Looking for something new to read? See what some of your librarians are reading! These picks are just a few recent reads from our librarians that they enjoyed enough to share. Browse through & see if any pique your interest!
Maame by Jessica George
Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George’s Maame (ma-meh) deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most importantly, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures―and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong.
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.
The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
A fast-paced, hilarious road trip rom-com about a woman with amnesia who discovers she’s the identical twin sister of a rogue spy… and must team up with a rugged, grumpy operative to stay alive.
The Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyan
Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far removed from America’s own in this science fiction dystopian novel.
Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
Family Lore traces the lives of the Marte women, weaving together past and present, from Santo Domingo and New York City. Told with Elizabeth Acevedo’s inimitable and incandescent voice, this is an indelible portrait of sisters and cousins, aunts and nieces–one family’s journey through their history, helping them better navigate all that is to come.
Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst
Urgent, propulsive, and strikingly insightful, Homebodies is a thrilling debut novel about a young Black writer whose world is turned upside down when she loses her coveted job in media and pens a searing manifesto about racism in the industry.
Intimate, witty, and deeply sexy, Homebodies is a testament to those trying to be heard and loved in a world that refuses to make space and introduces a standout new writer.
Paper Names by Susie Luo
Set in New York and China over three decades, Paper Names explores what it means to be American from three different perspectives. There’s Tony, a Chinese-born engineer turned Manhattan doorman who immigrated to the United States to give his family a better life. His daughter, Tammy, whom we meet at age nine and follow through adulthood, and who grapples with the expectations of a first-generation American and her own personal desires. Finally, there’s Oliver, a handsome white lawyer with a dark family secret who lives in the building where Tony works. A violent attack causes their lives to intertwine in ways that will change them forever.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents and forced her to flee her hometown of Redondo, California, in a hellfire rush, ready to make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will be one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can cultivate it—except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing keeping her alive.
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb
A gripping page-turner about a professor who uncovers a shocking secret about the most famous American composer of all time—that his music was stolen from a young Black composer named Josephine Reed. Determined to uncover the truth and right history’s wrongs, Bern Hendricks will stop at nothing to finally give Josephine the recognition she deserves.
