Kramers Book Club Picks - June
“Time only pushes sounds aside. Regular life becomes insistent and crowds out the loss. Usually, this is a good thing. So much of healing is the recognition that not all your tissue got damaged in the accident.” —Sloane Crosley, Grief Is for People
Fiction Choice:
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange: In this harrowing tale of generational trauma, Star is a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado, 1864, and has been sent to the Fort Marion prison castle where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, who creates a school in hopes of eradicating Native history, culture, and identity. Later, Star's son, Charles, is sent to the school. Charles and Opal, his friend, imagine a life beyond the school, beyond the institutional violence--this is an incredibly powerful read for the summer!
Interested in buying? Check it out here!
Nonfiction Choice:
Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley: This deeply moving, personal story of the loss of a friend, and picking up the pieces of life without them. Crosley's friend Russell, who's been in her life for most of her adult life, commits suicide, leaving Crosley suddenly navigating a world without him. During the pandemic when so many lives were taken, Crosley's examination of what family, what possession means during such turmoil and uncertainty--told in her frank, darkly funny manner, this is a fantastic read.
Interested in buying? Check it out here!
Children's/YA Choice:
Icarus by K. Ancrum: In this retelling of the tale of Icarus, Icarus Gallagher is a thief, and he steals art and replaces it with his father's forgeries--and one man has been the target of the thievery: Mr. Black, the man responsible for Icarus' mother's death. One night, Mr. Black's son, Helios, catches Icarus and demands, not retribution for the thefts, but friendship. A friendship that will cost them more than anything either could imagine. With family secrets and forbidden love, this is an incredible read!