Fiction A to Z December 2025 |
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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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| 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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| 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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| 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. 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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Some Bright Nowhere
by Ann Packer
Eliot and his wife Claire have been happily married for nearly four decades. They've raised two children in their sleepy Connecticut town and have weathered the inevitable ups and downs of a long life spent together. But eight years after Claire was diagnosed with cancer, the end is near, and it's time to gather loved ones and prepare for the inevitable. Over the years of Claire's illness, Eliot has willingly--lovingly--shifted into the role of caregiver, appreciating the intimacy and tenderness that comes with a role even more layered and complex than the one he performed as a devoted husband. But as he focuses on settling into what will be their last days and weeks together, Claire makes an unexpected request that leaves him reeling. Fans of Ann Patchett will love this read.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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