About Book Marks
Stephanie Turza
Recent Reviews
Margarita Montimore
Positive Booklist Like an enthralling magic trick itself, Acts of Violet asks readers to suspend their disbelief and rewards them for the effort.
Kate Brook
Positive Booklist ... offers a charming peek inside the messy world of modern dating, blending hard-hitting realities with frivolous fun. Fans of Jamie Brenner and Hannah McKinnon will appreciate Brook’s celebration of the chosen family of roommates, coworkers, and friends who provide steady footing in an unstable world.
Wesley Straton
Positive Booklist Bartender-writer Straton invites the reader to belly up to Joe’s polished brass bar and learn how to mix cocktails, stay out of the weeds, and get to know the nightwalking crowd alongside Sam. Compelling and informative, this sure-bet read-alike for Stephanie Danler’s Sweetbitter (2016) looks head-on at the physical, mental, and emotional toll of working in the hospitality industry, as it blends Sam’s internal struggles with the joy she finds in mixology, in equal parts.
Anna Hogeland
Rave Booklist Describing Hogeland’s debut as a book about pregnancy would be overly simplifying, because it encompasses something much larger. A novel that blurs the line between author and narrator, and at times reads like memoir, it takes true-feeling stories and expands them into a compelling, often-heartbreaking tale of belonging, loss, and rebirth. Looking beyond pregnancy’s physical transformations, Hogeland explores what it means to feel parental, to choose a life bigger than your own, or to lose a precious gift. Never veering into the maudlin or histrionic, The Long Answer is a heartfelt, finely wrought journey for fans of Suzanne Finnamore, Erica Jong, and Marian Keyes.
Maggie Shipstead
Rave Booklist Acclaimed author Shipstead turns her considerable talent to the short story, offering readers this sweeping collection ... The resulting collection is an effortlessly transporting and piercing journey. Stories focus on those innate, immutable, and deeply rooted human characteristics within us all that we perhaps wish were a bit more malleable ... While there’s no shortage of compelling characters and penetrating insights, the book’s title story is one of its strongest ... Reaching across decades and set in a diverse array of locations both domestic and exotic, Shipstead’s latest will find a home on bookshelves next to the work of Andre Dubus III, Jane Smiley, and Richard Russo.
Sara Baume
Rave Booklist Baume leads readers through eight years of the couple’s life together as they neglect most of modern society and build a deep, rich domestic life. Lush imagery and poetic punctuation choices are ever-present in Seven Steeples, appealing to fans of Paulette Jiles and Geraldine Brooks. Charting the path between independence and dependence, self-reliance and self-interest, Baume sets readers down in a near-untamed wilderness and shrinks the world down to a garden, a cabin, and its profoundly resilient occupants.
Jennifer Close
Rave Booklist Close drops readers smack into Oak Park, a leafy Chicago suburb, and lets them hear the hiss of fryers hitting hot oil and catch an ice-cold Old Style sliding across the bar ... Close lets each character’s unique personality shine ... Fans of Tracey Lange’s We Are the Brennans (2021) and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Malibu Rising (2021) will fall in love with these maddening, loving, stubborn relatives. Setting nostalgia against progress, tradition against rebirth, Close outlines the cousins’ grief and personal growth as they work with, and against, one another.
Jennifer Close
Rave Booklist Close drops readers smack into Oak Park, a leafy Chicago suburb, and lets them hear the hiss of fryers hitting hot oil and catch an ice-cold Old Style sliding across the bar ... Close lets each character’s unique personality shine ... Fans of Tracey Lange’s We Are the Brennans (2021) and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Malibu Rising (2021) will fall in love with these maddening, loving, stubborn relatives. Setting nostalgia against progress, tradition against rebirth, Close outlines the cousins’ grief and personal growth as they work with, and against, one another.
Kathleen West
Rave Booklist With alternating narrators, West sets Gus’ youthful exuberance against Leigh’s hesitant acceptance of her past, and in the process gives Leigh the agency to understand her own history as a desperately focused young individual at the mercy of a power-hungry coach ... [A] nuanced, heartfelt novel.
Anne Griffin
Positive Booklist With shades of the TV show Pushing Daisies and Anna Hope’s Expectation (2020), Griffin’s...novel sets the pull of the unknown against the comfort of home. With a twinge of the supernatural and a close-knit ensemble of supporting characters, Griffin charts a compelling journey of exploration, independence, and self-acceptance.
Swan Huntley
Positive Booklist Huntley gives imperfect, maddening, charming Stevie most of the narrating duties, sprinkling in brief chapters from loved ones’ perspectives for background. Loyal readers of Kelly Harms, Lia Louis, and Maria Semple will fall for this compelling novel of identity, reinvention, and the contrast between ordered spaces and hidden chaos.
Mesha Maren
Rave Booklist Diving deep into the already fractured relationship between Alex and Elana, Maren has both narrate their triumphs, their fears, and their revelations of the cruelty and beauty of the world around them. Maren employs a sweeping and lyrical narrative voice reminiscent of Sharon Harrigan, Jeffrey Eugenides, and Paulette Jiles and isn’t afraid to let readers sit with the discomfort of addiction, deception, and loss. Immersing readers in areas of Mexico not often seen and peppered with academic inquiries, Perpetual West is nothing short of haunting.
Anna Pitoniak
Rave Booklist Pitoniak has glazed current events with an intriguing veneer of fiction, letting readers accompany Sophie on an enthralling journey into the life of one of the most powerful women in the world ... xploring interpersonal loyalties and the difference between cowardice and patience, the well-researched and twist-filled Our American Friend is a natural next-read for fans of Curtis Sittenfeld, A. Natasha Joukovsky, and Stacey Swann.
Ethan Joella
Positive Booklist In his debut novel, Joella has an eye and ear for suburban pathos, highlighting tragedy and growth in equal parts. Exploring new love, the twists and turns of grief, and the steadfast loyalty of soulmates, A Little Hope is narrated by a diverse ensemble of Wharton residents. Joella pays particular attention to the aftershocks of loss in the residents’ lives, ranging from heartbreak and addiction to cancer, but he doesn’t dwell on the maudlin ... [An] immersive, illuminating novel.
Maria Judite de Carvalho, tr. Margaret Jull Costa
Positive Booklist Gracefully translated by Margaret Jull Costa, Dora’s story is illuminating, inspiring, and heartbreaking in equal measures. Fans of Anne Tyler, Marian Keyes, and Christine Féret-Fleury will find themselves absorbed in the novella’s sparse but evocative prose.
Amy Mason Doan
Positive Booklist Fans of Crossing California and Daisy Jones and the Six will be enamored with the world of Lady Sunshine, flipping between the estate’s heyday and the continued allure of fame. Doan paints Jackie as a sympathetic, heartwarming narrator facing an introspective journey she never anticipated.
Damhnait Monaghan
Positive Booklist Monaghan paints a full picture of a mysterious little town, giving supporting characters compelling backstories without resorting to caricature. Fans of Richard Russo’s That Old Cape Magic , Emily St. John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel , and Patricia Harman’s The Runaway Midwife will enjoy Rachel’s fish-out-of-water journey to acceptance and understanding.
Karen Tucker
Rave Booklist \"Tucker skillfully flips between past and present, swapping the language of sobriety for the slang of active addiction to give readers a full picture of the pair’s mental state. A natural fit for fans of Julie Buntin’s Marlena (2017), Tucker’s novel champions the strength it takes to stay clean when every other decision is so much simpler.\
Sacha Naspini
Positive Booklist A touching, heartfelt novella and Italian author Naspini’s first book available in English, Nives is the reckoning of a woman blindsided by the unexpected. Fans of Elisabeth Egan, Marian Keyes, and Isabel Allende will appreciate the care and compassion Naspini takes with Nives’ journey of self-awareness, self-reliance, and self-acceptance. A delightful story of the muddled, confusing time of love after loss.
Stacey Swann
Rave Booklist Far from feeling soap opera-ish or voyeuristic, Olympus, Texas portrays the messy realities of modern relationships and blended families ... Swann immerses readers in small-town life while generously endowing each character with depth and agency ... Swann’s rich and compelling novel will delight anyone anxiously awaiting the next season of HBO’s Succession.
Andrew J. Graff
Rave Booklist Graff’s debut novel will enchant fans of Chris Cleave and Melissa Bank. Graff’s narrative voice is lyrical, with a Southern Gothic edge that fits surprisingly well with the Wisconsin Northwoods setting. Exploring the necessity of the stories we tell ourselves to survive, Raft of Stars is a clever, compelling coming-of-age tale.
Kathleen West
Positive Booklist With situations familiar to parents anticipating, in the midst of, or just happy to be past their kids’ teenage years, Are We There Yet? brings grace, wit, and warmth to a challenging time. Fans of Emily Adrian and A. H. Kim will find this compelling and relatable.
Helen Fisher
Positive Booklist ... a warm, witty, wholehearted glimpse inside a parallel universe. Genuine and touching, Fisher’s narrative voice will appeal to fans of Kelly Harms, Lia Louis, and Julie Valerie. Exploring the power of believing in the impossible, Faye, Faraway is a delight.
Victoria Gosling
Positive Booklist Lyrical and well-paced, matching the tone of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History (1992), Kate Weinberg’s The Truants (2020), and Katie Lowe’s The Furies (2019), Before The Ruins spans decades among a fractured friend group. Gosling cleverly jumps backwards and forwards in time, unraveling Peter’s disappearance just as readers understand the depth of the friends’ secrets.
Julia Claiborne Johnson
Positive Booklist [An] engrossing portrait of 1930s Reno, pulling in larger-than-life characters inspired by historical records ... Fans of Naomi Wood, Laura Madeleine, and Nicole Meier will adore this witty and charming slice of life.
Michelle Gallen
Rave Booklist As friends, neighbors, and acquaintances filter in and out of the chip shop, the complexities of life in Aghybogey are revealed. Gallen has crafted a darkly comic novel about an isolated young woman struggling to find her place in a town still deeply divided in a post-Troubles world. Majella is a nuanced and complicated heroine, reliant on routines and largely dismissive of change. Infused with local diction, inflection, and slang, her voice envelops readers in the sounds of small-town Ireland. Fans of Sara Baume’s novels and the Irish TV series Derry Girls will adore this complex, clever, and deeply moving debut novel.
Emily Schultz
Positive Booklist Fans of Tara French, Kimberly Belle, and Orange is the New Black will fall under this book’s spell ... Terse and tense, Little Threats investigates righteous anger, teenage angst, and the enormity of setting the record straight.
Christina Clancy
Rave Booklist A riveting family saga that fans of J. Courtney Sullivan, Cristina Alger, and Maria De Los Santos will devour, Clancy’s debut novel is a delight. She flips between decades, immersing the reader in sun-soaked Wellfleet summers before traveling to the present day and back again. With nostalgia as thick as the scent of coconut-scented sunscreen, The Second Home explores the consequences of emotional decisions and the strength needed to set things right.
Janelle Brown
Positive Booklist Brown...offers a glittering, high-stakes drama, stacking childhood nostalgia against the power to reinvent oneself in the age of social media. Packed with plot twists, this casts a deep spell for fans of the 2013 book-turned-film The Bling Ring.
Paulette Jiles
Rave Booklist Imbued with the dust, grit, and grime of Galveston at the close of the Civil War, Simon the Fiddler immerses readers in the challenges of Reconstruction. Jiles...brings her singular voice to the young couple’s travails, her written word as lyrical and musical as Simon’s bow raking over his strings. Loyal Jiles readers and fans of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See (2014), and Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge (2008) will adore the author’s latest masterpiece.
Kathleen West
Positive Booklist A cutting and witty examination of modern parenting that excels in suburban relatability, West’s debut novel will pique the curiosity of fans of Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2012) and Jean Hanff Korelitz’s Admission (2009).
Margarita Montimore
Positive Booklist While many of us may feel that our internal age doesn’t match our external appearance, Montimore...takes that conceit to its witty, humorous, heartwarming extreme. Imbued with musical and cultural influences spanning decades and reminiscent of Lianne Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot (2011) and Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life (2013), Oona Out of Order is a delightfully freewheeling romp.
Katarina Bivald
Positive Booklist ... full of the sorts of characters that loyal readers of Mary Alice Monroe and Richard Russo will adore. This cozy, never-maudlin exploration of life after death lets Henny see long-lost friends reunite, and feel the heartbreak of new love from a world just out of reach. Much like its heroine, Bivald’s charming, heartwarming, and thought-provoking novel will linger long after the last page is turned.
Kate Weinberg
Rave Booklist With intrigue sparking throughout, Weinberg’s immensely compelling debut novel explores the years-long reverberations of a fractured friend group and echoes Donna Tartt’s The Secret History (1992), Tom Wolfe’s I Am Charlotte Simmons (2004), Richard Russo’s Straight Man (1997), and Katie Lowe’s The Furies (2019). The mystery at the novel’s core befits Agatha Christie, another academic focus of Clay’s, and unravels at a nearly perfect pace. Spanning Jess’s university years and beyond, this slow burn of a novel explores the headiness of favoritism and the danger in meeting one’s heroes.
Julie Valerie
Positive Booklist Valerie’s witty, rollicking novel is an ode to modern motherhood in the vein of Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It (2002) and Francesca Segal’s The Awkward Age (2017). While the plot pacing lags a bit, Holly’s journey from shrinking violet to confident kindergarten parent will entertain until the last page. Holly’s rich inner world and a larger-than-life ensemble of supporting characters plant this novel firmly in the dark comedy camp, and it is perfect for fans of Matthew Norman and Francie Arenson Dickman. A charmingly cautionary tale of the pursuit for domestic perfection.
Daniel Jose Older
Positive Booklist This sweeping cross-generational saga from YA and adult fantasy author Older...immerses readers in the thrilling, heartbreaking history of one Cuban American family. Marisol is an effectively omniscient narrator, weaving memories of years past and predictions for her family’s future into the contemporary story. With lyricism and atmosphere, Older skillfully emphasizes tone over plot. Fans of Lucinda Reilly, Judith Kinghorn, and Richard C. Morais will find themselves lost in Ramón’s haunting, melancholy, and undeniably inspiring journey.
Christine Feret-Fleury, Trans. by Ros Schwartz
Positive Booklist Féret-Fleury’s first novel published in English will speak to fans of Nina George and Kate Atkinson, and any reader who loves getting lost in a secondhand bookshop. The author’s love of the written word comes through on from every page. Relatively light on plot but packed with atmosphere, this ode to finding the right book at the right time comes with its own suggested reading list for those hoping to widen their literary horizons.
Katie Lowe
Positive Booklist Lowe’s dark, suspenseful debut combines the teenage sisterhood of The Craft and Emma Cline’s The Girls (2016) with the violent schoolyard vengeance of Heathers. Poetic, lurid prose captures the girls’ teenage self-possession, while a heady swirl of adolescent hormones, drugs, and alcohol adds a layer of distortion to the plot. The pacing swings between languid and rapid fire, adding to the off-balance feel of Elm Hollow. Fans of Greer Macallister, Paula Hawkins, and Janelle Brown will devour Violet’s journey.
Fiona Davis
Positive Booklist Davis...writes this compelling portrait of female friendship through some of the most dramatic decades in history, weaving true events, romance, intrigue, and the long-felt effects of blacklisting. The scope and scale of this sweeping novel will please historical fiction aficionados and fans of Chris Greenhalgh’s Seducing Ingrid Bergman...and Alexander Rosenberg’s The Girl from Krakow.
Hazel Prior
Positive Booklist With the character-driven charm of Lianne Moriarty’s and Sara Baume’s novels, and a pastoral English setting befitting Lucinda Riley and Judith Kinghorn, Prior’s debut probes the inner workings of two very different minds. Empathetic to its core, it’s a delightfully heart-warming glimpse inside a lushly imagined world. Tender, free-spirited, and guaranteed to tug at readers’ heartstrings.
J. Ryan Stradal
Rave Booklist A love story to Minnesota, craft beer, and the power of second chances, Stradal’s second novel goes down easy. Perspective shifts among Helen, Edith, and Diana, letting each woman speak for herself and allowing their narratives to build off one another, despite the non-linear timeline. Imbued with Midwestern references and the importance of a \'can-do\' attitude, this warm, witty novel will appeal to fans of Curtis Sittenfeld and Meg Wolitzer.
Karen Dukess
Positive Booklist Readers aching for the sun-dappled intrigue of André Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name (2007) or the wit of Francine Prose’s Blue Angel (2000) will find a kindred reading experience here. Although some romantic entanglements ring a bit hollow, Eve’s youthful optimism is entirely believable. Mixing ambivalence, nostalgia, and the power of innocence in an idyllic setting, this journey of self-discovery is an ideal summer read for those who might shun more typical \'beach-read\' offerings.
Lauren Mechling
Positive Booklist Mechling’s whip-smart portrait of female friendship is perfect for fans of Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings (2013) and Beverly Gologorsky’s Every Body Has a Story (2018). Mechling excavates the layers of envy, support, and respect that fill the cracks in any long-term relationship. With an insider’s view of today’s media landscape, How Could She is a delight.
Nina George
Positive Booklist ... George crafts an empathetic and emotionally stunning novel. Never preachy or maudlin, this deep dive into some of life’s most haunting questions will appeal to fans of Isabel Allende and Mary Simses.
Shelley Wood
Positive Booklist Blending historical fact with a fictional coming-of-age story, Wood has crafted an ambitious, meticulously researched, and imaginative debut novel that is engrossing and compelling. Exploring the shared sisterhood of the quintuplets’ caretakers and the trouble with unwanted celebrity, this heartwarming novel will win over loyal readers of Patricia Harman, Jodi Picoult, and Carol Cassella.
Nickolas Butler
Positive Booklist Exploring the complexities of faith and family, Butler also tackles the power and pitfalls of devout Christianity. Fans of Richard Russo and Jan Karon will appreciate Butler’s sense of place, which lets seasonal shifts and harvest cycles propel the novel forward. Little Faith is quietly and deeply moving.
Katrin Schumann
Positive Booklist umping between Katie’s flashbacks and the present day, Schumann crafts a powerfully compelling story of family loyalties, teenage friendships, and the fickleness of memory. Timely and provocative, this first novel will appeal to fans of Lianne Moriarty, Paula Hawkins, and Jenna Blum.
Yara Zgheib
Positive Booklist Powerful and poetic ... Zgheib never lets Anna’s diagnosis define her but convincingly allows it to inform every decision her character makes. Instead of tying up Anna’s journey with a neat bow, the novel’s resolution is tentative, hopeful, and realistic. Zgheib’s lyrical, dream-like style, the perfect match for Anna’s alternately foggy and focused thought processes, will resonate with fans of Wally Lamb’s and Anne Tyler’s novels and Augusten Burroughs’ memoirs.
Michael Downing
Positive Booklist Though this is a stand-alone, Downing’s loyal readers will appreciate the depth and breadth of Mark’s character arc more than 20 years after his introduction, in Perfect Agreement. Depicting striving adjuncts, grade-grubbing students, and smug professors, Downing fearlessly pokes at the least glamorous aspects of academia. Fans of Richard Russo, Francine Prose, and Julie Schumacher’s Dear Committee Members will enjoy Downing’s clear-eyed view from the ivory tower.
Kathryn Schwille
Rave Booklist \"Dangerous debris from the Columbia space-shuttle disaster rains across a swath of east Texas, leaving twisted metal in the streets of small-town Kiser and more horrifying remains caught in the trees of its Piney Woods ... Characters’ distinct motivations and hardships, and their stories differing narrative styles, ultimately weave a fuller picture. Fans of Thomas Pierce and Amy Hill Hearth will appreciate Schwille’s spare, poetic prose and her willingness to examine both the picturesque and the unsavory sides of small-town life. A deeply thought-provoking novel. \
Nicole Baart
Positive Booklist Writing in the vein of Liane Moriarty, Kimberly Belle, and Mary Kubica, Baart explores the toughest questions around motherhood, marriage, and the secrets we keep. Baart lets her protagonist be messy, paranoid, and frustrating, allowing new discoveries to come with surprising costs. Although the novel could benefit from tighter pacing, plenty of twists and turns propel the story forward.
Heather Taylor Johnson
Positive Booklist Sure to be popular among fans of Liane Moriarty and Sarah Pekkanen, this tender, witty novel dives into the life of an amazing woman by exploring the grief of those she’s left behind. Johnson’s ability to bring the diverse voices and viewpoints of the supporting characters to life is admirable, especially in a novel of this size.
Sarah Stonich
Positive Booklist \"The sleepy town of Hatchet Inlet, Minnesota, is finally waking up from a long, frigid winter. Residents gather at Pavola’s diner, eager to chat about the waitress’ upcoming wedding; to mourn the loss of two bright young women in a car wreck; and to wager on when stubborn recluse Rauri Paar will make his seasonal trek back into town. Rauri spends winters alone on the private land that’s been grandfathered out of inclusion in the million-acre wilderness called the Reserve. The small-town gossip mill starts churning when Rauri doesn’t show up, and more than a few residents begin to suspect foul play ... Stonich’s slow burn of a novel questions what—and who—can belong to us. \
Suzanne Matson
Positive Booklist \"Through the strengths and vulnerabilities of these three very different women, Matson explores the motivations behind motherhood, matrimony, and career ambitions. Fans of Anne Tyler and Geraldine Brooks will enjoy the intertwined, intergenerational narratives; historical details; and emotional depth of this engrossing novel.\
Lydia Kiesling
Rave Booklist \"Kiesling’s first novel encapsulates the intense and often conflicting feelings of early parenthood: frustration, tenderness, isolation. By playing with punctuation and sentence structure, Kiesling immerses the reader in the fragile headspace of the anxious new mother. With a style reminiscent of Claire Vaye Watkins and Sarah Stonich, The Golden State sparks the lovely, lonely feelings inside us all.\
Rosie Walsh
Rave Booklist A perfectly paced domestic drama centered on two lovely, lonesome people, Ghosted is a brilliant debut novel that explores the power of fate. Writing like a British cousin of Liane Moriarty or Maria Semple, Walsh has a gift for blending complex characters, intricate backstories, and neck-snapping plot twists.
Elizabeth Berg
Positive Booklist Fans of Meg Wolitzer, Emma Straub, or Berg’s previous novels will appreciate the richly complex characters and clear prose. Redemptive without being maudlin, this story of two misfits lucky to have found one another will tug at readers’ heartstrings.
Alice Hoffman
Rave Booklist Readers who grew up with Lemony Snicket’s Baudelaire children, or those who enjoyed the magical intrigue of Lev Grossman’s Magicians trilogy, will adore this enchanting, engrossing, and exhilarating novel.
Angelica Baker
Rave Booklist Blending high-stakes economic intrigue with high-class family drama, Our Little Racket is a sweeping and immersive novel. Baker fully inhabits each of her characters, voicing each with depth and breadth. Though Bob is nominally the center of the story, teenage and tenacious Madison has the most satisfying story arc. Fans of Cristina Alger’s The Darlings (2012) and Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s The Nest (2016) will enjoy this engrossing and illuminating glimpse into Greenwich’s upper crust.
Matthew Quick
Rave Booklist Those familiar with author Quick will recognize elements of the complex and unflinchingly honest protagonist that appeared in The Silver Linings Playbook, and fans of Matthew Norman and Greg Olear will enjoy David’s introspection and self-preservation. Quick’s prose is sharp and cutting, perfectly suited to David’s brash persona. The Reason You’re Alive is a compact powerhouse of a novel. Though brief, it’s subversive, unexpected, and utterly compelling.
Lauren Grodstein
Positive Booklist The novel’s creative structure feels incredibly personal, since Karen isn’t afraid to editorialize. Grodstein manages to walk the fine line between pathos and melodrama by painting Karen as a fully realized mother, sister, and friend, never allowing the cancer to consume her complex identity. Fans of Camille Pagán’s Life and Other Near-Death Experiences will love Karen’s unflinchingly honest journey.