Dear Great Book Guru, I am looking forward to this these last days of June. There is such a feeling of anticipation and excitement with summer’s fun and freedom lying ahead. School will be closing, Story Time at Sea Cliff Beach begins, and Sunset Serenades start. Of course, in the midst of all this, I always find time to read.  Do you have a good book to recommend?

Swooning Over the Start of Summer

Dear Swooning, My book club just read TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi. This is a perfect start for your summer reading. Beautifully written with a complex storyline, the novel begins in July, the early 1980’s.  David and Sarah are fifteen and about to fall in love. They attend an elite school for the performing arts.   From radically different backgrounds, the two students find themselves in a life-changing situation as friends and faculty look on.  Their instructor suggests a series of trust exercises for the students, but we are also asked to exercise trust in what we see and hear.    As the timeline moves forward to the present, we realize there is much we do not know.  In fact, we may have been manipulated or misled, and it becomes obvious the identity of the narrator is crucial to our understanding.   A challenging book, but well worth the time and energy - recommended!