Forster’s Book Garden gives the seal of approval to these summer reads

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

If you were hoping to read more this summer, there's still time to do so.

The Citizen checked in with Donna Forster of Bolton's Forster's Book Garden on August 6 for some summer reading recommendations. 

The first book Forster recommended was No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. It's the story of an author who had a tough start to her life, then wrote a book about a young boy who also had all kinds of challenges. The book then follows the stories of a number of individuals who read the author's book and have their life impacted by it in different ways. 

“The book helps each of these people move on in a way that's going to work for them,” said Forster. “It's that whole thing about people interpreting things in different ways, or taking what they need to out of something.”

Forster said No Two Persons has a neat twist at the end too.

The next book Forster recommended was A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke, a librarian. 

Set in 1885, it follows the story of a girl who goes home one day and becomes deathly ill. Her family takes her to a doctor away from home, and on the way there, she gets better. When she returns home again, she becomes deathly ill once more. 

The girl and her mom eventually figure out that she can't stay at home — or in any place — for longer than a few days. 

The book follows the story of the girl's life as she travels the globe, attempting to forge relationships despite her inability to stay in one place. 

“It's all about the journey… and aren't we all on some journey,” said Forster, who noted A Short Walk Through a Wide World is Westerbeke's first book. “It's really nicely done, it's a really good one.”

Another couple of books Forster said are good reads are Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson. 

Stevenson is a comedian, and his books are filled with funny lines, said Forster. 

Kirsten Miller's Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books is an intriguing tale about a woman, Lula Dean, who believes in banning books and has a library which she stocks only with books she thinks are OK for people to read. 

One night, someone replaces Dean's books with banned books in “wholesome” dust jackets. The story then follows the lives of people who read these banned books and have their lives changed for the better.

“That one is lots of fun too,” said Forster. 

Rounding out Forster's summer book recommendations is The Best Way To Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale. 

It's a dark comedy about four women who have either accidentally or purposefully killed their abusive husbands. The book takes the topic of domestic abuse very seriously, but funny things happen when the women try to dispose of their husband's bodies, said Forster.

“It would make a great book club book because at the end, you have to decide how you feel about what's happened,” said Forster.