RaveBooklistCassie’s struggles are heartbreaking, as, at its core, this is a book about a woman who is simply fighting to find herself—and love herself no matter how she turns out.
RaveBooklistCromley, in his adult debut novel, takes the reader on a journey that is much more complicated than it looks; using immersive prose and hilarious, relatable characters, he writes of deep familial relationships that persist despite different viewpoints and ways of life and forces his protagonists, and therefore the readers, to examine what belief is—and how far we would go to keep believing.
RaveBooklistAn unflinching playbook of what happens when a government’s tyrannical impulses are fed as well as a heartbreaking, immersive account of what it means to stand up against injustice and demand that those who allow it move out of the way.
RaveBooklistIn her poignant debut, Lynch explores themes of motherhood, midlife crises, and hiding one’s honest self in the face of massive societal obstacles. She writes from several different characters’ perspectives and time lines, giving the reader a beautiful story of the struggles families face. In the end, though this book’s main conflict is a tragic one, this is a story of hope and healing from a talented writer.
RaveBooklistWith this intimate novel, Barnes explores long marriage, sibling rivalry, truths behind shifting memories, and family secrets as well as examining the decisions people make in life, the long-term effects of those decisions, and how well one truly knows the people they love.
Daniel M. Lavery
PositiveBooklistA prime example of mastery of a craft; readers will want to devour it in a single sitting.
Ruby Todd
PositiveBooklistAt once a soaring epic and a grounded tale, weaving together the consequences of the celestial with the mundane aspects of grief.
Clara Drummond, trans. Daniel Hahn
PositiveBooklistRole Play is a twisted, painful, brilliantly written novel in the spirit of Clarice Lispector.
Scott Preston
PositiveBooklistTold in the voice of a hardened British farmer, used to nothing but misery and hardship and backbreaking work, and this steely tale will have a lasting effect on the reader.
Rowan Beaird
PositiveBooklistA searing, painfully honest story ... Lois and Greer are brilliantly written, utterly different, and yet each of them is desperate, and both are willing to push themselves to extreme limits to discover who they are, what they want, and what they truly deserve.
Jo Nesbo, trans. by Neil Smith
MixedBooklist\"a fast-paced escape of a book that unfortunately relies on a magical stereotype in the middle of the story to move the plot forward. Nonetheless, Nesbø skillfully keeps the reader wondering where the story is going to go next and when, if ever, the main character will reach his happy ending—or if, in fact, he deserves to reach one at all.\
