June is trying to pull herself together after a devastating divorce. She’s in recovery—one month sober—and has left Ireland for her home on the Oregon coast. Her grandparents are gone, and their bungalow—not far from where she was raised—is in disrepair.

Jameson is looking for a sense of self as well. He and his wife are recovering from the deaths of their twins several years earlier. Money is as tight as the sorrow that holds their hearts captive from each other and, in Jameson’s case, from their foster child, Ernest. When a call from June brings restoration work for Jameson, he is undeterred by the distance between the job and home. Willing to spend the time away from his wife and child, he hops in his truck and points it toward the coast.

The Days When Birds Come Back explores how two broken people can find hope and healing in sharing their grief. June and Jameson are cautious, each carrying their own baggage and wary to share it with anyone new. “I am cracked and broken in more ways than I know how to fix,” Jameson says. June understands.

Author Deborah Reed (Things We Set on Fire) plies the reader with beautiful sentence after beautiful sentence. Her descriptions of coastal Oregon’s trees and wildlife are as lush as the landscape itself. But these lovely words aren’t strung together with more regard for the individual than the whole. In Reed’s capable hands, they are building blocks of a story that will capture readers’ imaginations.

The Days When Birds Come Back is a reminder of the power that’s possible when we allow another person in, as June recognizes: “We find what we want to find in others’ stories, just as we find what we want to find in our own.”

Nora Stuart could have lived her whole life without ever again stepping foot in her hometown, the tiny island of Scupper, Maine, where she spent her first 15 years being too chubby, too smart and too lonely. But then she gets hit by a Beantown Bug Killer van while crossing the street near the Boston hospital where she works as a gastroenterologist.

When she awakes in a hospital bed, happy to know that death has spared her, she knows it’s time to go back home and set things right. One might expect a homecoming 15 years in the making to be met with hugs, at least from one’s own mother, but that’s not the case for Nora—not that she’s surprised.

Armed with humor and an unshakable faith in happiness, Nora returns home to discover her stoic mother has a strange new side hustle, her niece is an eye-rolling, punk-rock teenager, and the rest of her high school class has all grown up. It’s clear to Nora that healing her wounds, both physical and emotional, won’t be as easy as she’d hoped.

As Nora deals with burgeoning romances, old family secrets, sad realities and hopeful new alliances, bestselling author Kristan Higgins adds humor at every opportunity to Now That You Mention It and proves that it is possible to deal with our past demons without losing our minds.

This page-turner is filled with laughs, nostalgia and the seemingly outlandish suggestion that sometimes being hit by a van is exactly what one needs to venture back home.

This article was originally published in the January 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Top Pick in Fiction, January 2018

After Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, is there any other book written by any other Brit about the intersection of love and vinyl records that’s worth reading?

Why, yes, there is. And Rachel Joyce’s magnificent The Music Shop is it. Joyce, whose 2012 bestseller The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, digs deep in the crates and finds her groove in this novel of loves lost and found.

Frank—we never find out his last name, but we don’t need to, because he’s so indelible a character—is the sort of “music whisperer” that every serious record store geek aspires to be. As Frank correctly intuits, the man looking for Chopin is actually in desperate need of an Aretha Franklin infusion, while the unexpected “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber perfectly patches the Def Leppard-loving customer with a hole in her soul. It speaks volumes that Frank files Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” next to Bowie’s “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” and Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.” After all, they’re all concept albums.

But Frank has some emotional damage himself, and his potential salvation shows up not in the stacks of wax, but unbidden one day in a green coat, passed out in front of his shop. Clearly Joyce has taken Holland-Dozier-Holland’s multimillion-selling song to heart: “You can’t hurry love / No, you just have to wait / She said love don’t come easy / It’s a game of give and take.”

Without giving away more of the plot, it’s worth noting that Joyce’s novel is intellectually and emotionally satisfying on every possible level. If you love words, if you love music, if you love love, this is 2018’s first must-read, and it will be without question one of the year’s best.

This article was originally published in the January 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Sometimes you can’t see how something works until it breaks, and you can’t see that it’s broken unless you compare it to something that isn’t. In Little Broken Things, while Liz plans one of her classic summer parties, whose standard can’t be beat in Key Lake, Minnesota, her two daughters’ lives unravel at the seams.

Quinn is unemployed and not pregnant, living in one of her mother’s rental homes with Walker, her artist husband, gorgeous but also unemployed. Nora resides in Rochester, AWOL to her own family, barely making ends meet while trying to keep her best friend’s life intact. But Nora’s surprise text to Quinn, “I have something for you,” sets events in motion that bring the two sisters and their mom together in unexpected and traumatic ways. The “something” is a 6-year-old girl, and with the help of friends, each woman faces not only this fragile child but also skeletons in her own closet. Does a mended family work better than before it was broken?

Call it a mystery, a love story or a drama, Nicole Baart’s cleverly spun tale has enough suspense and intrigue to keep any variety of reader engaged. Her characters are as real as we are, homegrown and colorful, tight-lipped as well as passionate. Each chapter, save a few, builds the story from the point of view of the character for which it is named. These “little broken things,” fractured further by this latest burden to bear, are made whole in chapters with no heading. In these sections, something looms larger than any of them—a spirit embodied by a central but enigmatic figure who gives this story depth.

While at times the story reads like the soap opera Liz claims her life is becoming, these events are not to be taken lightly, and the consequences could be dire. You won’t lose with this read.

At some point in our life, many of us have dreamed of taking the leap and moving abroad to a new country. In Jessica Keener’s new novel, Strangers in Budapest, we meet Will and Annie Gordon, a young couple from Boston, who are brave enough to make this dream a reality.

The year is 1995, and Hungary is now rebuilding after the fall of communism. For Will, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set up a communications business in Budapest, and tap into the unfathomable progress that is bound to follow. For Annie, supporting her husband in this endeavor is a no-brainer, but secretly she is more excited about exploring a new city void of her sad past, and bonding with her adopted infant son, Leo.

Keener starts the story when Will and Annie have already been in Budapest for eight months. The spell of a new city has long worn off, and their reality mostly includes putting up with bureaucracy and cultural differences that have yet to catch up with the changing times. A diversion comes when a mysterious fax from their old neighbor in Boston begs Will and Annie to check on a man named Edward Weiss.

Edward is old, frail and, from what Will and Annie can tell, perpetually pissed off. Will is happy to check on him this once, as requested, and move on, but Annie is oddly drawn to Edward’s rude and brutally honest temperament. She keeps going back to see him and eventually finds herself tangled up in a vendetta that the old man refuses to let go.

Keener expertly weaves together a story that not only showcases an expat life, but also shares the tragedies, memories and grudges of strangers in a beautiful city who are more connected than they have come to believe.

Leaving home is a contradiction in terms; we can never truly leave behind the place that shaped us, nor the people who played a part in our molding. Never Coming Back explores that most unbreakable bond forged at home, the bond between mother and daughter.

In this emotional continuation of the story she began in Shadow Baby, Alison McGhee transports us back to the Northern woods of Sterns, New York, and the Winter women, Tamar and Clara. Clara had escaped to Florida after college and lived there for years until Tamar’s recent erratic behavior is given a name—Alzheimer’s. Early onset. Not words anyone ever wants to hear, especially someone who feels the weight of words like Clara does. As her mother’s mind and thoughts shrink, Clara’s expands with memory and feeling and unanswered questions.

In Clara’s recollections, we see Tamar before her illness took hold: acerbic and guarded, burdened by life experience as well as the choices she made that she was unable to help her daughter understand. The precocious 11-year-old Clara in Shadow Baby has turned inward, defending herself against (and because of) tragedy. Curious as a child, with a never-ending wellspring of wonderings, now-32-year-old Clara hides her deeper adult anguish behind well-chosen words, sarcastic “Jeopardy” references and a wire tattoo symbolically holding her together. Her anger at Tamar’s potential role in Clara’s breakup with Asa, her first love, fuels Clara’s initial interactions with her mother, until Clara slowly begins to see with a new perspective—someone else’s perspective, her mother’s perspective.

McGhee’s own gift for words takes you to the very heart of this tense yet tender relationship. Through vivid and meandering dips into memory, McGhee draws us into Clara’s rapidly shifting thoughts as she tries to piece together previous assumptions with new discoveries. Encouraged by her friends and Tamar’s confidante, Annabelle, Clara learns more fully the true power of words, both spoken and heard. On this journey of return, Clara finds herself on the path toward redemption, acceptance and love.

In Alice Hoffman’s 1995 novel, Practical Magic, sisters Sally and Gillian share a strong sibling bond and a complicated relationship with magic. Their story is rooted in family history and a legend that includes witchcraft, feuds and rejection dating back 200 years.

In The Rules of Magic, Hoffman’s prequel to Practical Magic, we learn about the family’s more recent history: the backstory of Aunt Frances and Aunt Jet, Sally and Gillian’s mysterious guardians. Young Franny is redheaded and feisty; she loves science and looks for logical explanations for everything, even their bizarre family traits that can’t be explained. Bridget, called Jet, is shy and so beautiful that boys are literally willing to die to be with her. Their brother, Vincent, is a mysterious heartbreaker, tormented by visions of the future and carrying more secrets than his sisters can imagine. The three siblings are tied together by blood, magic and a curse that dooms any romantic partner they ever love.

Their story is set in the 1960s, and Hoffman weaves cultural and historical references into the novel. It’s the summer solstice meets the “Summer of Love”; spells and potions and superstition rub elbows with riots and music festivals and bellbottoms. Hoffman handles this commingling beautifully, and the fact that her fantasy is grounded in reality makes it feel grittier and more tangible.

The Rules of Magic fills in the blanks for Practical Magic fans, but it works perfectly as a standalone as well. It’s clear why Hoffman is a favorite for fantasy readers: She creates interesting mythologies; she’s able to weave magic into the modern world; and she alludes to the magical properties of herbs and everyday items without overexplaining them and overcomplicating her narratives.

The Rules of Magic is ostensibly about three family members who find all their love stories star-crossed. But the devotion that draws them together as a family forms a bond that proves indestructible and may ultimately be the key to finally breaking the curse that’s haunted their family for generations.

This article was originally published in the October 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

An unusual encounter turns into a serendipitous yet life-changing situation in Eva Woods’ latest uplifting work of women’s fiction.

The last thing Annie Hebden wants is a friend. At 35, Annie is down in the doldrums, having had her fair share of troubles in the past and now dealing with her mom, who is in the advanced stages of dementia. Annie is in the middle of sorting out an issue with the hospital staff regarding her mom’s care when a strangely dressed gal named Polly Leonard strikes up a conversation with her. The following morning, Polly shows up on Annie’s doorstep. Polly, who has a brain tumor and only three months to live, insists on brightening Annie’s life by challenging her to experience 100 days of happiness.

Annie is dubious at first, but she is pleasantly surprised when the daily challenges lighten her mood. Although Annie makes great strides with the project, what remains is whether or not she can complete the challenge before Polly’s time is up.

Inspired by the “100 Happy Days” challenge, Woods presents a hilariously uplifting and heartwarming story of hope in the midst of despair. Her easygoing writing style engages the reader from the get-go, turning a 400-page novel into a light read. While Annie and Polly stand at the forefront, Woods weaves in an interesting, well-developed supportive cast, many of whom act as foils to build up Annie’s character.

Lightly reminiscent of the movie The Bucket List but successfully avoiding hackneyed scenes, Something Like Happy includes a little bit of everything—even the hope of romance. This is an enjoyable read that needs to spread far and wide.

This article was originally published in the September 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

From bestselling novelist Gabrielle Zevin (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry) comes a fresh take on a classic theme. Young Jane Young features witty yet compassionate storytelling from four women at different stages of their lives, each relating to the same event that uprooted them in profound and personal ways.

Twenty-year-old Aviva Grossman is a congressional intern in South Florida with a budding career in politics. When her affair with a married congressman is discovered, her name is smeared across media outlets nationwide. In a final display of their uneven power dynamic, the blame of the affair disproportionately falls on Aviva. The congressman is consistently re-elected, while Aviva struggles to find work even out of state. The scope of her transgressions would never have tarnished her entire adult life if not for the unfortunate timing of the ubiquity of the internet and an anonymous (albeit transparent) blog she kept of the affair. Drawing appropriate parallels to Hester Prynne, Aviva decides to flee South Florida to a remote town in Maine, in the hope of beginning a new life on her own terms.

Through the relatable, entertaining perspectives of Aviva, her mother, Aviva’s teen daughter and the congressman’s wife, Zevin presents a complex and intelligent story without becoming dense. The novel’s readability does nothing to diminish the quality of its themes. The feminist message is straightforward, from its overt discussion of the topic to the presentation of its male characters, who are the supporting cast to a group of strong, unforgettable leading women.

Zevin works creatively with arrangement, allowing the story to develop nonlinearly. She uses brilliantly unusual formats, such as a series of outgoing emails to a pen pal as a way for a precocious teen to speak candidly. The final section is told through a playful choose-your-own-ending format, which, tellingly, only provides one choice—a simple yet profound way to look upon the past.

This article was originally published in the September 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs’ new novel, Map of the Heart, opens with what should have been just another day in the life of former adrenaline junkie Camille Palmer. In the wake of her husband Jace’s horrendous death, Camille has constructed a stifling, safe life for her daughter, Julie, and herself. Years have passed since Jace died, but Camille has been so busy hanging onto his memory and trying to wrap her ninth grader in figurative cotton batting that she’s completely overlooked the signs that Julie is in trouble.

Even once events force Camille to realize she’s smothering her child, she can’t let go of the fear she’s lived with since watching her husband die. She resists getting sucked into her father Henry and Julie’s excitement when the arrival of a mysterious package gives them a glimpse into their family’s past, even as it raises more questions than provides answers. Camille reluctantly accompanies her family to Henry’s hometown in the south of France. Conversations there with old acquaintances, as well as concerted attempts to unravel the mysteries of her father's childhood, eventually lead the family back to the final years of World War II. And with the help of the one man she hasn’t been able to ignore, a retired Naval officer and now historian who specializes in repatriating the missing remains of soldiers, Camille may find a far brighter future than she ever envisioned for herself.

Wiggs seamlessly weaves a multigenerational story that will make you laugh, make you cry and leave you with a sigh of satisfaction as you turn the final page.

In 2013, Edward Kelsey Moore introduced an indomitable and unforgettable trio of headstrong African-American women in his bestselling debut, The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat. Lifelong best friends Odette, Clarice and Barbara Jean—known collectively as the Supremes—won the hearts of readers worldwide as they navigated life’s ups and downs with grit and good humor. After four years, fans will jump for joy that Moore’s long-awaited sequel is finally here.

In fictional Plainview, Indiana, life hasn’t changed much for our heroines since we last left them: Odette and her husband still have a rock-solid marriage; Barbara Jean and her high school sweetheart are enjoying a second chance at love; and Clarice is experiencing a welcome renaissance in both her marriage and her concert pianist aspirations. The three women still meet for their weekly post-church catch-up lunch at Earl’s diner, and it seems that after the tumult of the previous novel, they’ve found their grooves and are sailing through their golden years. All this changes, however, when Clarice’s mother falls madly in love with the owner of the local blues joint/gentlemen’s club/general house of ill repute (much to the bemusement—and amusement—of the town). Their wedding brings home legendary bluesman El Walker, even though he swore decades earlier he’d never return to Plainview. El’s performance at the wedding is the calm before a truly epic storm that rips open tender wounds from the past and catches the Supremes and their families in its terrible wake.

Like its predecessor, The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues is an uplifting read that tugs at readers’ heartstrings and elicits enthusiastic chuckles in equal measure. Moore masterfully balances sorrow and humor, scandal and earnestness, to create a soul-nourishing narrative that entertains and captures life’s richness. With a colorful cast of characters and touching meditations on family, faith, love and loss, this sparkling sequel will satisfy fans while welcoming new ones to the fold with open arms.

This article was originally published in the July 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Judy Reene Singer, author of previous works such as Still Life with Elephant and Horseplay, has delivered something entirely new with In the Shadow of Alabama, a raw and emotional family drama that spans generations.

Rachel Fleischer is a horse trainer who begrudgingly agrees to attend the funeral of her estranged father, a withdrawn and angry man who left her with few good childhood memories. But a stranger approaches Rachel at the funeral, offering her an apology and an opportunity to learn more about who her father was—particularly during his time as a Jewish soldier in charge of an all-black battalion during World War II.

Traveling easily between present day and 1940s Alabama, when Jim Crow and racial violence reign, readers experience Rachel’s journey to discover the man her father was before the war changed him. In scenes that can be gut-wrenching, we see Martin Fleischer grapple with the astounding racism and violence he comes into contact with on American soil, and watch understanding and compassion grow as he learns more about the men he’s supposed to lead.

The most resonant moments of In the Shadow of Alabama focus on the unseen side of war stories: the aftermath of the war and the families who have to cope with a traumatized loved one. As Rachel learns more about her father, she, her critical mother and indulged younger sister find a measure of closure regarding the explosive man who overshadowed their early years. Though the book’s conclusion is far from neat or happy, this is a deftly painted portrait of real life, one that was inspired by Singer’s own experiences with her father. Filled with beautifully drawn characters, In the Shadow of Alabama is a thought-provoking and emotionally engaging novel that will keep readers thinking.