“At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.” – Toni Morrison
Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor
Fiction / Historical Fiction.
On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby.
Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire.
Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby—before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan.
Jordan Baker, Daisy’s best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well.
Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women’s freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who’s trapped in a terrible marriage.
Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby’s romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them.
Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women’s perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled.
Description from Goodreads.
“Cantor succeeds brilliantly with this audacious revisionist murder mystery featuring characters from The Great Gatsby… Cantor successfully captures the style and tone of the 1925 novel with vivid details… Proving once again that it is ‘hard to forget the past,’ Cantor’s admirably convincing act of literary skullduggery offers many rewards.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“This Gatsby retelling reveals more about the women in the story by casting them as humans, not decorative baubles. Cantor asks and answers: Who were the real fools in Gatsby’s world?” – Kirkus Reviews
“Unlike the original destructive, self-absorbed characters and the pervasive issue of class, Cantor focuses instead on portraying Daisy and her fellow females in a sympathetic light, reimagining and empowering them to speak to readers with a feminist bent.” – Booklist
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson ★
Fiction / Historical Fiction.
We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean 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.
Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?
Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.
Description from Goodreads.
“A thrilling debut novel about sibling ties and hidden family history.” – Glamour
“A stellar first-time entry from a talented new writer that’s full of food, surfing, and rich patois.” – BET
“Fans of family dramas by Ann Patchett, Brit Bennett, and Karen Joy Fowler should take note. Black Cake marks the launch of a writer to watch, one who masterfully plumbs the unexpected depths of the human heart.” – BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
“Wilkerson uses one Caribbean American family’s extraordinary tale to probe universal issues of identity and how the lives we live and the choices we make leave ‘a trail of potential consequences’ that pass down through generations.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk; translated by Jennifer Croft ★
Fiction / Historical Fiction.
In the mid-eighteenth century, as new ideas–and a new unrest–begin to sweep the Continent, a young Jew of mysterious origins arrives in a village in Poland. Before long, he has changed not only his name but his persona; visited by what seem to be ecstatic experiences, Jacob Frank casts a charismatic spell that attracts an increasingly fervent following. In the decade to come, Frank will traverse the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires with throngs of disciples in his thrall as he reinvents himself again and again, converts to Islam and then Catholicism, is pilloried as a heretic and revered as the Messiah, and wreaks havoc on the conventional order, Jewish and Christian alike, with scandalous rumors of his sect’s secret rituals and the spread of his increasingly iconoclastic beliefs.
The story of Frank–a real historical figure around whom mystery and controversy swirl to this day–is the perfect canvas for the genius and unparalleled reach of Olga Tokarczuk. Narrated through the perspectives of his contemporaries–those who revere him, those who revile him, the friend who betrays him, the lone woman who sees him for what he is–The Books of Jacob captures a world on the cusp of precipitous change, searching for certainty and longing for transcendence.
Description from Goodreads.
“Sophisticated and ribald and brimming with folk wit… The comedy in this novel blends, as it does in life, with genuine tragedy.” – New York Times
“Tokarczuk aims high, spinning a layered, majestic, polyphonic novel based on a real-life figure… A golden age of historical fiction is upon us: Tokarczuk links arms with Hilary Mantel and Colson Whitehead, connecting our own perilous moment with the past.” – Oprah Daily
“[A] subtle and sensuous masterpiece… Readers are rewarded throughout with tender and ebullient moments… In the hands of Tokarczuk and Croft, these concerns feel real and vital… This visionary work will undoubtedly be read and talked about by lovers of literature for years to come.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Contains an entire overflowing, sensual world to get lost in… [a] truly bewitching account of untold fissures in history, minor religions, little lives, and splinterings-off. It is rich, strange, astonishing in scope, and delightfully enigmatic… Tokarczuk’s magnum opus shows us a world on the precipice of a great change, one hand clinging to certainty while the other reaches for transcendence.” – World Literature Today
Catch Her When She Falls by Allison Buccola
Fiction / Mystery / Suspense.
Ten years ago, my boyfriend killed my best friend.
When Micah Wilkes was a senior in high school, her boyfriend was convicted of murdering her best friend, Emily. A decade later, Micah has finally moved on from the unforgivable betrayal and loss. Now the owner of a bustling coffee shop in her small hometown in Pennsylvania, she’s happily coupled up with another old high school friend, the two having bonded over their shared sorrow.
But when reminders of her past begin appearing at her work and home, Micah begins to doubt what she knows about Emily’s death. Questions raised on a true crime blog and in an online web sleuthing forum force her to reexamine her memories of that fateful night. She told the truth to the investigators on the case, but was there another explanation for Emily’s murder? A stranger in the woods. An obsessive former classmate. Or the internet’s favorite suspect: Joshua, Emily’s outcast younger brother who hasn’t been seen since his sister’s death.
As Micah delves deeper into the case, she feels her grip on reality loosening, her behavior growing more and more secretive and unhinged. As she races to piece together the truth about that night ten years ago, Micah grapples with how things could have gone so wrong and wonders whether she, too, might be next to disappear.
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] propulsive debut thriller.” – BiblioLifestyles
“…some startling twists and troubling questions concerning guilt and justice await those who stay the course. Psychological thriller fans will be curious to see what Buccola does next.” – Publishers Weekly
Catch the Sparrow: A Search for a Sister and the Truth of Her Murder by Rachel Rear
Nonfiction / True Crime / Memoir.
Growing up, Rachel Rear knew the story of Stephanie Kupchynsky’s disappearance. The beautiful violinist and teacher had fled an abusive relationship on Martha’s Vineyard and made a new start for herself near Rochester, NY. She was at the height of her life-in a relationship with a man she hoped to marry and close to her students and her family. And then, one morning, she was gone.
Around Rochester-a region which has spawned such serial killers as Arthur Shawcross and the “Double Initial” killer-Stephanie’s disappearance was just a familiar sort of news item. But Rachel had more reason than most to be haunted by this particular story of a missing woman: Rachel’s mother had married Stephanie’s father after the crime, and Rachel grew up in the shadow of her stepsister’s legacy.
In Catch the Sparrow, Rachel Rear writes a compulsively readable and unerringly poignant reconstruction of the case’s dark and serpentine path across more than two decades. Obsessively cataloging the crime and its costs, drawing intimately closer to the details than any journalist could, she reveals how a dysfunctional justice system laid the groundwork for Stephanie’s murder and stymied the investigation for more than twenty years, and what those hard years meant for the lives of Stephanie’s family and loved ones. Startling, unputdownable, and deeply moving, Catch the Sparrow is a retelling of a crime like no other.
Description from Goodreads.
“Rachel Rear’s beautiful, heartbreaking memoir is also a fierce interrogation of violence against women in American culture, and essential reading to understand the experience of the families left behind.” – CrimeReads
“Engrossing… This combination of true crime inquiry and revelatory memoir will linger in readers’ minds long after they finish it.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Compellingly suspenseful reading. But the book’s greatest strength by far is the way it evokes the ‘fragility of [human] existence’ while reminding readers of the terrifying and random violence to which women continue to be subjected, both at home and in the world. A chillingly candid memoir and work of true crime.” – Kirkus Reviews
The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
Fiction / Historical Fiction / Mystery.
Every story has its secrets.
Every mystery has its motives.
“A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman. It’s a particular feeling, the urge to murder. It takes over your body so completely, it’s like a divine force, grabbing hold of your will, your limbs, your psyche. There’s a joy to it. In retrospect, it’s frightening, but I daresay in the moment it feels sweet. The way justice feels sweet.”
The greatest mystery wasn’t Agatha Christie’s disappearance in those eleven infamous days, it’s what she discovered.
London, 1925: In a world of townhomes and tennis matches, socialites and shooting parties, Miss Nan O’Dea became Archie Christie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted and well-known wife, Agatha Christie.
The question is, why? Why destroy another woman’s marriage, why hatch a plot years in the making, and why murder? How was Nan O’Dea so intricately tied to those eleven mysterious days that Agatha Christie went missing?
Description from Goodreads.
“Ingeniously plotted… gorgeously written.” – Shelf Awareness
“A meta delight for fans of crime writing, The Christie Affair is a fictional murder mystery woven around the real-life disappearance of Agatha Christie. This enduring conundrum from 1926 is not so much fictionalized as creatively reimagined. Whether you know much about what happened then or not, you’ll find this delicious whodunit totally irresistible.” – CrimeReads
“A reimagining of Agatha Christie’s famous 11-day disappearance, adding a murder mystery worthy of the dame herself… The story unfolds in a series of carefully placed vignettes you may find yourself reading and rereading, partly to get the details straight, partly to fully savor the well-turned phrases and the dry humor, partly so the book won’t have to end, damn it. Devilishly clever, elegantly composed and structured―simply splendid.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
Fiction / Romance.
Margot Cooper doesn’t do relationships. She tried and it blew up in her face, so she’ll stick with casual hookups, thank you very much. But now her entire crew has found “the one” and she’s beginning to feel like a fifth wheel. And then fate (the heartless bitch) intervenes. While touring a wedding venue with her engaged friends, Margot comes face-to-face with Olivia Grant—her childhood friend, her first love, her first… well, everything. It’s been ten years, but the moment they lock eyes, Margot’s cold, dead heart thumps in her chest.
Olivia must be hallucinating. In the decade since she last saw Margot, her life hasn’t gone exactly as planned. At almost thirty, she’s been married… and divorced. However, a wedding planner job in Seattle means a fresh start and a chance to follow her dreams. Never in a million years did she expect her important new client’s Best Woman would be the one that got away.
When a series of unfortunate events leaves Olivia without a place to stay, Margot offers up her spare room because she’s a Very Good Person. Obviously. It has nothing to do with the fact that Olivia is as beautiful as ever and the sparks between them still make Margot tingle. As they spend time in close quarters, Margot starts to question her no-strings stance. Olivia is everything she’s ever wanted, but Margot let her in once and it ended in disaster. Will history repeat itself or should she count her lucky stars that she gets a second chance with her first love?
Description from Goodreads.
“For romantic comedy fans, you can never go wrong with an Alexandria Bellefleur novel. Laugh-out-loud funny with the sweetest romantic scenes, this book will welcome you with open arms.” – BuzzFeed
“Bellefleur continues on her dazzling trajectory with another completely charming, achingly romantic love story. This tale not only delivers an abundance of wit-infused writing and some scorchingly hot love scenes, it also gracefully illuminates the importance in life of family and the friends we hold most dear.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Heartwarming… Bellefleur’s lively characters charm from start to finish. This is a perfect pick for readers looking for a light-hearted romance centered on emotional growth.” – Publishers Weekly
Don’t Cry for Me by Daniel Black
Fiction.
As Jacob lies dying, he begins to write a letter to his only son, Isaac. They have not met or spoken in many years, and there are things that Isaac must know. Stories about his ancestral legacy in rural Arkansas that extend back to slavery. Secrets from Jacob’s tumultuous relationship with Isaac’s mother and the shame he carries from the dissolution of their family. Tragedies that informed Jacob’s role as a father and his reaction to Isaac’s being gay.
But most of all, Jacob must share with Isaac the unspoken truths that reside in his heart. He must give voice to the trauma that Isaac has inherited. And he must create a space for the two to find peace.
With piercing insight and profound empathy, acclaimed author Daniel Black illuminates the lived experiences of Black fathers and queer sons, offering an authentic and ultimately hopeful portrait of reckoning and reconciliation. Spare as it is sweeping, poetic as it is compulsively readable, Don’t Cry for Me is a monumental novel about one family grappling with love’s hard edges and the unexpected places where hope and healing take flight.
Description from Goodreads.
“You’ll need to pull out the tissues for this beautiful text about fatherhood, vulnerability, failure, and unconditional love.” – Essence
“This moving read… is an insightful peek into how the elderly might regard their place in a changing world.” – Real Simple
“A deeply perceptive evocation of what it has meant to be a man and especially a Black man in the United States, all the more affecting for not being shouted out but told with quiet, sturdy intimacy.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano
Fiction / Mystery.
Finlay Donovan is—once again—struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she’s dealt with lately is that of her daughter’s pet goldfish.
On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he’s a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of soccer moms disguised as hit-women, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she’d like.
Meanwhile, Vero’s keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay’s first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes… and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.
With her next book’s deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn’t a noose at the end of it…
Description from Goodreads.
“Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano was a delightfully fun surprise in 2021, and Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead is every bit as bright and hilarious as its predecessor.” – PopSugar
“Riotous… Given the challenge of matching her first novel’s gorgeous premise, Cosimano does a remarkable job. What next?” – Kirkus Reviews
“Diverting… such fun. Fans of wacky, offbeat mysteries will eagerly await Finlay’s further exploits.” – Publishers Weekly
Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy
Fiction / Romance.
Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot is a people pleaser. Her demanding parents. Her prep school friends. Her long-time boyfriend. It’s exhausting, really, always following the rules. Unlike most twenty-year-olds, all she really wants to do is focus on growing her internet business, but first she must get a college degree at her parents’ insistence. That means moving to the beachside town of Avalon Bay, a community made up of locals and the wealthy students of Garnet College.
Mac’s had plenty of practice suppressing her wilder impulses, but when she meets local bad boy Cooper Hartley, that ability is suddenly tested. Cooper is rough around the edges. Raw. Candid. A threat to her ordered existence. Their friendship soon becomes the realest thing in her life.
Despite his disdain for the trust-fund kids he sees coming and going from his town, Cooper soon realizes Mac isn’t just another rich clone and falls for her. Hard. But as Mac finally starts feeling accepted by Cooper and his friends, the secret he’s been keeping from her threatens the only place she’s ever felt at home.
Description from Goodreads.
“With plenty of steam alongside the youthful romance, this winsome story about following one’s heart will especially appeal to hopeless romantics.” – Publishers Weekly
The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward by Daniel H. Pink
Nonfiction / Psychology / Self Help.
Everybody has regrets, Daniel H. Pink explains in The Power of Regret. They’re a universal and healthy part of being human. And understanding how regret works can help us make smarter decisions, perform better at work and school, and bring greater meaning to our lives.
Drawing on research in social psychology, neuroscience, and biology, Pink debunks the myth of the “no regrets” philosophy of life. And using the largest sampling of American attitudes about regret ever conducted as well as his own World Regret Survey–which has collected regrets from more than 15,000 people in 105 countries–he lays out the four core regrets that each of us has. These deep regrets offer compelling insights into how we live and how we can find a better path forward.
As he did in his bestsellers Drive, When, and A Whole New Mind, Pink lays out a dynamic new way of thinking about regret and frames his ideas in ways that are clear, accessible, and pragmatic. Packed with true stories of people’s regrets as well as practical takeaways for reimagining regret as a positive force, The Power of Regret shows how we can live richer, more engaged lives.
Description from Goodreads.
“This pragmatic guide to harnessing the power of the past… assembles an impressive array of research and includes some moving stories of people dealing with mistakes… readers looking to shake their shame should start here.” – Publishers Weekly
“Prolific author Pink seamlessly blends neuroscience, psychology and more for a new look at what he sees as a misunderstood emotion—regret. Pink draws on the largest survey ever done about Americans’ attitudes toward regret to reshape the way we think about it, creating his own three-step process for using regret to one’s advantage in this inspiring guide.” – Newsweek
“An insightful and rewarding glimpse into the emotional pathways of human contrition… Pink offers practical guidance on how readers can thrive beyond their mistakes, molding them into learning opportunities.” – Kirkus Reviews
Recitatif: A Story by Toni Morrison
Fiction.
In this 1983 short story we meet Twyla and Roberta, who have known each other since they were eight years old and spent four months together as roommates in St. Bonaventure shelter. Inseparable then, they lose touch as they grow older, only later to find each other again at a diner, a grocery store, and again at a protest. Seemingly at opposite ends of every problem, and at each other’s throats each time they meet, the two women still cannot deny the deep bond their shared experience has forged between them.
Another work of genius by this masterly writer, Recitatif keeps Twyla’s and Roberta’s races ambiguous throughout the story. Morrison herself described Recitatif, a story which will keep readers thinking and discussing for years to come, as an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial. We know that one is white and one is Black, but which is which? And who is right about the race of the woman the girls tormented at the orphanage?
A remarkable look into what keeps us together and what keeps us apart, and how perceptions are made tangible by reality, Recitatif is a gift to readers in these changing times.
Description from Goodreads.
“…extraordinary… mesmerizing…” – The New Yorker
“…stunning… The author’s experiment pays off brilliantly, forcing the reader to consider racial stereotypes while also providing an indelible story. The gravitas and unparalleled skill found in Morrison’s best-known work is on full display in this compact powerhouse.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Recitatif made me think, question, and reread. It showed me the power of short fiction…” – Missouri Review
Thank You, Mr. Nixon: Stories by Gish Jen
Fiction.
Beginning with a cheery letter penned by a Chinese girl in heaven to “poor Mr. Nixon” in hell, Gish Jen embarks on a fictional journey through U.S.-China relations, capturing the excitement of a world on the brink of tectonic change.
Opal Chen reunites with her Chinese sisters after forty years; newly cosmopolitan Lulu Koo wonders why Americans “like to walk around in the woods with the mosquitoes”; Hong Kong parents go to extreme lengths to reestablish contact with their “number-one daughter” in New York; and Betty Koo, brought up on “no politics, just make money,” finds she must reassess her mother’s philosophy.
With their profound compassion and equally profound humor, these eleven linked stories trace the intimate ways in which humans make and are made by history, capturing an extraordinary era in an extraordinary way. Delightful, provocative, and powerful, Thank You, Mr. Nixon furnishes yet more proof of Gish Jen’s eminent place among American storytellers.
Description from Goodreads.
“A jewel box of creativity and a joy to uncover… Across eleven synergistic stories about interconnected families, Jen creates a sort of episodic epic spanning fifty years… These stories offer valuable insight into our world, which feels increasingly divided in countless ways. Surely everyone—us and them, whoever they are—would benefit if together we read what Jen has to say.” – Star Tribune
“Fantastic… An original, mind-blowing exploration of U.S.-China relations/dynamics… The collection makes you laugh, gasp, wonder, and sometimes gives you pause. In those little moments when you pause to think, you are actually witnessing the astonishing transformations that have been reshaping the world and era we live in.” – The Millions
““Stunning… Hilarious [and] heartbreaking… A fresh take on the experience of immigration and exile… Political and economic relations between China and the United States are major news, but Jen takes it to the micro level in her vibrant short stories about characters who are varying degrees of Chinese and American… Recurring and related characters link all of the stories, which are set across several decades. Jen’s crisp prose, wonderful eye for detail, and wry humor make them a joy to read, and there is wisdom here, too.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson
Fiction / Suspense / Horror.
Chelsea Martin appears to be the perfect housewife: married to her high school sweetheart, the mother of two daughters, keeper of an immaculate home.
But Chelsea’s husband has turned their house into a prison; he has been abusing her for years, cutting off her independence, autonomy, and support. She has nowhere to turn, not even to her narcissistic mother, Patricia, who is more concerned with maintaining the appearance of an ideal family than she is with her daughter’s actual well-being. And Chelsea is worried that her daughters will be trapped just as she is–then a mysterious illness sweeps the nation.
Known as The Violence, this illness causes the infected to experience sudden, explosive bouts of animalistic rage and attack anyone in their path. But for Chelsea, the chaos and confusion the virus causes is an opportunity–and inspires a plan to liberate herself from her abuser.
Description from Goodreads.
“[T]his one is not to be missed.” – CrimeReads
“…un-put-downable… [a] smart, fast-paced thrill ride.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
Fiction / Mystery / Suspense.
Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the fact that he can’t afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when he makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather’s fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise. Then with the international Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—fast approaching, his prized family heirloom is stolen. Ray is determined to get it back. But now his family and the descendants of the man who once enslaved Ray’s great-grandfather are each claiming that the violin belongs to them. With the odds stacked against him and the pressure mounting, will Ray ever see his beloved violin again?
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] gripping debut… Slocumb sensitively portrays Ray’s resilience in the face of extreme racism. The author is off to a promising start.” – Publishers Weekly
“…entertaining… a gripping novel, and Slocumb, himself a violinist, does an excellent job explaining the world of classical music to those who might be unfamiliar with it. A solid page-turner.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[A] galvanizing blend of thriller, coming-of-age drama, and probing portrait of racism… As Slocumb, himself a Black violinist, describes Ray’s apprenticeship, always working ‘twice as hard as his non-Black counterparts,’ we are drawn completely into this moving story of an unfettered love of music and a passionate commitment to performing it. Skillfully juggling his two timelines, Slocumb builds tension exquisitely while writing about music with both technical precision and richly evocative metaphors. This flawless debut will do for classical music what The Queen’s Gambit did for chess.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas ★
Fiction.
“When I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me.”
And so we are introduced to our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose charismatic husband at the same small liberal arts college is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extra-marital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both. And when our narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who’s just arrived on campus, their tinder box world comes dangerously close to exploding.
With this bold, edgy, and uncommonly assured debut, author Julia May Jonas takes us into charged territory, where the boundaries of morality bump up against the impulses of the human heart. Propulsive, darkly funny, and wildly entertaining, Vladimir perfectly captures the personal and political minefield of our current moment, exposing the nuances and the grey area between power and desire.
Description from Goodreads.
“A deliciously dark fable of sex and power… Earmark an entire afternoon to devour this propulsive story of obsession, scandal, and transgressive desire.” – Esquire
“Like the man she shackles to a chair in the prologue, once this narrator has you, she won’t let go. A remarkable debut.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“If Netflix’s The Chair, Lisa Taddeo’s best-seller Three Women, and the most compelling passages of Ottessa Moshfegh’s Death in Her Hands had a love child (just go with me here), it would be this fiction debut. With a title character who’s a sought-after young novelist new to a college faculty, Vladimir leaves the reader with more questions than answers—about sex, and sexual politics—in the most delicious way.” – Entertainment Weekly
“…deeply engrossing… Jonas’ novel is an enthralling, self-aware, and, at times, hilarious critique of academic privilege, while the narrator’s journey is a thoughtful allegory for how the old guard is responding to a new world. This tale is a joy to read as it lambastes resistance to change, while still allowing for victories and compassion for the characters it roasts.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harris
Fiction.
After her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit, almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta Bernice (KB) and her teenage sister, Nia, are sent by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing. Over the course of a single, sweltering summer, KB attempts to get her bearings in a world that has turned upside down–a father who is labeled a fiend; a mother whose smile no longer reaches her eyes; a sister, once her best friend, who has crossed the threshold of adolescence and suddenly wants nothing to do with her; a grandfather who is grumpy and silent; the white kids across the street who are friendly, but only sometimes. And all of them are keeping secrets. Pinballing between resentment, abandonment, and loneliness, KB is forced to carve out a different identity for herself and find her own voice. As she examines the jagged pieces of her recently shattered world, she learns that while some truths cut deep, a new life–and a new KB–can be built from the shards.
Capturing all the vulnerability, perceptiveness, and inquisitiveness of a young Black girl on the cusp of puberty, Harris’s prose perfectly inhabits that hazy space between childhood and adolescence, where everything that was once familiar develops a veneer of strangeness when seen through newer, older eyes. Through KB’s disillusionment and subsequent discovery of her own power, What the Fireflies Knew poignantly reveals that heartbreaking but necessary component of growing up–the realization that loved ones can be flawed, sometimes significantly so, and that the perfect family we all dream of looks different up close.
Description from Goodreads.
“Kai Harris’ debut novel is a stirring story of a transformative summer for a Black girl growing up in 1990s Michigan… This elegant and eloquent novel is perfect for readers who loved Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.” – BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
“A story of Black girlhood from a promising new voice in fiction… Quietly powerful.” – Kirkus Reviews