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Fun fact: a section of The Dearly Beloved, Cara Wall’s debut novel, is set in Wheaton, Illinois!

Part eco fiction, part family saga, Greenwood by Michael Christie follows the story of the ill-fated Greenwood family through several generations.

What do you do when your whole world changes? That is the question Vasya must answer in Katherine Arden’s gorgeous story of Russian history and mythology.

Vasilisa Petrovna has always been a strange girl. Everyone in her village says so; her face looks like a frog’s, she runs around in the woods like some sort of wild thing, and she has a habit of talking to the air. What the villagers don’t know is Vasya has the sight and can speak with the chyruthi – spirits of nature and the home. And the chyruthi are afraid.

Brit Bennett‘s debut novel, The Mothers, earned well-deserved attention in 2016. 

I picked up Strange Weather by Joe Hill because I often turn to collections of short (horror) stories when I need a little pick me up. Something to take the edge off put the edge on. I’m sure Joe Hill is tired of people saying it by now, but for anyone who hasn’t read Joe Hill before, the apple does not fall far from the familial tree and I hope Stephen King is a proud papa.

Although novelist Mary Beth Keane received strong reviews for her previous publications, The Walking People (200

Rosemary Harper, the main character of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, takes a job as a file clerk on a rundown spaceship called the Wayfarer in order to escape her painful past. When the Wayfarer is hired for an incredibly dangerous mission, Rosemary and her new crewmates—a ragtag mix of humans and aliens—must learn to trust each other with their lives, and soon she grows to consider them family.

Richard Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, came to me as a recommendation from a friend who hadn’t read it, yet heard about it and thought of me. I’d take recommendations from a dirty shoe, so I went for it, and I had a great time.

Written as an oral history of a fictional punk rock duo in the 70’s, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev draws a lot of comparisons to 

The Ex Talk, set at a fictional Seattle public radio station, is a romantic comedy featuring Shay Goldstein. a longtime producer at the station who’s always dreamed of being on the air, and Dominic Yun, a hotshot young reporter fresh out of graduate school. Their instant dislike for each other is obvious to everyone, but when financial troubles force the station to come up with new programming ideas, they are told they will be laid off if they don’t agree to host a show together. The show?

Ever since she was a small child, August Landry, the main character of One Last Stop, has spent virtually all her free time helping her mother investigate a family member’s unsolved disappearance. As a result, she’s never really had friends before. That all changes when she transfers to a college in New York City, where she has to share an apartment with three roommates who forcibly befriend her and help her find a job waiting tables at a 24-hour diner.

Set in a Nigerian town, this book opens with a mother finding her son’s body on her front porch. This was no natural death and who took the time to wrap him in a cloth and place him in front of her house? Through flashbacks of Vivek’s life, we learn more about this intriguing, lovable boy and his friends, who seem to know more than they admit about his demise.