REQUIRED READING
The Authenticity Project Clare Pooley (f iction, Pamela Dorman Books)
Julian is an eccentric 70-something who’s fed up with the way most people don’t tell the truth. So he decides to write precisely that — about his own life — in a journal, and leaves it in a local cafe to be discovered by strangers. But the strangers start to add their own truths to the journal, and soon the journal is making its way around the neighborhood.
The Light After The War Anita Abriel (f iction, Atria Books)
It’s 1946 and best friends Vera and Edith are newly arrived in Naples, Italy, having spent the war hiding on an Austrian farm after escaping a train bound for Auschwitz. Now the girls are trying to rebuild their lives in the chaotic aftermath of World War II. Inspired by the true story of two Jewish friends who survived the Holocaust.
The Last Winter of the Weimar Republic Rudiger Barth and Hauke Friederichs (nonfiction, Pegasus Books)
A fascinating day-by-day account of the last months of the Weimar Republic as democracy began to crumble, making room for Hitler’s terrifying rise to power.
Long Bright River Liz Moore (f iction, Riverhead Books)
Kacey and Mickey are onceinseparable sisters living in a Philadelphia neighborhood ravaged by the opioid crisis. Kacey is an addict who lives on the streets; Mickey is a beat cop. When Kacey disappears at the same time that a string of murders terrorizes the area, Mickey becomes desperate to find her sister — and the culprit.
Perfect Little Children Sophie Hannah (f iction, William Morrow)
Beth hasn’t seen her former friend Flora in 12 years, but one day, she can’t resist driving by her house. When she does, what she sees chills her: Flora looks the same, only older — but her two children, 3 and 5 when Beth last saw them, look exactly the same.
Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes Kathleen West (f iction, Berkley)
Welcome to Liston Heights High, where the drama is in no short supply. Whether it’s a popular teacher suddenly facing criticism for her progressive curriculum or a helicopter mom who’s finally gone one step too far in her involvement, this sharply observed high school novel is hilarious.