Good Reads & Views

Chronicles of a Radical Hag by Lorna Landvik
Fiction

What it’s about: When newspaper columnist Haze Evans falls into a coma, her editor and good friend Susan decides to reprint highlights of her 50 years of observing small town life. Haze’s commentary is full of local news, current events, and personal memories, sometimes controversial (earning her the name the “radical hag”), and always charming. This archive of columns and their accompanying recipes and responses from readers intrigues Susan’s 14-year-old son Sam, who has reluctantly taken a summer job at the paper. Then Sam’s curiosity about Haze uncovers a deep secret.

Why you might like it: Humorous and leisurely paced, this big-hearted novel is full of love and wit and is peopled by delightful characters to care about.

Reviewers say: “At a time when local newspapers are nearing extinction, and reporters are deemed enemies of the people, Landvik’s smart and lovely paean to journalists is a welcome reminder of the important role they play in the lives of those who depend on newspapers for more than just information” (Booklist).

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The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
Fiction

What it’s about: In a world plagued by seismic upheaval and waves of disasters known as Seasons, there are people, called orogenes, who have special powers to control the land, but are tightly controlled by authorities. Three orogenes are at major turning points in their lives. Damaya has been torn from her childhood home; Syenite life’s work is challenged; and Essun has set off on a vengeful pursuit of her husband, who murdered one of their children and kidnapped the other. The first of the Hugo Award winning Broken Earth series.

Why you might like it: Come for the excellent and fascinating world-building and the lyrical and gritty prose, but stay for the vivid, diverse, and intensely real characters. Essun is a rarity—a fierce and strong middle-aged heroine in a science fiction series.

Reviewers say: “Jemisin’s graceful prose and gritty setting provide the perfect backdrop for this fascinating tale of determined characters fighting to save a doomed world” (Publisher’s Weekly).

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The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
Fiction

What it’s about: When her immigrant father is killed by a speeding car, composer Nora returns home to her grieving family, where she struggles to relate to her more traditional mother and sister. As Nora learns more about her father’s death, she becomes suspicious that it was more than a simple hit-and-run. This blend of mystery, family saga, and love story is told by multiple voices representing the schisms and alienation of American community, but also their many connections.

Reviewers say: "An eloquent reminder that frame of reference is everything when defining the 'other'” (Booklist). “Lalami captures the complex ways humans can be strangers not just outside their “tribes” but within them, as well as to themselves” (Publishers Weekly).

You might also like: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid is another own voices novel that offers an authentic perspective of the immigrant experience. For a more character-driven, literary mystery, try Miracle Creek by Angie Kim.

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The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
Fiction

What it’s about: Edith is as sweet as pie, and has a loving marriage, but she struggles to make ends meet. Her estranged sister Helen can be manipulative, inherited the family farm, and built her own brewing empire. When Edith’s pregnant granddaughter Diana runs into trouble starting a craft brewery, Edith brings in her cadre of grandmother friends to help, but it isn’t enough—can she reconcile with Helen, and rescue the brewery?

Why you might like it: Sharp writing and delightful characters (beer-making grannies!) combine for a heartwarming and witty portrayal of Midwestern persistence.

You might also like: Try The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman for another heartwarming story about Midwestern families helping each other. American Pop by Snowden Wright is another family saga about entrepreneurs and familial conflict.

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Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Fiction

What it’s about: When the America’s First Son, Alex, is forced to make amends with his archnemesis Henry, Prince of Wales, their unlikely companionship blossoms into a secret romance. Framed by a royal wedding and a reelection campaign, this amusing romantic comedy is sweet and steamy.

Why you might like it: This funny and hopeful debut is set in a weird alternate reality that McQuiston calls “an escapist, trauma-soothing, alternate-but-realistic reality. Not a perfect world…just a little better, a little more optimistic.” The texting relationship between Alex and Henry is particularly witty, and the companionship of the three “White House kids” is comforting and reassuring.

You might also like: For another book about archrivals hiding an attraction, try the YA fantasy Carry On by Rainbow Rowell; for a different take on fake relationships, check out The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren; and for another royal romance, read A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole.

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Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
Fiction

What it’s about: Queenie’s long-time boyfriend requests a break, and in her heartbreak she spins out of control, stumbling (literally) from one bad decision to the next as she tries to get over her breakup with Tom. As she navigates her newly single status, she makes choices that endanger her job, her friendships, and her self-worth. It sounds like typical chick lit—the book has been compared to Bridget Jones’ Diary—but Queenie is a frank yet funny examination of racial stereotypes and the female experience.

Why you might like it: The prose is vibrant, the situations are humorous but engender empathy, and you’ll fall in love with the characters—the disarming Queenie, her Jamaican-British family, and her friends, the Corgis (called so because they follow the Queen around).

You might also like: New People by Danzy Senna, Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie, and Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding.

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Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
Fiction

What it’s about: S.T., a domesticated crow, realizes something is wrong with his owner Big Jim when Big Jim’s eyeball falls out and then the guy tries to eat him. S.T., along with his good buddy Dennis, a sweet but dim-witted bloodhound, abandon the only life they’ve ever known to discover that the malady affecting Big Jim has struck all the humans of Seattle--they've become the raging undead, seeking only flesh and the bright glow of digital objects. S.T. and Dennis are in the fight of their lives as they struggle to survive and find purpose among the ruins of humanity. Fortunately, S.T. has acquired plenty of smarts from watching documentaries on the Discovery Channel.

Why you might like it: This quirky fantasy blends dark humor and horror, and features a sassy, plucky hero resulting in an exuberant read that’s full of heart.

Want a taste? Despite the snark, there are some surprisingly poignant and moving passages, like this: “Trust it turned out, was a very beautiful and fragile thing with a taste like wild raspberries and experienced only by the very brave.” And this: “Watching the sunrise.... what an act of beauty, of unwavering faith, something to look forward to each and every day.”

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Donna Has Left the Building by Susan Jane Gilman
Fiction

What it’s about: A married couple hits a midlife crisis when recovering alcoholic and suburban mom Donna stumbles on her husband in flagrante with his dominatrix. Donna sets off on a wild road trip to reclaim her lost self, touching back on some of her major life points along the way. Another family crisis changes the direction of Donna's trip, and she is forced to look at her own troubles from a world perspective.

Is it for you? It’s larger than life, outrageously bawdy, and over the top, but relatable. If you appreciate racy humor and characters that make bad decisions with the best of intentions, you’ll enjoy Donna’s crazy road trip.

For fans of: Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple and Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner.

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The River by Peter Heller
Fiction

What it’s about: A late summer wilderness canoe trip challenges the friendship and survival skills of two college friends as they attempt to avoid white-water hazards and outrace a wildfire. And then they encounter a man alone, who says he lost his wife in the fog. When the friends find her, she is so severely injured she can’t explain what happened. Was it the husband, or something else? Part heart-pounding adventure story, part lyrical and elegant nature writing, this is taut storytelling that will grip you to the very end.

Reviewers say: “The real delight is the nature writing. The River is a fiction addition to the New Landscape writing of Robert Macfarlane and Rebecca Solnit, prose so vivid and engaging that a city-dwelling reviewer can feel the clammy cold of a fog over a river or the heat of subterranean tree roots burning underfoot in the aftermath of a fire.” Denise Mina, New York Times, 4-9-19

Want a taste? “Late August, a clear night becoming cold. There was no aurora borealis, just the dense sparks of the stars blown from their own ancient fire.” Or this, “And the eagles. They seemed to mark the canoe's progress from the gray spires of dead spruce, spaced downriver like watchmen on some lost frontier...”

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The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson
Fiction

What it’s about: Toronto brain surgeon Jake Baker recalls one strange summer in the 1980s, when he was 12 years old, living in Niagara Falls. Timid, bookish, and bullied, Jake spends most of his free time at his Uncle Cal’s occult shop, where he befriends newcomers Billy Yellowbird and Billy’s older sister, Dove. Led by Uncle Cal and his friend Lex, the kids spend the summer exploring the local spooky places, investigating the truth behind these urban legends.

Why you might like it: Eccentric and colorful characters, whimsical and well-timed humor, and a quirky landscape contribute to a surprisingly tender and compassionate coming of age story dealing with first love, loss, and the secret lives of youth.

Reviewers say: “Immensely enjoyable, piercingly clever, and satisfyingly soulful, The Saturday Night Ghost Club is an exquisite little talisman of a book, one that doesn't flinch as it probes the dark underside of nostalgia.” Jason Heller for National Public Radio.

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