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Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction)
Themes: Personal identity, family secrets, injustice and class divisions, child trafficking, heritage, and rewriting history
Summary: Memphis, 1939: Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four siblings live happily aboard their family’s Mississippi River shanty boat—until their parents leave one stormy night and strangers seize the children. Taken to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, they are promised reunion but instead face cruelty and betrayal. Rill struggles desperately to keep her family together in a world of danger and loss. Aiken, South Carolina, present day: Privileged prosecutor Avery Stafford seems to have it all—until a chance encounter unravels hidden family secrets. Inspired by the true Georgia Tann scandal, Lisa Wingate’s powerful novel explores memory, resilience, and the enduring pull of home. |
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Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins (Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Family)
Themes: Identity and cultural belonging, family and emotional resilience, loss and the quest for healing, social class and privilege, aging and memory
Summary: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jeanine Cummins comes Speak to Me of Home, a sweeping multigenerational story about marriage, family, and belonging. In 1968, Rafaela Acuña y Daubón leaves Puerto Rico for the Midwest after her wedding, only to face years of disappointment and dislocation. Her daughter, Ruth, grows up in St. Louis during the 1980’s, eager to forget her roots in order to fit in. Decades later, Ruth’s daughter Daisy returns to Puerto Rico, where tragedy forces three generations back to confront buried secrets. Moving from San Juan to St. Louis to the storm-ravaged island, this powerful novel explores identity, memory, and the meaning of home. |
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The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister (Fiction, Magical Realism, Contemporary, Fantasy, Coming of Age)
Themes: The power of scent and memory, self-discovery and identity, family and secrets
Summary: Erica Bauermeister, bestselling author of “The School of Essential Ingredients,” delivers “The Scent Keeper,” a luminous coming-of-age novel about memory, identity, and the power of fragrance. Emmeline grows up on a remote island, raised by her father in a world alive with sensory wonder. Lining their cabin are drawers filled with mysterious scents created by a strange machine—secrets he refuses to explain. When tragedy thrusts Emmeline into the wider world, she must navigate love, betrayal, and ambition while unraveling the mysteries of her past. Immersive and evocative, this novel explores how scent can unlock truth, shape destiny, and guide us home. |
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The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer (Historical Fiction, Southern, Literature, Novels)
Themes: Life, death, and the pursuit of meaning, ultimately illustrating the profound impact one individual can have on the lives of others.
Summary: The Poet of Tolstoy Park is the unforgettable story of Henry Stuart, a retired professor and widower told in 1925 Idaho that he has less than a year to live. Rejecting despair, Henry embraces Tolstoy’s spiritual teachings and moves to Fairhope, Alabama—a utopian community of writers and freethinkers. There, he buys ten acres and sets about building a round house of handmade concrete blocks, seeking to “perfect the soul” before death. His family and neighbors are baffled by his barefoot eccentricity, yet Henry discovers not decline but renewal. What begins as preparation for dying becomes, instead, a profound journey toward living. |
