REQUIRED READING

The Writing Retreat

Julia Bartz (fiction, Atria/Emily Bestler Books) Alex is an aspiring author who’s ready to give up when she receives an incredible invitation to attend a monthlong writing retreat hosted by feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. The opportunity almost seems too good to be true — and when she gets to the estate, things take a turn for the worse.

Mothered

Zoje Stage (f iction, Thomas & Mercer) When her newly widowed mother Jackie asks to move in with her, Grace is far from thrilled. They’ve never had a great relationship, and she likes her space. But when the pandemic hits and Grace is laid off, it becomes her only option. Then things get truly strange; old wounds fester, and Grace has to ask herself if she’s imagining things, or if her mother really has changed.

I Have Some Questions for You

Rebecca Makkai (f iction, Viking) Bodie Kane is a film professor and podcaster trying to forget a dark past; the murder of her boarding school roommate in the spring of their senior year and the subsequent arrest and conviction of the campus athletic trainer. When the school invites Bodie back to teach a course, she finds herself drawn to the past — and to the case, which makes her wonder if the wrong person might have been convicted.

The Origins of You: How Breaking Family Patterns Can Liberate the Way We Live and Love

Vienna Pharaon (nonfiction, GP Putnam’s Sons) From therapist and Instagram relationship expert Vienna Pharaon comes a guide to relinquishing unhealthy baggage from childhood — and learning how old family patterns can affect our present-day behavior in surprising ways.

The Education of Kendrick Perkins

Kendrick Perkins (memoir, St. Martin’s Press) Former NBA player and ESPN commentator Kendrick Perkins opens up in this thoughtful memoir, describing the devastating effects of a father who abandoned him and a mother who died violently when he was still a child.

We Should Not Be Friends

Will Schwalbe (memoir, Knopf ) In college, Will Schwalbe’s friends were mostly comprised of theater people, artists and writers. People like him. And then he met Chris Maxey, a brash wrestler who would go on to become a Navy SEAL. The two became unlikely friends over a lifetime. A moving testimony to the power of friendship — and the importance of forging relationships with people who are not like you.