Spring Reading 2023 Fiction

The experience of reading Checkout 19 is like having an intimate conversation with an author about the creative process. We, as readers, are confidants of the anonymous narrator as she describes the events that made her a writer. Imagination is key to her artistic ability and she often draws from her surroundings to fuel the fire of her creativity. An ingenious blend of realism and flights of fancy, this book is for those that believe that art is life and life is art. —Katrina

Sharp, youthful, funny as hell, and complete with angry mermaids, Julia Langbein’s debut novel is an unexpected romp. Teacher-cum-author Penelope is in Hollywood to adapt her eco-feminist bestseller for the screen, but between the parties and the studio’s push to morph it into a sexy blockbuster, it’s not going well. Threaded throughout are excerpts from her book about the mermaid Sylvia, until lines begin to blur and things get dangerously fishy in Tinseltown. This is good biting fun, equal parts barb and heart. —Melinda

For those of us enviables who may spend an entire languid weekend reading books, rejoice: Elizabeth McKenzie's newest is the perfect getaway. You'll love escaping the boring chaos of your own life into Penny's kaleidoscopic, open-hearted adventures, which begin in medias res on a bus departing Santa Cruz and end on the other side of the world. Actually, everyone just do yourself a favor and pop The Dog of the North on top of your stack—but be advised, this one’s hard to put down. —Chorel

This new historical romance bridges the distance between the horrors of WWI and the wonders of falling in love. Love is hard for two young boys in 1914, and harder still once the Great War begins. Gaunt and Ellwood are both changed as they navigate trench warfare, but the love between them holds fast. A love letter to both literature and love itself, In Memoriam is a heartrending love story. —Zoe

Ruthy Ramirez went missing when she was only 13 years old and her family is left with the void of her absence. Now, years later, the two other Ramirez sister’s seem to have encountered Ruthy on a reality TV show. Told through multiple character perspectives, Claire Jimenez delivers a fast paced and punchy novel, where we encounter not only what happened to Ruthy Ramirez, but also the deep complexities of familial relationships. —Andrea

An American tech billionaire wants to help a group of idealistic young New Zealanders with their philanthropic—and illegal—quest. Or does he? Birnam Wood combines the tension of a thriller with the character development of true literary fiction. All that plus an exotic setting and fascinating plot (with plenty of twists and turns) results in a book that just won’t let you go. —Glenn

A sordid love affair. A midlife crisis you want to look away from, but can’t. An awful sex therapist named Om. Complex reckonings with gender, sexuality, and female relationships. What more could you want?  You know how people always say there are only seven stories in the world? Well, this book may be the eighth. A truly original, cringe-worthy, awkwardly romantic romp, Big Swiss had me laughing from start to finish. There may have been some tears in there as well. —Holly

Voodoo? Hoodoo? You do? The Montrose Women definitely do in Diane Marie Brown's newest novel. The women have been living in quiet and peaceful harmony for years, until seventeen-year-old Nickie brings home their worst fear: a boy. Suddenly, the lives of the women are thrown into chaos, bringing forth old and new family secrets, hoodoo magic, and talk of some curse that any person they fall in love with dies. Throughout the book we follow the different perspectives of the Montrose women as they try to sort out their family again. If you are here for family drama plus a sprinkle of that New Orleans style (*chef’s kiss*), this book is for you. —Kalani

Rebecca Makkai drops a topic into her storytelling brilliance machine, tumbles it around, fleshes it out, multiplies its resonance, and then writes it with such lyricism and power that I see it anew. Her latest novel is filled to the brim with explorations of truth and the many ways it’s told, of youth in the ‘90s and adulthood today, the evolution and complexity of true crime, podcasts, and #metoo, and at its heart, the death of a young woman, who is punished and who is complicit. I was gobsmacked in all the best ways. —Melinda

When World War II breaks out in England, a family sends their daughter to a family in Maine in order to protect and provide for her. Beyond That, the Sea, told in eight different voices from both families over the years of the war and beyond, chronicles the emotions of belonging and displacement, of growth and identity forged from the myriad of people who are involved in helping a child in their journey to become an adult. A tender-hearted, emotional coming-of-age novel in extraordinary circumstances. —Casey