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Fiction A to Z December 2025 |
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To the Moon and Back
by Eliana Ramage
After her mom leaves her abusive father, Steph Harper and her younger sister grow up in Oklahoma’s Cherokee Nation, where Steph dreams of space. She eventually goes to college, finds a girlfriend, and is chosen for astronaut training. But her goals strain her ties with her family in this stirring debut by a Cherokee author that’s perfect for book clubs. For fans of: Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere.
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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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The Accidental Favorite
by Fran Littlewood
Gathering to celebrate their mother's 70th birthday at a posh rented house in the English countryside, three middle-aged sisters, each with their own families and issues, are shocked when an unexpected event indicates who their father's favorite child is. Told from multiple points of view over various time periods, this is the moving latest by the author of Amazing Grace Adams. Read-alike: Catherine Newman's Sandwich.
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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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Bring the House Down
by Charlotte Runcie
At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, critic Alex Lyons pens a devastating review of Hayley Sinclair's one-woman act. He then sleeps with her just before it’s published. In retaliation, she turns her show into “The Alex Lyons Experience,” where she and others detail his misdeeds. Narrated by Alex’s coworker, a struggling new mom whose husband may be having an affair, this witty, compelling tale explores art, gender, power, and identity. For fans of: Mona Awad’s All’s Well.
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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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Jamaica Road
by Lisa Smith
Beginning in 1981, this evocative coming-of-age novel follows two best friends who become something more. Quiet 12-year-old Daphne is of Jamaican heritage and the only Black girl in her South London class when Jamaican immigrant Cornelius “Connie” Smalls arrives, ready to be seen and heard. Thoughtfully portraying their relationship as it ebbs and flows, this tender debut also spotlights societal issues. For fans of: Sally Rooney’s Normal People; Jacqueline Crooks’ Fire Rush.
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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 Rabbit Club
by Christopher J. Yates
Alistair McCain, an 18-year-old from California, has never met his British rock star father. Starting at Oxford, he hopes to finally do so and to be accepted into a secret society he’s heard about at the university. While his lineage gets him an invite, he soon suspects the group may be involved in murder in this suspenseful and entertaining read. Try this next: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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