Spring Reads I Loved Archives

The Good Sister

by Sally Hepworth

A multi-layered story about a quirky librarian struggling with social functioning, in the vein of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. With an undercurrent of suspense, The Good Sister is a psychological drama as well as a complicated family story. Fern is an endearingly unusual librarian trying to find her way amidst a world that overwhelms her. Her sister Rose has always sheltered and guided her through life, but when Fern makes a well-intended but rash decision, she relies on her found family at the library to process unearthed family secrets. Her fellow librarians and like-minded patron, Wally, a tech genius who lives in his van, are special treats.

Amelia Unabridged

by Ashley Schumacher

A young reader sets out on a bookish roadtrip to write a life’s story worth telling. Amelia and her best friend Jenna plan to meet their favorite author at a California book festival, where everything goes wrong. After a blowout fight and a terrible car crash, Jenna is dead—and Amelia is devastated. When a rare edition of their favorite book arrives for Amelia, she’s convinced that Jenna is still alive and embarks on a road trip to a specialty bookstore in Michigan where she’s sure to find answers. With a gentle touch and a heaping dose of literary references, this YA novel explores grief, friendship, and moving forward after tragedy.

The Rose Code

by Kate Quinn

Set in WWII Britain, England's pressing needs unite three unlikely women in a common cause: breaking codes at Bletchley Park. Well-to-do Osla is a society girl, often accused of having more beauty than brains. Determined Mab grew up poor in London's east end, and seeks a better life for herself and her young sister. And miserable Beth, doormat daughter to the overbearing mother who billets Bletchley Park girls to help the war effort. This book grabbed me from the opening pages, but I'll admit I began turning them faster when we veered into spy thriller territory. Solidly entertaining—I especially enjoyed the story on audio, as narrated by Saskia Maarleveld.

The Souvenir Museum: Stories

by Elizabeth McCracken

I adored this short story collection which featured a host of eccentric characters navigating tricky family relationships. I found myself longing to spend more time with nearly every character, and in one sense, I got my wish: the spine that holds these dozen stories together is those featuring Jack and Sadie, whom we visit at different points in their relationship throughout the book. Reading this felt like an emotional roller coaster; McCracken left me breathless as her characters' thoughts and actions elicited giggles and then gasps, often not just in the same story but on the same page. Her style feels deceptively light, as this book goes to hard places, examining depression, suicide, aging, and a host of terrible things happening to children. Yet I didn't want to put it down.

Things We Lost to the Water

by Eric Nguyen

In this beautifully written debut, which begins in 1970s Vietnam, a woman flees Saigon with her sons to to escape the encroaching Communist regime. She can't understand how her husband was left behind—he was ready to board the escape boat with his family, but she must make her way to New Orleans without him. Over the years, her countless letters go unanswered, but she longs for her sons to have a father again, and wonders how much their struggles would be eased were he present. The story unfolds over the course of thirty years: we see those boys grow up and wrestle with identity, family, and their pervasive sense of otherness. Those reading with a literary lens will enjoy noting the ways Nguyen plays with the water motif in this perceptive character study. Similar in tone to Ocean Vuong's <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1047/9780525562023" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" >On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous</a>; if you enjoyed the one, you'll like the other.

Chlorine Sky

by Mahogany L. Browne

From the publisher: "Mahogany L. Browne delivers a novel-in-verse about broken promises, fast rumors, and when growing up means growing apart from your best friend."

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.)

Surviving Savannah

by Patti Callahan

From the publisher: "It was called 'The Titanic of the South.' The luxury steamship sank in 1838 with Savannah's elite on board; through time, their fates were forgotten--until the wreck was found, and now their story is finally being told. When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can't resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking. Everly's research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah's society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions."

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