The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa. Moving tale, told in part by a plucky cat, of a final trip in a silver van through picturesque Japan. The cat's owner is visiting old friends, and as the journey's true purpose is subtly revealed, the bond between man, cat, and reader beautifully, and unforgettably, deepens. ~
Mike Hare
Night Train: New and Selected Stories by Thom Jones. This is a very badly behaved book. It's horny, kinda drunk, pilled up and looking for a fight. But Jones' tall tales overflow with the humor and idealism that marks him as a quintessentially American author. He brawls with topics from the Vietnam War to cancer in a fearless manner. The boozy prose can leave the reader hungover, but his on-the-make, luckless characters are nearly impossible to drink away. ~
Charles Bottomley
Friday Black by Nana Kwame & Adjei-Brenyah. You are going to hear a lot about Adjei-Brenyah, so why not get introduced to him now? This short story collection is one of the year's most confident, funny and daring debuts, utilizing fantasy in the manner of George Saunders to examine the failings of contemporary America. From school shootings to the misery of McJobs, Adjei-Brenyah handles the hottest of hot button topics with a fearless sense of satire. ~
Charles Bottomley
Scribe: A Novel by Alyson Hagy. This is the kind of book you can imagine yourself savoring curled up next to a warm fire while the wind whistles outside. A woman living alone in a land ravaged by war and disease strikes a bargain with a handsome stranger to write and deliver a letter that he hopes will partially atone for his lawless, dissolute past. Scribe is a compact, hypnotically readable novel, seemingly culled from folklore and mysticism, that could serve as a model for how vital the element of story is to any work of fiction. ~
Alden Graves
Once Upon a River: A Novel by Diane Setterfield. There is a tavern on the Thames that is known for its storytelling. People come from far and wide to tell, and be told, stories until one night a stranger staggers in with a child in his arms. The child appears to be drowned, but is she? Who is this child and this stranger? The stories that are told about this night will mesmerize and amaze you, and keep you turning the pages to find out more. ~
Percy Sutton
Marilla of Green Gables: A Novel by Sarah McCoy. Step back into the world of Avonlea and Green Gables! I was thrilled to my bones to learn the story of Marilla and her beautiful tapestry of love, loss, and regret. The book completely captured my heart and Marilla emerged as a three dimensional character. I was transported right back to Prince Edward Island. A pitch perfect love letter to Anne. ~
Martha Cornwell
Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller. Claire Fuller certainly proves her ability to charm and captivate readers in her newest novel, Bitter Orange. But this novel also scared me to death. You know as you wade in that something is terribly, horribly awry This lurking sensation emerges and retreats throughout, seemingly like a main character - ever present, but never solid. You just can't put your finger on it. Until the end. I never anticipated such an ending. Whoa!! ~
Nancy Scheemaker
Little: A Novel by Edward Carey. I cannot begin to say how much I loved this brilliant and creative re-imagining of Anna Marie Groshotz’s (known to all as Madame Tussaud) life. Carey’s soaring use of language, peppered with exquisite illustrations, draws the reader into the sometimes humorous, sometimes macabre, always interesting 18th century France on the cusp of revolution. At times heartbreaking, at times uplifting, the reader will not be able to put this book down, nor ever forget the extraordinary “Little” Marie or any of the other characters populating this novel. My favorite book of 2018. ~
Tambra Johnson Reap
A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts by Therese Anne Fowler. The story is based on the life of Alva Smith Vanderbilt. Alva is presented as a complicated figure, both fearful of her family's lost fortune and her future, and rebellious against the rules of propriety. While it is fiction based on history, the lifestyle of the 1% of that time is like fantasy. The realities of their extremely privileged lives had costs but it was all a marvel to read about. A well-written, absorbing look at a distant time and social stratum. ~
Heather Bellanca