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Fiction A to Z December 2025 |
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| Heart the Lover by Lily KingLike the author’s acclaimed Writers & Lovers (which has ties to this novel), this lyrical story also centers on a love triangle. In a 1980s college literature class, a woman grows close to two best friends, who call her Jordan after a character in The Great Gatsby. She eventually dates one of the men but falls in love with the other. Decades later, they all meet again. Read-alikes: Caroline O’Donoghue’s The Rachel Incident; Marie Rutkoski’s Ordinary Love. |
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| Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia LockwoodAs a global pandemic takes hold, a woman falls ill, leading to brain fog, confusion, and obsessions (with Anna Karenina, a particular song, and more). Then she becomes the caregiver when her husband needs emergency surgery. For fans of: unique, introspective, and darkly humorous character-driven novels with non-linear timelines; Claire-Louise Bennett’s Big Kiss, Bye-Bye. |
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| Evensong by Stewart O'NanIn Pittsburgh, a group of aging church women who call themselves the Humpty Dumpty Club help others in myriad ways, by baking cookies, taking care of pets, running errands, and sitting with the sick. Then one of their own has a bad fall. This quietly moving character-driven story portrays the importance of community and chosen family. For fans of: Elizabeth Strout. |
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| The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O'NeillAfter years apart, all three Ryan sisters gather for Thanksgiving at their parents' home on the East End of Long Island. Though each brings her own current issues, it’s the tragic deaths of two young people in the past that cast shadows over all the Ryans. This debut novel and Read with Jenna pick features complex characters who have all sorts of secrets. Read-alikes: J. Courtney Sullivan’s Maine; Christina Clancy’s The Second Home. |
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| Workhorse by Caroline PalmerIn the early 2000s, editorial assistant Clodagh “Clo” Harmon is determined to move up the ranks at the prestigious New York fashion magazine where she works. But she’s from suburban Philly and her competitors are the children of the rich and famous. Funny, biting, and fast-paced, this richly drawn novel will please fans of fashion-centric novels like Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada and smart looks at upper-class privilege. |
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The Man Next Door
by Sheila Roberts
Zona never thought her life was headed this way, but here she is, newly divorced and moving back in with her mom, Louise. After her gambling addicted ex-husband lost all of their savings, including their daughter's college fund, she doesn't really have a choice. She's cutting every coupon she can and she's going to help put her daughter through nursing school, even if it kills her. This wasn't Louise's plan, either, laid up at home with a broken leg after one unfortunate tumble on the senior singles cruise she'd been looking forward to for months. But if she's going to spend all her time at home, at least she's got her daughter there with her. And there's some hot new eye candy next door to distract them both from their troubles. He appears to be single and just around Zona's age. Could his arrival be the universe making amends for everything it's put her through? Maybe the universe isn't feeling as generous as Louise hoped. There's something lurking under that man's surface charm, something...dangerous? And who's the woman they can hear him in all-out shouting matches with on the other side of the fence? When the woman seems to disappear without a trace, imaginations run wild.
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The Gossip Columnist's Daughter
by Peter Orner
Jed Rosenthal hasn't published a book in fourteen years, the mother of his child left him in a 'trial separation' that has stretched on indefinitely, and he struggles to navigate the daily sorrows of their co-parenting arrangement. But the implosion of Jed's family is simply a footnote in the larger history of the Rosenthal family's decline. Just days after the JFK assassination, Karyn 'Cookie' Kupcinet was found dead in her Hollywood apartment. The press reported that the 22-year-old was strangled, yet unanswered questions linger to this day. Cookie's parents--Chicago royalty Irv and Essee Kupcinet--had been close friends with Jed's grandparents, but in the aftermath of her death, their friendship abruptly and inexplicably ended. Decades later, Jed pores over family stories, newspaper archives, old photos, and crime scene notes, believing that if he can divine the truth of Cookie's death--whether it was suicide, murder, or part of a larger conspiracy--it might shed light on a mystery closer to home--
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| The Second Chance Cinema by Thea WeissNewly engaged couple Ellie and Drake discover a magical movie theater down a cobblestone alley showing The Story of You. As moments from both of their pasts replay on the big screen, they wrestle with what they learn about each other and revisit their own upsetting secrets in this intriguing debut novel. For fans of: romantic magical realism stories. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Michigan City Public Library
100 E. 4th Street
Michigan City, Indiana 46360
219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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