| Immortal Life: A Soon to Be True Story by Stanley BingWhat it's about: In the dystopian near future, Earth's richest man wants to live forever, and doesn't care who might get hurt in his quest for immortality.
Is it for you? Yes, if television shows like Mr. Robot and Black Mirror have you convinced that money corrupts, the future of technology is here, and humanity is doomed.
Why you might like it: Satirizing the digital world, Immortal Life is chilling -- and really pretty funny. |
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| A Hundred Small Lessons: A Novel by Ashley HayWhat it's about: In Brisbane, Australia, a young family moves into a new house after Elsie, the elderly owner, enters a nursing home. Photos in the attic -- and footsteps in the damp grass -- suggests a connection between old owner and new that only sensitive Lucy, struggling with her new life as a stay-at-home mother, can feel.
Why you might like it: No ghost story, A Hundred Small Lessons is a compassionate, character-driven look at marriage, motherhood, memory, and connection. |
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Mudbound
by Hillary Jordan
Now a Netflix major motion picture International Bestseller Winner of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction "Sometimes it's necessary to do wrong. Sometimes it's the only way to make things right." In this award-winning portrait of two families caught up in the blind hatred of a small Southern town, prejudice takes many forms--some subtle, some ruthless. Mudbound is the saga of the McAllan family, who struggle to survive on a remote, ramshackle farm, and the Jacksons, their black sharecroppers. When two sons return from World War II to work the land, the unlikely friendship between these brothers-in-arms--one white, one black--arouses the passions of their neighbours. As the women and men of each family tell their version of events, we are drawn into their lives. Striving for love and honour in a brutal time and place, they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale and find redemption where they least expect it.
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Borne
by Jeff VanderMeer
In a ruined, nameless city of the future, a scavenger named Rachel finds a creature named Borne, a leftover from a biotech firm called The Company, and she takes it back to her underground layer where she must shield it from her drug-dealer boyfriend, Wick. By the author of the Southern Reach trilogy.
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| The Confusion of Languages by Siobhan FallonStarring: Though both have followed their military husbands to Jordan, rule-following Cass and curious Margaret are unlikely friends -- and in fact, Cass is trying to fix their relationship when Margaret goes missing.
Why you might like it: Complex friendships are realistically depicted against a backdrop of cultural and political unrest.
About the author: This is Siobhan Fallon's debut novel, but her short story collection, You Know When the Men Are Gone, also centers on military wives. |
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| Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi LaditanWhat it's about: Ashley Keller is no Pinterest-perfect mom; she's simply trying to make it through the day. In her desire to be better at the whole mothering thing, she joins a parenting boot camp, with less than desirable results.
Who it's for: readers looking for a relatable, flawed protagonist or a satirical take on mommy-bloggers and unrealistic expectations alike.
About the author: Author Bunmi Laditan's razor-sharp wit first found its audience with the parenting blog The Honest Toddler; she's published a couple parenting books but this is her first novel. |
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| Ginny Moon by Benjamin LudwigStarring: Ginny Moon, a 13-year-old with autism who has finally been adopted. But her happily ever after is threatened by her desperate desire to be reunited with her Baby Doll, which puts her in communication with her dangerous, abusive mother, a drug addict who threatens the stability of Ginny's new home.
Why you might like it: With an authentic voice (author Benjamin Ludwig is the adoptive parent of an autistic teenager), this moving debut is peopled with realistic characters who share strong family bonds. |
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| Gather the Daughters: A Novel by Jennie MelamedWhat it's about: Told from the perspectives of several different girls, this debut is set in an oppressive, radically patriarchal society. As the girls press against their boundaries, the horrific truths about their community are gradually revealed.
You might also like: other dark, dystopian tales of repressed women fighting back, like Australian author Charlotte Wood's The Natural Way of Things. Gather the Daughters has also been described as a combination of Lois Lowry's The Giver and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. |
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| The Impossible Fortress: A Novel by Jason RekulakWhat it's about: Set in the late 1980s, this debut stars 14-year-old Billy and three of his friends; all they want is a copy of Playboy. At least, that's all Billy wants until he meets a girl who shares his interest in computer programming and gaming.
Is it for you? As with Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, if you came of age in the '80s, you'll love the references in this pop culture-infused tale. If you didn't, the irreverent humor and increasingly silly antics that Billy and his friends get involved in offer an entertaining, light-hearted read. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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