Book Review: "The Social Circle" by Sophie Wan

“After all, if friendship is a plant that needs to be watered regularly, theirs should have withered to nothingness long ago. But maybe real friendship is not a plant. Maybe it’s a mountain. Sometimes difficult to ascend. But there, always, through the storms and the seasons.”

This was so good! I had been eyeing this book for a few months and I finally picked it up over the weekend. I love stories about friendships and how they go off course.

Ten years ago, Maggie met Adam, Charles, and Hari, shortly after she arrived as a transfer student at the University of California at Berkeley. Together, they create Circle, initially as an effort to help their fellow students navigate the school’s clubs, but it eventually becomes the first major social media platform.

As Circle grows in popularity, the friends have to balance the challenges of college and managing user demands and expectations. At the same time, the line between friendship and love gets blurry, which causes friction on the business side. And when it all falls apart, Maggie finds herself on the outside looking in.

Ten years later, as Circle gets ready to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Maggie receives a personal invitation to join the other three on a remote Norwegian island. She’s not sure if she can handle rehashing the history among them, but her new company could use the publicity. Will they be able to move past the issues that derailed their friendships, or will the hurt and anger win again?

I loved the fact that the book dwelled more on the relationships between the friends and how they handled the growing business than the platform itself. It made me a little nostalgic for a time in my life where things were simpler and you could just enjoy your friends without life getting in the way. This was really, really good!

Book Review: "Driven" by Mason Coile

This was a very different book than I expected, and it sure did pack a punch! I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since I finished it.

“Hurt can’t be buried. It can be locked away for a time, or hidden, but eventually it rises to cause more pain.”

Jamie is being haunted. Seriously. Ever since his wife and daughter left him, every place he has lived has been occupied by creepy ghosts and disturbing noises. The ghosts infiltrate his dreams, follow him into the shower, take over his television, and keep forcing him to move to a smaller and smaller place in the hopes there won’t be room for them.

His ultimate solution is to find someone who will sell him their Lion—the world’s first completely safe, self-driving vehicle. He figures that he can eventually sleep in the car and it will keep the ghosts out. When he is able to buy one, he hopes this will free him of being haunted.

But he wakes up in the car to discover the hood is dented, the windshield is shattered, and—wait, that’s blood. It looks like the car ran over someone. But who? And when the car refuses to unlock its doors, Jamie isn’t sure what the car is planning next, or how much more complicit he’ll be in whatever it does.

While there are certainly elements of horror and gore present, what sets this book apart is its exploration of grief and despair. I wondered how far the car would go and how the book would resolve itself. And on a sad note, Mason Coile was the pen name for Andrew Pyper, a Canadian science fiction and horror writer who died in 2025.

Book Review: "ER: The Oral History" by Lynette Rice

I definitely don’t watch television as much as I used to. But back in the day, there were so many programs I watched religiously, on many nights of the week. I even had two VCRs for a while so I could record multiple programs.

One program I watched from the very start was ER. Even though I really can’t stand the sight of blood (real or fake) and I’m definitely a bit of a hypochondriac, I was hooked on this show. It’s crazy to think what a huge phenomenon it became, and that before the show, George Clooney was just a particularly handsome actor who showed up briefly on a bunch of other television shows.

Lynette Rice has written a comprehensive oral history of the show. She interviewed more than 60 people, including the showrunner, John Wells, many of the producers and directors, and the actors who played both major and recurring characters through the show’s 15-year run.

This book was a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at all aspects of the show. There were so many interesting facts I learned and reading this gave me a deeper appreciation of the passion that drove this show to success. It would, in its heyday, average 35 million viewers per season (in an era before streaming and DVRs), and was either the number one or number two most watched show on television for six years.

I think this would be a good read for both casual and serious fans of the show. As Rice says in the book, as popular as Grey’s Anatomy is now, there would be no Grey Sloan Memorial without County General.

Book Review: "Thank You for Remembering" by Emily Harding

“Destiny is real—we just build it ourselves. And in that way, my grandmother was right after all. The magic isn’t what happens to us. It’s that we keep going anyway.”

When Marnie wakes up in the hospital, she has no idea why she’s there. But even worse, she quickly discovers that she has no memories of the last year of her life. She vaguely remembers moving to Boston with her boyfriend Matt, but that’s it.

It turns out Marnie had a traumatic brain injury, which is causing the memory loss. She’s surprised to learn that not only did she and her boyfriend break up and she has her own apartment, but apparently before her injury she got a horrible haircut. And now she has bangs…

She has no idea where she works (or if she even has a job), she can’t unlock her phone or access her ATM card, and apparently, there’s a mouse in her apartment. Luckily, her very handsome neighbor, Ben, helps her get readjusted. He shows her how to get to various places, and tolerates the emotional rollercoaster she finds herself on.

Marnie has apparently kept receipts and movie tickets from her time in Boston, so she tries to figure out what these keepsakes mean. And while her best friend insists it will all lead her back to Matt, she starts to realize that he might not be her happy ending after all. (Any guesses on who might be? 😉)

This was a really sweet and emotional book, and Emily Harding really did her research on how people can be affected by a brain injury. While the dreaded miscommunication trope popped up a few times, I loved the banter between her and Ben. I also found her journey to find her way to be really meaningful and moving.

Book Review: "Plant Lady" by Minyoung Kang, translated by Shanna Tan

I really enjoyed this! It’s a little creepy, a little mysterious, and a bit thought-provoking. I’ll definitely be thinking about this for a while.

Yoohee was an office worker who decided to leave her job and open a plant shop. She found space in a neighborhood that didn’t appear to have much foot traffic, but it’s not long before the shop becomes popular, both with customers and on social media.

She cares tremendously about her plants, painstakingly caring for them and ensuring they get the climate and lighting they need to thrive. People visit because they know how much she knows plants, and that she carries many unusual varieties.

But those aren’t the only reasons customers flock to Plant Shop. Troubled women—those frightened or abused or mistreated by men—seek Yoohee’s counsel. She is all too willing to help free these women of the burdens that are causing their unhappiness, fear, even pain. She has tools at her disposal and she’s not afraid to use them.

Yoohee knows how these women feel. At one point, back in her hometown, she fell victim to a young man she believed to be kind and good. The pain of those days has haunted her, so she’s willing to do whatever it takes to help her customers. No one will miss them anyway, right? And if they do, would they ever suspect the owner of Plant Shop?

This isn’t quite a horror novel; it’s more dark literary fiction than anything else. But I was utterly captivated. I wondered if things would get creepier or if Yoohee would get her comeuppance. In the end, though, I cheered her heroism, even if it took a much more sinister tone.

Book Review: "The Living Realm" by Jordan Tannahill

“Her comment made me wonder, though, whether there were certain places on Earth where the membrane between the past and present, indeed even the future, had been worn thinner than elsewhere. Whether people across cultures, throughout history, had been able to perceive this thinness, both consciously and unconsciously, and if it was because of this that these sites became places of worship, or at the very least places of congregation. Places where we return over and over to be with time, to better perceive its flux, and situate ourselves within its mysteries.”

This was an absolutely gorgeous book. It was moving, powerful, at times elegiacal, and its prose was simply luminous. I’m so thankful I stumbled upon it!!

Europe was experiencing its worst drought in some time. In the midst of this oppressively hot summer, the narrator and his closest friends spend many a day at Teufelssee, a glacial lake in a forest on the edge of Berlin. The lake has always been somewhat of a tourist attraction, while the forest surrounding it has been a popular cruising spot for decades.

One night while cruising, the narrator is taken aback when he sees a man who resembles Lukas, his former lover. But it’s more than a resemblance—this man could be Lukas’ doppelgänger. Yet the strangest thing is that Lukas died more than 30 years earlier.

Even after he loses sight of the man, he is so sure that it was Lukas. But why would he show up so many years later? As he tries to make sense of this sighting and what it means, he starts encountering other former lovers whom he has lost. While his friends worry that he’s losing his mind or suffering from some type of latent survivor’s guilt, he’s determined to figure out what these appearances should symbolize to him.

I found this to be such a compelling book. This is a story about loss, memories, grief, friendship, and found family, but it’s also a fascinating exploration of the thin line that exists between our past and present. I’ll be thinking about this for a long time.

Book Review: "The Season of Sinking" by Daphne Woolsoncroft

Daphne Woolsoncroft’s debut thriller, Night Watcher, was one of my favorite books of last year. I eagerly anticipated this one, hoping for another great thriller. I definitely wasn’t disappointed—she kept me guessing from start to finish.

Imogen is shocked to learn that her mother has died unexpectedly. She leaves her life in Seattle to head to Lake Blair, the small Washington town where she grew up. The plan is for her and her twin sister Amelia to pack everything up, put the house up for sale, and get back to their regular lives.

But being home is a difficult experience for Imogen. Not only is she consumed with grief about her mother’s death, but the unsettling feelings of fear that she had when growing up have returned. She never understood why she has recurring nightmares; her mother convinced her it was just her imagination tricking her.

While the police determined their mother’s death was accidental, Imogen wonders if someone else was responsible. But casual remarks from a few of her mother’s friends definitely raise her hackles, so she’s determined to figure out what really happened. And when the house keeps getting broken into, she wonders who is behind all of the chaos.

She reunites with Rory, her high school boyfriend and neighbor. As they tentatively take steps toward rekindling their feelings for one another, Imogen starts having her doubts about him. Why does he keep showing up moments after something happens?

There are a lot of things going on in the book, but it never felt overwhelming. As usual when I read twisty books, I suspect absolutely everyone, and couldn’t wait to see how it all wrapped up. Imogen is definitely more than a damsel in distress.

Book Review: "Switzy" by Emma Cline

“Disconcerting, this mental ice floe, populated only by David, floating off into the polar darkness. He was sometimes a figure standing on the shore, watching himself float away, and sometimes he was on the ice floe, losing sight of land.”

David, a retired businessman, is on a private plane to London. He sleeps a bit on the flight, but when he gets restless, playing solitaire on his phone soothes him. At times he feels a bit disoriented, but he finds his notebook inside his jacket pocket and it acts as a comfort.

His assistant, Cody, is ever-vigilant, seeing to David’s every need and making sure he rests during the flight. He reminds David of their itinerary—dinner with his daughter in London, visiting her home the next day to see his grandson, a quick trip to France where he will reunite with an estranged high school friend, and then to Zurich.

David is in the throes of Alzheimer’s disease. It is definitely taking its toll on his memories and his mind. One moment he is perfectly cognizant of where he is and why he’s there; the next moment, his mind travels at warp speed, shifting between different times in his life. The gaps between lucidity and confusion are getting shorter and shorter.

This is a powerful story, told in stream of consciousness so it mirrors David’s mind. As he loses his grip on reality, it became more and more difficult to follow, because the narrative kept meandering. If you’ve had someone in your life deal with dementia, you may find this book to be very triggering.

Book Review: "Meet Me in Paris" by Kristin Harmel

C’est magnifique!! I had a feeling when I picked up this book that it would leave me all kinds of emotional, but wow! This was sappy and beautiful and moving and just excellent.

“It’s in our nature as human beings to search for logical explanations for everything, but sometimes, all we need to do is find space in the quiet to listen to what our hearts are telling us.”

Julia has returned to Paris after nearly 30 years, bringing her daughter, Piper. Julia is dying, and wants this trip to be full of memories her daughter can cherish. Piper meets a handsome waiter and Julia surprises herself by falling for an American man, but how can she tell him she’s dying?

Jackson, a singer, had the biggest song of the 1990s. He’s in Paris to kick off a tour he hopes will revive his career, but he’s not counting on love, too. Ninety-nine-year-old Henry wrote Jackson’s big hit, inspired by his love for a French woman during WWII. He thought she died during the war, but he was wrong—so he’s returned to Paris to see if, despite her dementia, she remembers him at all.

Lou and George became friends as soldiers in Vietnam, and are in Paris for a tour for veterans. But there are secrets both have kept from one another. Shelby is on a trip with her two best friends, supposedly celebrating her divorce. However, celebrating is the last thing she wants to do, and when she meets Russ, a bar owner, she finally starts to see the woman she knows she is.

These stories, as well as a few others, unwind over several days. Kristin Harmel said she was inspired by Love Actually, so that was more than enough incentive for me! I was fully engaged in all of the stories, and just wish Lou and George’s story got as much page time. But this was such an amazing book.

Book Review: "Murder with a Side of Shrimp and Grits" by Skylar Warren

I’m so thankful that this book wound up on my radar. Of course, I’m utterly starving after reading it, but this cozy mystery absolutely warmed my heart. You’ve got to love a book that makes you wish you could somehow teleport into the town it’s set in!

Honeybee’s Hideaway diner has been feeding the bellies and the souls of Willow Bluff, Georgia for 50 years now. Jessie Haynes is running Honeybee’s now, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. The smell of butter and garlic, with just a hint of cinnamon, has filled Jessie’s life for as long as she can remember.

On the day of the diner’s 50th anniversary celebration, the mayor comes in and orders his usual shrimp and grits. But after the first bite, he has trouble breathing, and he collapses quickly thereafter. When word gets out that the mayor died, the townspeople immediately suspect Jessie, despite the fact they’ve seen her cooking since she wasn’t tall enough to see over the counter.

Jessie is devastated by what happened to the mayor, and the damage his death does, not only to her reputation, but to the future of Honeybee’s. Suddenly she’s the topic of gossip and speculation all over town, and some are even trying to capitalize on her misfortune.

When they find a wrapper from a peanut packet in the diner’s pantry, it quickly becomes obvious that the mayor’s death was no accident. And clearly someone wanted to hurt Honeybee’s in the process. So Jessie, along with her mother, her best friend Tee, her young waitress, and the town’s handsome new therapist band together to clear Jessie’s name and find the killer.

I absolutely love books in which cooking and restaurants play a part. And while I’m craving nearly everything Jessie cooked in this book, I so enjoyed the warmth of Willow Bluff and all of the characters. I’m excited that this was the start of a new series, and the second book will be out in October!

Book Review: "Bobby Merritt Meets His Match" by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey

When I picked up the first book in Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey’s Goose Run series, I had no idea how much this small town and this group of friends would capture my heart. I’ve just read the 5th—and it seems the final—book in the series and I wish it was a real town I could visit!

This book features Bobby, who is the self-proclaimed mayor of Goose Run and the owner of at least half the businesses in town (so far). But while he’s been a featured character in the other four books, they never hinted that Bobby had a love that got away.

When Bobby was in college and law school, he was a scholarship student, treated condescendingly by many of his fellow students. But he had a secret relationship with Granger, one of his close friends, even though Granger was always quick to ensure Bobby knew this was just a youthful fling. And when Bobby dared express his true feelings, that was the last he saw Granger. Until 20+ years later, when Granger returns to Goose Run in the middle of the town’s Pride festival.

This book not only includes Bobby and Granger’s story, but it also features four short stories, each one focused on a different character we’ve gotten to know. This was a fitting farewell and it provided a bit more depth into each of the characters.

“And maybe our lives weren’t big or loud. Maybe they were just small, ordinary lives. But there was something magical in the smallness of them, in all the spaces where we could just sit and breathe, and feel the sun on our skin, and be together. Not much happened in a town like Goose Run, but on the other hand, miracles did.”

If you like sweet, steamy, and funny M/M romances set in a quirky small town, I’d encourage you to pick up one of the books in this series. You’ll be glad you stopped by, and you’ll probably want to stay, too!

Book Review: "The Good Parts" by Evann Normandin

This book was a sad one. There are bright spots, certainly, and a dash of hopefulness, but I found this to be an emotionally heavy book. That being said, however, it’s so beautifully written.

Rose and Landon meet the first night they’re both in college. Both feel awkward at times, which is what draws them together, but with Landon, Rose feels like she can step out of her shell every once in a while. Landon falls quickly for Rose, and can think of nowhere else he’d rather be than with her.

They get married and build a life together. For a while things are wonderful. But when tragedy strikes, it destroys them both, and Rose leaves. Landon has faith that she’ll return, but then one day he gets a letter in which he learns she has taken a memory-erasing pill and will no longer remember him or their life together.

Devastated, Landon travels to Edinburgh, where Rose is living her new life. He believes that if she fell in love with him once, she can do it again. But Landon’s reappearance triggers memories that Rose should have forgotten, and these memories prove physically harmful to her. Can he let her go in order to save her life?

There are a lot of sad moments in the story. Rose isn’t the most sympathetic character all the time, although her grief is justified. And while Landon certainly has his quirks, his devotion to Rose is never in question.

The book has an interesting narrative structure: Rose’s story starts at the beginning while Landon’s starts in the present. There are lots of messages to take from this book and I’ll be thinking about this for a long while. This really was a spectacular debut!

Book Review: "Destination Funeral" by Paige Harbison

I don’t know if I’d ever want to get stuck in a time loop. That being said, though, I sure do love reading about them!! Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. Paige Harbison has done it again!

“Does it really matter if you make a mistake, I wonder, as long as you know it’s a mistake?”

Babe Bennett was larger than life. Everyone on Mercy Island had a story about her. When she died, the reading of her will and her memorial service summoned her two daughters, Didion and Sammie, and their two closest friends, Matt and Austin, to the island.

Estranged from her mother for the last several years, Didion has to see her sister and her friends for the first time in a while. There are a lot of hurts and resentments that have cropped up, not just for Didion, but the others as well. How could they go from being inseparable every summer to not speaking at all?

When they learn that Babe has left her summer house, Birdsong, to all four of them, they have to decide what to do with it. Her will stipulates that they have to spend a weekend all together, with no phones or internet access. And then they discover that they keep waking up to find it’s Saturday, so the weekend will never end. It’s up to them to find their way out of the time loop—and maybe confront all the things left unsaid for so long.

This was a funny and emotional story. There were so many issues they all dealt with. I will say that Didion is a hard character to warm up to, but once she got out of all of her spirals, I felt for her.

The book publishes 7/21.

Book Review: "Happier Here with You" by Amy Gail Hansen

This book was an unexpected surprise! I selected this as one of my Amazon First Reads for June. I really loved it and hope more people find it!

Maggie is a food historian and director of a museum. She loves her job but it’s been hard recently, juggling work responsibilities with caring for her 5-year-old daughter Hannah. She doesn’t have time to spend cooking or relaxing, and as a widowed mother, she feels horrible about it.

One day, she gets a letter from her great-aunt Alice, inviting her and Hannah to visit her farm in Wisconsin. Maggie barely remembers Alice—for some reason she never visited through the years. But little by little she starts to remember the time she spent with Alice when she was very young, and how much she enjoyed the farm.

When she and Hannah arrive at the farm, it’s as if no time had passed for Maggie and Alice. Having the time to slow down and bake together and catch up relaxes Maggie and helps her recapture her love of cooking. And then she meets Brady, a handsome local chef, who reawakens her heart.

When Maggie offers to organize Alice’s box of family recipes, she makes a startling discovery. Apparently before Alice inherited the farm, it played an important role in history—and finding the details could open the door to a whole new chapter of their lives.

This book combines found family, food history and recipes, romance, and historical fiction. I loved the town where the book was set and found the characters really enjoyable.

Book Review: "Waiting on a Friend" by Natalie Adler

It’s 1984 in New York City’s East Village. AIDS has started ravaging communities all over the country, but NYC has been hit particularly hard. Renata has been seeing ghosts of people who have died, some she was friends or acquaintances with, some she never knew. She isn’t quite sure how to help them, but for the most part, they don’t cause trouble.

When Mark, Renata’s best friend and roommate, dies from complications of the disease, she is devastated. She wasn’t at the hospital when he died, which was how she imagined it would be. So she’s eagerly awaiting Mark’s ghost to visit her. But for some reason, he’s not showing up.

“I thought about the ghosts I had known. Were any of them suffering? How would I know? Who can really tell what goes on in someone else’s life, or death? Some of them remained, outwardly, at least, concerned with the petty issues of their lives, and others were above everything, as if they had one foot in our world and another in a place we couldn’t imagine.”

As Renata mourns Mark and takes tentative steps toward a relationship with a nurse she met, Claude, she tries to move on. But at the same time, a company has popped up in the city promising to rid people’s apartments of ghosts or other disturbances. Renata is convinced this shady company is not doing the good deeds it purports to do, and it’s up to her and her friends to try and uncover their true motives.

“How was I supposed to mourn anyone—Mark, François, my mother, whoever was next—when it would take the rest of my life to accept that they were gone when they should have been here still? How do I mourn someone when I can’t get over that one fact, that they were supposed to be alive but they were not and there were people responsible for that?”

This is another terrific 2026 debut. It definitely packs an emotional punch, and some scenes remind me of the movie Longtime Companion, which I love. How much would we love a glimpse of loved ones we’ve lost, just one more time?

Book Review: "The Midnight Train" by Matt Haig

Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library was a profoundly moving book, and one of my favorite books of 2020. This book is in the same world but isn’t a sequel, so either can be read as a standalone.

“I think the trouble with life is we do things because we should. We act for outside eyes. I’m trying to live it the other way round. To do what feels right deep down even if it shouldn’t be.”

Wilbur is in his eighties when he dies. He was once a business tycoon, with bookstores all over the world. He was an adviser to prime ministers and sought after as a speaker and consultant. It was quite a journey from being raised poor in post-World War II England.

Moments after he dies, the Midnight Train comes to pick up his ghost. The Midnight Train can take you back to your past, giving you the chance to relive the moments that meant most. To see what kind of person you really were.

Wilbur knows he was happiest on his honeymoon in Venice with his wife, Maggie, whom he loved since they were children. But as the train takes him through his life, he sees all of the moments he’s squandered, the things that were unsaid to loved ones, and the things that should never have been said or done. Can he help the Wilbur he sees in these memories change course without completely ruining the future?

I loved the concept of this book. I definitely found many moments that spoke to me and made me realize the importance of being a good person, saying the things I want to the people who matter. I didn’t find this book as emotional as The Midnight Library, but that didn’t hamper my enjoyment of the book.

Book Review: "Prestige Drama" by Séamas O'Reilly

The townspeople in the Irish town of Derry are excited, which doesn’t happen that often. A show about the Troubles in Northern Ireland is going to be filmed in town. Then it is announced that famous American actress Monica Logue is going to play the lead, and the excitement reaches a fever pitch.

Not long after Monica’s arrival in Derry, where she rubs shoulders with the locals, she disappears without a trace. Everyone in town has a theory on what happened and where she could have gone. But her disappearance throws the future of the show into doubt, which could prove disappointing to many in town.

This is one of those books with multiple narrators—some that are recurring, some we hear from only once. Everyone has their own perspectives, on the Troubles, on the show, and, of course, Monica’s disappearance. And when you have multiple people sharing their views, you don’t know who’s telling the truth.

We hear from the alcoholic screenwriter, trying for one last chance at success; the woman who lost her teenage son during the Troubles and is now the focal point of the script; a local man hoping to have a part in the show; and a woman whose house is going to be used for some of the filming, among others. Each person has their own unique voice.

This was an entertaining book, because you get to shape the plot based on how you saw the characters and what they said. There are some surprises which slowly unfold, and that made the narrative a bit richer.

Book Review: "The Burning Side" by Sarah Damoff

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff was my second-favorite book of 2025. Having gotten the chance to read her upcoming book (thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the complimentary advance copy), I can unequivocally say it will be very high on my year-end list this year!

“Suffering is easy to imagine. It’s our responses that take us by surprise. The ways trials edit who we are.”

In the middle of the night, April and Leo awake to find their house filled with smoke. They get their two young children to safety and then watch powerlessly as fire rages. They head to April’s childhood home in Dallas, where her parents can provide comfort and a place to stay.

At this point, only April and Leo know that their relationship was damaged even before the fire wrecked havoc. But while they hold off on talks of divorce for a bit, the tension between them isn’t lost on April’s parents or her family. And their issues aren’t the only secrets being kept in the house—Billy, April’s father, has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.

The story alternates between present and past. It traces the path of Leo and April’s relationship from the beginning and how things came to where they are now. It also focuses on Billy and Deb, April’s mother, and how their relationship transformed over the years. The book is narrated by April, Leo, and Deb.

This is a powerful and emotional story of love, anger, uncertainty, pain, and the scars we carry with us. I was fully immersed by the story of these people and found myself being touched by the issues they confronted. Damoff is such an amazing writer and it’s hard to believe this is only her second book.

It will publish on 5/19.

Book Review: "Transcription" by Ben Lerner

Even though more experimental fiction doesn’t usually work for me, I wanted to read Transcription. The concept sounded unique and I am always interested in social commentary about our relationship with technology.

Anyway, Ben Lerner’s new book did have some beautiful moments. It’s essentially a novel divided into thirds. In the first, “Hotel Providence,” the narrator travels to Rhode Island to conduct an interview with his 90-year-old mentor and former professor, Thomas. This will be Thomas’ last interview, and given what he has meant to the narrator, the pressure is on.

At his hotel before heading to Thomas’ house, the narrator drops his phone into a sink full of water. He now has no way of recording the interview, but he can’t seem to be honest with Thomas about it.

In “Hotel Villa Real,” set after Thomas’ death, the narrator is part of a symposium, where he finally reveals he wrote most of the interview from memory because of his phone mishap. The final third, “Hotel Arbez,” is a dialogue between the narrator and Thomas’ son Max, who has been the narrator’s friend since college.

Each section of the book revisits many of the same themes—the fickleness of memory, how we rely on and—sometimes shun—technology to help our memory, and how technology both brings us together and creates gaps between us. At the same time, there are discussions about parenthood, children, and relationships. There are moments of real emotion, as the book touches on the isolation of the early days of COVID, and what it’s like to raise a child with an eating disorder.

This is a short book but it does pack a punch. The narrative gets a bit wordy and esoteric on occasion, but there’s no doubt Lerner is a talented storyteller who has given us much to think about.

Book Review: "Ghost Town" by Tom Perrotta

I started thinking about this and can’t believe it. I’ve been reading Tom Perrotta’s books since 1994! (And no, I’m not interested in knowing how young you were in 1994, or hearing you weren’t born yet, lol.) Thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the complimentary advance copy of his latest!

When Jimmy, a middle-aged writer and television producer, gets a letter from the mayor of his New Jersey hometown, he’s thrown for a loop. Apparently they’re naming the new municipal complex in memory of his father, and they’d love to have him attend. Jimmy hasn’t been back home since 1974 when he was 13, and he’s not sure he wants to return.

“Maybe all that stuff catches up to you in the end, the demons you think you’ve outrun, the bad memories you locked away in a metal box, and then you hid the box in a dark corner of the basement under a heap of dirty blankets, and then you moved far away and did your best to pretend you were someone else. But that box is always right there, right where you left it.”

Thinking about the invitation takes him back to 1974, the year that everything changed. His mother died of lung cancer, his hippie cousin and his wife moved in next door, and he was just trying to make sense of growing up and really see the world around him.

For the most part, the plot is composed of Jimmy’s reminiscences about losing his mother, befriending a local dirtbag, having a crush on a girl, feeling betrayed by his best friend, and watching everything fall apart. There’s also his desire to hold onto his mother’s memory, and perhaps see and feel her presence.

As always, Perrotta’s observations of New Jersey suburban life are dead-on. But for me, unfortunately, the rest of the book never felt complete. There’s some brief discussion of racial tensions—but not enough for Perrotta to give voice to them—and a weird, unfinished ghost story plot thread. Beyond that, nothing really was that interesting, not even Jimmy himself.

The book will publish 4/28.