REQUIRED READING

The Hospital: Life, Death and Dollars in a Small American Town

Brian Alexander (nonfiction, St. Martin’s Press) From the author of “Glass House” comes this gripping look at a small hospital in Bryan, Ohio, and its struggle by CEO Phil Ennen to stay independent in the face of big health systems seeking domination. It’s a story playing out across the country, much as “Glass House” epitomized the struggles of many American towns. A blueprint of how the American health crisis came to be.

Raft of Stars

Andrew J. Graff (f iction, Ecco) In the summer of 1994 in a small Wisconsin town, two 10-year-old boys are terrorized by their fathers. When one of the boys takes action, gunshots ring out and the boys flee into the woods, believing they have just committed murder. Four adults follow them into the forest.

Red Island House

Andrea Lee (f iction, Scribner) Shay is a black American professor who marries Senna, an Italian businessman. Together, the couple embark on a life of adventure, travel and luxury. When the two build a lavish vacation villa in Madagascar, Shay finds herself torn between the privilege of her situation — and the continent of her ancestors.

You’ll Thank Me for This

Nina Siegal (f iction, Mulholland Books) Grace is an American married to a Dutch husband and living in Amsterdam. When her daughter takes part in a Dutch tradition that involves dropping off teens overnight in the forest and letting them navigate themselves to home base, Grace is anxious — but everyone assures her it will be fine. But when her daughter doesn’t show up at the expected time, all of her alarm bells go off.