Top 20 Recommended Book Club Titles for 2023
These are the year's most anticipated book club books, along with a few that might not be on your radar. Borrow one today!
The bandit queens : a novel
Shroff, Parini, author
2023
Geeta's no-good husband disappeared five years ago. She didn't kill him, but everyone thinks she did - no matter how much she protests. But she soon discovers that being known as a "self-made" widow has some surprising perks. Freedom must look good on Geeta, because other women in the village have started asking for her help to get rid of their own no-good husbands. Now that Geeta's fearsome reputation has become a double-edged sword, she must decide how far to go to protect it, along with the life she's built. Because even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry.
Before we were yours
Wingate, Lisa, author
2017
Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge--until strangers arrive in force. Thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children find themselves at the mercy of the facility's cruel director. Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all, but when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family's long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.
Black cake
Wilkerson, Charmaine, author
2022
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett's death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage, and themselves.
Demon Copperhead : a novel
Kingsolver, Barbara, author
2022
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration.
Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline, author
2021
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
Good for a girl : a woman running in a man's world
Fleshman, Lauren, author
2023
Part memoir, part manifesto, Good for a Girl is Fleshman's story of falling in love with running as a girl, being pushed to her limits and succumbing to devastating injuries, and daring to fight for a better way for female athletes. Long gone are the days when women and girls felt lucky just to participate; Fleshman and women everywhere are waking up to the reality that they're running, playing, and competing in a world that wasn't made for them. Drawing on not only her own story but also emerging research on the physiology and psychology of young athletes, both male and female, Fleshman gives voice to the often-silent experience of the female athlete and argues that the time has come to rebuild our systems of competitive sport with women at their center. Written with heart and verve, Good for a Girl is a joyful love letter to the running life, a raw personal narrative of growth and change, and a vital call to reimagine sports for young women"-- Provided by publisher.
The Half Moon : a novel
Keane, Mary Beth, author.
2023
Malcolm Gephardt, has always dreamed of owning a bar and when his boss finally retires, Malcolm buys the Half Moon. His wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career. But, after years of trying to have a baby, she is struggling to accept the idea that parenthood may not be in the cards for them.
Hello beautiful : a novel
Napolitano, Ann, author
2023
William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him. Then he meets Julia Padavano. With Julia comes her family. Happily, the Padavanos fold Julia's new boyfriend into their loving, chaotic household. But then darkness from William's past surfaces, it jeopardizes Julia's carefully orchestrated plans for their future. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations.
Homecoming
Morton, Kate, author
2023
Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek on the grounds of a grand country house, a local man makes a terrible discovery. Police are called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most baffling murder investigations in the history of South Australia. Many years later and thousands of miles away, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. A phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother Nora has suffered a fall and is seriously ill in the hospital. At Nora's house, Jess discovers a true crime book chronicling a long-buried police case: the Turner Family Tragedy of 1959. It is only when Jess skims through its pages that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this notorious event - a mystery that has never been satisfactorily resolved.
I'm glad my mom died
McCurdy, Jennette, 1992-, author
2022
A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor--including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother--and how she retook control of her life.
The lazy genius way : embrace what matters, ditch what doesn't, and get stuff done
Adachi, Kendra, author
2020
"Be productive without sacrificing peace of mind with the Lazy Genius strategy of focusing on what really matters and ignoring what doesn't. If you need a comprehensive self-help strategy but are tired of reading stacks of self-help books, here is an easyway that actually works. No more cobbling together life hacks and productivity strategies from dozens of authors and still feeling tired. The struggle is real, but it doesn't have to be in charge"-- Provided by publisher.
Lessons in chemistry
Garmus, Bonnie, author
2022
Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. But it's the 1960s and despite the fact that she is a scientist, her peers are very unscientific when it comes to equality. As events are never as predictable as chemical reactions, three years after meeting Calvin, a legend and Nobel nominee, Elizabeth is an unwed, single mother and the star of America's most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth's singular approach to cooking and independent example are proving revolutionary. Because Elizabeth isn't just teaching women how to cook, she's teaching them how to change the status quo.
The light pirate
Brooks-Dalton, Lily, 1987- author
2022
Florida as we know it is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels wreak gradual havoc on the state's infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker for the local utility municipality, his pregnant wife, Frida, and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds in search of his children. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before. As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. Moving from childhood to adulthood, adapting not only to the changing landscape, but also to the people who stayed behind in a place abandoned by civilization, Wanda loses family, gains community, and ultimately, seeks adventure, love, and purpose in a place remade by nature. Told in four parts-power, water, light, and time-The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness"-- Provided by publisher.
Remarkably bright creatures : a novel
Van Pelt, Shelby, author
2022
A debut novel about a widow's unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium-and the truths she finally uncovers about her son's disappearance 30 years ago.
Reputation : a novel
Vaughan, Sarah, 1972- author
2022
Emma, a politician constantly under fire who is lobbying for a new law to protect women and girls from online bullying, is pushed to the limit when a body is found in her house, and will do anything to protect her reputation and family, no matter what the cost.
Solito : a memoir
Zamora, Javier, author
2022
Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago--'one day, you'll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure.' Javier's adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone except for a group of strangers and a "coyote" hired to lead them to safety, Javier's trip is supposed to last two short weeks. At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents' arms, snuggling in bed between them, and living under the same roof again. He cannot foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests and deceptions that await him; nor can he know that those two weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside a group of strangers who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow : a novel
Zevin, Gabrielle, author
2022
On a bitter cold day, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. Spanning over thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, this is the story of the perfect worlds Sam and Sadie build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money. Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy.
Yellowface : a novel
Kuang, R. F. (Rebecca F.) author.
2023
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese labourers to the British and French war efforts during World War I. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.