Patch Picks: Five Books for Summer

Fiction: Kristin Bair O’Keefe’s “Thirsty: A Novel” explores the life of a Croatian emigrant, Klara, living in Thirsty, a hapless community vertical slope above the Pittsburgh steel industry, not unlike Clairton, Pa. Set in the late 19th Century, Bair O’Keefe’s novel explores oppression and poverty. Although, fraught with grim images of brutality and cruelty, there are moments of exquisite joy, artfully rendered by a superb storyteller.  The book is a deeply personal account of hard-scrabbled lives of Pittsburgh’s immigrant communities; penniless foreigners who hoped for a brighter future for their children, our own foremothers.

Short-Stories: There’s murder in McKees Rocks in “Pittsburgh Noir,” a compilation of short stories set in the steel city. Editor Kathleen George picked a group of local authors to write mysteries, each set in a unique Pittsburgh neighborhood.  Stewart O’Nan writes about Bloomfield, Nancy Martin sets her story in Highland Park, Reginald McKnight has a tale about Homewood, and Terrance Haines weaves a story about the North Side. None of the crime ridden stories venture too far into the South Hills, so you can rest easy if you're up reading late at night.

Non-Fiction: If you’re looking for something set in your very own neighborhood, check out the Images of America series. There are several books set right in the Chartiers Valley area, such as John F. Oyler’s, “Bridgeville, PA,” or Sandy Henry’s “Carnegie, PA.” Henry’s Carnegie includes rare photos of baseball legend Honus Wagner, who owned a home on Mansfield Boulevard in the heart of Carnegie, nestled between Collier and Scott Townships. There are also photos of Raceway Plaza in Heidelberg back when it actually was a race track.

Young-Adult: Everything is coming to an end in YA Literature. The book shelves are riddled with post-apocalyptic alternate futures.  In Philly author Jonathan Maberry’s “Rot and Ruin” fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is living in an eponymous post-apocalyptic world where zombie hunting is a profitable business, especially for Benny’s older brother Tom.  Teen fans of the supernatural will find surprisingly intelligent story with a thick undercoat of emotional depth, beneath all the rotting corpses.  Any real zombie fan always knows to go for the brains.

Children: For younger readers there’s the Judy Moody series by author Megan McDonald. McDonald worked at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh for years when she wrote her first book, “A House for Hermit Crab,” based on a story she told to children at the library. The prolific author penned ten Moody books, several spin-offs starring Stink, Moody’s brother, some picture books, and a few books in the American Girl collection. “Judy Moody and the Not-so Bummer Summer” is playing in theaters now.