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Best Books of the Month: June 2017

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All News & Interviews | Popular this month

Giveaways

Slaying Dragons
by Richelle E. Goodrich (Goodreads Author)

Release date: Apr 15, 2017

Slaying Dragons: Quotes, Poetry, & a few Short Stories for Every Day of the Year is the next in a collection of inspirational books by American au ...more

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Format: Print book

Giveaway ends in: a

Availability: 2 copies available, 612 people requesting

Giveaway dates: May 05 - Aug 01, 2017

Countries available: US

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Top Reviews This Week

Emily May's review of Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

“I’m not a murderer,” she says. “I’m a slut, and you can’t be acquitted of that.”

4 1/2 stars. Aviva Grossman is “Florida’s answer to Monica Lewinsky”. A young Jewish intern in a congressman's office, she soon finds herself caught up in an affair wi

“I’m not a murderer,” she says. “I’m a slut, and you can’t be acquitted of that.”

4 1/2 stars. Aviva Grossman is “Florida’s answer to Monica Lewinsky”. A young Jewish intern in a congressman's office, she soon finds herself caught up in an affair with the older and married man. When the affair makes it into the regional media, Congressman Levin experiences some negative press, a few tut tuts, and then goes on to enjoy a lifetime in office. His marriage survives the scandal.

Aviva, on the other hand, has her life completely ruined. Though a skilled and qualified poli-sci graduate, no one will hire her. No one wants to date her. How dare she go after a married man, they say. Who wants to hire someone so morally challenged? Her only option is to start over somewhere completely new.

The story is obviously heavily-inspired by the famous Lewinsky scandal. Zevin exposes the misogyny and double standards that exist in politics, sex scandals, and in many areas of life. It's a fictional story, but it is hard not to notice the very real parallels - how Bill Clinton's marriage and career survived, how Lewinsky was torn apart by the media, and how even in the last election, almost twenty years after the scandal, jokes about Hillary not "blowing it" and how the last Clinton presidency "left a bad taste in [Lewinsky's] mouth" were extremely popular.

Aviva is, in many ways, Monica Lewinsky reimagined, not as a sexy seductress, but as a foolish young woman dazzled by a powerful older man. She is reimagined as someone's daughter, an ambitious student with a love of politics and, later, as a mother of a young girl herself.

It's a powerful feminist story. What I liked perhaps most of all was that all the women in this story are deeply flawed and make mistakes. The book is split between the perspectives of Aviva, her mother - Rachel, her daughter - Ruby, and Embeth - the congressman's wife. I really loved that the author chose to do this. The true heart of feminism is acknowledging the different experiences of different women, and the book's message was so much stronger with the inclusion of all these different perspectives.

There are so many great girl power quotes too, but I think it's best for the reader to discover them while reading. In short, it's just such a smart, warm and wonderful read, and an absolutely fantastic takedown of slut-shaming. I would recommend this for women of all ages.

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New Releases in Mystery & Thriller

A Ghostly Light (Haunted Home Renovation Mystery, #7)

Lemon Tart Mystery (Amish Sweet Shop Mysteries #3)

Over Maya Dead Body (Serena Jones Mystery #3)

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New Releases in Fantasy

At the Table of Wolves (Dark Talents #1)

Amid Stars and Darkness (The Xenith Trilogy, #1)

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New Releases in History & Biography

Among the Living and the Dead: A Tale of Exile and Homecoming on the War Roads of Europe

Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler

A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age

Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us

Sweet Spot: An Ice Cream Binge Across America

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New Releases in Memoir & Autobiography

Estranged: Leaving Family and Finding Home

Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship

A Paris All Your Own: Bestselling Women Writers on the City of Light

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New Releases This Month

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New Releases This Year

Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist, #1)

Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices, #2)

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Popular This Week

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5)

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Author Interviews

B.A. Paris

After her bestselling debut, Behind Closed Doors, the mystery writer is back with her second novel. She confesses that until recently she'd kept her literary success a secret—even from her closest friends.

42 likes · 18 comments

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Good Minds Suggest

Wendy Walker

Walker has made a career of using psychological profiles to craft her thrillers. With Emma in the Night she explores what happens after two sisters vanish and only one returns.

1 like

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Recent Award Winners

Skin Deep
by Marissa Doyle
National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award (NERFA) for Paranormal, Fantasy or SciFi Romance (2017)

Skin Deep
by Marissa Doyle
PRISM Award by Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Special Interest Chapter of RWA for Urban Fantasy (2017)

Consider
by Kristy Acevedo
Philip K. Dick Award Nominee (2017)

Schuld
by Mel Wallis de Vries
Prijs van de Jonge Jury (2017)

Gli anni al contrario
by Nadia Terranova
Premio Bergamo (2017)

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