Author: Tirzah Price

Nao has decided to defer college for a year in order to do something she’s long dreamed of: return to Japan. Although she lived in her mother’s homeland as a young kid, she’s mostly grown up in the States and feels like a part of her is missing. When she arrives at Himawari House, a place for young students from all over the world, she meets Hyejung and Tina, who are from Korea and Singapore. The three form a bond despite their differences and language barriers, and they learn to rely on each other as they navigate Japanese classes, work, and the unknowns of their futures.

I loved this book for so many reasons, but I’ll start with the characters and their unique perspectives. Although the book is centered around Nao’s experiences and perspective, we also get the backstories and POV of both Hyejung and Tina as they share what brought them to Tokyo and what their goals are. Their friendship is really sweet, and I love how they relate to each other through food (so much delicious food, it was like being in a Ghibli movie!), bonding over being homesick, and by supporting each other while far from home. The use of language is also really fascinating in this book, and it’s notable because Becker lays it all out on the page—Japanese, Korean, English, and more. The scenes in which the characters are learning Japanese or struggling to understand each other are artfully smudged, so you get this really cool visual representation of the words they’re catching and their confusion. From a linguistic standpoint, I thought it was really fascinating and creative. The only language I read in this book is English, but it was really cool to see multiple languages represented on the page.

Overall, this is a really lovely book about the emotional storm of returning to a country that you’re from but haven’t grown up in, and what it means to be an outsider and citizen at the same time. It’s also a thoughtful portrayal of the bravery it takes to go to a new country and learn a new language, and nuanced look at the many reasons why young people might emigrate to Japan. The ending was bittersweet, but perfect.

Henri is a Haitian American teen living in New York City. He attends a fancy private high school on scholarship and lives in a really nice apartment building on the Upper West Side…because his dad is the super. He’s got big goals and dreams of getting into Columbia, which would send his parents over the moon. The only issue? Living in New York is expensive. College is expensive. Enter: Henri’s side gig. He created and runs an app for a dog walking service, and walks dogs himself, essentially double dipping on the service and earning tips. It’s a pretty benign hustle in the grand scheme of things, but when he’s found out by Corrine, an intense classmate who happens to live in his building, she promises to keep his secret…if he helps her elevate her social status to become a well-rounded candidate for college recommendation letters.

I really loved this book a lot because first of all, it’s really, really funny. I know that humor can be. subjective thing in books, but Philippe is a truly funny writer who uses jokes and humor to poke fun at and explore larger and more complex issues, such as racial injustice, classism, and the challenges that Henri’s family faces as Haitian immigrants. But there are also lots of pop culture references and genuinely funny moments that truly help break things up! I also really enjoyed that this book is a sneaky exploration of how far you have to go to achieve your dreams and the ethical quandaries that arise. Henri lives in an unjust world and is working within an unjust system—there’s no doubt about that. While he’s generally a good person and fairly honest, he does engage in some deception and dishonesty to get where he wants to be, and he’s forced to truly reckon with that in a big way when his choices have consequences that extend beyond him. I loved that this book swings from funny moments to serious ones, and that Henri and the reader really think about the impact that one person’s choices can have and how difficult it can be to get ahead when the world is stacked against you. Plus, there’s a great slow-burn romance at the center that is really sweet to behold!

Evelyn Maltravers has two passions in life: riding, and her family. With her family’s security in question and four younger sisters behind her, her aunt and uncle have scraped up enough money for her to have one season in London—and one shot at finding a husband. Knowing that she has little to offer in the ballroom, she decides to distinguish herself on horseback, riding daily in Hyde Park. But in order to stand out, she needs a truly spectacular riding habit. For that, she turns to Ahmad Malik, a British-Indian tailor with aspirations of becoming a lady’s dressmaker. He agrees to Evelyn’s unusual request for an attention-grabbing and sophisticated habit, but as she returns for fitting after fitting, sparks fly between them and Evelyn must contend with the fact that she’s falling for a man who cannot offer her the security she hopes for.

I do love a good Victorian and Regency novel that takes into account class and explores what life was like for the lower class and marginalized people of the time period. This Victorian novel balances these worlds gracefully, giving insight into Evelyn’s attempts to break into the upper crest of English society while also showing her more at ease with a simpler life, in the country. We also get to explore life from Ahmad’s perspective as a biracial man deeply affected by English colonialism, and his struggle to find a place in a world that can’t accept his whole self. I really enjoyed the dressmaking aspects of this book, and I loved that the story isn’t afraid to get political! There is also a good mix of current events, politics, and insight into the early days of the spiritualism craze, all of which contribute to an atmospheric and detailed historical novel with plenty of clever turns. Overall, this is a lighter, sweeter romance with no one-the-page sex but plenty of yearning and delicious scenes of tension as our hero and heroine are left alone in a fitting room, and find themselves weighing virtue and reputation against desire.

We are also introduced to three other delightful young ladies in Evelyn’s social circle who are also riders and also bluestockings, setting up what’s sure to be some delightful series—in fact, look for secondary character Julia’s story in The Belle of Belgrave Square, out later this year! This is the perfect series to satisfy your itch for more Victorian romances in the style of Evie Dunmore’s League of Extraordinary Women books!

Logan is in love with Delilah—she just doesn’t know it yet. Delilah is a little too preoccupied to date at the moment—she lives with her mom and her mom’s awful, abusive boyfriend who makes their lives miserable. One day, Delilah has had enough and she snaps…and her mom’s boyfriend ends up dead. The police believe it’s an accident, and she doesn’t correct them. But then Logan comes into her life, and one day he lets slip that he’s been watching Delilah. And he knows what she’s done. And what’s worse, he has video evidence. Now Delilah has found herself caught in the web of yet another abuser, but just like last time, she’s not about to be a victim.

Jesse Q. Sutanto is known for her adult romantic mystery/comedy, Dial A for Aunties, but her debut has a darker undercurrent. She writes from both the perspectives of Logan and Delilah, which offers a stark contrast for telling this thrilling story. It’s almost creepy how well she captures Logan’s obssession and the mental gymnastics he goes through to justify stalking Delilah. As for Delilah, she is stronger than she appears and pretty resourceful, but the weight of carrying the secret of her accidental murder definitely affects her. As she slowly realizes Logan’s true nature and decides she must fight back, the story evolves into a tense cat-and-mouse game with a mystery element that’s impossible to put down! It’s also set against the backdrop of an exclusive prep school, so if you like those dark academia vibes, this book is for you!

Bonus: If you enjoy this book, pick up her next YA, The New Girl! It’s a companion novel, set at the same prep school, and it explores another mystery and murder!

In this dual POV novel, Georgia is a teenager whose mundane world has just been shaken by the news of a local teen’s murder. Todd Mayer was found in a nearby park, dead and stripped naked in the middle of winter. Georgia’s memory is jogged when she sees his picture in the news: he was in the last place she expected him to be, not long before he died. Meanwhile, Todd is a ghost, observing the aftermath of his death: the police investigation, the questioning of his fellow students, his mother’s devastated reaction to his loss, and even his favorite teacher’s response to his death. Part murder mystery and part coming of age, Georgia and Todd’s perspectives try and get at what really happened the night he died.

This is a novel that will definitely appeal to fans of The Things She’s Seen by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina, which I’ve recommended in this newsletter before. There is a sharp juxtaposition between Georgia’s chapters, where she’s mostly preoccupied with all the ways that her mom is ruining her life while also dealing with a confusing newer friendship, and then Todd’s chapters, which feel a little distant and mostly follow the very adult world of the investigation into his murder while also adding some essential insight to his final months. The story is a tragic one, made even sadder by Georgia’s revelations and discoveries about how the people close to her knew Todd but lied about it, but it’s also an important story that underscores the ways that teens can move from childhood to adulthood suddenly and without warning. The Todd chapters are haunting, and the Georgia chapters are an interesting probe into accountability and taking a stand for what’s right. Cold has a great atmospheric wintry setting with some noir vibes, and the plot moves quickly. This might be a shorter book, but it packs a punch!

Julia is an editor who works for a small mystery and crime publisher. Her boss wants to reissue an edition of The White Murders by Grant McAllister, a mathematician turned mystery writer who only ever published the one book. It’s a curious collection of seven short mystery stories accompanied by an academic paper that uses the principles of math to map out all possible mystery plots. But Grant has become famously reclusive since its publication, so Julia tracks him down on a distant island and spends a few days working with him to revisit the original text. As they work their way through each story, she begins to suspect that this book is hiding a larger, real-life mystery. What is Grant hiding?

I have to admit this book surprised me—I think I expected something a bit more contemporary thanks to the cover (which looks like something you’d see on a Blake Crouch book!) but this is a historical mystery within mysteries, set roughly in the 1960’s. Grant wrote his academic paper and the mystery short stories roughly twenty years earlier, near the end of the Golden Age of mystery writing, and each one feels like it could fit right in with the work of Christie or Sayers. The novel alternates back and forth between Grant’s stories and his conversations with Julia about each work, and along the way readers are treated to an analysis of the mystery genre that is always entertaining and never dull, while also receiving tiny hints and clues about Grant’s life and the mystery he must be concealing. Each of the stories are intriguing and vary in not only plot but also characters and motivation, and Julia’s dissection of them is equally fascinating. As a reader, you know a reveal is coming once the characters have finished Grant’s seven stories, but even I was surprised by some of the twists that Pavesi threw at readers. If you’re a big fan of classic murder mysteries and a nerd of the genre, this is a must-read book!

This hefty novel unfolds in three points of view, in three timelines. Nina Markov is a young woman growing up in the Soviet Union who dreams of flight. Although war brings terror and uncertainty, for Nina it’s a chance to join the Night Witches, an all-female force that wreaks havoc on the Nazis…until she’s stranded behind enemy lines. Ian Graham is a former war correspondent who is plagued by nightmares of the horrors he witnessed, and now that the war is over and the Nuremberg Trials have concluded, he decides to devote his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals who’ve escaped in the chaos at the end of the war. But one in particular eludes him. And finally, Jordan is just a teenager living in Boston in the early 50’s, and she’s shocked when her widower father remarries a quiet, reserved German war widow with a young daughter. She wants her father to be happy, but there’s something not quite right about her new stepmother and her reticent new stepsister.

All three of these timelines and characters converge in a really breathtaking way, and tell a comprehensive and epic story that you’ll race through. I get a bit weary of all the sanitized World War II fiction, but what sets Quinn’s writing apart for me is that she doesn’t just linger in the war, and isn’t afraid to show the fallout afterwards. Only Nina’s perspective actually takes place during the war, and the other point of views are all about how people had to remake themselves and their lives afterwards, and how hard that it when you’re plagued by PTSD and horrific memories. Quinn also doesn’t shy away from the fact that just because the war ended, justice was served—in fact, it’s usually quite the opposite.

Another thing I like about Quinn’s work is that her novels usually contain some diversity. In this novel, Nina is (presumed) bisexual and the great love of her life is a woman. Her other work also includes characters of color and queer characters, and I appreciate the inclusion of multiple perspectives, especially since WWII books tend to be pretty white and straight.

Definitely pick up this book if you want a sweeping historical that reads like a thriller, but has some gorgeous writing and wonderful character building! And if you like this one, I recommend checking out The Rose Code and The Alice Network next!

Serena Singh is smart, driven, and successful. But now that she’s in her thirties, everyone around her seems to be getting married and having babies. She’s lost so many friends to the trappings of conventional family life, but the last straw is when her little sister gets married and gets pregnant and Serena realizes she needs more friends, STAT. Thus begins her quest to find friendship with people who run at her speed, but it isn’t easy. And when an old boyfriend that Serena truly loved comes back into her life, she knows one thing: She’s not willing to compromise on what she wants out of life. But where does that leave her?

I adored this book so much, and I feel like I relate to it even more since experiencing moving to a new town and realizing that making friends as an adult when your life doesn’t look like everyone else’s is actually really, really hard. I laughed so much during Serena’s misadventures in book clubs, cooking classes, and inadvertently ending up at a sex club (whoops). I also sympathized with her feelings of betrayal by all couples and parent friends, and how she was slow to want to start a relationship with her ex, even as I recognized that her view was at times limiting.

But I think the best part of the book is the unexpected friendship she does find: Another woman at work who, much to her surprise, is married with a toddler. Their connection is wonderful and hilarious, and made me wish my friends lived close. Of course, this friendship also isn’t what Serena expects, so there are challenges that come with it. Lalli writes a story with all the same beats as a romance novel, only the relationship is platonic rather than romantic, and it’s refreshing and exciting.

I think oftentimes we hear about millennial fiction and it gets pigeonholed as “books about aimless twenty-somethings” but I am here for the next evolution of millennial fiction: books about thirty-somethings creating lives they love and figuring out how to balance friendship, love, and family (found and blood) in new ways.