Barbara Claypole White

FAMILY FAMILY is the perfect book club pick. Funny and wise, it raises thought-provoking questions about what makes a family. Across multiple timelines, readers join India Allwood on her journey from spirited teen dreaming of a life on the stage, to studying hard as an undergrad, landing a role on Broadway, snagging an agent, and…

I love Ali Hazelwood’s rom-coms about women in STEM, but I’d decided to skip BRIDE because I have zero interest in werewolves and vampires. Or so I believed until I picked up a copy and read the first page. This novel has everything: fabulous characters, hilarious dialogue, sexual tension, betrayal, political shenanigans, and killer good…

I’m a huge Catherine McKenzie fan, and the first of a new series written under the name Catherine Mack might be my favorite of her novels. EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION SOMEONE DIES introduces best-selling author Eleanor Dash. As readers join Eleanor on an Italian book tour that includes historical settings and dramatic views…

My New Year’s resolution was to liberate one book a month from the back of my teetering TBR stacks, and I’m so glad THE POSSIBLE WORLD was my February save. This beautiful novel winds together the stories of three strangers struggling to make sense of events that have broken their lives into before and after.…

THE FROZEN RIVER is a gripping blend of historical fiction, thriller, and women’s fiction. From the first few minutes of the audiobook, I was immersed in a brutal Maine winter, the harsh realities of frontier life, a gruesome murder, and one of history’s unsung heroines: Martha Ballard, an 18th-century healer and midwife. An author’s note…

THE TIGER IN THE HOUSE is a compelling, emotional read that dives into two separate worlds: schizophrenia and the opioid crisis. It’s part family drama, part thriller, and 100% page-turner. Plus there’s a subtle romantic thread and a dog you wish you could meet in real life. Add the characters, and this novel has everything.…

SHARK HEART, a stunning debut unlike anything I’ve ever read, might be my favorite novel of 2023. The unique structure, the beautiful writing, and the powerful emotions make this love story unforgettable. Imagine a world in which humans can be inflicted with an illness that means they metamorphosize into birds, animals, or reptiles. There is…

TRANSCENDENT KINGDOM is a novel to savor. Full of beautiful, powerful sentences, it explores the impact of grief and mental illness on an immigrant family seeking a new life in America. That dream disintegrated quickly into a failed marriage, racism, poverty, and addiction. The story is told through the perspective of the daughter. Gifty is…

As a history major, I love fiction that breathes life into history’s forgotten figures. From page one of THE OTHER PRINCESS, I was gripped by the story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the princess from Yoruba, West Africa, who became Queen Victoria’s ward. We meet Sarah as five-year-old Aina. She’s strong-willed and destined—according to Yoruba tradition—for…

I’m not a fantasy fan, but THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA has everything I love in a novel: laugh-out-loud moments, quirky characters, a lush setting, and the triumph of empathy and acceptance over prejudice and judgment. At the heart of the story is Linus Baker. Forty years old, overweight, and out-of-shape, Linus lives alone…