frequently been very drunk, often sleeping rough, and has repeatedly been shaken down for money he may or may not owe to unsavory characters--he drinks so much that in his sober hours he isn't ever quite about faith and meaning in life; and the heart-wrenching, tender, ill-fated romance between the two main one of Robinson's other three novels in the Gilead series (these include Gilead, Lila, and Home), you may

The Last Confession of Autumn Casterly is a young adult mystery, and the main protagonists are high schoolers --mainly charmingly caring, funny, quirky, honest ones who add a lovely levity to the story.

Future Witches, Harrow writes about three sisters raised by a powerful mother who refused to leave the man Each of the three main protagonists here is a young woman in the midst of her own high-stakes crisis, Your blood may boil when you read the incessant underestimating of women and condescending tone of the Hill had told the papers, "if this is what happens when women gain some measure of power, we have grave

At one point, one of our main characters notes that academic commentaries through the ages have struggled

The great young adult fantasy elements are all in place here: magic, healing, a defiant main protagonist

The author winds old Scottish folk songs throughout the book, using it as a fluid way of binding the main

marriage, sex, politics, public and private behavior—and of course "society," which almost serves as a main A lady’s maid in love with the lady, racy scenes, angst, wonderful details of a life in service to a In this upstairs/downstairs novel, set in nineteenth century New York, Mary Ballard is a lady’s maid But on her own time, Mary is Irish exile Maire O’Farren, and she keeps mixed company as part of a secret Hardinger offers up many crisp and varied details of the time, she captures Bertie’s speech patterns,

The only problem is, Olive's nemesis, the groom's brother and best man Ethan, who despises her, also Olive was sarcastic to Ethan too, but she's our main protagonist, so we can see that she's afraid of

officer sending and receiving secret wireless signals, managing a network of agents across Europe, and maintaining for Leia; and her youthful obsession and affair with the gruff (and married) Harrison Ford--who is a main leader and trainer of the French Resistance despite the physical limitations of her false leg (which she gained

Gold glitter rains down on the congregation during the low-tech church services (no one looks up to see the leader's daughter doing this until the main protagonist peers up, late in the book); the bible is

I loved the grumpy, jaded dragon of a main protagonist but had trouble with the purely evil bad guy.

Star Is Bored Author Byron Lane was Carrie Fisher's personal assistant in real life, and in his novel, main

sequel to the young adult mystery The Good Girl's Guide to Murder, which again features the fantastic main It seems his livelihood may be on the verge of obsoleteness as the heavily harvested woods dwindle, and and more concerned that regardless of what is uncovered about the mysterious death, his whole life may Davidson, and it's wonderfully wrought so far, with plenty of tension and few black-and-white answers but many

This book had many moving parts, evolving points of view and senses of self, shifts between days and Raybourn may allow Veronica to benefit from the author's own modern sensibilities in A Curious Beginning , but Veronica is a strong and unorthodox main protagonist, and for me this aspect of her character works lovely. 05 Jackaby ​ Jackaby is the first in a young adult supernatural mystery series, with memorable main realizing that I'd figured out the basic facts behind the mystery (although I hadn't figured out the many

Bohjalian Bohjalian's Hour of the Witch takes place in 1662 Boston, where strong-willed women like main Mary's foul treatment by her husband--and the community's unwillingness to protect her--may have you The story had a few too many "doom is coming, get ready" types of heads-ups for my liking--especially And--this part of the storyline may feel uncomfortably familiar--climate change has set weather patterns

The fantastic main players are back: Kell, the ward of the Red London's royal family who once thought

the past often seems a difficult undertaking, and as she looks back, Kendra James explains that her main favorite movies, and, primarily, to secure a spot in a college of her choice, then to (as is the goal for many She wishes she could have learned more from them before entering Taft about the many ways she might have have the language and perspective she now has to talk about such things--in order to sift through the many James expresses anger and frustration at Taft's ineffective response--and at the many missed opportunities

Lexie is the captivating character here, although she exists largely off page and in the main protagonist's The Drowning Kind is the newest story by McMahon, the author of The Winter People (and many others). There are many instances within the book in which a character begins to share key information and is

But it looks like she may have to rely on her annoying next-door neighbor Wes to try to gain the attention walking down the street--then she sees that he is armed, and to her horror, she sees him kill another man In Caroline O'Donoghue's contemporary fiction The Rachel Incident, main character Rachel is an Irish She's dating a boring but reliable young man from her high school and living at home when she meets James

The Second-Chance Books I love a good second-chance book in which the main character gets the opportunity Our main protagonist Tom makes a decision that strands him in our version of the world, which feels like Either to change a world--many, many worlds, each touched by the choices I make in my life, for every Harry August has been born (in a train station in 1919) many times. Some lives are notable, others comfortable, and still others are full of pain.

This character is later key to bravely resolving the main and significant conflicts of the story when a story about feeling stuck, and friendship, and listening to your instincts, with vampires serving mainly

The only problem is, Olive's nemesis, the groom's brother and best man Ethan, has been extended the same I also have a friend named Anna Kendrick, and not only because the celebrity Anna Kendrick is from Maine

When a mysterious prisoner from the front arrives who could be friend or foe, our main protagonist Talin Casey is in the awkward, sometimes painful age and stage of shifting from young adulthood to being a

one of my favorite authors, Peter Heller, which picks up after the events of his book The River as main The subtitle of Browder's nonfiction book Red Notice is A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's But Jack is starting to realize that something dark and dangerous may be at work here, and that things

Alex's past is far from free of blemishes and pain, and some of her life-and-death decisions required Novik is also the author of other fantasy novels featuring main protagonists I love: Uprooted and Spinning she can walk through a magical red door, she finds unexpected circumstances--and realizes that she may

I've been reading like a maniac this past month, and I had so many favorite books, it was tough to narrow I'm giving a talk today about my favorite spring books, and many of these titles are on the list! But regardless of their interpersonal complications, they may collectively be the only hope of saving at the center of the story, but for me this was a captivating, atmospheric dive into the pressures, pain Book two picks up when our main characters, having laid low  and lived their own lives for a year, are

Bohjalian's Hour of the Witch takes place in 1662 Boston, where strong-willed women like main protagonist Mary's foul treatment by her husband--and the community's unwillingness to protect her--may have you The story had a few too many "doom is coming, get ready" types of heads-ups for my liking--especially And--this part of the storyline may feel uncomfortably familiar--climate change has set weather patterns

wrap-up and a series of denouements and moments of redemption—yet Jewell also leaves you wondering if a main

Author Byron Lane was Carrie Fisher's personal assistant in real life, and in this novel, Byron's main the varied demands of an enormous star, and Lane explores the characters' challenges of striving to maintain

Christian (with a name her parents purposely gave her in order to create assumptions that she is a white man ) within mainly white educational, religious, and societal frameworks. She became pregnant with Immanuelle by a man outside the claustrophobic community and died when Immanuelle Henderson's witchy tale is taking its main protagonist to a very dark place so far, and I'm not sure

like the heart of the story (the Eastwoods' helping other women advance their everyday struggles to gain balance of magic, religion, love, passion, family duty, adventure, and search for meaning—and all with a main Reid is a straitlaced young man for whom things are black-and-white, clearly right and wrong. than I could have dreamed of, plenty of romance, so very much wine appreciation, and copious older-man-guides-the-young-ingenue

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Mystery Reads This is the time in the year when you may be asking yourself learning from the online notes of a class Elise once taught on getting away with murder so that he may In order to keep her husband, young daughters, and partner safe, Elise may have to keep some crucial This is another whodunit winner from Wendy Walker: a character-driven mystery with a neurodivergent main

In Caroline O'Donoghue's contemporary fiction The Rachel Incident, main character Rachel is an Irish She's dating a boring but reliable young man from her high school and living at home when she meets James learning from the online notes of a class Elise once taught on getting away with murder so that he may In order to keep her husband, young daughters, and partner safe, Elise may have to keep some crucial Alex's past is far from free of blemishes and pain, and some of her life-and-death decisions required

of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (and opposite sides of the wall) are at heart the same in their pain Much of the fever pitch of support and hatred for Jesus occurs when the main character of Ana is off Jesus's role in Ana's story is as a faithful man who disagrees with the politics of the faith at the

It started off a little slowly for me because Benjamin shared so many details of thoughts and in setting Hawker Hawker's historical fiction gives a wonderfully evocative peek into a gritty period, as her main She's learned to bite her tongue, and she feels like the poor treatment her husband shows her may be Donoghue builds a rich story around the real-life figures of Eliza Raine and Anne Lister. Raine was a wealthy orphan--one of two daughters born to a white British father and an Indian mother,

I may have seen the mistaken-premise setup coming, and the friend betrayal, and the rough lines of the famous-person love is a favorite trope of mine, and Norman adds emotional complexities to each of the main

and roll- and band-centered stories, but luckily for us readers, I seem to be dead wrong, because so many of Utopia Avenue, click here. 02 The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez On the surface, the main The other is a shockingly talented artist who abandoned the creation of new work after an incredibly painful In Leila Sales's young adult book This Song Could Save Your Life, main protagonist Elise doesn't fit

The man who has vanished happens to be Stoker's former expedition partner, who he punched on the street As always, her main characters are richly layered, struggle with terrible circumstances, retain strong Donoghue builds a rich story around the real-life figures of Eliza Raine and Anne Lister. Raine was a wealthy orphan--one of two daughters born to a white British father and an Indian mother, It's difficult to consider Raine's mental illness without crediting the likely powerful influence of

I loved the Ottoman Empire setting, the strong female main protagonist, and the complications and sometimes She finds that she may be the only hope to save her war-torn country. King, surprising revelations, shifting alliances, opaque political machinations, and enmity between main which offers wonderfully flawed characters, plot twists and revelations, great banter, and endings you may

It may make me feel all the feelings, and/or may be intriguing and make me think, and it's usually engaging Family, pain, love, music, influence, trust, wonder, brutality, invention, discovery, loyalty, and most good, and they make mistakes and pay for them and live within their awful messed-up moments and their painful Were the Kennedys by Monica Wood In 1963 the Woods were a typical Catholic immigrant family in Mexico, Maine Wood gorgeously evokes the many characters and unfathomable events that changed her family's existence

their trip to the Gulf of Mexico is fraught with danger--and Nell's husband and his murderous brothers may It started off a little slowly for me because Benjamin shared so many details of thoughts and in setting The gods' war provides the structure for the book's main conflict, but the story feels primarily focused

Vengeance Road is a rough and tumble story with enough suspense that I wasn't ever confident that the main other historical fiction books that look promising. 03 West ​ This isn't strictly a Western, but the main optimistic travel route on a map (and, disturbingly, struggles multiple times with being preyed upon by a man

walking down the street--then she sees that he is armed, and to her horror, she sees him kill another man science fiction novel, Mandel plays with time and time travel as well as mysteries surrounding what may But all of these players and times feel in place mainly to serve as a structure to surround our true main protagonist, Gaspary, and we see the most depth and development and change; loyalty and love and

There are mysterious forces and machinations, many of which remain unclear to the reader until late in possibilities, boredom, and disappointment, but they also clumsily come together, fighting through pain Finlay Donovan is an author and a recently single mom, divorced from a cheating man (side note: he and young adult thriller was a lightning-fast read, and there's a yearning for connection between the two main complicated and disastrous, Heard presents what feels like a true yearning for connection between the two main

01 A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World And there may be no law left except what you make of it, But the main protagonist Griz is tough as nails and determined and wonderful, and things do ultimately It's a true life-or-death dilemma for a man with two stark options: safety and loneliness or potential Against enormous odds, the team may just be finding some of the lifesaving answers they were sent to character in common between the two books; this person appears at the end of The Boy on the Bridge but is a main

01 Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton Eli Bell is a young man in a tough spot. Meanwhile his main goal is trying not to attract too much attention or bring any trouble down on himself Eli isn't inclined to listen to any opportunities or ideas from the man. And it's not like Eli has many options right now anyway. Sam says he abhors the man, but locals are constantly reminding Annie that Sam was a heartbreaker in

In You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith recounts her painful, prolonged divorce and The book is made up of many short sections, and much of Smith's exploration is focused on the way in strength to go on despite few options; and the surprise of new determination and hope after years of pain But others' visions for the story involve her eco-warrior main character morphing into a teen beauty

In Jo Harkin's debut novel world, many have elected to have the company Nepenthe remove traumatic or In Matt Haig's The Humans, an extraterrestrial arrives on Earth with a mission: to kill the man who has science fiction novel, Mandel plays with time and time travel as well as mysteries surrounding what may But all of these players and times feel mainly to be in place to serve as a structure for our true main But the young woman he has found may have died of an ancient virus, and thawing the body for study could

she's ready to be reunited with the team, which includes her mother and the rest of her family, plus many above, it's sweet and funny, it's about writing and books, there are wonderfully faulted love-crossed main

My very favorite Bossy May reads! Here are the books I most loved reading in May: Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You, Lucinda Williams's walking down the street--then she sees that he is armed, and to her horror, she sees him kill another man She can't explain what's happened, but she quickly realizes that now she may be able to stop the murder adult fantasy series, but what hooked me was the fearless, hardened, fiercely loyal, savvy, and crafty main