“Because who wants to be known as some kind of ho-bag haunt.” Shannon Sanders’s debut novel The Great Wherever (Henry Holt 2026) might be my favorite ghost story of the year – it certainly has a couple of my favorite ghosts. The novel opens with Aubrey Lamb getting dumped. She was already floundering a bit,Continue reading “THE GREAT WHEREVER – Shannon Sanders”
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SOME PEOPLE – Parini Shroff
“We’re all just people, trying. We’re all eggshells, walking around trying not to bump into shit that will break us.” I really enjoyed Parini Shroff’s The Bandit Queens, so I was eager to read the follow-up novel, Some People (Ballantine Books 2026). While it is a very different book from The Bandit Queens, the writingContinue reading “SOME PEOPLE – Parini Shroff”
THE DAFFODIL DAYS – Helen Bain
Helen Bain’s debut novel, The Daffodil Days (Scribner 2026), would have been on my Booker Longlist predictions had I read it earlier. (It would likely have replaced A Beautiful Loan.) And while it’s too late for me to change those predictions, I will stand ten toes down behind this novel. Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon RiverContinue reading “THE DAFFODIL DAYS – Helen Bain”
The Pōhaku – Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes
“Death has been chasing this story for generations, trying to kill it.” The Pōhaku by Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes (HarperCollins 2026) has all the elements of the type of story I love: family saga, a storytelling tradition, and a bit of magic realism. Add the fact it is about the Hawaiian people and boasts a stunningContinue reading “The Pōhaku – Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes”
NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED – Yu-Mei Balasingamchow
Love a true crime podcast / tiktok live cross over? You’ll enjoy Yu-Mei Balasingamchow’s Names Have Been Changed (Tiny Reparations Books 2026). The novel is set at the tail end of the Covid and told over the course of a little over a month as a “confessional podcast.” As indicated by the title, names haveContinue reading “NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED – Yu-Mei Balasingamchow”
WHISTLER – Ann Patchett
“Your mother and I both have a small shard of glass in our hearts where the other is concerned: her disappointment, my shame, her regret and my regret.” “Because in the book, I don’t die. In the book, we’re sitting on this bench, talking about a book about the two of us, and then theContinue reading “WHISTLER – Ann Patchett”
SHOULD THE WATERS TAKE US – Stephanie Soileau
I love a family saga, and when the publisher sent me Stephanie Soileau’s Should the Waters Take Us (Doubleday 2026 – thanks for the copy! I wish I’d gotten this out sooner – the book was released 7/14/2026!), I was thrilled. Family saga spanning centuries and set primarily in the Louisiana bayou? Yes, please. Let’sContinue reading “SHOULD THE WATERS TAKE US – Stephanie Soileau”
TREAT THEM AS BUFFALO – Blair Palmer Yoxall
“He’s the heaviest secret I ever carried. I don’t want to carry him no more.” This is a difficult review, because I was so looking forward to Blair Palmer Yoxall’s debut Treat Them as Buffalo (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 2026 – fun fact, I interned at Algonquin over 20 years ago. My duties includedContinue reading “TREAT THEM AS BUFFALO – Blair Palmer Yoxall”
CHILDREN OF THE WILD – Kevin Powers
Based on the premise and the reviews, I thought I was sure to enjoy Kevin Powers’s Children of the Wild (Harper 2026). Color me wrong. I was so disappointed in this book. And quite honestly mad at myself for finishing it. But where did it go wrong? Historical fiction set in 1917, isolated rural valleyContinue reading “CHILDREN OF THE WILD – Kevin Powers”
MARE – Emily Haworth-Booth
“When I began it, I saw that the story didn’t begin with her at all, but further back. I decided to begin it, for now, with the dog.” “And the dog died, and all my stories with him…” Emily Haworth-Booth’s Mare (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2026) is the type of book that will rip theContinue reading “MARE – Emily Haworth-Booth”
A Girl Named Tommi 