Staff Picks Category: Families

The Storyteller’s Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal [Book]

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The cuentistas in Isla Larsen Sanchez’s family carry their stories through generations. Isla spends summers on the family compound in Puerto Rico with her great-aunt Alma, and lives the rest of the year in New Jersey with her widowed mother. During the summer of her eighteenth year, she learns that she shares the family gift. She experiences the story of each deceased cuentista in visions that repeat at the same time every day until she understands details customarily left out of their telling. In a story shared between her grandmother and great-aunt, Isla witnesses the death of her great-grandfather and, on repetition, is grazed by the bullet that kills him. In order to understand what really happened, she must ask her family and others who were on the estate at the time to reveal what they know, trying to uncover secrets they’ve kept for decades. In the process, Isla learns about her family history and the legacies of racism, sexism, and classism she is inheriting. A great read for fans of stories set in the Caribbean and tales of magic, love, and family.

YA crossover appeal: Isla’s coming of age as a daughter of two countries and traditions will provide a compelling tale for teens.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward [Book]

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In a Faulkner-esque, southern gothic narrative, Jesmyn Ward crafts a story of a poor, Black, Mississippi family enduring drug addiction, the horrors of prison, grief and loss, and everyday struggles. The shifting perspectives primarily follow the lives of Jojo, the thirteen-year-old protagonist losing innocence, and his grieving addict mother, Leonie, featuring limited perspectives from his toddler sister, white, incarcerated father, and aging grandparents. We are dropped into the narrative as the family receives news that Jojo’s father, Michael, is to be released from the Mississippi State Penitentiary and the family begins their journey to bring him home; a journey that ostensibly is not linear or without turmoil. Ward evokes themes of Black spirituality and the supernatural–from phantom appearances to natural remedies. As Leonie struggles with motherhood, leaving Jojo to assume a parental role for his younger sister, the family, both together and individually recognize their realities. Throughout their experiences, Ward evinces just how pervasive intergenerational trauma is and how legacies of slavery and history can never truly be relegated to the past.

The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale by Stephanie Eding [Book]

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Thirty-year-old Josie Hale discovers she is pregnant after catching her husband with another woman and moving back in with her parents. Craving the comfort of a corn dog, she emerges from hiding and almost immediately runs into high school buddies Kevin and Ben at the local fair. They haven’t seen each other in a dozen years, yet they get along as though no time has passed. Recognizing that they are all disappointed with the direction of their lives, the three of them decide to move in together and make a pact to collectively improve their lives professionally, financially, and emotionally. Josie finds work as a substitute teacher, Kevin changes career directions at his father’s insurance agency, and Ben returns to school to improve his job prospects. Josie’s high school crush on Ben is not as unrequited as she thought, Kevin’s fear of commitment has turned on him, and Ben’s relationship with his 11-year-old daughter can only improve. Adulting is hard, but second chances with a found family can make it easier to handle. A good fit for readers of romantic women’s fiction and those who enjoy coming-of-age-after-college stories.

Crying in H Mart [Book]

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Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (also known by her band name Japanese Breakfast) is a beautifully crafted memoir about Zauner’s relationship with her mother and coming to terms with her mother’s slow decline and death. It grapples with themes of identity, loss, love, grief, and culture. She tells us about her and her mothers connection through vivid descriptions of Korean food and how food connects people, families, and cultures. It is a warm and yet heartbreaking story (one that will make you cry within the first chapter) that teaches us how we must not only remember the people who formed us, but also that we have the power to construct our own identities too.

The Husband Hour by Jamie Brenner [Book]

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Brenner (The Forever Summer, 2017) returns with another sun soaked emotional saga. After her NHL-star-turned-Army-Ranger husband Rory was killed in Iraq, Lauren Kincaid spent four years isolated at her family’s beach house on the Jersey Shore, running 12 miles a day, working at a local restaurant, and avoiding (or possibly wallowing in) grief. Now Lauren’s parents, sister, and nephew have descended en masse for the summer, bringing their own worries and upheaval with them. Matt Brio, a documentary filmmaker, wants to tell Rory’s story, and needs Lauren to fill in the gaps. There’s more to the story than public accounts include, more than even Lauren knows, and Matt is scrambling to put it all together before his funding runs out. Secrets are shared, connections are made, and everything falls apart for Lauren and her family before it comes back together.

Brenner tackles grief, trust, and family dynamics in this tale about coming to terms with the past in order to move toward the future. Choice reading for fans of Elin Hilderbrand and summer beaches.

The Truth Is by NoNieqa Ramos [Book]

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Author of The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary, NoNeiqa Ramos’ second book, The Truth Is, explores LGBTQ+ identities, teenage homelessness, grief and trauma through the eyes of Verdad, a fifteen-year-old Puerto Rican queer kid who is just trying to get by.

After losing her best friend to gun violence, Verdad is not okay. And by the end of the book, she is still not okay. That’s what is so amazing about this novel. There are no easy outs or tidy endings. It demonstrates how messy (and joyful) life can be, especially for those with underrepresented and marginalized identities. Verdad’s friends have diverse races, genders and sexualities, and they are all fully developed characters with charms and flaws just like the next person. Their identities are pieces of who they are, but they aren’t all of who they are. Even as an adult I felt so much joy and recognition in these pages. If you’re looking for a YA book to read this spring, pick this up! You won’t regret it.

The Paris Secret by Karen Swan [Book]

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Fine arts agent Flora Sykes is called from London to Paris on an intriguing assignment: evaluate the contents of an apartment untouched for decades and filled with priceless works of art. Apparently shut up during World War II by absentee owners, the apartment was discovered by an intruder who alerted the family’s solicitors. The Vermeil family has the means to maintain an apartment without noticing the expense, and their solicitors concealed the information for over seventy years. Now that the secret is out, Flora is asked to establish provenance and value for each item in the collection. Her research uncovers more than just the chain of ownership, and draws her into Vermeil family drama. Moving in glamorous social circles and high stakes auctions, Flora negotiates the needs of everyone involved, from her flighty boss to their wealthy clients, while coping with her own family crisis.

A former fashion editor, author Karen Swan brings an eye for detail to her descriptive prose. Fans of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic looking for more sophistication will enjoy this.

Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand [Book]

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In this somber coda to the Winter Street trilogy–Winter Street (2014), Winter Stroll (2015), and Winter Storms (2016)–Hilderbrand revisits the lives, loves, and challenges of the Quinn family at the Winter Street Inn. Set during the last three months of the year and peppered with cameo appearances from earlier books in the series, Winter Solstice gives equal weight to threads of hope and despair. Patriarch Kelley is ailing, and his wife Mitzi is trying to keep everything together. Kelley’s grown children Kevin, Patrick, and Ava are living their own lives while maintaining their connection to the Inn, and Kelley and Mitzi’s son, returned prisoner of war Bart, struggles with PTSD. Gathering for a party on Halloween, celebrating the traditional family Thanksgiving, and returning once more on the titular winter solstice, the Quinns come together to support each other in grief and envision a hopeful future.

Fans of Elin Hilderbrand will enjoy the return to Nantucket and Winter Street, newcomers will feel right at home, and readers who appreciate a strong sense of place and interesting characters will be well satisfied.

The Café by the Sea by Jenny Colgan [Book]

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Flora MacKenzie abandoned her father and brothers to the farm where she was raised immediately following her mother’s funeral, escaping to an appealingly anonymous city life where she works, drinks wine, and nurses a crush on her boss. She reluctantly returns to the remote Scottish island when required by a work assignment from her fancy London law firm. Left to her own devices by scheduling delays, she cleans up her childhood home, finds her mother’s handwritten recipe book, and begins to cook meals and treats that bring her mother’s memory back and her family together. She even finds herself attracted to a lovely man from a neighboring island. Without expecting or wanting it, she finds home, love, work, and herself, all while coordinating the successful community integration of a wealthy developer and his hotel project. Multiple fully developed gay characters break up the relentless heteronormativity often found in the genre.

A great pick for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes, and Louise Miller’s The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living.

The Book of Summer by Michelle Gable [Book]

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Bess returns to Cliff House, her family summer home for four generations, to extract her mother before it slips off its Nantucket bluff into the north Atlantic, victim to the passage of time and ravages of weather and erosion. The Cliff House guest book, filled with letter style narratives rather than simple names and dates, illuminates the near century of lives it has sheltered. As Bess tries to protect her mother and save her family’s memories and heirlooms, she also grapples with the end of her four-year marriage. Coming home is a comfort and a distraction, as are the denizens of Nantucket, including Bess’s high school love. Told through contemporary narrative interspersed with transcribed entries from The Book of Summer and local news stories, the story of a family and its triumphs, tragedies, and secrets unfolds, drawing the reader into Cliff House from the 1920s through 2013. A sure bet for fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Nantucket, families who brushed shoulders with the Kennedys, and the female side of the story.

By Any Name by Cynthia Voigt [Book]

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Voigt, a revered writer of teen fiction (Homecoming, Dicey’s Song), presents her first novel for adults. By Any Name is the story of a woman’s life told primarily through the eyes of her youngest daughter, Beth, with remembered interjections from her other three daughters, Meg, Jo, and Amy. Rida was an orphan who, by virtue of the heightened emotion and reduced social barriers of World War II, finds herself married to Spencer Howland, scion of a large and wealthy New England family. Consistently described as unconventional, Rida resists assimilation into Boston and Cape Cod society, supporting her professor husband in a comfortable lifestyle through strategic investment and management of his trust fund. She fiercely advocates for her daughters, rousting a lecherous teacher and disrupting a debutante ball as a protective parent. A compelling woman equally admired, loved, and resented by her girls, she allows them to grow into themselves, strong and uncompromising and ultimately happy. The story will appeal to now-grown Voigt fans, as well as teens interested in tales of large and complicated families.

Keep Me Posted by Lisa Beazley [Book]

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Stay-at-home mom Cassie and her expat sister Sid make a drunken Christmas pact to reconnect by corresponding only through handwritten mail for a year. Cassie scans their letters for posterity, saving them to a private blog.

Cassie has three-year-old twins, a tiny West Village apartment, and a caring husband. She feels vaguely dissatisfied and uncertain how to cope. Sid has a teenage son, a toddler, and a distant husband. She’s easygoing but has to confront her husband’s infidelity. Their correspondence is intimate and open and safe for them both. When a technical glitch makes the blog public, the sisters become famous without their knowledge. Cassie discovers it through a magazine blurb and has to come clean to her husband, Sid, and their families.

A satisfying debut in the field of women’s fiction, Beazley creates some real moments of concern for our heroine and her relationships with her loved ones.