1) On A Quiet Street by Seraphina Nova Glass. It's like the Real Housewives of Whatevertown on steroids! The three narrative threads are from unlikable, unreliable characters. I was engrossed and drawn into how the storylines combine and overlap. This book! What a thrill ride! There are twists, and just when I was accepting what was happening and to whom, BLAM! Another wild twist. There were moments I didn't dare to speculate what might happen because the twists were overlapping.
2) I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue. There is more to this book than I expected. The author balances humor with heavy issues in a sensitive manner. There are quirky characters that jump off the page. Some of the drudgery of office life translates to life in a school, especially the petty one-upmanship. The main character, Jolene, grapples with serious anxiety and self-medicating, which made me feel for her, especially as her overthinking spirals.
3) The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner. This is a complex study of relationships--mothers and daughters, sisters, and lovers. There are three narrative arcs: Cassie, Zoe, and Zoe's daughter Cherry, and multiple timelines are featured. The structure worked well, although I was more intrigued by the story of Cassie and Zoe's meteoric rock 'n 'roll rise and the ultimate unraveling of their lives.
4) Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall. Although I figured out the final twist, there were satisfying twists that I didn't anticipate, which kept me listening into the wee hours. The way the narrative threads weave together from different points in the characters' lives was an interesting structure. The characters are rich and real, no stereotypes here. There are moments of such tender love.
5) The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne by Ron Currie. Ultimately, this is a saga of a crime family. It's gritty. A crime family committing horrible crimes for what they consider altruistic reasons. The narration is from the point of view of the matriarch, Babs Dionne, and her daughter, military veteran Lori Dionne. The well-developed secondary characters are mostly their relatives. It's a well-written, well-crafted character-driven book. Dealing with the much-maligned Franco-American population in Maine. Not a lot of Franco-American history is taught outside of Maine. It's a history fraught with prejudice, including Klan activity. Babs Dionne is combating cultural negativity in her own way. She is proud of her heritage and celebrates it at every opportunity. I just don't know what to say. This is so well-written yet so gritty. I recommend it, but it's not for everyone.
6) My Friends by Fredrik Backman. This is one of my favorite books of the year. Exploring the complexities of friendship and aging, the story follows four lifelong friends as they experience success, failure, and everything in between. It's a look at a shared past and reflections on their unwavering support as they navigate life. There are poignant reflections, some of which are difficult to read and harrowing. But the bonds of friendship shaped their experiences and lives.
7) Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Taylor Jenkins Reid is becoming one of my favorite authors. I'm not gonna lie: a novel about women and space made me skeptical that I would enjoy this story. However, the space jargon aside, I was absolutely drawn in. The character development is rich; I could feel their drive and determination to shatter the glass ceiling. Yet each is human. This is a love story like no other I have read. Not because it's saphic, but because of the simplicity of the love. I felt it, I cheered for it.
I still don't want to go to space.
8) So Far Gone by Jess Walters. This book is a definite rave! It's a darkly funny look at a family's turmoil set against the backdrop of today's social and political climate. The author takes you on an emotional journey, making you laugh, gasp, and tear up—sometimes all on the same page. It's a powerful and thought-provoking story about how our actions, or our silence, shape the world we live in. The audio is performed by one of my favorite narrators: Edoardo Ballerini.
9) The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick. This book is an absolute must-read for a book club, offering themes and elements ripe for discussion. At its core, the novel introduces an intriguing speculative premise: a carefully vetted process designed to offer grief relief by allowing those who have suffered tremendous loss to essentially sleep through their pain.
While the concept touches on heavy topics--including medical ethics, the complexities of grief and loss, and the role of social media in modern life--the book never feels weighed down. The novel centers on the journey of four main characters who are drawn together on their quest toward the Poppy Fields. It's in creating this found family that the book truly shines. Each character brings a poignant and unique experience of loss, estrangement, and hope, which humanizes the abstract themes. This focus on personal, character-driven storytelling is a major strength, setting it apart from other, often more clinical and distant, works of speculative fiction in the same vein (I'm thinking Never Let Me Go or The Memory Police).
10) The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. This charming epistolary novel begins with a curmudgeonly exchange. As we learn more about Sybil Van Antwerp, it is clear why she favors letter writing as her primary means of communication. Sybil navigates several relationships: her brother, her lifelong bestie, her daughter, among others, and comes to realize that the letter she never sent is the most important one.
