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Reading List and Book Reviews for August 2024

ByMary Wilson
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Learn which books I recommend for
kids, teens, and adults based on my reading this month.

Every August, I take a break from teaching online book clubs. It gives me time to rest before the coming school year.

That means I get to do a little reading for myself while continuing to preview kids’ titles.

In last month’s review, I mentioned the lack of audiobooks on my phone. I changed that this month and listened to Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. Meryl Streep read it, which 100% added to my enjoyment of the story.

I wanted to read some of my favorite genres, thrillers and mysteries, but most of my choices didn’t blow me away, which was definitely disappointing.

Thankfully, I had a lot of time for reading this month, so I found a few excellent reads.

I’ve included all of my reviews below, so keep scrolling and share what you read this month in the comments!

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Book reviews for august 2024

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Children’s Books for July 2024

I teach online book clubs for kids, so I always have a list of children’s books that I read for either a current book club or to preview for a future book club.

This month, I explored quite a few graphic novels and included them here!

The Christmas Pig book review

The Christmas Pig
by J.K. Rowling
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Jack’s childhood toy, Dur Pig (DP), was thrown out the car window and is now lost. But on Christmas Eve, Jack learns that lost causes stand a chance, and he is ready to head to the Land of the Lost to rescue his toy.

This was a fun, magical journey full of creative characters and unique lands. I enjoyed the adventure of it all and the story’s ending – it fit just perfectly. This is a fun book to talk about the meaning of a name because the magical lands have names that also describe them, such as “Bother-Its-Gone.”

I enjoyed Jack’s role as the protagonist and his relationship with his replacement toy, Christmas Pig, who was bought to replace DP. They develop a meaningful connection, which leads to the message of selflessness and friendship at the end of the story.

Parents should know that the book’s beginning includes a divorce and remarriage. The step-sibling is having a hard time and treats her stepbrother badly (hence the reason the pig is tossed out the window). Time passes quickly during this part of the book, so the situation isn’t explored in depth, but it is there.

The book focuses on the time in the Land of the Lost. Younger or more sensitive children might be upset by the villain, “The Loser,” who hunts some of the toys. Our protagonist survives, and the ending is happy, but there might be too much tension in the story for little ones.

I thought this story was a fun adventure and will consider it for my online Christmas book clubs.

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Gamerville
by Johnnie Christmas
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Max has been working hard on his gaming, which has finally paid off – he qualified for Gamerville, a gaming championship. Unfortuantely for Max, his parents are concerned about how much time he spends gaming, so they send him to Camp Refresh, where he will get a break from electronics. Now Max has to figure out how to escape and make it to Gamerville in time, but will his camp friends help him?

While this book was not nearly as fantastic as Swim Team by the same author, it was a fun read full of colorful and exciting graphics. Max was a fun character at home and camp. I found his parents slightly unbelievable. They gave him a one-day warning before sending him off to camp, which was a little unrealistic.

Max learns many lessons about friendship and the importance of activities other than gaming. The story also addresses bullying – both online and in real life. However, the overall story isn’t intense. It’s more of an adventure story.

NOTE: Parents should be aware of bullying in the book. It is not presented as acceptable, but characters do bully one another. There is also quite a bit of sneaking around and running away. Of course, adults are clueless, which is typical of children’s books, so adventures can happen.

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Oh My Gods Review

Oh My Gods!
by Stephanie Cooke and Insha Fitzpatrick
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Karen moves to Greece to live with her mysterious father, Zed. As she starts school at Mt. Olympus Junior High, she begins to uncover things about her life that she never knew. First, Mt. Olympus Junior High is a school for gods and goddesses, making Karen at least a demi-god. Now, someone is turning the students into stone, and Karen and her friends are determined to discover who it is.

Honestly, there was nothing in this story that blew me away. The overall concept is a well-used idea in literature for this age group, and this particular version is a little weak. The gods and goddesses are high school versions of themselves and don’t seem very powerful. They also seem very clueless about who might turn students into stone, though I think it would be evident to most readers who know Greek mythology.

While the storyline (including the dialogue) is pretty basic, it would be a good option to compare to similar stories. The target audience (middle school readers) might find it more engaging, but I am not sure as I haven’t used it in my book clubs yet.

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We are Big Time book review

We Are Big Time
Hena Kahn
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Aliya has just moved to Wisconsin and joined the basketball team at her school. The team has an awful record, but their new coach understands the game and is eager to help the girls win! While the coach teaches them more about the game, the girls teach her about what it is like to be a Muslim. As the girls strengthen their skills and improve their teamwork, they begin to see success on the court.

This fun graphic novel is based on the real-life experiences of the Salem School Girls Varsity Basketball team. The book does a great job of exploring cultural perceptions and the universal experiences of peer relationships and teamwork. This is a great story, and the graphics are fun and colorful.

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The Night Librarian
Christopher Lincoln
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Page and Turner are twins who are often left alone while their parents travel. They spend a lot of time at the NY public library reading books and articles. One night, they join the night librarian on a secret mission to rescue their dad’s rare edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which exposes them to the world of villains and heroes from their beloved books.

This was a fun adventure story with references to various literature and characters from those stories. Appearances are made by Jack (Jack and the Beanstalk), Alice (Alice in Wonderland), Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and more. I think readers will enjoy seeing titles and characters they are familiar with.

The part I didn’t love was how the parents leave their kids for weeks with an irresponsible babysitter who goes out of town. So, the kids are entirely unsupervised, and no one catches on to this because they lie to their parents on the phone about it all.

Overall, this is a fun story, and I will add it to a future list for the graphic novel book club I teach online!

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YA Books for July 2024

These books are typically for ages 14 and up. Websites such as Common Sense Media can help you make the best decision about the content for your children. I also include a few warnings when needed.

The Toll Book

The Downstairs Girl
Stacey Lee
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️


Jo Kuan is a lady’s maid in Atlanta who works for one of the city’s wealthiest men during a time period when Chinese Americans were not considered equals. During the day, she writes a progressive advice column for women under the pseudonym Miss Sweetie. As the column becomes more popular and Miss Sweetie begins to address some of society’s ills surrounding race and gender, Jo finds herself in a tricky situation with this (and many other) secrets.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a fun cast of characters and several surprising plot points. It is definitely a young adult book, as many things are solved much more quickly than they may have been in reality, but I thought it was quite well done.

I listened to the audiobook and had a hard time with the voice of the main character, Jo, at first. The narrator spoke with a bit of a whisper for Jo, making it hard to hear. Once I was more immersed in the story, I adjusted to the voice. Overall, the audiobook was a great experience.

There is just enough romance in the book to make it appropriate for a young adult audience (13+) and there is NOTHING graphic or described. I thought it was an excellent selection, as many teens are ready for some romance to be involved!

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Adult Books I Read in July

A lot of the books I read for myself were disappointing, but there were 1-2 really good ones.

the Girl with All the Gifts

The Girl With All the Gifts
M. R. Carey
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️


Melanie is considered a genius in her classroom of brilliant students. But this isn’t an ordinary group of students. These children are kept in cells and wheeled into the classroom each day while they remain strapped to their wheelchairs. Melanie wonders why she and the other students seem to be a threat to the other people, and soon, the answers will become quite clear.

This story drew me in immediately. The initial situation is intriguing, and the lack of information provided to the reader makes it even more so. As the story continued, it began to drag a bit for me. I wanted to get to the end, but it became intriguing again. And I liked the ending and didn’t see it coming..

There was one character that I didn’t care for at all (Dr. Cadwell). I don’t think we are meant to like her, but I found many situations surrounding her to be completely unbelievable. I don’t want to say much more, but a lot about her survival seemed unrealistic.

There was also a lot of graphic detail surrounding much of the violence and death. I skimmed quite a few pages that contained quite a bit of horrific detail.

The book would have been a three-star if I hadn’t enjoyed the unexpected ending so much.

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One Perfect Couple Review

One Perfect Couple
Ruth Ware
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Lyla begrudgingly agrees to join her boyfriend, Nico, on a reality show for couples on a tropical island. He hopes to launch his acting career by appearing on the show, so she agrees to join him and treat it like a tropical vacation. But very quickly, things began to fall apart, and now, Lyla and the other reality show participants are fighting for survival.

This book was reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” and many of Lucy Foley’s books because all the characters are trapped and isolated on an island. I also thought about “Lord of the Flies,” as the struggle for power and control becomes part of the plot.

The characters represented a variety of personality types, and I thought they fit the idea of a reality show well. They fit the variety of characters (and explosive personalities) a reality show would look for. I thought Lyla was a great character to tell the story, and it worked well that she was the only narrator. A rotating narrator would have been more confusing to follow in this situation (I think).

Yes, as with many thrillers, you have to suspend your disbelief and not think too hard about certain situations. Overall, it wasn’t hard to do that, and I didn’t want to put the book down.

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Tom Lake Book Review

Tom Lake
Ann Patchett
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This was a lovely story about family and parents’ lives before becoming “mom and dad.”

The story focuses on Lara, mother of three daughters, and her daughters have returned to the family home that spring. They spend their days together, and the girls ask their mother to tell them about her time dating Peter Duke, a now-famous actor before she met their dad. And Lara does.

This is not my typical fast-paced thriller choice, but I enjoyed this story of family and growing up. Maybe it was just the perfect time to read it, as I have teen children now. Or maybe it was Meryl Streep’s audio. Either way, I really enjoyed this one.

The back-and-forth between the current and past time periods was seamless and kept the story interesting. I loved how the girls reacted to their mother’s experiences. That part felt like the life I lead right now with older kids. They only know me as “mom” but then get glimpses into the past as we share stories. This book captured the feeling of kids suddenly seeing their parents as real people.

There is a moment at the end when the mom reveals a secret that she doesn’t share with her daughters. It isn’t a choice I would have made, but I know someone who did make that choice and feels the same way, so it is a realistic portrayal of life, secrets, and things people have in their past. This moment bothered a lot of reviewers, so please know that it could trigger some big feelings.

Overall I loved the book and it was just a perfect summer read during a slow moving week.

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Everyone here is lying

Everyone Here is Lying
Shari Lapena
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A 9-year-old child is missing, and the stories have the police spinning in circles. Most of the people involved have something to hide, so the real question is, who is hiding the truth about the missing child?

Honestly, I enjoyed the way the story was told from rotating points of view. I liked how the reader learned different information as the story unfolded. The sections for each point of view were pretty short, too, so it helped my ADHD brain. (*wink) The storytelling kept me guessing, and I appreciated it.

This was a page-turner for me, without graphic violence or anything else. I appreciated that aspect, too!

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Middle of the Night Book Review

Middle of the Night
Riley Sager
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

When Ethan was 10 years old, his best friend, Billy, disappeared. The worst part is that Billy was sleeping outside in the tent with Ethan, but when Ethan woke in the morning, Billy just wasn’t there anymore. Now Ethan has returned to his parents’ home on Hemlock Circle, and strange things are happening. He is convinced that Billy has returned and wants him to discover the full story.

This was a solid read, though it wasn’t what I had thought it might be. Worst of all, I guessed a big part of the ending, which is always a letdown because I love being surprised by the end. I kept hoping for more tension or suspense, but it never got there. Overall, it was an entertaining read with a bit of creepy “what will happen” going for it.

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The good daughter book review

The Good Daughter
Karin Slaughter
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s lives were torn apart and devastated twenty-eight years ago. The terrifying attack at their home killed their mother and left the girls to deal with the trauma of the violence that night. Samantha fled the town, but Charlie (Charlotte) remained in the area to become a lawyer like her father. Now, another local murder case has forced Charlotte, Samantha, and their dad to face some of the realities of the night they buried in the past.

This was a good detective murder mystery, but it was just too graphic and violent for my taste. I found myself skimming and skipping sections with graphic descriptions of the horror done to young girls and other incidents. Because of this, I could never engage with the story entirely. Then, about midway through, it began to drag a bit for me. By the end, I found myself skimming so I could get to the conclusion.

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Weyward book review

Weyward
Emilia Hart
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

{3.5} This book weaves together the stories of three women who are connected across five centuries:

In 2019, Kate leaves her abusive husband and flees to Weyward cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely knows. In 1619, Altha awaits trial for the murder of a local farmer and the accusation that she is a witch. In 1942, Violet was trapped in her home by a seemingly overprotective father until the true stories about her mother’s death began to surface.

I loved the way the stories were woven together over time. There were some surprising connections and some that were clear right from the start. Overall, the connection to nature didn’t resonate with me. Insects and birds aren’t my jam, and some stories about the women and the wildlife were a little unbelievable—almost fantastical. I didn’t connect with the feeling of magical realism in that part of the story.

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More Monthly Book Reviews

Check out my July 2024 book reviews for kids, teens, and adult books

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2 Comments

  1. I absolutely loved Tom Lake on audio. I enjoyed Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder club series over the past few months. I finished books 3 and 4 this month. I had tried to read the first book 3 or 4 times in the past but was just never in the right mood. But, after trying again at the beginning of summer I became hooked! I also really loved Sandwich on audio this month. Somewhat reminiscent of Tom Lake.

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