There are four chapters in Trust, each with a different point of view about what occurs in New York before, during an after the crash of 1929. The first chapter is a novel by Harold Vanner. The second section are notes for Andrew Bevel’s memoir. Bevel is an aloof, almost anti-social millionaire. The third is his secretary’s descriptions of her relationship with Bevel and her father. And finally, the diary Mildred, Bevel’s wife, kept while she was dying.

For readers who feel it is important to become involved with a novel right away, do not read Trust. It is confusing up until chapter three. Also, there are a number paragraphs describing the way Bevel made money during the stock market crash that either I didn’t understand or found boring. It is cleverly constructed but that is about all I found entertaining about Trust.

Just after the end of The Civil War, ex slaves and brothers Landry and Prentiss are trying to survive in the woods near the Walker’s home. George and Isabelle Walker( who are white) hire them to help start a crop of peanuts, much to the dismay of most of the white residents living in Old Ox, Georgia. When Landry, who cannot or does not speak, observes an illegal act between two white men, the consequences for the brothers and the Walkers are violent and harrowing.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Sweetness of Water for several reasons. Harris is an excellent writer; many of his descriptions are vivid and sensual. George, Isabelle and Prentiss are well-drawn characters as are some of the lesser characters. The plot is well-paced and unpredictable. Also, it was nice to read a book written by a Black man where all the Southerners were not portrayed as evil racists.

There are three main characters in Van Pelt’s debut novel. Tova Sullivan works the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. She is about 70 years old, widowed and lost her only child to what she believes is a boating accident. Cameron Cassmore is a 30 year old ne’er do well who comes to Sowell Bay searching for a father he never knew. Marcellus is a four year old octopus at the aquarium who know his days are numbered. How these three characters relate, understand and ultimately love and appreciate each other is the crux of Remarkably Bright Creatures.

This is a nice feel good novel that’s also an easy read. It’s a bit too sweet and predictable for me, but for some it may be the perfect summer read.

John Carreyou, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, describes in Bad Blood the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and CEO of Theranos. After dropping out of Stanford, she convinced a number of bright, wealthy, influential men to invest millions of dollars in her company. She professed that Theranos would be able to run all sorts of laboratory tests on a patient with just a finger prick of blood. However, what Holmes told her investors and the world, was far from true.

I saw the miniseries The Dropout and became fascinated yet appalled by Holmes. How did she think she could get away with all the lies she told? Did she believe her lies? How could she feel no remorse about what she was doing to her investors and the patients who believed the erroneous test results Theranos gave them? While Bad Blood didn’t give me a clear understanding of Elizabeth Holmes’s psychological make up, it is an intriguing story illustrating how fame, wealth and greed can go haywire.

Elliott’s reporting covers eight years in the life of Dasani, the oldest of eight children living with her mother, Chanel, her step-father, Supreme and her seven siblings. We first meet the family when Dasani is eleven. They are all living in a run-down homeless shelter in Brooklyn. Chanel and Supreme are plagued with addiction, poverty and homelessness. However, Dasani is bright, athletic and charismatic and has several opportunities to better herself and her living conditions. Yet in order to do this she must sever the strong ties she has with her family.

Invisible Child is a remarkable piece of nonfiction. Andrea Elliott has presented her readers with an extraordinary but ordinary family who cannot break the cycle of poverty, partly because of their own flaws and partly because of a flawed system.

An oldie but goodie by Colm Toibin. The Blackwater Lightship takes place in Ireland in the 1990’s. Helen, her mother, Lily, and her grandmother, Dora, are in Dora’s home nursing Helen’s brother, Declan who is dying from AIDS. They have just learned of his situation from his friends Larry and Paul who have been helping Declan since the onset of his illness. As the six characters live together in Dora’s tiny house we learn about their histories and personalities.

Yes, The Blackwater Lightship is depressing and yes, only a few things are resolved at the end the novel, but Toibin is such a fine writer, that, for me, they don’t matter. This rather short work touches on many issues in such a creative, complex and compassionate way.

Violeta, the Chilean narrator, is a hundred years old. She is relating her life to Camilo, her grandson, at the end of her life. Violeta’s life spans two pandemics. She has lovers, husbands, two children and a loyal extended family. Her history parallels the history of the world-wars, politics and natural disasters. Violeta is the tale of an independent, strong-willed woman who refuses to let traumas and crisis stop her from living a very full life.

Isabel Allende’s books are always entertaining, but Violeta is not one of her best. I found the main character unbelievable and the structure of the novel (Violeta telling her life story) sometimes awkward and stilted.

Colleen Hubbard’s debut novel is the story of Del, a young woman from a small town in New England who thought her past was no longer a part of her life. However, when she learns that her greedy cousins want to put a housing development of the land her deceased parents had left her, she decides to disassemble her childhood home piece by piece. In three months, almost single-handedly during a harsh winter, she moves every inch of the house to a new location.

This description of Housebreaking sounds tedious, but trust me, it’s not. The novel has tension-will Del meet the deadline her cousins have set and will she receive the money the cousins promised her. It also has well-drawn characters with Del, a quirky, defiant, strong-willed young woman in every scene.

Mungo Hamilton is sixteen years old. He lives with his alcoholic mother, Maureen, his gang leader brother, Hamish and his bright, motivated sister, Jodie, in a tenement building in Glasgow. When there is talk that Mungo has gay tendencies, his mother sends him with two men she has just met at an AA meeting for a weekend of fishing and camping. Her convoluted thinking is that this weekend away will make a man of Mungo. Instead it becomes three horror-filled days.

In many ways Young Mungo is similar to Stuart’s debut novel, The Man Booker Prize winner Shuggie Bain. They both have a young, gay main character living in the slums of Glasgow with an alcoholic mother. Both novels are heart breaking, vividly descriptive, achingly uncomfortable with a very sympathetic main character. If you appreciated Shuggie Bain, you will want to read Young Mungo.

The first sentence of Ocean State reads, “When I was in eighth grade my sister killed another girl.” Set for the most part in 2009 in a town in Rhode Island, the novel tells what leads up to and what happens after the murder from four women’s experiences-the murderer, Angel, the sister of the murderer, Marie, the mother of the murderer, Carol and the murdered girl, Birdy. As we get a clearer picture of each of these characters, we feel anger, shame and empathy for all of them.

This is the perfect book for readers who want to instantly become involved in a book. Although this is not a “typical” O’Nan novel, like most of his works, Ocean State has clear, concise prose, relatable characters and a very well-constructed plot.