Spectacular Things Beck Dorey-Stein Family Mia and Cricket have always been close. The gifted daughters of a young single mother, the “Lowe girls” are well-known in the small Maine town they call home. Each sister has a role to fill:…
Culpability Bruce Holsinger Fiction When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while…
The Bench Jen Brewer Fiction Overwhelmed, Miranda feels she is failing to live up to her mother’s perfect image. Perhaps running for Mom of the Year on the 25th anniversary of her mother’s win would change that and atone for…
My Friends Fredrik Backman Coming of Age Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s…
The Emperor of Gladness Ocean Vuong Fiction The hardest thing in the world is to live only once… One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in…
We All Live Here Jojo Moyes Fiction Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career…
Uncommon Type Tom Hanks Short Stories A small-town newspaper columnist with old-fashioned views of the modern world. A World War II veteran grappling with his emotional and physical scars. A second-rate actor plunged into sudden stardom and a whirlwind press…
A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara LGBT A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by…
The Chicken Sisters KJ Dell’Antonia Fiction In tiny Merinac, Kansas, Chicken Mimi’s and Chicken Frannie’s have spent a century vying to serve up the best fried chicken in the state—and the legendary feud between their respective owners, the Moores and…
Tell Me Everything Elizabeth Strout Fiction With her remarkable insight into the human condition and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters—Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, Bob Burgess,…