Fiction A to Z December 2025 |
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Good Books To End The Year With! |
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| The White Hot by Quiara Alegría HudesA fed-up April Soto abandons the home she shares with her eight-year-old daughter Noelle, her mom, and her abuela. She returns days later to leave Noelle with her dad, who'd broken it off with teenaged April when he found out she was pregnant. Then April leaves for good. Partially told via April's letter to Noelle on her 18th birthday, this thought-provoking debut novel is by a Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. For fans of: Donna Freitas’ Her One Regret; Miranda July’s All Fours. |
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Regretting You
by Colleen Hoover
From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of It Ends With Us comes a novel about family, first love, grief and betrayal that will touch the hearts of both mothers and daughters. Original.
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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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Writers & Lovers: A Novel
by Lily King
A follow-up to the award-winning Euphoria follows the story of a former child golf prodigy-turned-unemployed writer whose determination to live a creative life is complicated by her relationships with two very different men.
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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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Big Kiss, Bye-Bye
by Claire-Louise Bennett
Gorgeous and a little unnerving. . .Reading it is a strange and wonderfully invigorating experience.-The New York Times A woman confronts the afterlife of intimacy, in a deeply tender novel by one of our most acclaimed and inventive fiction writers The things that hold life in place have been lifted off and put away. Uprooted by circumstance from city to deep countryside, a woman lives in temporary limbo, visited by memories of all she's left behind. The most insistent are those of Xavier, who has always been certain he knows her better than anyone, better than she knows herself. Xavier, whom she still loves but no longer desires, a displacement he has been unable to accept. An unexpected letter from an old acquaintance brings back a torrent of others she's loved or wanted. Each has been a match and a mismatch, a liberation and a threat to her very sense of self. The ephemera left by their passage -a spilled coffee, an unwanted bouquet, a mind-blowing kiss--make up a cabinet of curiosity she inventories, trying to divine the essence of intimacy. What does it mean to connect with another person? What impels us to touch someone, to be touched by them, to stay in touch? How do we let them go? In yet another tour de force of fiction, Claire-Louise Bennett explores the mystery of how people come into and go out of our lives, leaving us forever in their grasp.
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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 Secret Lives of Church Ladies
by Deesha Philyaw
[This book] explores the raw and tender places where black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church's double standards and their own needs and passions--
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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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Blue Sisters
by Coco Mellors
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY - Three estranged siblings return to their family home in New York after their beloved sister's death in this deeply nuanced and compelling (Vogue) novel, from the acclaimed author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein.A beautiful portrait of grief and the world-shaping bond sisters share.--Real Simple A VOGUE AND HARPER'S BAZAAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR The three Blue sisters are exceptional--and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left the family reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction, and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in. But coming home is never as easy as it seems. As the sisters reckon with the disappointments of their childhood and the loss of the only person who held them together, they realize that the greatest secrets they've been keeping might not have been from one another but from themselves. Imbued with Coco Mellors's signature combination of humor and heart, Blue Sisters is a story of what it takes to keep living after loss--and, ultimately, to fall in love with life again.
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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 Devil Wears Prada
by Lauren Weisberger
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - THE INSPIRATION FOR THE HIT MOVIE STARRING MERYL STREEP AND ANNE HATHAWAY - DON'T MISS THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, COMING SOON TO THEATERS The degree to which The Devil Wears Prada has penetrated pop culture needs no explanation.--Vanity Fair A gloriously wicked story about the ultimate Boss from Hell and the deals we make with the devil to get to the top Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job a million girls would die for. Hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile, fabulously successful editor of Runway magazine, Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada Armani Versace at every turn, a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women and beautiful men clad in fine-ribbed turtlenecks and tight leather pants that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym. With breathtaking ease, Miranda can turn each and every one of these hip sophisticates into a scared, whimpering child. Andrea is sorely tested each and every day--and often late into the night--with orders barked over the phone. She puts up with it all by keeping her eyes on the prize: a recommendation from Miranda that will get her a top job at any magazine of her choosing. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And even if she survives, she has to decide whether or not it's worth the price of her soul.
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| Minor Black Figures by Brandon TaylorOne hot New York summer after the worst of COVID, Black painter Wyeth faces a creative block and ponders art and identity as he embraces a project restoring a decades-old work by another Black artist. Then, at a West Village bar, he meets a handsome blond man who’s recently left the seminary. Try this next: Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru. |
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Blue Ruin
by Hari Kunzru
Years ago, Jay left the London art scene while on the cusp of stardom and is now an undocumented, unhoused delivery driver in upstate New York during COVID. After running into his artist ex-girlfriend (now married to his artist ex-best friend), he moves to their estate, where an art gallery owner has also taken refuge. This atmospheric, lyrical novel is for fans of Memory Piece by Lisa Ko and The Hundred Waters by Lauren Acampora.
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| Pick a Color by Souvankham ThammavongsaNing is a retired boxer, but to the customers who visit her nail salon, she is just another worker named Susan. On this summer's day, much like any other, the Susans buff and clip and polish and tweeze. They listen and smile and nod. But beneath this superficial veneer, Ning is a woman of rigorous intellect and profound complexity. A woman enthralled by the intricacy and rhythms of her work, but also haunted by memories of paths not taken and opportunities lost. A woman navigating the complex power dynamics among her fellow Susans, whose greatest fears and desires lie just behind the gossip they exchange. As the day's work grinds on, the friction between Ning's two identities- as anonymous manicurist and brilliant observer of her own circumstances- will gather electric and crackling force, and at last demand a reckoning with the way the world of privilege looks at a woman like Ning. Winner of the 2025 Giller Prize. |
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Sunshine Nails
by Mai Nguyen
Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked. Complicating matters further, their landlord has jacked up the rent and it seems only a matter of time before they lose their business and everything they've built--
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| Palaver by Bryan WashingtonIn the weeks before Christmas, a mother arrives unannounced in Japan to visit her estranged son, who isn’t happy to see her. They speak infrequently and haven’t seen each other in years, but can they come to an understanding with each other before it’s too late? Readers who appreciate spare yet evocative tales or stories that center gay men and family in all its forms will enjoy Bryan Washington’s novels. |
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The Guncle
by Steven Rowley
Patrick O'Hara is a bit out of his league. Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for week-long visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. So when tragedy strikes and Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian, he is, honestly, overwhelmed. Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine- year old. But when his waggish set of Guncle Rules no longer appease Maisie and Grant's parental void, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of reponsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human --
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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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City of Girls
by Elizabeth Gilbert
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and The Signature of All Things, a delicious novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, about a young woman discovering that you don't have to be a good girl to be a good person. A spellbinding novel about love, freedom, and finding your own happiness. - PopSugar Intimate and richly sensual, razzle-dazzle with a hint of danger. -USA Today Pairs well with a cocktail...or two. -TheSkimm Life is both fleeting and dangerous, and there is no point in denying yourself pleasure, or being anything other than what you are. Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest. Now eighty-nine years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time, she muses. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is. Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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