Must Reads

Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone
by Tae Keller

In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal for When You Trap a Tiger, Tae Keller offers a gripping and emotional story about a girl who is alienated by her friends … for believing in aliens. Keller lights up the sky with this insightful story about shifting friendships, right and wrong, and the power we all hold to influence and change one another. No one is alone.

The Violin Conspiracy
by Brendan Slocumb

Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise – undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world–when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious music competition in the world.

A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman

Fredrik Backman’s beloved first novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others.

The Night Watchman
by Louise Erdrich

Based on the extraordinary life of National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s  grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C., this powerful novel explores themes of love and death with lightness and gravity and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor, and depth of feeling of a master craftsman.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
by Gabrielle Zevin

Spanning decades and coasts, Zevin’s epic is expertly crafted and deftly realized. An intelligent novel full of friendship, heartbreak, creativity, and love … an instant classic.

Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus

A fun, feminist charmer, Bonnie Garmus’s novel Lessons in Chemistry follows singular single mother Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist in a man’s world—1960s America—as she becomes an unlikely cooking-show host and the role model her daughter deserves.

The Unhoneymooners
by Christina Lauren

For two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime—maybe even love—in this romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Roomies.

The Sweetness of Water
by Nathan Harris

In the spirit of The Known World and The Underground Railroad, an award-winning “miraculous debut” (Washington Post) about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever.

Ugly Love
by Colleen Hoover

From Colleen Hoover, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends with Us, a heart-wrenching love story that proves attraction at first sight can be messy.

Small Town Big Magic
by Hazel Beck

There’s no such thing as witches…right?
Emerson Wilde has built the life of her dreams. Youngest Chamber of Commerce president in St. Cyprian history, successful indie bookstore owner, and lucky enough to have her best friends as found family? Done. But when Emerson is attacked by creatures that shouldn’t be real, and kills them with what can only be called magic, Emerson finds that the past decade of her life has been…a lie. St. Cyprian isn’t your average Midwestern river town—it’s a haven for witches. When Emerson failed a power test years ago, she was stripped of her magical memories. Turns out, Emerson’s friends are all witches. And so is she.
That’s not all, though: evil is lurking in the charming streets of St. Cyprian. Emerson will need to learn to control what’s inside of her, remember her magic, and deal with old, complicated feelings for her childhood friend–cranky-yet-gorgeous local farmer Jacob North—to defeat an enemy that hides in the rivers and shadows of everything she loves. Even before she had magic, Emerson would have done anything for St. Cyprian, but now she’ll have to risk not just her livelihood…but her life.

Great or Nothing
by Joy McCullough & Caroline Tung Richmond & Tess Sharpe & Jessica Spotswood

A reimagining of Little Women set in 1942, when the United States is suddenly embroiled in the second World War, this story, told from each March sister’s point of view, is one of grief, love, and self-discovery.

Autumn
by Ali Smith

The first novel in Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet is an unforgettable story about aging and time and love–and stories themselves. Autumn. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. Two old friends–Daniel, a centenarian, and Elisabeth, born in 1984–look to both the future and the past as the United Kingdom stands divided by a historic, once-in-a-generation summer. Love is won, love is lost. Hope is hand-in-hand with hopelessness. The seasons roll round, as ever. A luminous meditation on the meaning of richness and harvest and worth, Autumn is the first installment of Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet, and it casts an eye over our own time: Who are we? What are we made of? Shakespearean jeu d’esprit, Keatsian melancholy, the sheer bright energy of 1960s pop art. Autumn is wide-ranging in time-scale and light-footed through histories.

The House in the Cerulean Sea
by T.J. Klune

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel
by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Book Lovers
by Emily Henry

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute. If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Win Me Something
by Kyle Lucia Wu

Growing up biracial between New Jersey and Upstate New York, Willa Chen got used to never fitting in. But when she begins nannying for the Adriens, a wealthy white family living in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, Willa suddenly becomes acutely aware of all the things she never had as a girl. Winsome and tender, Wu’s debut novel is about a girl who must confront her out-of-place childhood in her search for a solid sense of self.

The Charm Offensive
by Alison Cochrun

Card-carrying members of Bachelor Nation, look alive! Cochrun’s swoon-worthy debut follows a producer on a Bachelor-esque reality show whose idealistic view of romance gets upended when he starts to develop feelings for the show’s lead, a handsome—and very awkward—tech genius who’s taken the job to rehabilitate his image.

The Heart Principle
by Helen Hoang

Hoang’s latest romance puts readers through the wringer, but the happy ending is well worth it. After accidentally going viral, violinist Anna Sun should be celebrating her success; instead, she’s wrestling with burnout. When her boyfriend suggests they see other people, Anna sees it as a chance to figure out who she is apart from others’ expectations of her—but at what cost?

Our Country Friends
by Gary Shteyngart

One of the first — and best — lockdown novels, Our Country Friends traps a mismatched group of over-educated and underemployed friends at a mansion in upstate New York during the first wave of Covid-19. Shteyngart leavens his scholarly premise (allusions to Boccaccio and Chekhov abound) with farcical comedy, as rivalries and romantic machinations drive his characters to breaking point.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess
by Sue Lynn Tan

Inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, this young adult fantasy read is about Xingyin’s journey to save her mother from the Celestial Emperor after a flare in her magic revealed her secret existence. Readers love this story for its elements of Chinese mythology, strong female warrior protagonist, and the inspiring yet perilous quest.

Every Summer After
by Carly Fortune

Over six summers, Percy and Sam fell in love on the lakeshore until everything tragically fell apart. A decade later, Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral and while their connection is just as strong as ever, their past mistakes threaten to keep them apart and leave them with only a weekend to repair years of damage.  

The Paris Bookseller
by Kerri Maher

“The Paris Bookseller” by Kerri Maher is a can’t-miss historical fiction title for anyone with a passion for books. In 1919, Sylvia Beach opens the famed Parisian bookstore Shakespeare and Company, which quickly becomes a gathering place for some of the brightest minds of the era, including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce. In fact, when Joyce’s “Ulysses” is banned, Sylvia takes a chance and publishes the title herself. This one act tests the bookseller’s friendships, puts her business at risk, and leads to a personal and professional crisis that will force her to decide just how much the bookstore means to her.

Love At First Spite
by Anna E. Collins

Dani Porter is only looking for sweet revenge when she buys the vacant lot next to her ex’s new house in “Love at First Spite” by Anna E. Collins. The interior decorator plans to build a vacation rental right next door to her ex-fiancé’s house to ensure he doesn’t get a moment’s peace in the home they were going to share before he cheated on her with the realtor. Unfortunately, the only way to make Spite House happen is with the help of the incredibly uptight architect Wyatt Montego. However, it doesn’t take long for Dani to realize Wyatt is way more than just a professional connection.

The Ivory Key
by Akshaya Raman

“The Ivory Key” by Akshaya Raman is a YA fantasy debut about a quartet of siblings who are each in search of the Ivory Key — the literal key of magic — for their own reasons. Vira, Ronak, Kaleb, and Riya come from a royal family, but despite their shared upbringing, they have never been close. Now, with their kingdom on the verge of running out of magic, a situation that would lead to war, they have to band together to find the key — but the catch is none of them want the key for the same reason, leaving the door open for startling double-crosses and maybe even a bit of sibling bonding along the way.

First Time for Everything
by Henry Fry

A “hilarious, tender, raw, and heart-stoppingly moving” (Amanda Eyre Ward) debut about a down-on-his-luck gay man working out how he fits into the world, making up for lost time, and opening himself up to life’s possibilities.

Here Comes the Sun
by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Set at a luxurious resort in Jamaica’s Montego Bay, Here Comes the Sun is a story about two sisters, Margot and Thandi, who are both striving for a better life than the one they’ve been conditioned to living on the fringes of opulence. When an outside threat to their community forces both sisters into action, Margot wonders if she’ll finally have the chance to admit her secret love for another woman.

Real Life
by Brandon Taylor

Wallace is black, queer, and in pursuit of a biochem degree at his Midwestern university, surrounded by a group of friends who sometimes feel as distant to him as his family back home in Alabama. When inter-friend group attraction begins to ferment, amongst some unlikely candidates, Wallace finds himself forced to reckon with his own vulnerability and desire.

Maybe In Another Life
by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

Love & Gelato
by Jenna Evans Welch

Soon to be a Netflix movie! A New York Times bestseller. A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping debut novel filled with romance, mystery, and adventure.

Moo
by Sharon Creech

When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora. This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.

Black Cake
by Charmaine Wilkerson

In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.

The Sunday Lunch Club
by Juliet Ashton

Every few Sundays, Anna and her extended family and friends get together for lunch. They talk, they laugh, they bicker, they eat too much. Sometimes the important stuff is left unsaid, other times it’s said in the wrong way. Sitting between her ex-husband and her new lover, Anna is coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy at the age of forty. Also at the table are her ageing grandmother, her promiscuous sister, her flamboyantly gay brother and a memory too terrible to contemplate. Until, that is, a letter arrives from the person Anna scarred all those years ago. Can Anna reconcile her painful past with her uncertain future?

Sea of Tranquility
by Emily St. John Mandel

The award-winning, best-selling author of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel returns with a novel of art, time, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.

The Keeper of Lost Things
by Ruth Hogan

A charming, clever, and quietly moving novel of of endless possibilities and joyful discoveries that explores the promises we make and break, losing and finding ourselves, the objects that hold magic and meaning for our lives, and the surprising connections that bind us.

The Vacationers
by Emma Straub

An irresistible, deftly observed novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of Modern Lovers, about the secrets, joys, and jealousies that rise to the surface over the course of an American family’s two-week stay in Mallorca.

The Viscount Who Loved Me
by Julia Quinn

The inspiration for season two of BRIDGERTON, a series created by Shondaland for Netflix, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn: the story of Anthony Bridgerton in the second of her beloved Regency-set novels featuring the charming, powerful Bridgerton family.

The Rules of Magic
by Alice Hoffman

For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk. From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Yet, the children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart.

To Capture What We Cannot Keep
by Beatrice Colin

In February 1887, Caitriona Wallace and Émile Nouguier meet in a hot air balloon, floating high above Paris, France–a moment of pure possibility. But back on firm ground, their vastly different social strata become clear. Cait is a widow who because of her precarious financial situation is forced to chaperone two wealthy Scottish charges. Émile is expected to take on the bourgeois stability of his family’s business and choose a suitable wife. As the Eiffel Tower rises, a marvel of steel and air and light, the subject of extreme controversy and a symbol of the future, Cait and Émile must decide what their love is worth.

Tell Me Three Things
by Julie Buxbaum

“Here are three things about this book: (1) It’s . . .  funny and romantic; (2) the mystery at the heart of the story will keep you turning the pages; (3) I have a feeling you’ll be very happy you read it.” —Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

One Italian Summer: A Novel
by Rebecca Serle

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. To make matters worse, the mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer before she met Katy’s father. But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and – of course – delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life. And then Carol appears, healthy and sun-tanned… and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how – all she can focus on is that somehow, impossibly, she has her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman who came before. But can we ever truly know our parents? Soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

The Vanishing Half
by Brit Bennett

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?

Dear Mrs. Bird
by AJ Pearce

In wartime London, Emmy dreams of being a lady war correspondent but instead finds herself typing up the agony aunt page column at Woman’s Friend, where she can’t help but add her own advice. This charming, joyous debut is a love-letter to female friendship and the Blitz spirit. A warm hug in book form.

The Authenticity Project
by Clare Pooley

This story of six strangers all drawn together by a notebook in which people share their secret thoughts and feelings is a lovely read. When Monica finds a notebook in her café, she discovers inside it the story of neighbor Julian, a once-famous artist who is grieving his late wife. A reminder of the importance of friendship and reaching out to others.

The Switch
by Beth O’Leary

This story has everything you want to lift your spirits: laughs, romance and lovely characters you connect with emotionally. After high-flyer Leena is forced to take a sabbatical from work, she and her 79-year-old grandmother Eileen decide to swap lives. As Leena struggles to fit in with small village life, Eileen tries online dating in London.

The Secret Women
by Sheila Williams

Elise Armstrong, Carmen Bradshaw, and DeeDee Davis meet in a yoga class. Though vastly different, these women discover they all have one thing in common: their mothers have recently passed away. Becoming fast friends, the trio make a pact to help each other sort through the belongings their mothers’ left behind. But when they find old letters and diaries, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee are astonished to learn that each of their mothers hid secrets—secrets that will transform their own lives.

I Almost Forgot About You
by Terry McMillan

In I Almost Forgot About You, Dr. Georgia Young’s wonderful life—great friends, family, and successful career—aren’t enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life, including quitting her job as an optometrist and moving house, she finds herself on a wild journey that may or may not include a second chance at love. Georgia’s bravery reminds us that it’s never too late to become the person you want to be, and that taking chances, with your life and your heart, are always worthwhile.

Some Places More Than Others
by Renée Watson

All Amara wants for her birthday is to visit her father’s family in New York City – Harlem. Maybe this will help her understand her family – and herself – in a new way. But New York City is not exactly what Amara thought it would be. Amara can’t help wondering, even if she does discover more about where she came from, will it help her know where she belongs?

The Maid
by Nita Prose

Not to be confused with the memoir Maid by Stephanie Land, or the subsequent hit Netflix series starring Margaret Qualley, this is a murder mystery novel—a twist-and-turn whodunit, set in a five-star hotel, from the perspective of the maid who finds the body. Think Clue. Think page-turner.

The People We Keep
by Allison Larkin

As April moves through the world, meeting people who feel like home, she chronicles her life in the songs she writes and discovers that where she came from doesn’t dictate who she has to be.

Capote’s Women
by Laurence Leamer

New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote’s never-published final novel, Answered Prayers—the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote’s ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his “swans.”

No One Will Miss Her
by Kat Rosenfield

A smart, witty, crackling novel of psychological suspense in which a girl from a hardscrabble small town meets a gorgeous Instagram influencer from the big city, with a murderous twist that will shock even the most savvy reader.

Once More Upon A Time
by Roshani Chokshi

Once upon a dream, there was a prince named Ambrose
and a princess named Imelda who loved each other…
But alas, no more.
“What a witch takes, a witch does not give back!”
their friends and family warn.
They resign themselves to this loveless fate…
A year and a day pass.
And then their story truly begins…

The Neighbor’s Secret
by L. Allison Hellner

With its sprawling yards and excellent schools, Cottonwood Estates is the perfect place to raise children. The Cottonwood Book Club serves as the subdivision’s eyes and ears, meeting once a month for discussion, gossip, and cocktails. If their selections trend toward twisty thrillers and salacious murder mysteries, it’s only because the members feel secure that such evil has no place in their own cul-de-sacs.

Or does it?

A Holly Jolly Diwali
by Sonya Lalli

The ever-practical Niki Randhawa finds an awfully handsome reason to throw caution to the wind in A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli. While attending her friend’s wedding in Mumbai, Niki meets a man who encourages her to embrace her creative side, but her new romance is threatened when a job offer back home leaves her torn between listening to her heart or doing what she feels is best for her family.

The Death of Jane Lawrence
by Caitlin Starling

Set in a dark alternate history version of post-war England, The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling is a creeping, Gothic horror novel full of unforgettable twists. For Jane, a marriage of convenience to a suitable man who will let her maintain her independence seems like a practical arrangement to enter into. But when her new husband begins to act oddly in his crumbling family home, Jane realizes there’s something very strange going on indeed.

Crossroads
by Jonathan Franzen

Jonathan Franzen serves up another American epic in Crossroads. The famed author’s latest novel follows the Hildebrandts, a family on the cusp of a seismic shift on the eve of Dec. 23, 1971, as their pastor patriarch prepares to ask his wife for a divorce — if his wife doesn’t ask him first, that is.

With Teeth: A Novel
by Kristen Arnett 

A sharp, often wryly funny, sometimes heart-wrenching look into parenting, queer marriage and growing up, this searing novel feels like walking across a lawn gone crispy in the sun. It’s deeply satisfying and a little painful, all at once.

This Close to Okay: A Novel 
by Leesa Cross-Smith 

We all carry our past with us, and that’s never clearer than in this powerful story about two strangers who come together when they both need someone the most. 

I Hope We Choose Love 
by Kai Cheng Thom 

Written by a trans woman, this is a collection of essays and prose poetry that look at the world we live in and try to find a reason to create. It pushes you to acknowledge how we deal with the hard stuff, especially within marginalized communities, and how we sometimes turn that hurt to each other. But it also looks past that, saying we can do better, we can love better, and that compassion will make it easier for us to rebuild the world. 

The Life of Pi 
by Yann Martel 

When Pi is 16 years old, he, his family, and their entire batch of zoo animals board a boat that will take them from India to North America. The ship sinks, and Pi is the sole survivor. Well, let’s revise. Pi finds himself sharing a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a massive Bengal Tiger. In long, surreal, sparkling passages, Martel describes Pi’s fight for survival and sanity over his 227-day journey. 

A Man Called Ove 
by Fredrik Backman 

After his wife dies, Ove is prepared to follow her into the Great Beyond. Too bad his new next-door neighbors — an Iranian immigrant, her Swedish husband, and their two daughters — keep asking the grumpy but handy Ove for help around the house. Reluctantly, Ove becomes pulled into the lives of his neighbors. This tale of friendship and redemption is wildly popular for a reason. It’ll make you cry. 

Ridgeline 
by Michael Punke 

In the aftermath of the Civil War, a new conflict between native tribes and a brash new nation breaks out on the Western frontier. Colonel Henry Carrington has arrived in Wyoming to open a new road for gold miners and settlers, while Red Cloud, a respected Lakota chief, understands exactly what this will mean for his people. From the bestselling author of “The Revenant.” 

The Plot 
by Jean Hanff Korelitz 

Back in the day, Jacob Finch Bonner was a hotshot young novelist with a promising first book. But all that promise amounted to nothing much. Now he’s teaching in a D-list MFA program and hasn’t written a word in years. When an obnoxious student comes in with an amazing idea, Jacob doesn’t think twice about it. But when the student mysteriously dies, the professor starts to think that a good idea shouldn’t go to waste. 

Palace of the Drowned 
by Christine Mangan 

It’s 1966 and Frankie Croy has retreated to her friend’s palazzo in Venice, looking to bounce back from a breakdown triggered by a scathing review of her debut novel. While there, she meets a young woman named Gilly, who describes herself as a huge fan. Something about Gilly seems off, but Frankie can’t quite put her finger on it. Then a flood ravages the city, and the two women will never be the same. 

The Guncle 
by Steven Rowley 

Patrick — “Gay Uncle Patrick,” or “GUP” for short — has always been a loving and fun uncle. But when his niece and nephew lose their mother and their father goes into rehab for the summer, he’s suddenly in charge. Patrick might not know much about parenting, but he’s determined to be the best uncle he can be, inflatable pool toys, house parties and all. 

Hell of a Book 
by Jason Mott 

A black author embarks on a cross-country book tour to promote his new book, but he’s followed by a (possibly imaginary) child. The author’s story is intertwined with the narrative of Soot, a young black boy living in a rural town. Mott has written a clever meditation on race and violence in America. 

Where the Grass is Green and the Girls are Pretty 
by Lauren Weisberger 

Peyton seemingly has it all: a job as a famous TV anchor, a loving husband and a Princeton-bound daughter. But when a college admissions scandal threatens to engulf her family, she flees to her sister’s upscale NY suburb to hide out — and try to rebuild her reputation. 

The Color Purple 
by Alice Walker 

Walker’s masterpiece about the love between women isn’t just an LGBT classic, it’s a must-read book in just about every way. Made into a major motion picture, this National Book and Pulitzer Prize-winner follows the story of two sisters living very different lives and the unbreakable bond between them, even through impossible circumstances. 

My Year Abroad: A Novel 
by Chang Rae-Lee 

This wildly original novel carries us across the world as Tiller, a mediocre college kid, gets tied up with Pong, an international businessman who takes him on the trip of a lifetime. We bounce between those adventures and the life Tiller finds afterward with Val, a single mom in witness protection, as he tries to figure out what it all means. It’s by turns dark, humorous and almost sneakily insightful. 

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House: A Novel 
by Cherie Jones 

This transporting novel set in Barbados reveals the way even the most disparate lives are interconnected. It delves into wealth and class, love and crime — and the emotional turmoil that roils in a rapidly gentrifying area and the people who live there. 

Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close
By Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman 

Now two friends, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, tell the story of their equally messy and life-affirming Big Friendship in this honest and hilarious book that chronicles their first decade in one another’s lives. As the hosts of the hit podcast Call Your Girlfriend, they’ve become known for frank and intimate conversations. In this book, they bring that energy to their own friendship—its joys and its pitfalls. 

In Five Years: A Novel   
by Rebecca Serle 

When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan. 

The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary  
by Catherine Gray  

Learning how to be exalted by the everyday is the most important lesson we can possibly learn. In Catherine Gray’s hilarious, insightful, soulful (and very ordinary) book, you may learn to do just that. 

All The Light We Cannot See  
by Anthony Doerr 

From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the stunningly beautiful instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. 

Stamped From The Beginning
by Ibram X. Kendi

Some Americans insist that we’re living in a post-racial society. But racist thought is not just alive and well in America–it is more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues, racist ideas have a long and lingering history, one in which nearly every great American thinker is complicit.