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If ever there was a spring when we needed to find great books to read this is it. With the coronavirus forcing the entire nation into social distancing and many into all out quarantining, we’re all going to be going a little stir crazy. Getting lost in a book is one of my favorite ways to help time pass more quickly and to forget about the outside world. Two things we’ll all be looking for this spring. My winter reading was something of a mixed bag, starting out strong in January, pretty much flopping in February, but picking back up this month. Here’s to hoping that March trend continues with the sixteen April and May releases I’m highlighting in my Spring Preview 2020. I hope you’ll find wonderful books to help get you through this crazy spring!
April Releases
Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore (debut)
Publisher: Harper (3/31)
Length: 320 pages
The Draw
– Beautiful writing by a debut author.
– Bleak 1976 West Texas setting.
– Women pushing for dignity in a man’s world.
The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah (debut)
Publisher: W.W. Norton Company (4/7)
Length: 312 pages
The Draw
– Girls’ Muslim school in Chicago.
– Principal face-to-face with a school shooter.
– Memories of bigotry surrounding her own childhood.
Godshot by Chelsea Bieker (debut)
Publisher: Catapult (4/7)
Length: 336 pages
The Draw
– Drought ridden Central California setting.
– Cult-leader pastor promising rain.
– 14-year old protagonist on a quest to find her mother.
Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould
Publisher: Avid Reader Press (4/14)
Length: 288 pages
The Draw
– I haven’t read Emily Gould in a very long time.
– NYC setting – one of my favorites!
– .Secrets in a mother-daughter relationship.
Master Class by Christina Dalcher
Publisher: Berkley (4/21)
Length: 336 pages
The Draw
– I loved Dalcher’s 2018 novel VOX (my review).
– A future school system valuing IQ above all else.
– The main character (heroine) is a teacher!
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
Publisher: Random House (4/21)
Length: 496 pages
The Draw
– Lake Tahoe setting, a place I’ve spent a lot of time.
– Story of two vastly different women.
– Perfect timing for a thriller!
Conditional Citizens by Laila Lalami (nonfiction)
Publisher: Pantheon Books (4/28)
Length: 208 pages
The Draw
– Personal account of what it means to become an American.
– An intense look being nonwhite in America today.
– Loved Lalami’s writing in The Other Americans (my review).
The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
Publisher: Knopf (4/21)
Length: 288 pages
The Draw
– Both The Girls from Corona del Mar AND Dear Fang, With Love (my review).
– Unlikely friendship, as in her debut.
– Early reviews have been off the charts! (4.46 on Goodreads)
May Releases
A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight
Publisher: Harper (5/5)
Length: 400 pages
The Draw
– This: “Big Little Lies meets Presumed Innocent”.
– I always enjoy a well-done domestic thriller.
– Friends protecting troubling secrets.
All Adults Here by Emma Straub
Publisher: Riverhead Books (5/5)
Length: 368 pages
The Draw
– I was a big fan of Straub’s last book, Modern Lovers (my review).
– Adult siblings, aging parents – many of our lives!
– A look back on mistakes of parenting.
Stray by Stephanie Danler (nonfiction)
Publisher: Knopf (5/5)
Length: 240 pages
The Draw
– I loved Danler’s debut novel, Sweetbitter (my review).
– Memoir of life after selling her first novel.
– A reckoning of her life born into of a very damaged family.
A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet
Publisher: W.W. Norton Company (5/12)
Length: 224 pages
The Draw
– 12 children on vacation with their self-indulgent parents.
– A group decision to runaway.
– It’s short!.
Shiner by Amy Jo Burns (debut)
Publisher: Riverhead Books (5/12)
Length: 272 pages
The Draw
– Gritty West Virginia mining town setting.
– It’s a coming-of-age story, one of my favorites.
– Promise of a miracle turned to tragedy.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press (5/19)
Length: 540 pages
The Draw
– Prequel to the Hunger Games Trilogy (and I don’t do series)!
– Takes place 64 years before the original Hunger Games.
– 18-year old Coriolanus Snow mentors a boy and girl from District 12.
All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Masad (debut)
Publisher: Dutton (5/26)
Length: 336 pages
The Draw
– That cover!
– Daughter’s journey to deliver letters addressed to mysterious men.
– Discoveries of self and a mother’s hidden life.
Red Dress in Black and White by Elliot Ackerman
Publisher: Knopf(5/26)
Length: 288 pages
The Draw
– Waiting for Eden (my review) was one of my favorites in 2018.
– A tug-of-war over a child.
– Deception, corruption, political intrigue – a winning combination.
Which spring releases are you most looking forward to?
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Spring Preview 2020 photo by ID 109547655 © Anastasiia Gergelizhiu | Dreamstime.com.
I think I am hoping to read the new Anne Tyler book the most.
Anne Tyler is always reliable. But many of these look wonderful. Thanks for sharing your favorites.
I generally like Anne Tyler, so am eager to check out her new book.
Ooo great list! God Shot is high on my list.
We’ll need to compare notes. I might start Godshot later this week.
Interesting titles here. I haven’t read about most of these.
Conditional Citizens sounds so good.
My TTT .
Laila Lalami’s writing is gorgeous, so hopefully that will translate well into memoir.
Wow! Just added about all of these onto my OVERDRIVE recommendations. Great list.
Thank you!
Thanks for stopping by, Helen. Always happy to load people up with good books.
I bet the Hunger Games prequel is going to be a very interesting read!
Unfortunately they’re not giving out any ARC’s, so we’ll all have to wait for publication.
Master Class sounds so good! And Songbirds and Snakes made my list!
My TTT!
Did You read Dalcher’s first book, VOX? I really liked that one.
Too funny- we have a lot of overlap in April and very little in May! Here’s hoping that both our reading is great. I’d love to make an optimistic prediction about what’s happening now, but not succumbing to an anxiety overload is the best I can manage. Stay safe, friend!
Thanks, Catherine. It’s always nice to have ecah other and pass good reading suggestions back and forth. Stay well!
Wow great list, thanks! I’m wanting to read many of these: Valentine, the Knockout Queen (yeah Rufi Thorpe! — the Girls of Corona del Mar slayed me), Shiner, and perhaps A Good Marriage (will probably need a fast thriller soon!). Funny thing is: I’m just about to pick up the Cactus League … and since the library closed …. they say I can have it forever ….. ha! I need the Arizona sun …. right about now.
I adored The Girls from Corona del Mar, too! Stay safe and let me know if you find a great book I’ve missed.
Oooh – a new Kimberly McCreight! Yay!