Sloth Goes Places - Massachusetts

 

Sloth Goes Places is a feature where I share books I have tracked from previous Literary Escapes reading challenge hosted by Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book.

Today we are looking at books set in ....

Massachusetts

I have been picking states to feature based on my favorite book from the previous week. Well, my favorite book last week (Emergency Contact) and just about every other book I read, was set in New York. I have already featured that state, and therefor age getting a bit thematic. I am currently listening to The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman which is set both in New York and Massachusetts. MA seems like the perfect state to feature given that it's the spooky season. It's a state I visited often as well since I used to vacation with my family on Cape Cod back in my teens. The last time I visited was for college visits (2012?). We toured Boston for the day, and I had a great time seeing the sights with my daughter. I could not find a lot of pictures from our family trips, but we had scanned some when my cousin passed away. They are quite amusing. 

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The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Published by PUBLISHER on DATE
Age/Genres: GENRE

Goodreads

On the faded Island Books sign hanging over the porch of the Victorian cottage is the motto “No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World.” A. J. Fikry, the irascible owner, is about to discover just what that truly means.

A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island—from Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who’s always felt kindly toward Fikry; from Ismay, his sister-in-law who is hell-bent on saving him from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who keeps on taking the ferry over to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.’s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly.

And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It’s a small package, but large in weight. It’s that unexpected arrival that gives A. J. Fikry the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn’t take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J.; or for that determined sales rep, Amelia, to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light; or for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.’s world; or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn’t see coming. As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.

Set on the fictional Alice Island, this was a wonderful and touching story of connection. I loved the way all the characters' lives were intertwined, and the way so many lives were changed because of this bookshop and its bookseller. It's a bittersweet story, but the idea that we can impact others' lives is a beautiful one. 

[review]

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How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather
Published by Knopf Books FYR on July 26, 2016
Age/Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

Goodreads

It's the Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls in a debut novel from one of the descendants of Cotton Mather, where the trials of high school start to feel like a modern day witch hunt for a teen with all the wrong connections to Salem’s past.

Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

If dealing with that weren't enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with The Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it's Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself.

This story is set in Salem where we travel between past and present. There was a bit of mystery, a bit of history, and a paranormal touch. I enjoyed the way Mather blended all these elements. The most interesting part was that she was tapping her own family history here, as Mather is a descendent of Cotton Mather and his involvement with the Salem Witch Trials. 

[review]

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Our Place on the Island by Erika Montgomery
Published by St. Martin's Press on June 13, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

For decades, the Campbell women have reunited at the family’s rambling seaside cottage known as Beech House to celebrate life’s many occasions. But this year, they will be called back to Martha's Vineyard for a celebration of a different their beloved matriarch Cora is getting remarried. And all the town gossips are calling him the one who got away, years ago…

For renowned chef Mickey Campbell, this wedding isn’t just a welcome excuse to return to the place she first learned to cook at her grandmother’s side. It’s also a chance to regroup while she figures out a way to tell her smoldering head chef boyfriend that she’s mismanaged their restaurant into the red.

Mickey’s mother, Hedy, is still mourning the passing of her adored father three years earlier, and she isn’t sure she’s ready to welcome a new man into the fold―and she’s not certain her own thorny relationship with her mother will weather the storm of her upcoming marriage.

But everyone knows a woman’s heart holds more than meets the eye. For Cora, drawing her daughter and granddaughter back to Beech House isn’t just about a ceremony, but a chance to reveal a history she has kept close to her heart for decades. As the days leading up to the wedding unfold, secrets of Cora’s past come to light-- a secret that will cause three generations of Campbell women to question marriage, motherhood, and ultimately learn to savor the delicious joy of following your own heart.

Told in dual timelines on the sumptuous beaches of Martha's Vineyard, OUR PLACE ON THE ISLAND is the sparkling, romantic read of the season.

Here, we travel to Martha's Vineyard for a wonderful multigenerational story. The "Our Place" in the title took on a new meaning when I finished this book. For me, it was a nod to each woman's personal journey as they found their place. This wedding getaway was not without some drama, but each woman was able to find peace and clarity. I was very invested in this story and left with so much hope for everyone involved. 

[review]

Have you read any books set in Massachusetts?
Let us know in the comments!