My July in reading

My July in reading was all about finishing different series—with a few one-offs thrown in there for variety.

Fiebre Tropical by Juliana Delgado Lopera

Fiebre Tropical contains pretty much everything I love in a novel. Voice-driven writing? Check. Teens navigating impossible situations? Check. Queer love growing in evangelical Christian settings? Check. Francisca is angsty—but who wouldn’t be, if their mother abruptly moved them from Colombia to Miami to live in a tiny apartment with their grandmother and sister and dragged them to a zealous church so they could baptize their long-dead sibling? Add Francisca’s infatuation with the pastor’s daughter into the mix, and you’ve got a wonderful mess. I also liked the flashbacks into her mother and grandmother’s childhoods—they’re not only entertaining, but also help to explain how Francisca ended up in this situation. Definitely recommend this one.

Authority by Jeff VanderMeer (narrated by Bronson Pinchot)

I think this second novel in VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy is my favorite. It’s more of a spy novel, with tentacles of sci-fi and horror creeping in there. Instead of being set in Area X, Authority is set in the Southern Reach headquarters, where John Rodrigues—otherwise known as “Control”—has just stepped in to lead the organization after the previous director went missing. The thing about “Control” is that he has none—even under completely normal circumstances, he’d be spectacularly bad at his job. This guy has failed upward his whole life, largely thanks to his well-regarded mother. But these are not normal circumstances—his second-in-command, Grace, is still loyal to the previous director, and the others who work there are clearly hiding something. And what is that strange smell? Things fall apart—or rather, they melt away, bubble and ooze into chaos and horror.

Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan

I’m a devoted listener of Mike Duncan’s Revolutions podcast, so I was excited to read his book about the Marquis de Lafayette—especially after I’d listened to him talk about writing it for so long. I figured July was the right month for it—between American Independence Day and Bastille Day, both events in which Lafayette played an important role. The book reflects Duncan’s gift for storytelling—this is not a boring recitation of facts by any means. And he acknowledges Lafayette’s flaws as much as his triumphs. I just wish I’d bought the audiobook instead! It was weird to encounter Duncan’s words and cadence without hearing them. But overall, I enjoyed it.

Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer (narrated by Carolyn McCormick, Bronson Pinchot, and Xe Sands)

Given how weird the Southern Reach trilogy is, I doubted VanderMeer’s ability to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. I am happy to report that I should not have doubted him. Not a single thread was dropped. And yet this one somehow got even weirder? We’re back in Area X, we’re dealing with multiple time periods, we’re still meeting new characters. It’s truly masterful—a more than fitting conclusion to the series.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

I’d been meaning to read this thriller for a while—it’s been all over my social media for more than a year at this point. Nella is the only Black editorial assistant at Wagner Books—until she isn’t. When Hazel shows up, Nella anticipates friendship and solidarity. Instead, she gets undermined—and pulled into a sinister conspiracy that long predates Nella’s time at Wagner. Harris knows how to create a sense of unease that builds and builds—you’ll definitely be holding your breath at points. I do wish she’d delved a bit more into the start of the conspiracy at Wagner. Honestly, I’d be happy to read a whole prequel about those characters. Overall, though, The Other Black Girl was exactly as suspenseful as the reviews said.

The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman

One of Neil Gaiman’s greatest strengths is that he never forgets a character. In The Kindly Ones, Lyta Hall—a character who was initially wronged by Morpheus very early on in the series, and who is wronged in an even more devastating way at the beginning of this volume—summons the Furies to take her revenge. Soon the Dreaming in its entirety is at stake, and dozens of characters whose lives Morpheus has changed come to help or hinder him in the fight. Easily one of the most compelling volumes in the series. It grabs you and doesn’t let you go.

The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake by Neil Gaiman

I did it! I finished re-reading the series before the Netflix show premiered! Gaiman could have stopped writing The Sandman after volume 9, and it would have made sense. I love that he gave us The Wake so we could all mourn the character we spent so long reading about. It’s such a tender ending to the story.