A book club style selection about 4 friends that explores platonic love and friendship vs romantic love. It’s a lot of vibes and character development. The characters are relatable and fun to read about. When it comes to plot, it feels a bit more chaotic and doesn’t have a “beginning, middle, end.” I may be the outlier on this one because there are a lot of rave reviews. I found it a bit harder to follow on audio as the narrative switches between first person for one character and another character is 3rd person. I found myself a bit confused as to which character was which early on.
I was a big fan of Maame, and this has a lot of heart, but it is definitely a different kind of novel. Looking forward to whatever Jessica George writes next!
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC. book to be published April 6, 2026
Wow, what a really unique voice in suburban fiction. Alan and Vivian are living the dream, the ad agency that he founded manages keep them in the most luxurious suburb of New York, modeled on Greenwich, Connecticut. Vivian has a chance to join the Queen Anne Society, which is an elitist ladies group for entertaining.
Then Alan loses the bid for the latest milk campaign. He has sort of a lightning bolt moment, and decides that his entire industry, the idea of capitalism in general, and over consumption, to be lacking. He stops showering, starts eating off the land, and sleeping in their backyard.
“Mom come home. Dad is having a menty b.”
This book is well written and wildly entertaining, even if at times it is heavy-handed in the messaging. I truly enjoyed the family characters and found myself relating heavily to Alan’s dilemma. Not long ago, I went with my high school aged son to visit the top university for creative writing in the country. When we were in the breakout session with other students and parents interested in the writing major, one of the parents asked about job rates post graduation. And most of us parents were also thinking the same, am I going to spend all this money for my child to become educated, and then they can’t get a job? The head of the department said something that stayed with me. She said, without really answering the question, “well, 60% of all jobs in the United States are marketing.“
I think it was her way of saying that, although our children may spend for a year studying writing at the best college in America, they would probably end up selling. Alan’s advertising firm and really his whole existence is driven by the prospect of getting people to over consume. This book could almost be a companion piece to Pixar’s Wall-E. It’s helping the reader think about that same lesson.
Thanks to Netgy and Little Brown for the ARC- Book to be published June 3, 2026.
Minnie is a truly intriguing character. She is from the only Asian family in Colorado Springs but then at college is struggling to find her place. She is a pretty typical talented but insecure teenager and she licks in on the new boy band HOURglass. They are a k-pop inspired band who shoots to stardom and inspires a message board culture and community of fans.
Alternating POE chapters go to Eason, whose stage name is Halo. Similarly insecure, he isn’t a good dancer he’s running from a difficult family situation. Many chapters were by far better, and I found Eason‘s chapters to be a little bit lacking. It all comes together in a dramatic moment when many finally is able to meet the band. It’s definitely a book that explores fandoms and obsession with celebrity. The content is mildly dark, and definitely intriguing in terms of setting. I would’ve liked a little bit more character building on the part of the band members. That said, it was definitely well written and worth reading if you like YA and books about celebrity culture.
Audiobook review- there are some parts of the narrative that are messages and message board material. This has a lot of depth and can be difficult to follow on audio. The performance for Minnie is great and really captures her voice. I was fortune to have a digital copy as well and I enjoyed reading along with audio in an immersive read.
Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan audio for the ALC and Flatiron Books for the ARC.
A truly magnificent book about our agency, not just how much power we have over our own bodies when pregnant, but as people. It starts when 77 year old Pepper gets into a car accident, her daughter takes her driver’s license, and she moves her into the same assisted living facility that her ex-husband is in. But doesn’t that make sense? That Pepper’s kids would want her to be in the same place as their father? Still, this is where the theme begins that Pepper loses her ability to make decisions about her life. She didn’t expect to fall in love, and NO ONE expected her to become pregnant.
What a crazy premise? I thought this would be more speculative, and although the premise is a little “out there” it is told in a realistic way. There is a fictional plot reason why she is an outlier of pregnancy. But even with such a fantasy-driven premise, this book ends up really making the reader think. If you like well written found-family books that make you think, this is the perfect book for you.
I have loved all of Laurie Frankel’s novels, and this one absolutely met my SKY HIGH expectations. One of my pet peeves on GoodReads is when an early reader says “well I liked this book but I didn’t like it as much as the author’s previous work which is my favorite” – Early readers can fall into that trap of having high expectations that result in lesser than fair ratings. In this case I can confidently tell you that I absolutely LOVED this story, LOVED the characters, I laughed so hard at Pepper, her English teacher observations, and her general acceptance of her life.
I could not tell what was going to happen next, and it was also sad to see so many people exploiting the pregnant septugenarian for their own political gains, you just wanted to scream, she is a HUMAN BEING not your mascot! Wow. I was fiercely protective of her.
Laurie Frankel is just a genius, “Family Family” was very pro-adoption without being anti-choice, and this was so, so needed in women’s literary fiction. This book takes an equally divisive topic and makes it really about the story. If you are sensitive about reading books about narrators that may not make the same decisions you would, this book could trigger you. But either way, I think it would be an excellent book club book to encourage lively discussions.
One of my top books of 2026!!
Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt for the ARC. Book to be published May 4, 2026.
A sad and beautiful story about all the different ways that women disappear and how we show up for each other when the men in our lives fail us.
Told in alternating POV, this novel follows Mere, a mom to Lily, and her sister Frankie, mom to Chloe and who is sober. Together they are taking care of their ailing father and bearing the mental load of their families. Then another mom goes missing, and the story follows not only what happened to her but all the secrets and hopes the women carry.
I love Jessica Guerreri’s writing, it is a mixture of deliberate symbolism and intriguing plot. It is sneakily feminist while exploring themes of motherhood and presence. Even the minor characters stand out in this story, some of the most touching scenes belong to those on the periphery. One of the gifts that sobriety brings is the privilege of being fully present for the pain, the joy and the miracle of everyday life.
This year I celebrated 14 years of sobriety in AA, and I work an active program. The role that AA plays in this story is very respectful without being overly positive. I love how Frankie’s sobriety journey isn’t linear. It’s a tradition that goes throughout sponsorship lines, and different people have different ways of doing things, with a variety of ways to interpret the work and the overall program. I’ve sponsored many women over the years, and without spoiling the story, I can definitely attest that this can be a roller coaster. And yet, this is how we stay sober. We get to keep it by giving it away. AA isn’t the only way to get sober, but it’s the way that worked for me.
I think that women- like myself- will see themselves in these pages and will start to question of numbing the stress of motherhood is really worth it after all.
At times I found Frankie to be controlling and even cringy in her talking to her daughter Chloe about her relationship. I’m always pretty critical of “purity culture” in books and while it made me uncomfortable, it made sense for the character arc and the experiences the reader later learns about Frankie.
At the end of the day we all want to be seen and loved for who we are.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC. Book to be published May 18, 2026.
A interesting character study and drama about millennial malaise- this time specific to 1st and 2nd generation Asian immigrants.
A group of 4 friends from a private school are the subject of a documentary called “Bad Asians” that goes viral on YouTube. Their frenemy Grace takes advantage of them and films them and interviews them. The way they are portrayed is not flattering, but it is well done. The book is about the aftermath of this and how it occurred. Themes are around relationships and groups of friends, found family and how those closest to us know us and then become complete strangers.
Here are 4 people who did everything right and the economy and world just passed them by. This is them coming to terms with their parents’ legacy and expectations and how they chose to integrate into adult life. All 4 main characters ad internal demons and all had really interesting and compelling character ARC. I can definitely relate to the struggles and the nostalgia over the course of the novel. I can’t quite call it historical fiction, but it is a time span that shows how much we change from our early 20’s to the late 30’s.
I particularly enjoyed the audiobook performance, only one narrator, but she had great pacing and different voices that I felt were authentic to the author’s intentions for the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC. Book to be published February 17, 2026.
I didn’t say everyone’s gonna love this book, I said everyone’s gonna read it. Because it’s explosive, it’s surprising, it might even be triggering for some of you. And EVERYONE is going to be talking about it.
What about me? I loved it. I was absolutely INVESTED in this highly original story. If you like an unlikable, unreliable narrator you will want to add this to your TBR immediately.
It’s about a tradwife influencer, her husband Caleb is from an influential, rich, political republican family. Natalie comes from a humble single mother and grows up evangelical, but still ends up at Harvard. Her ambition and fierce controlling personality is a recipe for becoming a success. She is manipulative and driven and it’s so easy to be drawn into her mind.
The story is set up when we are aware of her success and farm life, although she employs a producer and two nannies. The farm is designed to look like an authentic old farm but if you peel back the curtain you will see “made in China” stickers and top of the line appliances. Natalie is selling a lifestyle.
One day she wakes up and her house is like her house but different- her husband and kids are similar to her kids but just a bit different. And the year is 1805. Now she has to try to live the lifestyle without the modern conveniences and the performance.
The ending was creative and hit me between the eyes like a two by four. Let’s just say it was not what I was expecting and I think a lot of people are gonna be mad about the ending. And other people are going to love it as much as I did.
Every year I call a title “the book everyone is going to read”- last year I called it Broken Country and the year before The Measure. In 2026 that book is Yesteryear.
Can’t wait for the movie. Oooh I loved to hate Natalie!
Thanks to NetGalley and AA Knopf for the ARC. Book to be published April 6, 2026.
“Blessings don’t look like blessings until you look through the right lens.”
We love a messy family drama, especially one that crosses generations and inherited trauma! Everyone is gonna read this. Trust. This one is special for 3 reasons.
It’s solely focused on the women. BethAnn and Joni. Their daughters Sydney and Mae. Finally Sydney and Mae’s daughters in the 3rd act.
It is incredibly well written. The paragraphs that you’ll re-read. An adult debut, this is a skilled writer tackling deeper issues. Secrets will be uncovered, and our characters are flawed while likable and relatable. These women will sometimes make the reader angry, sometimes heartwarming, always becoming more real by the minute.
The nuances of characterization through scenes that are about connection and disconnection. Traditions and family values that don’t always serve us.
Here is an example;
“Whoever ordered first ordered the least caloric thing she could find, and the one who ordered next would find a way to make her dish even more spare, even less filling. Sydney found herself doing it with other people too, but they didn’t play the game like Beth Ann did. So the other woman would order a burger and Sydney would order leek soup and feel incensed.”
Relatable.
Lastly, I do love to hate on MLM culture, so we get some of that too.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and company for the ARC. Book to be published March 30, 2026.
When I tell you this book will build your empathy as much as it did your righteous anger, I mean this in the darkest way. The author says this book is about the commodification of suffering, and this is a sweeping theme across the novel and the years. This book sucked me in so thoroughly and absolutely gutted me from the beginning. The writing style is like Allie Larkin (The People We Keep, Home of the American Circus) along with a murder mystery and along with disturbing subject matter.
The book follows Birdie, a victim of sexual abuse, as she flees to Whidbey, a remote island off the Washington coast. In alternating chapters, we read the POV of Mary Beth, the mother of the convicted pedophile Calvin Boyer. I think I found Mary Beth’s chapters the most heartbreaking. She somehow has to grieve her son, while making sense of his lifetime as an abuser. In act two, Linzie’s POV is added as well, one of Calvin’s later victims who wrote a memoir about her experiences and ended up on a reality show similar to The Bachelor.
It is truly haunting that the author manages to make Calvin a tragic empathetic character, considering she is a survivor of sexual abuse from a young age.
If you are in the mood for something extremely engaging and deep, I know this book will be one people are talking about.
Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC. Book to be published March 9, 2025.
An engrossing tale- a late coming of age story that ends up being incredibly relatable. That time of life where you look from side to side and realize you are the adult in the room. Cricket, at 26, comes back to the Adirondacks to sit with her father, who is healthy aside from Alzheimer’s. Sometimes he doesn’t know her at all. After a tragic accident ten years earlier left a grieving Cricket to lash out at her family, she realizes now she can’t truly reconcile with her father, but she needs to create a new relationship instead.
Soon she starts to notice that he is able to predict the future in small ways- that the blueberries were ready, much earlier than usual. That they were looking forward to a visit from Seth, who had died years earlier. Together, Cricket and her father co-create a final chapter to determine if he is an oracle.
Some believe that Alzheimer’s is a gift for the end of life, to forget your hangups, your resentments and regrets. To live fully in the moment and be fully present. This story explores that concept, while at times it is heartbreakingly sad, it is also sweet and touching at others.
It’s a stunning audio performance from Barrie Kreinik. Inner dialogue with just the right amount of hesitation and insecurity, this is perfect for a long ride or while doing errands. I listened while at a Big 10 football game with AirPods in, everyone around me cheering and I was silently listening and wiping tears from my cheeks.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. book to be published December 1, 2025.
