Contemporary Fiction

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (1929) by Erich Maria Remarque is arguably the greatest anti-war novel ever written. Based on Remarque’s own experiences in the German army, it stripped the “glory” from World War I and replaced it with a haunting look at the physical and psychological destruction of a “Lost Generation.”

The Plot: From Classroom to Trenches

The story follows Paul Bäumer, a young German student who, along with his classmates, is pressured into enlisting by their patriotic schoolmaster, Kantorek. They head to the front lines full of romanticized ideals of heroism, only to have those illusions shattered instantly by the reality of industrial warfare.

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  The Mentor: Paul is taken under the wing of Stanislaus Katczinsky (Kat), an older, resourceful soldier who teaches the boys how to survive, find food, and endure the mental strain of the front.

  
  


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  The Attrition: One by one, Paul’s friends are killed or maimed. The “plot” isn’t a hero’s journey, but a slow, rhythmic cycle of resting behind the lines and returning to the “meat grinder” of the trenches.

  
  

The Reality of the “Great War”

Remarque focuses on the sensory horrors that history books often sanitize:

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  The Trench Warfare: The constant threat of gas attacks, the sound of “death-rattles,” and the sight of horses screaming in pain.

  
  


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  Dehumanization: To survive, the soldiers must turn off their emotions. They become “human animals,” operating on instinct rather than morality or ideology.

  
  


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  The “Enemy”: In a pivotal scene, Paul hides in a shell-hole and kills a French soldier. Spending hours with the dying man, he realizes they are identical—men with families and lives who have no personal reason to kill one another.

  
  

Key Themes: The Lost Generation

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  Betrayal by Elders: Paul and his friends feel a deep resentment toward the older generation (teachers, parents, politicians) who sent them to war while remaining safe at home.

  
  


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  The Alienation of Home: When Paul goes on leave, he finds he can no longer speak to his family. Their “civilian” view of the war is so disconnected from the truth that he feels more at home in the mud of the trenches than in his own bedroom.

  
  


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  The Meaning of the Title: The book ends with Paul’s death on a day so peaceful that the official army report simply states: “All quiet on the Western Front.” It highlights the utter insignificance of an individual life in the face of the war machine.

  
  

Why It’s a 2026 Essential

With the 2022 Netflix adaptation winning multiple Oscars, the book has seen a massive resurgence in the mid-2020s.

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  Modern Relevance: Its message about the gap between political rhetoric and the reality of the soldier remains a universal warning.

  
  


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  The “Anti-War” Blueprint: It set the standard for how we tell war stories today—focusing on the foot soldier’s perspective rather than the generals’.

  
  

“Circe” (2018) by Madeline Miller is a lush, lyrical reimagining of Greek mythology that takes a minor character from Homer’s Odyssey and transforms her into a complex, feminist icon. While traditional myths paint Circe as a dangerous “temptress” who turns men into pigs, Miller reframes her story as a journey of self-discovery, resilience, and the power of being “the first of her kind.”

The Plot: From Outcast to Goddess

The novel spans centuries, following the life of Circe, the daughter of Helios, the sun god, and Perse, a beautiful but cold nymph.

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  The Misfit: Unlike her siblings, Circe has no divine power—or so it seems. She is mocked by the gods for her “yellow eyes” and her voice, which sounds like a human’s.

  
  


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  The Discovery of Witchcraft: Driven by loneliness and unrequited love, Circe discovers pharmakeia—the power of herbs and spells. She uses it to transform a rival into the monster Scylla, a deed that both terrifies the gods and reveals her true nature as the world’s first witch.

  
  


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  The Exile: Fearing her power, Zeus and Helios banish her to the deserted island of Aiaia. It is here, in isolation, that Circe truly comes into her own, taming lions and perfecting her craft.

  
  

Key Figures in Circe’s Life

As she lives through the ages, her island becomes a crossroads for some of the most famous figures in mythology:

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   Daedalus: The master craftsman with whom she shares a brief, tender connection based on their shared status as “creators” in a world of “destoyers.”

   
   


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   The Minotaur: Circe travels to Crete to help her sister, Pasiphaë, give birth to and bind the legendary monster.

   
   


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   Hermes: The messenger god who becomes her casual lover and a source of news from the outside world.

   
   


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   Odysseus: The famous hero who stays on her island for a year. Miller subverts the Odyssey by showing Odysseus through Circe’s eyes—not as a flawless hero, but as a brilliant, war-weary man prone to cruelty.

   
   

Key Themes: Mortality and Agency

1. The Burden of Immortality

Miller portrays the gods as petty, bored, and incapable of change. Circe’s “human” voice and her capacity for empathy make her an outcast among the divine but allow her to connect with the mortal world. The novel asks: Is a life without end meaningful if it contains no growth?

2. Witchcraft as Labor

In this version of the myth, magic isn’t a “gift” from the gods; it is a craft. Circe has to study, experiment, and work with her hands. It is a metaphor for female agency—finding power in a world designed to keep you powerless.

3. Protection and Motherhood

The latter part of the book focuses on Circe’s fierce protection of her son, Telegonus. She defies even Athena to keep him safe, transforming the island of Aiaia from a prison into a fortress.

Why It’s a 2026 Modern Classic

In 2026, Circe remains the gold standard for “mythic retellings.”

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  The Prose: Miller’s writing is frequently described as “golden”—warm, detailed, and incredibly sensory.

  
  


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  The “Other” Perspective: Like Wicked did for the Wicked Witch, Circe gives a voice to a woman who was silenced for thousands of years.

  
  


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  The Ending: The novel concludes with a powerful, choice-driven ending that challenges the traditional fate of a goddess.

  
  

Jake has fallen head over heels for Dandelion. The only problem? Dandelion is dead.

Thirty-year-old Poppy has lost her charming, larger-than-life older sister Dandelion seven months ago. Still drowning in grief, Poppy is stuck—can’t move forward, can’t let go. She’s also stuck in a going-nowhere relationship with smug fiancé Sam who’s pushing for marriage. When Poppy discovers unanswered messages from a charming stranger named Jake on her late sister’s dating app, she makes an impulsive choice: She’ll meet him, just once, on what would have been Dandelion’s fortieth birthday. It’s exactly the kind of wild adventure her vivacious sister would have pushed her toward.

Jake, a 40-year-old single dad filmmaker, is ready to find something real—and not least because his ex-wife’s twentysomething boyfriend has moved into their old family home. When he meets the intriguing woman who calls herself Dandelion, their connection is undeniable, electric, and he can think of little else. Poppy accidentally catfishes Jake. As their relationship deepens online and in person, Poppy finds herself trapped in a double life she never meant to create. Every moment with Jake feels genuine and totally right—despite the fact they’re tangled in deceit. She wears Dandelion’s clothes, adopts her confidence, becomes the bold person she never was. As lines between grief and love blur, Poppy faces a choice: keep her sister’s memory alive through her lies, or risk everything for a chance at her own happiness? But the longer the deception continues, the harder it becomes to untangle truth from fiction, self from sister, grief from desire.

The Plot/Key Appeal: Debut novel that’s “wildly entertaining and crackling with life” (Claire Daverley). Messy, character-driven contemporary fiction—think indie movie aesthetic, raw and quirky with lots of heart. Storey’s witty, sharp prose alternates between crude hilarity and surprisingly eloquent observations. The catfishing premise could be creepy, but Storey handles it with nuance—Poppy isn’t malicious, she’s trying to feel close to her sister again, borrowing Dandelion’s confidence and way of being in the world. Both frustrating and deeply sympathetic protagonist.

Jake is also flawed—middle-aged man past his prime, dead dreams, growing paunch. Their relationship is genuinely sexy and emotionally real despite foundation of lies. Novel divided into three parts: The Lie, More Lies, The Truth. Readers know it gets worse before resolution. Set in London with very British messiness—characters drink too much, use recreational drugs, cheat, lie, fall over, yet remain lovable. Explores: grief doesn’t make people behave perfectly, it makes them strange and impulsive. Sisterhood at emotional center even though Dandelion is dead—she feels very present through memories. Relationship isn’t idealized; it’s loving, complicated, sometimes tense, deeply believable.

Why It’s Trending:

• Released January 13, 2026. Debut novel.


• January 2026 Indie Next Pick.


• Jenny Jackson (Pineapple Street): “funny book about grief, honest book about lying, heartbreaking book about finding love…captivating, generous, deeply alive.”


• People: “tale of romantic and sisterly love seamlessly combines humor and heartbreak.”


• Entertainment Weekly: “almost made me redownload Hinge ‘for the plot.'”


• Reader’s Digest: “perfect for fans of messy, character-driven conflict.”


• Publishers Weekly, Booklist starred reviews. Compared to Dolly Alderton, Nora Ephron for humor-heartbreak balance.


• NPR featured author interview.

For fans of: unconventional romance, grief stories, dark comedy, morally gray characters, books that make you uncomfortable but can’t look away.

Book clubs will have INTENSE discussions about: catfishing ethics, grief coping mechanisms, identity, lies vs. truth, complicated sisterhood, when does love excuse deception?

Modern Appalachian retelling of David Copperfield follows a boy through foster care, opioid addiction, and poverty, illuminating the forgotten corners of America with humor and heartbreak.

William Waters, from a loveless home, falls for vibrant Julia Padavano and her three inseparable sisters. Decades unfold revealing family bonds, secrets, and redemption in this Little Women retelling.

Three timelines converge around a legendary racehorse: 1850s enslaved groom, 1950s Smithsonian scientist, and present-day art historian and Nigerian-American scientist uncover buried history.

“I Who Have Never Known Men” (originally published in French in 1994) by Jacqueline Harpman is a haunting, minimalist masterpiece of dystopian fiction. It is less about “action” and more about the profound, quiet horror of being human when all context for humanity—history, family, and gender—has been erased.

The Premise: The Cage

The story is narrated by the youngest of forty women who are being kept in an underground golden cage.

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  The Captivity: They have been there for as long as they can remember. They are guarded by silent men who never speak to them and never touch them. Their basic needs (food, clothing) are met, but they have no books, no tools, and no memory of how they got there.

  
  


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  The Narrator: Unlike the older women, the narrator was brought to the cage as a child. She has no memory of a world outside the bars. She has never seen a man’s face (the guards stay in the shadows), never experienced puberty, and has no concept of what “womanhood” even means.

  
  

The Escape: The Silence of the World

One day, a rhythmic siren sounds, and the guards suddenly vanish, leaving the cage doors open. The forty women emerge into a world that is even more terrifying than their prison: a vast, flat, and completely empty plain.

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  The Search for Others: They wander for years, discovering other cages identical to theirs, filled with the remains of people who weren’t as “lucky” to have their doors open.

  
  


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  The Absence of Nature: There are no birds, no trees, and no seasons. The world is an endless expanse of grey grass and unchanging sky.

  
  


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  The Mystery: The book famously never explains what happened to the world. There are no “rebel bases” or “evil overlords” to defeat. The mystery is the point—it’s a study in how humans behave when there is no “why” left.

  
  

Key Themes: Being vs. Doing

1. The Erasure of Gender

Because the narrator has no context for what a “man” or “woman” is supposed to be, she views her body and the bodies of the older women as mere biological machines. Harpman uses this to ask: How much of our identity is performative?Without a society to tell her she is a “woman,” the narrator is simply a being.

2. The Weight of Memory

The older women are haunted by memories of “before”—the smell of a kitchen, the touch of a lover, the sound of music. These memories are their greatest torture. The narrator, who has no memories, is in some ways the “strongest,” but her life is a hollow void.

3. The Human Need for Story

Even in a void, the narrator tries to make sense of her existence. She becomes a “scientist” of the mundane, tracking the movement of the sun and the distance between cages. She represents the undying human impulse to observe and record, even when there is no one left to read the records.

Why It’s a 2026 Cult Classic

In 2026, the novel has seen a massive resurgence in “Existential Dystopia” circles.

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  The “Anti-Hunger Games”: It rejects the tropes of modern YA dystopia. There is no romance, no chosen one, and no revolution.

  
  


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  Minimalism: It is a short, sharp book that lingers in the mind like a dream. It resonates with modern anxieties about environmental “quietness” and social isolation.

  
  

Jim—enslaved companion to Huckleberry Finn—tells his own story of survival, resistance, and the dangerous quest for freedom in this provocative reimagining of a classic.

“My Friends” (2024) by Hisham Matar is a masterpiece of exile, friendship, and the enduring weight of political history. Matar, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his memoir The Return, returns to fiction with a story that spans three decades, centering on three Libyan men living in London who are bound together by a single, violent afternoon.

The Premise: The 1984 St. James’s Square Protest

The novel is anchored by a real historical event: the 1984 protest outside the Libyan Embassy in London, where gunmen inside the embassy opened fire on peaceful protesters, killing a British policewoman and wounding several others.

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  Khaled: The narrator, a young student who travels from Libya to the UK to study. He finds himself drawn to the protest, where he is shot and wounded.

  
  


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  Mustafa: Khaled’s impulsive friend who is also wounded. His life becomes defined by his desire for revolution and his eventual return to Libya to fight.

  
  


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  Hosam: A famous writer whose short story inspired Khaled to dream of a different life. He eventually joins the two in London, forming an inseparable trio.

  
  

Key Themes: The Geometry of Exile

1. The Burden of Distance

Matar explores the “suspended life” of the exile. Khaled cannot return to Libya for decades because of his political involvement, yet he cannot fully commit to his life in London because his heart is elsewhere. He exists in a “middle space,” a theme Matar illustrates through his deep descriptions of London’s streets.

2. Friendship as Country

When a person loses their homeland, their friends become their “soil.” The relationship between Khaled, Mustafa, and Hosam is the central pillar of the book. Matar examines how friendships change over thirty years—through envy, shared trauma, and the divergent ways people react to the Arab Spring in 2011.

3. The Power of Literature

The novel is a love letter to books. For Khaled, literature is not just an escape; it is a way to map his own experience. The “friends” of the title refer not only to the people in his life but also to the writers and poets who sustain him in his isolation.

Why It’s a 2026 Literary Landmark

In 2026, My Friends is cited as one of the most significant novels of the decade for its portrayal of the “migrant experience” as something intellectual and deeply emotional, rather than just a headline.

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  The Prose Style: Matar’s writing is exceptionally elegant and quiet. It moves like a long walk through London, shifting between the present (Khaled walking to King’s Cross) and the vast history of his life.

  
  


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  The Historical Scope: It provides an essential window into Libyan history—from the oppressive rule of Gaddafi to the hope and eventual chaos of the 2011 revolution.

  
  

“Some Bright Nowhere” (2025) by Ann Packer is a visceral, emotionally challenging novel that marks the author’s first major release in over a decade. It was recently thrust into the 2026 cultural spotlight as an Oprah’s Book Club Pick, praised for its uncompromising look at the “messy” reality of end-of-life autonomy and the secrets held within long marriages.

The Plot: The Request That Shatters a Marriage

Eliot and Claire have been married for forty years and have raised two children in their quiet Connecticut town. Their life is defined by a comfortable, traditional rhythm—until Claire is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

For eight years, Eliot has lovingly transitioned into the role of primary caregiver. However, as the end approaches, Claire makes a shocking, seemingly “infuriating” request: she wants Eliot to move out of their home so she can spend her final weeks exclusively with her two best friends.

The novel follows Eliot as he is banished to a friend’s house, forced to watch from the sidelines while others care for his wife. He is left to grapple with a devastating question: How can the person I love most want to be without me at the end?

Key Themes: Agency and Identity

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  The “Dying Spa”: Claire jokingly refers to her final days with her friends as a “dying spa.” The book explores the female “circle of warmth” vs. the “fixer” role men often feel pressured to play.

  
  


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  Caretaker vs. Caregiver: The novel explores the linguistic and emotional difference between these two roles. Eliot’s identity is built on being the “competent anchor,” and Claire’s request strips that identity away.

  
  


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  The “Feminist” Death: Many critics view the book as profoundly feminist, as Claire reclaims her body and her space from the medical system and the patriarchal structure of marriage to die on her own terms.

  
  

Why It’s a 2026 Sensation

Published in late 2025, the book has dominated reading lists in early 2026 due to its polarizing protagonist.

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  The “Unlikable” Heroine: Claire is often seen as selfish or even cruel for banishing Eliot. Packer intentionally writes her characters as flawed and “short-sighted,” forcing the reader to ask: Do we truly have the right to demand how someone else spends their final moments?

  
  


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  Oprah’s Influence: Since being selected for the book club, it has sparked massive debates online about the “unspoken contracts” of marriage and what we “owe” our partners.

  
  

“The Berry Pickers” (2023) by Amanda Peters is a stunning, emotionally resonant debut novel that explores the lifelong ripples of a single tragic moment. It is a story of trauma, racial identity, and the enduring bond between siblings, set against the backdrop of the Mi’kmaq experience in North America.

The Premise: A Four-Year-Old Vanishes

The novel begins in July 1962 in Maine. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia has traveled south for the seasonal berry-picking harvest. One afternoon, while their parents are working in the fields, four-year-old Ruthie vanishes. She was last seen sitting on a rock by the edge of the field, eating blueberries.

Her six-year-old brother, Joe, is the last person to see her. The loss shatters the family, and Joe spends the next fifty years haunted by guilt and the mystery of what happened to his little sister.

The Dual Narrative: Joe and Norma

The book alternates between two distinct perspectives over the course of several decades:

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   Joe’s Story: We follow Joe as he grows up in Nova Scotia, living in the shadow of the “empty space” Ruthie left behind. His narrative is one of grief, anger, and a desperate search for closure that leads him into a life of wandering and pain.

   
   


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   Norma’s Story: Simultaneously, we follow a young girl named Norma growing up in a wealthy, stiflingly overprotective white family in Maine. Norma has always felt “different” from her parents. She has vivid, strange dreams of a life she can’t remember—dreams of blueberry fields and people who don’t look like her mother and father.

   
   

Key Themes: Identity and Cultural Theft

1. The “Hidden” History

While the book is a personal mystery, it touches on the broader historical context of the Sixties Scoop and the systemic removal of Indigenous children from their families. Though Ruthie’s disappearance is a specific crime, it mirrors the real-world erasure of Indigenous identity during that era.

2. The Weight of Secrets

The novel examines how secrets act as a slow-acting poison. In Norma’s household, the truth is buried under layers of “protection,” while in Joe’s household, the silence is a result of a grief too heavy to speak aloud.

3. The Sensory Power of Memory

Peters uses the landscape of the Northeast—the salt air of Nova Scotia and the dusty fields of Maine—to ground the story. For Norma, memory is not found in facts, but in the “smell of the earth” and the “stain of blueberries” on her fingers.

Why It’s a 2026 Must-Read

In 2026, The Berry Pickers continues to be a favorite for book clubs because it bridges the gap between a “unputdownable” mystery and high-quality literary fiction.

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  The Emotional Payoff: Unlike many thrillers, the focus here isn’t on the how of the kidnapping, but on the healingthat comes afterward.

  
  


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  Indigenous Voice: Amanda Peters (who is of Mi’kmaq and settler ancestry) brings an authentic, deeply respectful lens to the depiction of Mi’kmaq culture and resilience.

  
  

Upstate New York, 1975: A teen girl vanishes from summer camp. Years earlier, her brother disappeared. The intertwining searches reveal dark family secrets in the Adirondacks.

“The Goldfinch” (2013) by Donna Tartt is a sprawling, Pulitzer Prize-winning “Dickensian” epic. It is a story about how a single object—and a single moment of trauma—can tether a person to the past while simultaneously pulling them through a life of beauty, crime, and obsession.

The Catalyst: The Explosion

The novel opens with thirteen-year-old Theo Decker visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his adored mother. A terrorist bomb goes off, killing his mother and changing Theo’s life forever. In the chaotic aftermath, a dying man urges Theo to take a small, priceless Dutch Golden Age painting: “The Goldfinch” by Carel Fabritius.

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  The Secret: Theo keeps the painting for over a decade. It becomes his “talisman”—a secret link to his mother and a source of immense guilt and anxiety as he moves through the world of high-stakes art forgery and the criminal underworld.

  
  

The Journey: From New York to Las Vegas to Amsterdam

The book is divided into distinct “chapters” of Theo’s life:

1. The Barbours (New York)

Orphaned and adrift, Theo is taken in by the wealthy, chilly Barbour family. Here, he discovers the world of antiques and meets Hobie, a gentle furniture restorer who becomes his mentor and moral compass.

2. The Desert (Las Vegas)

Theo’s deadbeat father resurfaces and whisks him away to a ghost-town suburb in Nevada. This is where Theo meets Boris, a chaotic, brilliant, and substance-abusing Russian transplant. Their friendship—defined by shared neglect and wild experimentation—is the emotional high point of the novel.

3. The Antique Shop (New York & Amsterdam)

As an adult, Theo returns to New York and enters into a business partnership with Hobie. However, his life is a house of cards: he is selling “doctored” antiques, and the painting he has hidden for years eventually leads him into a dangerous confrontation with international art thieves in Amsterdam.

Key Themes: Art and Fate

1. The Immortality of Art

The painting itself, painted in 1654, represents something that survives the “mess” of human life. Tartt explores the idea that while humans are temporary and flawed, the beauty we create is eternal.

2. The “Chain” of Obsession

Like the bird in the painting—which is chained to its perch—Theo is “chained” to the painting. It is both his salvation (the only thing left of his mother) and his prison (the secret that prevents him from ever truly being free).

3. The Middle Point

The novel is a meditation on the “middle point” between what we are born with and the choices we make. Theo is fundamentally a good person who does “bad” things, constantly grappling with the randomness of fate.

Why It’s a 2026 Classic

In 2026, The Goldfinch is remembered as one of the last great “maximalist” novels.

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  The Prose: Donna Tartt (who famously takes 10 years to write each book) produces prose that is incredibly dense and sensory. You can smell the wood varnish in Hobie’s shop and feel the dry heat of the Vegas desert.

  
  


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  The “Boris” Effect: Boris remains one of the most beloved sidekicks in modern literature—a “vivid, foul-mouthed Artful Dodger” who provides the book with its kinetic energy.

  
  

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003) is a modern classic that remains one of the most powerful and emotionally taxing stories of the 21st century. It is a tale of betrayal, guilt, and the grueling path toward redemption, set against the backdrop of Afghanistan’s transition from a peaceful monarchy to a war-torn state under the Taliban.

The Plot: “A Thousand Times Over”

The story is narrated by Amir, a privileged Pashtun boy in 1970s Kabul. His closest companion is Hassan, the son of his father’s Hazara servant. Hassan is legendary for his loyalty and his skill as a “kite runner”—the one who retrieves fallen kites after a battle.

The central tragedy occurs after a kite-fighting tournament. Hassan is assaulted by a neighborhood bully, Assef, while protecting the kite Amir just won. Amir witnesses the attack from the shadows but is too paralyzed by cowardice to intervene. This moment of betrayal, and Amir’s subsequent framing of Hassan for theft to get him sent away, becomes the “ghost” that haunts Amir for decades, even after he and his father (Baba) flee to California as refugees.

Years later, a call from his father’s old friend, Rahim Khan, offers Amir a chance at atonement: “There is a way to be good again.” Amir must return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, who is being held by the same man who destroyed Hassan’s life years ago.

Key Themes

• The “Father’s Shadow”: Much of Amir’s early life is driven by a desperate, toxic need for his father’s approval. Baba is a “manly” Afghan hero who finds Amir’s love for poetry and stories weak.


• Ethnic and Religious Tension: The book highlights the historical persecution of the Hazara minority (Shia) by the Pashtun majority (Sunni), showing how systemic racism fueled the personal betrayals in the story.


• The Immigrant Experience: The middle section of the book provides a grounded look at the Afghan diaspora in America—the loss of status, the preservation of culture, and the “haunting” nature of the homeland.


• Cyclical Redemption: The novel is famously cyclical. It begins with Hassan running a kite for Amir and ends with Amir running a kite for Hassan’s son.

Book vs. Movie (2007)

The film is generally well-regarded but “sanitizes” much of the novel’s brutality to reach a wider audience.

Everyone receives a box with a string inside—its length reveals how long they’ll live. Society fractures as people grapple with knowing versus not knowing their fate.

“The Road to Tender Hearts” by Annie Hartnett (released April 2025) is a darkly comedic, high-stakes road trip novel that has become a major “word-of-mouth” hit. If you enjoyed the emotional honesty of Sandwich or the quirky depth of Unlikely Animals, this is likely your next favorite read.

The Plot

The story follows PJ Halliday, a 63-year-old lottery winner living in Pondville, Massachusetts. Despite his wealth, PJ’s life is a mess: he’s an alcoholic, he’s had three heart attacks, and he is haunted by the drowning death of his eldest daughter years ago.

When PJ reads an obituary and discovers his high school “one that got away,” Michelle Cobb, is newly widowed in Arizona, he decides to drive across the country to win her back. However, a series of chaotic events forces him to take along an unlikely crew:

• Two newly orphaned children: His grandniece and grandnephew, whom he has just “inherited” after a family tragedy.


• His estranged adult daughter, Sophie: Who joins the trip primarily to make sure her father doesn’t kill everyone with his questionable driving and drinking.


• Pancakes the Cat: A former nursing home therapy cat who has the eerie, supernatural ability to predict when someone is about to die by sitting on their lap.

Key Appeal Notes

• “Darkly Whimsical” Tone: Hartnett is famous for taking incredibly heavy subjects (grief, addiction, murder-suicide) and making them laugh-out-loud funny without being disrespectful.


• The “Grief Road Trip”: It’s a classic journey of redemption. As they move toward the “Tender Hearts” retirement community in Arizona, the physical distance helps the family process the emotional distance that has kept them apart.


• Magical Realism: The inclusion of Pancakes the cat (and a talking hat belonging to PJ’s late daughter) adds a surreal, “fairytale for adults” layer to the story.


• The “Fredrik Backman” Factor: If you liked A Man Called Ove, you will love PJ Halliday. He is flawed, frustrating, and deeply lovable.

Why it’s Buzzing

• BookTok “Emotional Damage” Clips: It’s trending among readers who love a book that “makes them laugh on one page and sob on the next.”


• Perfect for Book Clubs: The ending sparks massive debate—specifically about PJ’s fitness as a guardian and the ethics of “following your heart” when your heart is literally failing.

Aging Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo finally tells the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life, revealing the price of fame and her forbidden love story.

Identical twin sisters run away together, but choose opposite paths—one passes for white, one stays Black. Decades later, their daughters’ lives intersect, revealing family secrets.

Children’s book editor Lucy enters contest to win dream home on island with famous children’s author, facing challenges that force her to confront her past.

When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her husband waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. But mainly because Joe died five months ago. When she goes to pick up the present, Alfie, the bookshop owner with kind eyes, explains the gift—twelve carefully chosen books with handwritten letters from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.

Twelve books. Twelve months. One chance to heal her heart.

At first Tilly can’t imagine sinking into a fictional world while drowning in grief. But Joe’s tender words convince her to try, and something remarkable happens—Tilly becomes immersed in the pages, and a new chapter of her life begins. Soon, the monthly books are encouraging her to cook, travel, and see a horizon beyond the pure grief she’s been living with.

As the bookstore becomes a second home, Alfie becomes a treasured friend. Some books remind Tilly of what brings her joy in life. Others push her to try new things. Each month brings new discoveries: about herself, about Joe, about what it means to keep living when you’ve lost everything. As the year unfolds and Tilly works through Joe’s carefully curated reading list, she must decide: will she remain frozen in grief, or can books—and maybe new love—help her move forward?

The Plot/Key Appeal: Cozy, uplifting, heartwarming read perfect for book lovers. Character-driven literary fiction where “nothing much happens apart from life, which of course is everything.” Libby Page’s signature wit makes ordinary moments shimmer. But underneath humor lies profound meditation on grief, moving on, finding yourself again after devastating loss. The bookshop setting is lovingly detailed—You’ve Got Mail vibes with independent bookshop as second home. Alfie the bookseller is swoon-worthy without being cliché. Tilly’s emotional journey portrayed with brutal honesty and tenderness. The 12 books Joe chose each serve specific purpose in Tilly’s healing—some comfort, some challenge, some inspire adventure. Page never gets preachy or maudlin; instead offers warm portrait of woman learning to live again. For readers who love: books about books, bookshop romances, grief journeys, second chances, found family.

Why It’s Trending:

• Released February 3, 2026 (yesterday!).


• Kirkus starred review: “perfect cozy read for book lovers, sure to break and heal hearts.”


• Library Journal starred review. Compared to: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (Abbi Waxman), Patti Callahan Henry praised.

For fans of: Nora Ephron, bookshop romances, grief with hope, cozy reads that also have emotional depth.

Book clubs will love: discussions about which books would you choose for grieving loved one? How do books heal us? Nature of love and loss. Perfect Valentine’s Day/cozy winter read. Predictable but comforting—readers know where it’s going but enjoy journey.

“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” (2022) by Gabrielle Zevin is a sweeping, multi-decade novel about the beauty, complexity, and heartbreak of creative partnership. While it is set in the world of video game design, it is fundamentally a story about the different kinds of love—platonic, professional, and romantic—and how we “play” through the tragedies of life.

The Plot: A Lifelong “New Game Plus”

The story follows two friends, Sam Masur and Sadie Green, who meet as children in a hospital game room. Their bond is forged over a shared love of Super Mario Bros. and a mutual feeling of being outsiders.

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  The Reunion: Years later, they run into each other in a crowded Harvard Square subway station. This chance encounter leads to the creation of their first blockbuster game, Ichigo, and the founding of their company, Unfair Games.

  
  


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  The Third Pillar: Joining them is Marx Watanabe, Sam’s wealthy and charismatic roommate, who becomes the producer and the “glue” that holds Sam and Sadie together.

  
  


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  The Conflict: As they become superstars in the gaming industry, their relationship is tested by creative ego, professional jealousy, and the lingering traumas of their pasts.

  
  

Key Themes: Games as Art and Escape

1. The Meaning of the Title

The title is a famous line from Macbeth’s soliloquy, but in this book, it takes on a different meaning. In a video game, “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” represents the possibility of infinite rebirth. If you die, you can press “Restart.” You can always try again. This stands in stark contrast to the permanence of loss in the real world.

2. Creative Intimacy

Zevin explores the idea that building something with someone is a form of intimacy that can be deeper—and more volatile—than sex. Sam and Sadie often fail to communicate in real life, but they “speak” to each other through the mechanics and stories of the games they build.

3. Games as Emotional Architecture

The book describes several fictional games that reflect the characters’ mental states:

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  Ichigo: Inspired by Hokusai’s The Great Wave, representing a child lost at sea.

  
  


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  EmilyBlaster: A game based on Emily Dickinson’s poetry, representing Sadie’s grief and isolation.

  
  


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  Mapletown: A virtual world where Sam can escape his chronic physical pain.

  
  

Why It’s a 2026 Modern Classic

In 2026, the novel is praised for its “literary world-building.” Even readers who have never played a video game find themselves moved by the story because:

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  Disability Representation: Sam lives with a severe, chronic foot injury. Zevin’s depiction of how physical pain shapes a person’s personality and choices is incredibly nuanced.

  
  


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  The “Marx” Factor: Marx Watanabe is often cited by readers as one of the most beloved “selfless” characters in modern fiction, and his arc provides the book’s most emotional turning point.

  
  


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  The 90s/00s Nostalgia: For those who grew up during the transition from 8-bit to 3D graphics, the book is a love letter to the history of the medium.

  
  

Twin sisters separated at birth reunite as adults, discovering their parallel lives and uncovering family secrets that shaped their divergent paths.