editor’s book pick: seven days in june

By Anne Gvozdjak

TW: drug and alcohol abuse and overdose, self-harm, attempted suicide, child abuse, death

As an instant New York Times bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, Tia Williams’ novel Seven Days in June is an emotionally gripping book that introduces Eva and Shane, high school sweethearts for seven hazy summer days, and then makes their tumultuous story of love and loss come wildly alive.

Eva—now a bestselling erotica writer, single mother, and proud Black woman—leaps off the page with boldness. Her chronic migraines, drawn from Williams’ own experience with the invisible disability, are portrayed with realism and seriousness, from her emotional struggles and frustrations to simple moments affected by her illness. Yet Eva’s disability doesn’t flatten her personality; rather, it enhances the way in which Williams writes of Eva’s all-consuming determination to love and raise her eighth-grade daughter Audre to have a better life than she did, and her fight against Hollywood to keep Black representation in the movie adaptation of her book.

While Williams’ writing tends toward numerous pop culture references that can get corny, her light and easy writing style never fails to bring back humor, levity, and dimension to the characters. Despite the trauma and darkness Shane and Eva have endured, this book places the focus on growth, courage, resilience, and love—a beautiful feeling to be left with.