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THE DIVORCEES

Getting a divorce in the 1950s looked very different from today. Unhappiness not enough of a cause for divorce, Reno, Nevada offered a safe haven for women to live temporarily to obtain residency and file for divorce. In The Divorcees, a debut historical fiction novel, Lois meets a group of other women staying at The Golden Yarrow, one of many divorce ranches. The women spend their days exploring outside, relaxing poolside, and drinking at casinos in the evenings. But everyone is not who they appear, and what exactly is the price a woman must pay for freedom?

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EVERYTHING I THOUGHT I KNEW

One of our recommended books is Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka

A teenage girl wonders if she’s inherited more than just a heart from her donor in this compulsively readable debut.

Seventeen-year-old Chloe had a plan: work hard, get good grades, and attend a top-tier college. But after she collapses during cross-country practice and is told that she needs a new heart, all her careful preparations are laid to waste. Eight months after her transplant, everything is different. Stuck in summer school with the underachievers, all she wants to do now is grab her surfboard and hit the waves–which is strange, because she wasn’t interested in surfing before her transplant.

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THE SECOND CHANCE YEAR

In this unforgettable story full of charm, wit–and just a bit of magic–a woman down on her luck is given a second chance at fixing her life and trying one year all over again. Perfect for readers of Josie Silver and Rebecca Serle.

Sadie Thatcher’s life has fallen apart in spectacular fashion. In one fell swoop, she managed to lose her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend–all thanks to her big mouth. So when a fortune teller offers her one wish, Sadie jumps at the chance to redo her awful year. Deep down, she doesn’t believe magic will fix her life,

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KINDERLAND

One of our recommended books is Kinderland by Liliana Corobca and Monica Cure

From the author of the award-winning The Censor’s Notebook, a novel about children whose parents have departed for employment in foreign lands, told through the perspective of a young girl who is responsible for her two brothers.

With her parents gone in search of work, twelve-year-old Cristina must act as a mother to her two younger brothers. Through her eyes, we experience the feeling of wonderment and loneliness as they roam the streets of a contemporary Moldovan village. Her mother has gone to Italy, her father to Siberia, and the children grow up fast, imitating the gestures of the absent adults,

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THE DEATH OF A JAYBIRD

One of our recommended books is The Death of a Jaybird by Jodi M. Savage

Reminiscent of The Year of Magical Thinking and Somebody’s Daughter, a deeply empathetic and often humorous collection of essays that explore the author’s ever-changing relationships with her grandmother and mother, through sickness and health, as they experience the joys and challenges of Black American womanhood.

Jodi M. Savage was raised in Brooklyn, New York, by her maternal grandmother. Her whip-smart, charismatic mother struggled with addiction and was unable to care for her. Granny—a fiery Pentecostal preacher who had a way with words—was Jodi’s rock, until Alzheimer’s disease turned the tables, and a 28-year-old Jodi stepped into the role of caretaker.

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THESE THINGS HAPPEN

One of our recommended books is These Things Happen by Michael Eon

Daniel Zimmer will do almost anything to end his pain–except for the one thing that might work.

Growing up in 1970s Brooklyn under the shadow of his tyrannical father and against the backdrop of the Son of Sam murders, the Karen Ann Quinlan tragedy, and the New York Yankees’ back-to-back championship seasons, Daniel Zimmer struggles to find a sense of safety and belonging. Daniel and his brother Max find moments of solace in the rebellious rhythms of early punk and metal bands like the Ramones and Judas Priest. But when faced with an unexpected family tragedy–for which he feels responsible–Daniel discovers the magical escape that alcohol can provide,

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