The Savvy Five: Summer Reads

As far as we’re concerned, enjoying a good book over the summer is as important a summer tradition as going out for ice cream or staying up late to watch fireworks. So make sure to carve out some time for a book or two from this month’s SavvyFive (we’ve got four for you and one for you to read to the kids):

Best Friends Forever
Good for: the hammock (and anyone who has ever had a best friend)
Why It Made the List: This clever, sad and sweet turn on a Thelma and Louise-style story, tells the tale of two now-estranged women, former school-age best friends, who are brought back together 15 years later for a female bonding adventure extraordinaire. Glamourous weather girl Val finds herself in a bit of a ‘situation’ and decides that only frumpy Addie, whom she scorned in high school, can help her get out of the trouble she is in. Told from two different perspectives, the fast-paced, emotional book combines suspense, heartbreak, humour, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship with an unexpected ending. We couldn’t put it down. (Best Friends Forever, Jennifer Weiner, Atria Books, 2009, $29.99)

Boys Should Be Boys
Good for: Any parents of boys who are harbouring just a tiny little worry about raising those boys to turn into wonderful men
Why It Made the List: Pediatrician Dr. Meg Meeker shares ‘seven secrets to raising healthy sons’ through straightforward advice that you can easily implement in your own family. The easy-to read parenting book validates some of what we know intuitively about boys—such as the importance of outdoor play, the surprisingly negative influence of TV and video games, the importance of fathers and other male role models in their lives, and boys’ need for rules and boundaries. It gives us good ideas for ways to help restore the delights of boyhood for our sons while staying involved in their lives. (Boys Should Be Boys, Meg Meeker M.D., Random House, 2009, $17.50)

The Name of the Tree
Good for: Read-out-loud-to-the-kids time around the campfire or inside on a rainy cottage day
Why It Made the List: This beautifully illustrated re-telling of an African Bantu folktale—a variation on the tortoise and the hare fable—celebrates effort, rather than talent, and offers a great lesson to kids that trying hard is the path to success. Kids of all ages are entranced by the twists and turns in the story of the animals’ escape from the drought on the plains and the tree with the magical fruit they discover that promises relief from their hunger, if they can only find out its name. (The Name of the Tree, Celia Barker Lottridge, Groundwood Books, 2008, $18.95)

Queen Takes King
Good for: Some real beach-lit escapism
Why It Made the List: The latest from chick-lit author Grazer (she also wrote The Starter Wife) chronicles the nasty divorce story of New York high-society couple Jackson Power, real estate mogul, and his elegant wife and former prima ballerina Cynthia Hunsaker Power. Enter the other woman and the divorce games begin, which Grazer chronicles in such a cheeky, quick-witted way—accompanied by a clever chess game theme—that you can’t put the book down until it’s all over. (Queen Takes King, Gigi Levangue Grazer, Simon & Schuster Books, 2009, $25.99)

The Book of Negroes
Good for: Readers looking for something more serious but just as much of a page-turner
Why It Made the List: Everyone’s talking about this book, written by Canadian author Lawrence Hill, and you should be too. It was inspired by a little known historical document called the Book of Negroes that lists the names of 3000 black Loyalists, men, women and children who were permitted to travel from New York to Nova Scotia in the fall of 1783 with a promise of a better life. The main character, Aminata Diallo, a fascinating and strong woman, tells the wrenching and inspiring story of her life journey as a slave with an incredible backdrop of historical and geographic detail. (The Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill, Harper Collins, 2007, $34.95)

Reading is to the mind what exercising is to the body so stretch a little this summer with a good book.