June Books

 I finished seven books in June:

The Long Song by Andrea Levy
Set in 19th-century Jamaica, this is the story of July,  who is born a slave; the novel covers the years before and after the abolition of slavery in Jamaica. I read this having already watched the BBC series based on it, which I thought was very good, and I enjoyed the book too. It was a quick read given that it was around 400 pages long and I got through it in about two days. The novel doesn't shy away from depicting the realities of slavery, but it also includes some lighter moments which prevents the story from becoming too heavy or depressing. I liked the main character an, although many of the other characters were very flawed, they were well drawn and interesting.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
This is book 2 in the Mistborn trilogy. I read the first one back in April, or maybe March. That one was long, but this is really long, at 761 pages.* However, it was a quick read for its length, and definitely a page-turner; I kept reading to find out what would happen next. I enjoyed it as I did the first book, although this is probably a bit darker in the amount of bad stuff that happens. However, the worldbuilding and plot are very interesting and I'm intrigued to find out what will happen in the final book of the trilogy.

*Which makes it only the 4th longest book I've ever read.

Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy by Rumer Godden
The book is about an order of nuns, the Sisters of Bethanie, who have a particular ministry to women in prison, and indeed there are many former prisoners among their order. The book focuses on the story of Lise. On her own in postwar France, she ends up a prostitute, then in prison. Whilst there, she encounters the Sisters and determines to join them after she is released (which she does). The narrative jumps backwards and forwards in time, so the details of Lise's past life are revealed gradually, in parallel with the story of what happens after she joins the order. I didn't enjoy this as much as In This House of Brede (the other book about nuns by Rumer Godden that I've read), but it was still a good read, and it was also interesting to look at the differences between the nuns in this book and those in In This House of Brede, which is about an order of contemplative nuns, whereas those Five for Sorrow are more directly involved in helping others.

Mazel Tov by J. S. Margot
This was a interesting memoir about the author's relationship with an Orthodox Jewish family, for whom she worked a tutor.

Susan Interferes by Jane Shaw
Part of a vintage children's series about Susan and her cousins, this book takes them on their first trip abroad, to Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. There is a good amount of scenic detail -- enough to be interesting and to set the scene, without getting in the way of the story -- and, as with most of the books in this series, there is a mystery to be solved by Susan & co., but it is the characters I'm mainly reading this for.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
This was a re-read, so I remembered the general plot, although I had forgotten some of the details. I still found it an enjoyable read and, now that I knew what was going to happen I had fun spotting the little hints the narrator gives along the way. I plan to re-read the next book in the series, The Queen of Attolia, quite soon before going on to the later books in the series, which I haven't read yet.

Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie
A solid Poirot mystery. I don't think I have much more to say about this...