Found family Archives

The View from Penthouse B

by Elinor Lipman

The New York Times Book Review called this "More delicious than my cup of steaming cocoa…tender, funny…The View from Penthouse B sparkles with wit." I recommended this fast and fun read to Mary Laura Philpott on Episode 195 of What Should I Read Next ("Wanted: book enthusiast at large"). Two adult sisters have grown apart, but when they each suffer their own personal and economic tragedies, necessity brings them together again, and they're soon cobbling together a new found family in a Greenwich Village penthouse.

Light From Uncommon Stars

by Ryka Aoki

Shannan says: "This novel has everything in it and I do mean everything. A higher intelligence is hiding from a galactic war that Earth is blissfully unaware of. That’s the sci-fi. A violin instructor has been selling the souls of her prodigy students to the devil to escape hell. That’s the fantasy. There is violin making, donut making, and the making of a transgender runaway into the violinist she was born to be. It took me a while to get into this, not because I wasn’t sure what was happening, but because of the multiple storylines. But they all come together in the end and Aoki’s writing is masterful."

If We Were Villains

by M.L. Rio

I love a mystery that starts at the end. We know that Oliver Marks has just been released from jail after serving a ten year sentence, and he's finally ready to tell the truth. Ten years ago, Oliver was part of a close-knit group of Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, where rivalries and romance affect the troupe off stage with just as much drama as their performances. Their final year reads more like one of Shakespeare's tragedies. When violence erupts, the group tries to find out what happened while covering the truth to protect each other. A campus mystery full of Shakespeare references, perfect for fans of Donna Tartt.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers Book 1)

by Becky Chambers

A rollicking, big-hearted, constantly surprising space opera set in a future that feels good. This friendly and soothing sci fi story features the patched-together ship Wayfarer and its motley crew, who take on a mission so lucrative they’ll be set for years, should they succeed, but so dangerous they might die trying. The mission drives the story, but is almost beside the point in a book widely beloved not for exciting intergalactic exploits but for its seamless worldbuilding and palpable feeling of love and community. Like so many great science fiction writers, Chambers builds her story on big themes—friendship and love, gender and politics, mortality and prejudice—making the story every bit as smart as it is kind. This book kicks off the Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series; the whole series is inclusive, diverse, and barrels of fun.

Love at First

by Kate Clayborn

With winning characters, a multigenerational found family, and a fun Chicago setting, this romance is going to make a whole lot of readers happy. Will and Nora live two floors apart from each other, where late night balcony chats bring them closer together—and their clashing plans for the building spark a surprising rivalry. I expected an absorbing plot and engaging characters from the returning SRG author’s Romeo and Juliet-inspired second-chance love story; I did not expect it to get me right in the feels. (Open door.)

One Last Stop

by Casey McQuiston

A twenty-something overcomes the impossible to find love and the family she longs for in this feel-good novel inspired by Kate & Leopold. Adrift and lonely, 23-year-old August moved to New York City with hopes of leaving the past behind and building a new life. To her great surprise, things start going well. She bumps into Jane (literally) on the Q line, developing a serious crush on the beautiful girl with the retro punk rock look. August is terrified she’ll never see Jane again, but then she does—on the Q line. It turns out Jane is always on the Q line, and if August and Jane are to get their happy ending, Jane needs to figure out how to get her unstuck—with the help of her friends, of course. Delightfully frothy and feel-good.

Honey Girl

by Morgan Rogers

Morgan Rogers takes her characters on a deeply emotional journey in this contemporary fiction debut. While on a girls' trip to Vegas, Grace Porter upends her carefully constructed life with one spur-of-the-moment (and intoxicated) mistake, waking up married to a complete stranger. She could rush to reverse it all, but her new wife Yuki takes her by surprise. Frustrated with her job and yearning for something new, Grace decides to see where this relationship might go and follows Yuki to New York for the summer. While they navigate their budding romance and their respective pasts, Grace's friends share hard truths with her in a way only people who have known you a long time can. But they never stop looking out for one another.

The Cartographers

by Peng Shepherd

A page-turning literary mystery with a dynamite premise and a little bit of magic. Seven years ago, cartographer Nell Young lost everything—her career, her reputation, her fiancé, and her family—because of an argument over a cheap gas station map. After her esteemed cartographer father unexpectedly dies, Nell learns he’d been working on some sort of secret project connected to the map, which isn’t junk at all but an incredibly rare and hotly sought-after artifact—and her knowledge of its existence may put her very life in danger. A sophisticated scavenger hunt ensues, leading Nell to a secretive and powerful band of mapmakers called The Cartographers, and to closely guarded secrets held by her own family. A gripping and inventive story of family secrets, found family, second chances, and cartography, set against the backdrop of the storied New York Public Library. For fans of Shepherd’s The Book of M and Alix E. Harrow’s The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

Chirp

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution

by R. F Kuang

When MMD Book Club hosted Peng Shepherd in August to discuss The Cartographers, Peng raved about this new fantasy release from the author of The Poppy War trilogy. It's a cool 545 pages in hardcover, and WOW does she put every one to good use. The publisher calls it “a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal response to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell”—if that sounds a little cerebral for you, don’t worry, it’s easy to get swept up in the story. I've found myself talking about it ALL THE TIME to all sorts of readers. Kuang's historical fantasy takes place primarily in 1830s Oxford, where the workers at the translation institute Babel literally fuel the British Empire by combining their language skills with precious silver bars. While I loved the academic setting and band of four fast friends, her engagement with the complexities of race, power, and privilege are what really ground the novel. There's also a lot of philosophizing about the art of translation and discussion of what the practice actually involves, which I found insightful and fascinating.

Six of Crows

by Leigh Bardugo

I enjoyed this novel from bestselling author Leigh Bardugo. A criminal mastermind teams up with an unconventional crew to pull off the heist of the century. They have to break into an extremely secure location and retrieve a scientist and his formula or the world as they know it will be destroyed. With twists and turns aplenty, I enjoyed experiencing another side of Bardugo’s Grishaverse. I enjoyed this on audio.

A Certain Appeal

by Vanessa King

Take Austen’s witty banter, social commentary, and beloved main characters and drop them in a crumbling burlesque club in NYC, and you have a fun and inventive reimagining of Pride and Prejudice. Assistant by day, stage kitten by night Bennet loves her burlesque found family (each one representing a different member of the Bennet family). One night, she runs into Will Darcy and his friend there to evaluate a possible investment in the club. Despite their firecracker chemistry, Darcy and Bennet make a poor first impression, and they can’t shake it off when their best friends fall in love. With a diverse cast of side characters, spicy sexual tension, and all the Austen references your heart could want, this contemporary romance retelling is a must-read for those in search of a sassy love story. (Open door.)

Every Heart a Doorway

by Seanan McGuire

The awards list for this include Winner 2017 Alex Award, 2017 Hugo, 2017 Locus, 2016 Nebula, Nominated 2017 World Fantasy, 2017 British Fantasy, 2016 Tiptree Honor List. NPR calls this "A mini-masterpiece of portal fantasy — a jewel of a book that deserves to be shelved with Lewis Carroll's and C. S. Lewis' classics."

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

by Jesse Q. Sutanto

This was a fun romp! This adorable tea shop murder mystery has serious Only Murders in the Building vibes and boasts a pleasantly large cast of (mostly) likable characters. When the titular 60-year-old widow awakes one morning to find a dead body clutching a flash drive on the floor of her tea shop, she calls in the authorities. (She doesn't want to, but her son convinces her she has to). But, unimpressed by their approach to the case and unconvinced they can get to the truth of what happened, she takes matters into her own hands, with delightful and chaotic results and a feel-good ending I didn't expect. This was a wonderful palate cleanser after a string of serious reads.

The Gilded Wolves

by Roshani Chokshi

This historical fantasy set in 1899 Paris is part heist, part treasure hunt—with a crew of friends at its center. In this world, the Order of Babel rules. Some people are divinely gifted with Forging affinities, allowing them to change or enhance creation. Séverin, the denied heir of House Vanth, delights in reclaiming the items sold off from his House and tracking down Order items for those who will pay him. He’s capably assisted by Zofia, Laila, Tristan, and Enrique. As thrilling as it is to read about their adventures, read this for the way they look out for one another.

Kitchen

by Banana Yoshimoto

You may have heard me recommend this book on What Should I Read Next Episode 395 ("A little touch of magic never hurts"). Mikage is raised by her grandmother after her parents pass away. She’s left unmoored after her grandmother dies and subsequently turns to the kitchen, as well as her friend Yoichi and her mother, who takes her in. A lovely exploration of grief, found family, and the ties that bind us. Though Banana Yoshimoto is renowned in Japan, this is her first book to be published in English, translated from the Japanese by Megan Backus.

Found family

a gateway

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summer reading starts May 16th