Good Reads & Views

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith
Fiction 

What it’s about: Indie rock darling Greta James hasn’t been able to make music since she had an onstage meltdown after the sudden death of her mother. She reluctantly agrees to take her mother’s place on an Alaskan cruise with her father, hoping to mend their broken relationship and recover her lost creative drive. She doesn’t expect to connect with the ship’s guest lecturer, but the erudite and charming Ben Wilder might be just the balm she needs. 

Why you might like it: This is a warm and tender examination of parent/child relationships, resolving differences, and coping with grief—all tempered with a little light romance. The writing is thoughtful, and the story is sentimental in a good way and is filled with characters to care about. The descriptions of the Alaskan scenery are vivid. You may not be surprised by the ending, but it is handled with delicacy and grace.  

You might also like: One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle, Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes, and Float Plan by Trish Doller 

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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Fiction

For readers who enjoy: Heart-warming, relationship focused reads; stories about family, community, and overcoming loneliness and loss; and charming and wise characters.

What it’s about: Marcellus is a misanthrope, but after 1299 days of captivity, who could blame him? Marcellus is a giant Pacific octopus, an unwilling resident of a small-town aquarium in Washington state, a keen observer of the humans around him, and one of the narrators of this quirky and heartwarming first novel. The one person Marcellus does like is Tova, the grieving widow who cleans the aquarium every night—she shares her deepest thoughts with him, and on more than one occasion has rescued him when his secret nightly raids on other tanks have gotten him into trouble. Tova is mourning the recent loss of her husband as well as the disappearance of her son more than 30 years earlier. When newcomer Cameron—in town seeking his long-lost father—joins Tova on the night shift, Marcellus realizes that his two human friends may be able to help one another.

Reviewers say: “Van Pelt has written an irresistibly wonderful, warm, funny, heartbreaking first novel, full of gentle people (and one octopus) bravely powering through their individual scars” (Library Journal).

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Wahala by Nikki May
Fiction

What it’s about: In this intensifying story about female friendship and betrayal, the bonds within a tight-knit group of friends are strained when a fourth woman joins their circle. “Wahala” is the Nigerian word for “trouble,” and that’s exactly what their new frenemy brings to each woman’s life as she exploits their secret vulnerabilities.

Why you might like it: This book is a character-driven page turner that will pull you into the lives of three Anglo Nigerian women living fabulous lives in current-day London.

You might also like: For another riveting story about a group of women whose lives are upended by a “friend,” read The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood.

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Men in My Situation: A Novel by Per Petterson
Fiction

What it's about: After Arvid’s parents and two brothers perish in a ferry accident, his wife divorces him and takes their three daughters with her. For the next year, Arvid drinks, has many one-night stands, and often sleeps and drives around in his old Mazda, but fails to deal with his grief. Then the oldest daughter, Vigdis, reaches out to him for help and Arvid is finally forced to come to terms with the trajectory his life has taken.

Reviewers say: “Petterson has written a beautifully nuanced, deeply felt, and powerful story of survival” (Library Journal); “Petterson's bracing latest captures the rhythms and anomie of grief…” (Publishers Weekly).

Good to know: The narrative style here is almost stream of consciousness writing but with its often simple, yet elegant prose, it accentuates Arvid’s story instead of distracting from it. If you liked the author’s award winning Out Stealing Horses, you should also enjoy this portrait of a life going to pieces.

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The Turner House by Angela Flournoy
Fiction 

What it’s about: You’ll meet the fifteen members of the Turner family in this big story about a big Detroit family trying to decide what to do about their family home. While the story centers on a few of the thirteen Turner children, along with their parents, the author brings the secondary characters into clear focus.

Why you might like it: If you like compelling storytelling and moving stories about family relationships, this leisurely-paced novel will immerse you in the warm, messy, loving world of the Turner family.

Reviewers say: “Flournoy gets at the universal through the patient observation of one family’s particulars. In this assured and memorable novel, she provides the feeling of knowing a family from the inside out, as we would wish to know our own” (New York Times Book Review).

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The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty
Fiction

Reviewers say: “A witty modern love story in the age of cohabitation, blended families, and second chances, this is a compassionate, absorbing tale. Moriarty has crafted an incredibly likable heroine in Ellen, the hypnotherapist who can solve her clients’ problems but can’t seem to keep her own life from spiraling into soap opera. Readers who enjoy Jennifer Close and Marian Keyes will adore Moriarty’s wit and warmth” (Booklist).

You might also like: The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks or The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney

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The Guide by Peter Heller
Fiction

What it’s about: A remote fly fishing camp seems like the perfect destination during a worldwide pandemic. But in this atmospheric and menacing story, it slowly becomes apparent that the fishing camp is one of the most dangerous places to be. A fishing guide gradually realizes that the strange rules at his new job are hiding something terrible.

Why you might like it: This novel is a wonderful blend of lyrical writing, an intimate character study, and a slow-burn thriller with an intensifying pace.

You might also like: Also pick up The River by Peter Heller, the prequel to The Guide. While you can read each book on its own, they’re more powerful when read together. For a similar slow-build of the strangeness of a new home environment, read Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas—the story of a school with unusual and increasingly menacing rules.

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Monarchs of the Northeast Kingdom by Chera Hammons
Fiction 

The location: Rural Vermont, the sparsely populated northeast corner of the state.

What happens: An older woman with multiple chronical illnesses, who is dependent on her husband, has to learn to adjust to living on her own when her husband does not return from the woods one day. She slowly adjusts to having to take care of herself, her mule and her horse, while dealing with loss, grief and loneliness.

Reviewers say: “A highly satisfying, delicately woven story about loss, loneliness, life, and death” (Kirkus Reviews).

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Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Fiction

What it’s about: In this compelling, character-driven novel, family secrets and hidden desires hide just below the surface. Lydia Lee was a gifted high school student from a loving family, and when she died mysteriously, her family was shattered. As the story delves into each family member’s past, you learn of her father’s struggles as the son of Chinese immigrants, her mother’s pain at giving up her career, and Lydia’s own inner conflicts and secret life.

Why you might like it: If you like novels told from multiple perspectives, you’ll appreciate the gradual unfolding of this story as you read different viewpoints. Also, if you prefer a strong sense of place, you’ll enjoy the way Ng carefully constructs the 1970s Midwestern setting.

Reviewers say: “Ng constructs a mesmerizing narrative that shrinks enormous issues of race, prejudice, identity, and gender into the miniaturist dynamics of a single family. A breathtaking triumph..." (Library Journal).

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The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand  
Fiction  

Reviewers say: "Engaging family relationships mixed with vivid landscape descriptions create an effortless read" (Library Journal).

What it's about:  A tale of identical twins who are raised on separate islands after their parents’ divorce. They are now 39 years old, they don’t get along, and the book explores complications caused by twinship and small island worlds.

You might also like: The Summer Girls by Mary Alice Monroe or Surfside Sisters by Nancy Thayer.

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