LibraryAware May 2023

Recent Releases

The Guest
by Emma Cline

What happens: After a misstep at a dinner party makes her no longer welcome in Long Island, Alex, gifted with the ability to navigate the desires of others, sticks around, spending the week leading up to Labor Day moving from one place to the next, leaving destruction in her wake.

Want a taste? "So many people with open, gnashing mouths and glasses in their hands, their private moons of alcohol."

Reviewers say: "Cline's writing is an addictive treat" in this "propulsive read starring an irresistible antihero" (Kirkus Reviews).

Weyward
by Emilia Hart

Starring: the captivating and unique Weyward women, whose lives affirm the power of desire, sex, personal freedom, and a legacy of magic that transcends centuries.

Read it for: "a tale of magic and female empowerment" that is also an "atmospheric, gripping read" (Booklist).

What to read next? One Thousand and One Nights by Hanan al-Shaykh or The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey by Serena Burdick.

White Cat, Black Dog
by Kelly Link

What it is: a lightly illustrated collection of fairy tale re-tellings -- inspired by French folklore, the Brothers Grimm, and Scottish ballads -- that deftly combines realism with speculative elements.

As in tales of yore: These "enchanting, mesmerizing, brilliant" stories draw readers into a "world [that lingers] like an especially intense dream" (Kirkus Reviews).

For fans of: Helen Oyeyemi, Carmen Maria Machado, or Karen Russell.

Hello Beautiful
by Ann Napolitano

What happens: William, a reserved college basketball scholarship recipient, begins dating Julie, the eldest of four boisterous sisters in 1970s Chicago. His acceptance into the family becomes a defining moment for all concerned.

What it's about: "the deep, maddeningly frustrating, and ever-present love of family, whether tied by genetics or by choice" (Booklist).

Try this next: The Darlings by Cristina Alger, This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, or Crossing California by Adam Langer.

The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts
by Soraya Palmer

What it's about: Fascinated by the Anansi folklore of their Jamaican mother and Trinidadian father, Sasha and Zora come of age in 1990s Brooklyn. Stories within stories emerge as time, distance, violence, and illness shape the sisters' identities and understanding of family.

For fans of: These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card, Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, or Little Gods by Meng Jin.

Commitment
by Mona Simpson

What happens: Walter, Lina, and Donny -- teen siblings in 1970s California -- lean on one another after their devoted single mom succumbs to debilitating depression. From turmoil emerges resilience, tenacity, and an enduring commitment to one another's joy.

Read it for: a warm-hearted, "kaleidoscopic portrait" of "sacrifices that keep a family together even when it's coming apart" (Kirkus Reviews).

Try this next: Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee.

Romantic Comedy
by Curtis Sittenfeld

What it's about: A budding romance with a famous singer forces a TV writer Sally Milz, a 36-year-old writer for the Saturday Night Live–esque show The Night Owls, to grapple with her insecurities.

Read it for: social commentary on physical attractiveness, talent, celebrity, youth—and how these elements intersect with gender.

Reviewers say: "Romance artfully and entertainingly deconstructed" (Kirkus Reviews).

The Covenant of Water
by Abraham Verghese

What it is: Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, and set in Kerala, on South India's Malabar Coast, an epic of love, faith and medicine follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning.

Reviewers say: "Verghese outdoes himself with this grand and stunning tribute to 20th-century India" (Publishers Weekly) and "What a joy... to experience the exquisite, uniquely literary delight of all the pieces falling into place in a way one really did not see coming" (Kirkus Reviews).

Contact your librarian for more great books!