer, as she indulges in memories, happy and sad, and makes endless sandwiches for those she loves, she makes peace with the seasons of her life, including past mistakes and long-held secrets.
Though author Newman self-consciously rounds the bases on social issues of the day, the heart of the story is genuine.
Marjorie Preston is a business writer, editor, ghostwriter and compulsive reader, who gobbles up books like potato chips. For more information (and more book reviews), visit marjorieprestonwriting.com.
