Alta Journal’s California Book Club
The book: The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
Our reviewer says: “The lovely latest from novelist Tan brings together selections from ‘nine personal journals filled with sketches and handwritten notes of naive observations’ about birds spotted in her northern California backyard between 2017 and 2022…. This hits the mark.” Read more.
The book: Moderation by Elaine Castillo
Our reviewer says: “Castillo’s masterful latest follows the vagaries of a social media content moderator’s work and love lives…. It’s a triumph.” Read more.
The book: How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music, ed. Alison Fensterstock with Ann Powers
Our reviewer says: “Fensterstock, a contributor to NPR’s Turning the Tables draws from it and more than 50 years of the station’s coverage in a rich and resonant collection of essays, interview excerpts, and ephemera…. It’s a buoyant, welcome ode to some of the most influential songstresses of the 20th and 21st centuries.” Read more.
The book: Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
Our reviewer says: “In this heartfelt novel from Ryan, a V-E Day kiss between two strangers reverberates across decades…. Filled with wit and emotion on every page, this is a stirring paean to the joys and sorrows of family.” Read more.
The book: Grant Park by Leonard Pitts Jr.
The book: Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild
Our reviewer says: “In Rothschild’s emotionally charged debut, a widower falls for his family’s egg donor as the ghost of his wife watches on…. The novel’s examination of love and family will leave readers with plenty to chew on.” Read more.
The book: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Our reviewer says: “Williams-Garcia evokes the close-knit bond between three sisters, and the fervor and tumultuousness of the late 1960s, in this period novel featuring an outspoken 11-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y.” Read more.
The book: My Other Heart by Emma Nanami Strenner
Good Morning America Book Club
The book: The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso
Our reviewer says: “Gelfuso’s engrossing debut follows the adventures of a Jewish girl who hides in a fantastical realm during WWII and devotes herself to protecting collective memories…. It’s a delight.” Read more.
Good Morning America YA Book Club
The book: Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
Our reviewer says: “Boulley delivers a propulsive mystery thriller anchored by an unforgettable protagonist and urgent commentary on both the foster care system and Indigenous child welfare…. It’s a devastating yet gripping tale.” Read more.
The book: Night Watch by Kevin Young
Our reviewer says: “National Book Award finalist Young offers an impressionistic and potent collection of sequence poems written over 16 years.... This elegant volume deepens the body of work by a significant American poet.” Read more.
Jewish Book Council Book Club (fiction)
The book: Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross
Jewish Book Council Book Club (nonfiction)
The book: Children of the Book: A Memoir of Reading Together by Ilana Kurshan
Our reviewer says: “Translator Kurshan reflects in this moving personal history on reading stories with her children…. It’s a stunning testament to the power of the written word.” Read more.
The book: All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert
Our reviewer says: “Bestseller Gilbert discusses in this inspiring account how she struggled through financial hazards, obsessive love affairs, and emotional land mines on her way to ‘a healthy relationship with myself’ after a tumultuous romance.” Read more.
The book: The Will of the Many by James Islington
Our reviewer says: “Maintaining suspense for almost 700 pages is a tall order, but Islington makes it look easy in his staggering Hierarchy series launch, set in a world dominated by the Roman Empiresque Hierarchy.” Read more.
The book: Fearless and Free: A Memoir by Josephine Baker
The book: No Straight Road Takes You There by Rebecca Solnit
Our reviewer says: “Bestseller Solnit urges readers to accept that progress may not be quick or linear in this impassioned if tedious essay collection.” Read more.
The book: Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
The book: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Our reviewer says: “Nguyen’s poignant debut captures the perspectives of, and essence of the bond between, a parent and child, proving that language—and love—can transcend words.” Read more.
The book: The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Our reviewer says: “With this equally spooky and sophisticated horror novel, bestseller Moreno-Garcia proves she’s as adept playing in the tropes of dark academia as any of the other subgenres she’s tried on…. It’s as unsettling as it is unputdownable.” Read more.
The book: The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle
The book: Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
Our reviewer says: “In this heartfelt novel from Ryan, a V-E Day kiss between two strangers reverberates across decades…. Filled with wit and emotion on every page, this is a stirring paean to the joys and sorrows of family.” Read more.
The book: To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage
Our reviewer says: “The touching debut from Ramage focuses on a young Cherokee woman’s struggle to become the first Native American astronaut…. It’s a satisfying exploration of a woman’s determination to realize her potential.” Read more.
The book: You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
Our reviewer says: “Arafat’s poignant if uneven debut explores the love affairs and relationships of its narrator, a queer Palestinian woman…. This difficult but heartfelt wonder delivers an emotional wallop.” Read more.
The book: Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild
Our reviewer says: “In Rothschild’s emotionally charged debut, a widower falls for his family’s egg donor as the ghost of his wife watches on…. The novel’s examination of love and family will leave readers with plenty to chew on.” Read more.
The book: The Lilac People by Milo Todd
Our reviewer says: “Todd debuts with a stirring chronicle of trans and gay trailblazers in Weimar Germany who were persecuted by the Nazis…. This timely historical drama hits hard.” Read more.
The book: The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
Our reviewer says: “Jimenez crafts an elusive, layered epic that thoroughly rewards its demands…. Though this won’t be for everyone, committed readers who enjoy piecing together stories will be blown away.” Read more.
The book: Tell Me Something Good by Court Stevens
The book: The Dilemmas of Working Women by Fumio Yamamoto
