Good Reads & Views

The Resisters by Gish Jen
Fiction

Read this if you: Like your dystopian fiction served up with a healthy dose of humor, think that a good game of baseball solves everything (can you say underground baseball league?), and believe anything can represent the Resistance, even knitting.

What it’s about: Imagine a future America—AutoAmerica—flooded due to climate change and watched over by an artificial intelligence known as “Aunt Nettie.” Society is divided into the “Netted”—those who live on dry land, and have work and college opportunities and privileges, and the Surplus—mostly people of color, or who aren’t Christian, or who are “odd-bodied,” eking out a living on soggy ground or on water. The story focuses on a Surplus family—former teacher Grant, activist Eleanor, and their baby daughter Gwen, who displays amazing baseball pitching ability from her crib. What gifts or consequences will Gwen’s golden arm bring to her family in an unequal society? Sensitive and thought-provoking yet charming.

What critics say: “The magic of Gish Jen’s latest novel, The Resisters, is that, amid a dark and cautionary tale, there’s a story also filled with electricity and humor.... Rippling with action, suspense and lovingly detailed baseball play-by-plays, there’s a sense throughout the book of both celebration and danger” (Diana Abu-Jaber, The Washington Post); “Jen has too much humor and heart as a writer to do a full-out futuristic nightmare. Instead, the feel of The Resisters is more like that noir sequence embedded within It's a Wonderful Life....” (Maureen Corrigan, NPR).

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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Fiction 

If you like: Stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, found families, and quirky fantasies, read this now!

What it’s about: Offbeat and heartwarming, this tale is set in a highly bureaucratic dystopian society where magical beings exist under the strict scrutiny of the bureaucracy. Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth whose life is changed forever when he is given a classified assignment to observe an island orphanage housing dangerous magical children. When he opens the top-secret case file and learns the secret of the first of these children, Linus faints with fear. But under the guidance of Arthur, their caretaker, these little monsters have the potential to become their best selves; as Linus learns, a case file can’t tell the whole story. A whimsical and surprisingly delightful story about celebrating differences.

You might also like: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, and Warlight by Michael Ondaatje.

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The Daughters of Erietown by Connie Schultz
Fiction

 

What it’s about: This engaging story about multiple generations of a working-class family living in the rust belt begins in 1957, with top student Ellie, who dreams of nursing school and marriage to her high school sweetheart. Brick McGinty is the school’s star athlete, who wins a scholarship that would make him the first in his family to attend college. An unplanned pregnancy dashes their dreams of further education, so Ellie and Brick elope and vow to make the best of their new life. Filled with old-fashioned charm and deep empathy for even the less appealing characters, this sweeping family saga is a heartfelt and comforting read.

Reviewers say: “This quiet, Anne Tyler-esque novel is also a reminder that gentler times were not always gentle, that life is filled with hardship even without existential threats” (The Washington Post); “While Schultz’s compelling narrative and realistic characters will keep readers turning pages into the night, her eye and ear for real-life details set this novel apart from other domestic sagas” (Bookpage).

About the author: This is a fiction debut by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Connie Schultz. Formerly with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, she is a nationally syndicated columnist, and teaches journalism at Kent State University.

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The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Fiction

Who it’s for: Readers who enjoy rich historical details, fully fleshed characters, and luminous, vibrant storytelling that’s firmly set in a different time and place. 

What it’s about: Thomas is a factory night watchman and Council leader who heads a fight against Native dispossession by Congress—an attempt to force his people away from their homes and into the city. Meanwhile, his 19-year-old niece Patrice (Pixie) searches for her older sister Vera, who has disappeared into the dark backstreets of Minneapolis. When Pixie fails at her mission, she joins forces with Thomas to travel to Washington, D.C. to save her family’s way of life.

The story behind the story: Much of the narrative is based on the life of Erdrich’s grandfather, a Chippewa Council leader who traveled to Washington to speak against the 1953 Native Termination Act.

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Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
Fiction

What it’s about: The focus of this raw and powerful novel is a working-class family in Thatcher-era Glasgow, featuring young Hugh “Shuggie” Bain, a boy struggling with poverty, a dysfunctional family, and his own sexual identity. Shuggie’s father is a philanderer who abandons his family, and his older siblings escape to lives of their own, leaving Shuggie to cope with Agnes, his alcoholic mother who is both his burden and his idol. And despite his best efforts to be normal, he doesn’t fit in—the neighbors think he is “no right” and he doesn’t understand why.

Want a taste? No matter how far she falls, Agnes keeps her pride and maintains her appearance: “Every day with the make-up on and her hair done, she climbed out of her grave and held her head high. When she had disgraced herself with drink, she got up the next day, put on her best coat, and faced the world. When her belly was empty and her weans were hungry, she did her hair and let the world think otherwise.”

Why you might like it: This tender coming of age story is centered on its compassionate portrayal of troubled characters and is packed with emotional truths. Vibrant details—sights, smells, and sounds—provide a slice of life on Glasgow streets and make every sentence a pleasure to read. It is both a tragedy and a survival story, as Shuggie eventually discovers his strength and takes charge of his life. It is a real journey to follow the rise and fall of this family’s hopes, but it is ultimately an uplifting story of resilience. Winner of the 2020 Booker Prize.

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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's 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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