This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links.
Hello Beautiful (Oprah’s Book Club): A Novel
William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love himāso when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano in his freshman year of college, itās as if the world has lit up around him. With Julia comes her family, as she and her three sisters are inseparable: Sylvie, the familyās dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all. With the Padavanos, William experiences a newfound contentment; every moment in their house is filled with loving chaos.
But then darkness from Williamās past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Juliaās carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sistersā unshakeable devotion to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?
An exquisite homage to Louisa May Alcottās timeless classic,Ā Little Women,Ā Hello BeautifulĀ is a profoundly moving portrait of what is possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.
ššš
Fourth Wing
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding generalāalso known as her tough-as-talons motherāhas ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre:Ā dragon riders.
But when youāre smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons donāt bond to āfragileā humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her motherās daughterālike Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
Sheāll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agendaābecause once you enter, there are only two ways out:Ā graduate or die.
ššš
Moon of the Turning Leaves
In the years since a mysterious cataclysm caused a permanent blackout that toppled infrastructure and thrust the world into anarchy, Evan Whitesky has led his community in remote northern Canada off the rez and into the bush, where theyāve been rekindling their Anishinaabe traditions, isolated from the outside world. As new generations are born, and others come of age in a world after everything, Evanās people are stronger than ever. But resources around their new settlement are drying up, and elders warn that they cannot stay indefinitely.
Evan and his teenaged daughter, Nangohns, are chosen to lead a scouting party on a months-long trip down to their traditional home on the shores of Lake Huronāto seek new beginnings, and discover what kind of lifeāand what dangerāstill exists in the lands to the south.
Waubgeshig Riceās exhilarating return to the world first explored inĀ Moon of the Crusted SnowĀ is a brooding story of survival, resilience, Indigenous identity, and rebirth.
ššš
Yellowface
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athenaās a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.
So when June witnesses Athenaās death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athenaās just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.
So what if June edits Athenaās novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Songācomplete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesnāt this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? Thatās what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.
But June canāt get away from Athenaās shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring Juneās (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuangās novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.
š¹š¹š¹š¹š¹