Hi guys! Emma here – I’m back with more book club news! So excited to share April’s books. Sorry that I’m getting this off to you late – been a BUSY month with everything that has been going on. Glad to be finally sharing these choices with you. We will be discussing March’s books on MONDAY back here on the blog – don’t miss it!
The cool part is that I actually received this book in my “Book of the Month” subscription box I am part of. I LOVE this service – it’s amazing. Basically you can choose from 5 books each month & try out different options. It’s $14 per month, but I love the book options. Many of the books are top books I would pick up anyways, and they are all high-end hardback books which are worth $25-30 anyways. Many of the book options are also pre-release so I can read popular titles (Like A Good Neighborhood) before it releases to the general public. If you click here and sign up you can get your first month for only $5. So great!!
As many of you know, we have a book club page on Facebook where we swap book recommendations, chat about the books, and more. Click here to join!
Anyways.. on to our April Book Club Picks! For those of you who are new or who aren’t in the facebook group.. we decided to add a secondary book to January’s lineup for the overachievers & decided to keep it going! We’ll be discussing the secondary novel solely in the facebook group, not here on the blog. We’ll always have 1 main book for each month and a secondary book for those who aren’t interested in the main book or for the overachievers who want to read both.
We also wanted to share that we have a ‘bookshop’ online – where we have ALL of the book club books, our favorite reads, what we are currently reading, Jeff’s favorites.. and more linked HERE. You can order everything from that page & proceeds go back to the authors and independent bookstores. It’s an amazing opportunity to not purchase from Amazon. Click here to shop & see everything we’re reading!
Now on to the April Book Club Picks!
Our main book is…
A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler!
Summary:
NSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“A provocative, absorbing read.” ― People
“A feast of a read… I finished A Good Neighborhood in a single sitting. Yes, it’s that good.” ―Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light
In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son, Xavier, who’s headed to college in the fall. All is well until the Whitmans―a family with new money and a secretly troubled teenage daughter―raze the house and trees next door to build themselves a showplace.
With little in common except a property line, these two families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie’s yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers.
A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today―what does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don’t see eye to eye?―as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.
So excited to read this one. I picked it up last month & I’m REALLY looking forward to this. Looks really juicy and different compared to the usual books we’ve read in this group! Click here to pick up a copy.
Second Book…
The Adventurer’s Son by Ronan Dial
Summary:
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
“A brave and marvelous book. A page-turner that will rip your heart out.” —Jon Krakauer
In the tradition of Into the Wild comes an instant classic of outdoor literature, a riveting work of uncommon depth: The Adventurer’s Son is Roman Dial’s extraordinary account of his two-year quest to unravel the mystery of his son’s fate.
In the predawn hours of July 10, 2014, the twenty-seven-year-old son of preeminent Alaskan scientist and National Geographic Explorer Roman Dial, walked alone into Corcovado National Park, an untracked rainforest along Costa Rica’s remote Pacific Coast that shelters miners, poachers, and drug smugglers. He carried a light backpack and machete. Before he left, Cody Roman Dial emailed his father: “I am not sure how long it will take me, but I’m planning on doing 4 days in the jungle and a day to walk out. I’ll be bounded by a trail to the west and the coast everywhere else, so it should be difficult to get lost forever.”
They were the last words Dial received from his son.
As soon as he realized Cody Roman’s return date had passed, Dial set off for Costa Rica. As he trekked through the dense jungle, interviewing locals and searching for clues—the authorities suspected murder—the desperate father was forced to confront the deepest questions about himself and his own role in the events. Roman had raised his son to be fearless, to be at home in earth’s wildest places, travelling together through rugged Alaska to remote Borneo and Bhutan. Was he responsible for his son’s fate? Or, as he hoped, was Cody Roman safe and using his wilderness skills on a solo adventure from which he would emerge at any moment?
Part detective story set in the most beautiful yet dangerous reaches of the planet, The Adventurer’s Son emerges as a far deeper tale of discovery—a journey to understand the truth about those we love the most.
The Adventurer’s Son includes fifty black-and-white photographs.
I listened to the author on NPR talk about this story and this book and it blew me away. I am so interested in reading it and I hope many of you will be too. It’s different than my usual choices, but you’ll have to let me know if you’ll read this one! Click here to pick up a copy.
Thoughts
What do you think about our April book club picks? Let me know in the comments below.
Please keep in mind that I’m reading alongside you each month.. I don’t know anything more than you other than what’s in the main summary. If there are issues that may trigger you while reading a book, please do your due-diligence and research whether this book is right for you. This book club is open to all subjects – hard times, politics, romance, horror, serial killers, miscarriage and so forth. Please make sure to research if topics are of a concern. Thanks!
xo,
Emma
Click here to see more books we are reading & loving.
2020 Book Club Posts
– January Book Announcement
– January Book Discussion
– February Book Announcement
– February Book Discussion
– March Book Announcement
– April Book Announcement
Both of these look great! I just started “A Good Neighbor”, so that worked out well. The Adventure’s Son looks good too. We were suppose to be going to Costa Rica in a few days, but of course that was canceled since their boarders are closed due to the COVID-19. So, I guess I‘ll get a book with Costa Rica as the setting. Although, the story line may not lend me to wanting to rebook the trip. ;)
I just found this site and it is now July so I need to get current! I read A Good Neighbor as well, liked it. Will read the blurb about The Adventurer’s Son and maybe pick it up. Thank you and hope to be around here reading!