| Mona Acts Out by Mischa BerlinskiOn Thanksgiving, middle-aged Shakespearian actress Mona Zahid, who's mourning her sister, abruptly leaves her family to go for a day-long walk with her dog. She visits her elderly mentor (who's been accused of sexual assault) and ponders her past in this character-driven tale that paints an evocative picture of theater life and New York while spotlighting grief and aging. Read-alike: Claire Thomas's The Performance. |
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The Performance
by Claire Thomas
An unbending professor on the cusp of retirement, a philanthropist with a traumatic past and a theater usher worried for her girlfriend become unexpected companions during a play that is interrupted by a suddenly out-of-control wildfire.
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| How to Sleep at Night by Elizabeth HarrisWhen his husband, Ethan, says he's running for Congress as a Republican, progressive Gabe isn't sure their marriage will survive. Meanwhile, married mom Nicole begins an affair with her political reporter ex, who's Ethan's sister and Gabe's best friend. This debut novel by a New York Times reporter offers drama aplenty as it explores politics, identity, and ambition. Try this next: Mr. Texas by Lawrence Wright. |
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Mr. Texas
by Lawrence Wright
After his heroic actions make the evening news, rancher Sonny Lamb, a laughingstock in his town, is asked to run for his West Texas district's seat in the state legislature, and against his better judgment, throws his hat in the ring in an attempt to pursue goodness in the Lonestar State.
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| Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn IveyIn this latest from the acclaimed author of The Snow Child, Birdie raises her precocious six-year-old daughter, Emaleen, and dreams of more freedom and excitement than she gets in her small Alaskan town. After reclusive local Arthur saves Emaleen when she's lost, the trio move to his remote cabin. But Arthur has a secret that could endanger them all. Fans of fairy tale-inspired novels will want to read this suspenseful story. |
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The Snow Child: A Novel
by Eowyn Ivey
Based on a Russian fairy tale, this debut tells of a childless couple in 1920s Alaska, working a farm and fearing the brutal winter. Anxious, tired, and lonely, they build a snow child, only to find that it has disappeared overnight. But soon they spot a little girl living on her own in the woods -- is she homeless? Or is she perhaps a snow fairy? Either way, her appearances hearten the couple. With a spare writing style that enhances vivid descriptions of Alaska's landscape and harsh winters, The Snow Child alluringly adds a bit of magic to hardscrabble farming lives.
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| I'll Come to You by Rebecca KauffmanBeginning in January 1995 and ending in December of the same year, this quietly moving novel with vibrant characters follows the everyday goings-on of several related families as their members navigate new relationships, dating after divorce, pregnancy, dementia, and more. Read-alike: Julie Otsuka's The Swimmers. |
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All Adults Here
by Emma Straub
A matriarch confronts the legacy of her parenting mistakes while her adult children navigate respective challenges in high standards and immaturity, before a teen granddaughter makes a courageous decision to tell the truth. By the best-selling author of Modern Lovers.
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| Going Home by Tom LamontLondoner Téo Erskine spends lots of weekends back in the suburbs visiting his sick dad, his wealthy best friend, and his crush, who's a single mom to a toddler. When tragedy strikes, the men and the area's new rabbi care for the child in this poignant debut featuring well-developed characters and thoughtfully depicting loss and men's relationships. For a more lighthearted look at unexpectedly caring for kids, try Steven Rowling's The Guncle. |
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The Guncle
by Steven Rowley
Starring: former TV star Patrick O'Hara, who reluctantly agrees to care for his young niece and nephew when their mother (Patrick's best friend) dies and their father (Patrick's brother) checks into rehab.
Why you might like it: Replete with likeable characters, witty writing, and a heartwarming story, this tale of "dear ol' GUP" (Gay Uncle Pat) and his charges is warm and charming despite the heartbreaking setup.
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| Waiting for the Long Night Moon by Amanda PetersThe Canadian author of the award-winning The Berry Pickers presents 17 stories that span hundreds of years, feature thought-provoking Indigenous characters, and cover topics such as the arrival of colonists, the evils of Indian residential schools, and the importance of protecting nature. "An affecting and wide-ranging collection," raves Publishers Weekly. |
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The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
The family home: a stately mansion known as the Dutch House, from which Danny and Maeve are banned by their stepmother after their father's early death.
What it is: a family saga spanning 50 years, narrated by Danny and full of astute observations on human nature.
For fans of: complex family relationships, such as those in CJ Hauser's Family of Origin or Ann Packer's The Children's Crusade.
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| The Granddaughter by Bernhard SchlinkAfter his wife dies, elderly Kaspar finds a diary indicating she gave birth to a child before she met him. Kaspar investigates and discovers the lost daughter is a neo-Nazi with a controlling husband and a 14-year-old daughter, Sigrun. Using money to finesse his way into visits with Sigrun, Kaspar shows her the Berlin he loves, gets her the piano lessons she wants, and tries to expand her world view. Try this next: Foster by Claire Keegan. |
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Foster
by Claire Keegan
An Irish child taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm finds the love and affection she never knew before and begins to thrive in the internationally best-selling novel now available as a standalone book.
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| Gliff by Ali SmithIn a dystopian near-future, two "unverifiable" children befriend a horse and a group of squatters as they try to survive after their mother is taken away by all-powerful authorities. This timely and lyrical latest from an acclaimed Scottish author examines the perils of government surveillance and lack of data privacy as well as the power of language. Read-alike: The Ancients by John Larison. |
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The End We Start From
by Megan Hunter
This post-apocalyptic debut is set in London, England -- though parts of the city itself are deep under water. After giving birth to a baby boy, our unnamed narrator flees north with her husband and son, seeking refuge first with family, then with the government, and finally on their own. With spare prose and a meditative style, this novel almost reads like poetry; with an equal emphasis on both motherhood and the perils of catastrophe, it can also be read as a warning for a world threatened by climate change.
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| We Lived on the Horizon by Erika SwylerIn an AI-run walled city, someone murders a powerful member of the Saints, a wealthy group descended from the city's founders. Meanwhile, 60-something Saint Enita creates a body for Nix, the AI she considers family, unaware that the murder signals rumblings of a revolution in this "singularly stunning and stunningly singular" (Kirkus Reviews) novel. Try this next: Gish Jen's The Resisters.
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The Resisters: A Novel
by Gish Jen
Enduring life on the margins in a near-future world ruthlessly divided between the employed and unemployed, a once-professional couple give birth to an athletically gifted child, whose attention by the government compels her mother to challenge society's foundations.
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| Good Dirt by Charmaine WilkersonAfter she's left at the alter by her wealthy white fiancé, Ebby, who's from a well-to-do Black New England family, goes to France to escape the press. She also works on a book about the stoneware jar her enslaved relatives owned, which was destroyed years ago when burglars killed her brother. After the success of Black Cake, author Charmaine Wilkerson serves up another emotionally intense story with multiple viewpoints. |
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Party of Two
by Jasmine Guillory
Going against her better judgement, LA lawyer Olivia Monroe secretly starts dating a hotshot junior senator until their romance is made public and her life falls under intense media scrutiny, jeopardizing everything.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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