Carole Barrowman Shares "Last Gasp" Summer Book Picks

While it seems like summer coming to end, there's still plenty of time to enjoy the season. That includes finishing a book you can't put down. Carole Barrowman is back to share her "Last Gasp" summer book picks! For more information on Carole and her own books, visit BarrowmanBooks.com. And see below for her picks: 1. “The Paris Spy” by Susan Elia MacNeal (a WWII mystery) - This is my parents’ pick for a favorite book this summer. Admittedly, they got to read it well before its publication date. They love this series so much that if I didn’t send them the review copy before even I read it, I’d be out of their will. My parents grew up in Scotland during WWII, and from the first book they connected with the main character Maggie Hope and the historical setting. Over the course of the series, Maggie’s gone from being Churchill’s typist to becoming an elite spy. In this book, she’s working in Paris during the Nazi occupation of the city and the backdrop of the planning for D-Day. 2. “Do Not Become Alarmed” by Maile Meloy - First of all, read this after your vacation, and if you don’t have to get up early the next morning because you’ll be reading into the wee hours. In this thriller, two entitled American families and one family from South America are on a cruise. Things go pear shaped when they all go on a day trip off the boat and the children get separated from the adults. No one is prepared for what happens. It’s a cross between Survivor and What Not To Do on Your Summer Vacation. You will be alarmed! 3. “The Love Interest” by Cale Dietrich - I’m always on the look out for entertaining books that also challenge us to see the world from different perspectives. This YA scifi love story exceeds in both areas. Caden is the solid boy next door and Dylan is the typical bad boy. But in the world of the novel, they have to compete for Juliet, the smart girl’s love. The winner lives; the loser dies. The real dilemma occurs when, over the course of the competition, the boys fall in love with each other. This is your end of summer romance action novel. 4. “The Rules Do Not Apply” by Ariel Levy - I always wish I had more time to read memoirs and this heart-breaking, life-affirming one reminded me of that again this past week. I was hooked from the time I read the preface where in the first paragraph the author recalls talking to herself, saying, “We’re going to go over to the phone now and call for help with one hand and hold the baby with the other.” In many ways, the rest of the memoir flows from the emotional weight and the physical intensity of that line.