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Fiction A to Z August 2026 |
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| Names Have Been Changed by Yu-Mei BalasingamchowOphir (one of our flawed-but-likeable narrator's many names) fled Singapore ten years ago. She'd agreed to hold $60,000 for a friend who was subsequently arrested, and, desperate to keep her own freedom, Ophir took the money and ran. Using fake identities, she found work in Japan, England, and the United States, before starting the confessional podcast that comprises this memorable debut.
Try these next: Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang; Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman. |
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| Lady X by Molly FaderAfter her Hollywood actor husband cheats, devastated Margot heads to Pittsburgh with her teen daughter to escape the press. In her childhood home, she finds information about 1970s vigilante Lady X, including a blurry news photo. In troubled 1977 New York City, Ginger and her two roommates stick together, so when one is assaulted, they get a bit of payback. Signing their handiwork Lady X, they inspire copycats.
For fans of The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager. |
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| Rasputin Swims the Potomac by Ben FountainIn the near future, reporter Clarence Thomas, Jr. (no relation) is at an unnamed U.S. president's political rally when a crying illness hits. At the White House, reality star turned comms aide Faith Spack helps handle the crisis. Then, charismatic pro wrestler Rasputin discovers he can cure the weeping. Running for his third term, the president sees Rasputin as a running mate...but Rasputin wants more.
For fans of: Lawrence Wright's Mr. Texas. |
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Sunrise
by Téa Obreht
Three lives, one hundred years, one ghost town: an explosive novel about a mysterious place called Sunrise, where the secrets of the past refuse to stay buried. Three strangers are separated by time and circumstance. But Sunrise's many secrets are like gunpowder: quiet, contained, until they encounter a spark.
For fans of When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash.
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The Typing Lady: And Other Fictions
by Ruth Ozeki
A spellbinding story collection about the lives we almost lived, the people we can't quite forget, and the stories that shape us long after the last page is turned. Eleven richly imagined stories of characters standing at life's thresholds--grappling with faded ideals, evolving identities, and the inevitable compromises that shape a life.
For fans of Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld
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| The Great Wherever by Shannon SandersUnderpaid 32-year-old Aubrey Lamb is still mourning her father when her boyfriend breaks up with her. Learning that she's inherited her dad's stake in a large Tennessee farm, she leaves D.C. to meet her three cousin co-owners, who explain their relative was one of the state's first Black landowners. Meanwhile, their ghostly ancestors watch, gossip, and discuss it all in this sweeping, witty, and moving debut.
Read-alikes: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers's The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois; John Vercher's Devil Is Fine. |
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The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos
by Kendra Langford Shaw
In the far reaches of the Arctic, the Spahr family lives on a fjord accessible only by kayak and float plane, in a landscape rapidly changing as glaciers melt and sea levels rise. They live off the grid, barely scraping by. Then, one of their few neighbors dredges up a centuries-old piano. Now, this antique treasure becomes a priceless collectors' item. A new economic boom seizes the territory--piano hunting--and the Spahrs throw themselves into the quest with full-throated aplomb.
For fans of Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConagju
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| Earth 7 by Deb Olin UnferthAfter Earth's depopulation, scientist Rosemary works to preserve DNA from various organisms. Her home is an underwater pod, where her daughter Dylan's only friend, online or otherwise, is Zee, part of a group on Mars. As Dylan grows older and lonelier, Rosemary takes a new job and the two move to a desert location where Dylan feels more at home, lands a job, and falls in love in this novel that spans decades.
For fans of Terrestrial History by Joe Mungo Reed. |
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| Cool Machine by Colson WhiteheadTaking place in the 1980s, this lyrical, atmospheric 3rd in Colson Whitehead's acclaimed Harlem trilogy focuses on successful businessman and sometime criminal Ray Carney. First, Ray agrees to a heist in order to finance his wife's business. Five years later, he risks everything to help his dead cousin's son, who's mixed up with the wrong people. In 1983, Ray's friend Pepper finds himself looking for an expensive African mask in the East Village's gritty art and club scene.
For fans of City on Fire by Don Winslow. |
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| The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa YangMarine biologist Dr. Jo Ness is mourning the loss of her best friend when she gets a call from one of the only other people she's ever been close to, inviting her to a small Maine island to investigate a strange jellyfish. When Jo arrives, her friend isn't there and the community members have different ideas about the giant, glowing animal they call Clementine and her strange effect on them.
For fans of: Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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