LibraryAware September 2022

Recent Releases

How to Fall Out of Love Madly
by Jana Casale

What happens: Roomies Joy and Annie need a third to cover rent. Enter Theo. Joy's budding crush on him seems mutual... until Annie moves out and Theo's totally gorgeous (never previously mentioned) girlfriend moves in. #awkward

For fans of: Friends' relationship drama but without the pat endings, or Sally Rooney's novel Normal People.

What to read next: Out of Love by Hazel Hayes.

A History of Present Illness
by Anna DeForest

Mysteries of the heart: An unnamed narrator completing med school stands witness to life, death, and her own unresolved (perhaps unresolvable) childhood trauma.

Want a taste? "I've seen a beating heart in a wide-open chest. This place has been a miracle land. No one even dies until we let them."

Read this next: Five Days at Memorial, a firsthand account of medical tragedies after Hurricane Katrina, also dramatized as an AppleTV+ miniseries.

After the Hurricane
by Leah Franqui

What happens: NYU student Elena goes to Puerto Rico looking for her estranged father amidst the devastation of Hurricane Maria. Relatives she meets for the first time share insights into his painful youth and clues to his fate.

Sample the story: "A piece of the past would be hers. A part of history, a part of the island for her, all her own."

For fans of: Afterlife by Julia Alvarez.

Jobs for Girls with Artistic Flair
by June Gervais

Think before you ink: Recently graduated from high school, Gina Mully wants to break the gender barrier among tattoo artists in 1985 Long Island. Her older brother hesitantly allows her to apprentice in his shop.

Read it for... a coming-of-age story with an imminently likeable under-dog female protagonist. Despite addressing serious topics (such as sexual assault), this is an upbeat, moving read.

Read this next: The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer.

The Work Wife
by Alison B. Hart

24 hours... inside a #MeToo Hollywood scandal poised to blow, with A-list director and producer Ted Stabler at ground zero.

Starring: Holly, Ted's philanthropic current wife; Ted's former wife, whose promising directorial career tanked amidst whispered rumors; and Zanne, Ted's bright and ambitious personal assistant.

For fans of: Chandler Baker's The Whisper Network or Amy Gentry's Last Woman Standing.

Calling for a Blanket Dance
by Oscar Hokeah

Ancestor stories: Indigenous youth Ever Geimausaddle reckons with his heritage on a journey of self-discovery. Narrated by generations of his relatives, the result is both personal and panoramic.

Read it for: a powerful portrait of inherited trauma and resilience.

Try these next: Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine or The Removed by Brandon Hobson.

Nothing But the Truth
by Holly James

Liar, liar: Lucy, a Los Angeles publicist, depends on lies to do her job. When her boyfriend stands her up, she makes a 30th-birthday wish that comes true with unexpected consequences: no more lies for Lucy!

Read it for: "a delightful, frothy, feminist take on classic chick-lit themes and characters" (Booklist).

More like this: Sonya Lalli's Serena Singh Flips the Script, Camille Perry's The Assistants, Elisabeth Cohen's The Glitch.

The Mermaid of Black Conch
by Monique Roffey

Starring: Aycayia, a young Taíno woman cursed to live as a mermaid; and David, a gentle musician who rescues her from greedy fishermen in the late 1970s.

Reviewers call it: "A feminist re-telling of an old Taíno myth... amplified by a condemnation of colonization in the Carribean" (Library Journal).

What to read next: Helen Oyeyemi's novel Boy, Snow, Bird; or The Rock Eaters, a short story collection by Brenda Peynado.

Contact your librarian for more great books!