The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay
a bookclique pick by Ari Pinkus You don’t have to be a Jane Austen fan to become enraptured in The Austen Escape. Katherine Reay’s latest women’s fiction novel is very much a classic coming-of-age story with historic and modern twists. Even the two settings are emblematic of old and new eras. The novel opens in Austin, Texas, a tech hub, where the main character, Mary … Continue reading The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay
I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell
a bookclique pick by Katrina Smith I am, I am, I am… determined? Adventurous? Courageous? Or at least I intend to be more so after reading Maggie O’Farrell’s memoir I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death. The acclaimed Northern Irish author of novels such as This Must Be the Place and After You’d Gone has spun together a series of autobiographical tales … Continue reading I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
a bookclique pick by Ann Klotz I bought Turtles All the Way Down in an airport last fall, expecting to donate it to my school library. I read it in one gulp on the plane. Since then, I’ve shared the book with three high school students and acquired a second copy that I keep lending to girls who say, “Oooh, can I borrow that?” Green’s depiction of … Continue reading Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
a bookclique pick from Laura Dickerman Patricia Lockwood, author of the fascinating memoir, Priestdaddy, is often referred to as the “poet laureate of Twitter,” who first burst into the public sphere when her powerful piece, “Rape Joke” went viral. Lockwood is a poet first and foremost, and her sentences hum with precision, originality, and beauty. Although the vividness and specificity of her language is compelling in … Continue reading Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
Glass Houses by Louise Penny
a bookclique pick by Cricket Mikheev Glass Houses is the latest installment of Louise Penny’s mystery series featuring Quebecois detective, Armand Gamache. With a wide-ranging and culturally astute plot, this sweeping novel takes on the opioid crisis, the tradition of cobrador del frac, and college friendships as well as themes of shame, conscience, and, of course, murder. This sounds heavy. This sounds dark. And it … Continue reading Glass Houses by Louise Penny
Enough as She Is by Rachel Simmons
a bookclique pick by Vanessa Kroll Bennett Girls in our society feel that they are not enough — not thin enough, pretty enough, smart enough, successful enough — and it is causing a mental health crisis with new levels of depression, eating disorders and anxiety in our young women. Rachel Simmons’ clear, insightful and practical new book, Enough As She Is, provides a lens through … Continue reading Enough as She Is by Rachel Simmons
Real American by Julie Lythcott-Haims
a bookclique pick by Jessica Flaxman Julie Lythcott-Haims’ new memoir, Real American, lays bare the unique experience of being both black and white in America. Lythcott-Haims is the distinguished daughter of an African-American doctor and a British teacher who met and fell in love in Ghana in 1966. She attended Stanford and Harvard before becoming a Dean at Stanford, the renowned author of How to … Continue reading Real American by Julie Lythcott-Haims
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
a bookclique pick by Lindsey Mead Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere is both page-turningly entertaining and thoughtful. I raced through the story, curious about what would happen with the beautifully detailed, deeply human characters, and then, once I put it down, found I could not stop thinking about the world Ng had created. Set in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Little Fires Everywhere explores themes of race and class, planning and surprise, … Continue reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
a bookclique pick by Laura Dickerman Irish writer Sally Rooney, only 26 years old, a former top European debater from Trinity College in Dublin, wrote her first novel, Conversations with Friends, in three months. It is a quick-moving, fascinating study of two couples, Frances and Bobbi, young women who are entwined romantically, emotionally, and intellectually; and Melissa and Nick, who are older, married, successful and … Continue reading Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
a bookclique pick by Karen Marquis Derby The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas first caught my eye when I saw it lying casually on my colleague’s desk and upon investigating, I found she was teaching it for her senior seminar class on 21st century literature. Once my own copy was in my hands, I was riveted. I think this was because it brought me … Continue reading The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
