The Best Grown-Up Reads of
August 2020
by the Brightly Editors
The arrival of a new school year (even one as unusual as this!) ushers in a new slate of must-read picture books, chapter books, and YA reads — but don’t think we forgot about you! From the best new parenting advice — on raising bold girls, trusting your intuition, and reevaluating your family’s tech diet — to a fabulist rom-com, a gritty thriller, and a reimagined royal history, August’s best new reads for grown-ups promise to lift you up and whisk you away.
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What Girls Need
Long before she was President Obama’s cybersecurity advisor, Marisa Porges was a student at Philadelphia’s Baldwin School, an all-girls institution designed to embolden the next generation of young women. Now, Porges is Head of School at Baldwin, and in What Girls Need she shares both personal and professional insights into how parents and educators can boost girls’ self-esteem — taking into account the unique challenges of the 21st century — and prepare them to become leaders.
(On Sale: 8/4/2020) -
Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop
Available from:Perpetually single Vanessa Yu has a powerful (and inconvenient) gift: she can read people’s fortunes in tea leaves. She doesn’t want to see their futures, but even swearing off tea doesn’t stop the premonitions from coming. When her eccentric Aunt Evelyn suggests a trip to Paris, Vanessa jumps at the opportunity, and in the City of Love she learns more about herself than even her tea leaves could have predicted.
(On Sale: 8/4/2020)Also available from: -
Parenting Outside the Lines
Parenting coach Meghan Leahy wants you to stop should-ing yourself. With Parenting Outside the Lines, she empowers parents to stop asking if they’re raising their kids “right” and instead learn to trust their intuition, embrace uncertainty with grace and humor, and lovingly connect with their kids. Reassuring and wise, Leahy’s approach is a joyful reminder that you’re already the parent you need to be.
(On Sale: 8/4/2020) -
We Are All the Same in the Dark
Ten years after Tru Branson disappeared from her small Texas town, her missing presence is still felt — in the posters and documentaries; for Tru’s friend Odette, who became a cop after that fateful night; and for Tru’s brother, Wyatt, whom the town’s residents still suspect. When Wyatt discovers a lost girl, the reverberations of Tru’s cold case reach a troubling peak.
(On Sale: 8/11/2020) -
The Tech Solution
We’ve all heard about parents in Silicon Valley raising their kids screen-free — whether it’s true or not — but the reality is that in the 21st century, technology is impossible to avoid. Renowned psychiatrist Shimi Kang offers parents clear advice, the latest neuroscience, and a six-week plan for reassessing family tech use so parents can make informed decisions, support their children through scenarios like cyberbullying, and raise their kids to have a healthy relationship with the digital world.
(On Sale: 8/18/2020) -
Royal
During WWII, millions of British children were evacuated to the countryside. In Danielle Steel’s reimagined history, one of those children is the King and Queen’s youngest daughter, Princess Charlotte. Charlotte takes on an alias and grows accustomed to a quiet life — until she falls in love, and a series of tragedies unfold. Years later, a child born to a stable manager learns of her true lineage, and a lost princess finally returns.
(On Sale: 8/18/2020) -
Summer
In the conclusion to her ambitious Seasonal Quartet, Ali Smith brings the stories of her characters to a dazzling and profound end, as she continues to speak to current events — Australia’s bushfires, police violence, and even the beginnings of COVID-19 — while also reaching back into history and demonstrating how deeply humanity is connected. If you’ve missed this lauded series until now, lucky you: you can enjoy the entire quartet without coming up for air!
(On Sale: 8/25/2020)
