Must Read

If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins


This latest installment from Kristan Higgins was a departure from her normal format of girl with dog finds love in a beautiful, small New England town.  This time, she focused on the lives of and relationship between two sisters.  Despite being a slightly modified approach, the storytelling is still fantastic and heartwarming.

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling



If there was one celebrity I feel could be my best friend, it would be Mindy Kaling.  Her chapter on sorority life at Dartmouth was delightfully perfect and familiar!  This book of life essays is an easy and fun read!

The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford




After having been very disappointed by the overly hyped Gone Girl and Girl on a Train, I was glad to finally find a well written story.  Similar to Girl on a Train, this mystery showcases a main character with issues that lead her to forget if she witnessed or committed a crime - the murder of her neighbor. How awful it must feel to think and have others think that you did it, but not be able to know for sure!


 Lazy Weekend

Furiously Happy by Jenny Larson


Jenny Lawson's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, is one of my all-time favorite humor books.  She has a hilarious, sharp, and sarcastic sense of humor that takes an ordinary life story and transforms it into an extraordinarily wonderful adventure in laughter.  This new book focuses on her daily struggles with mental illness - depression, anxiety, etc. - and succeeds in highlighting those challenges with a positive and humorous spin.  

I Was Here by Gayle Forman


Gayle Forman has great storytelling skills, but I moved I Was Here to the Lazy Weekend category because the primary focus of the story centers around dealing with the immediate after effects of a childhood friend's suicide. Not exactly a lighthearted story premise, and definitely not for every reader.

After You by Jojo Moyes



I love Jojo Moyes stories, including one of her more controversial books, Me Before You, that covers a man's decision to pursue assisted suicide in lieu of continuing to survive in his post-accident, quadriplegic state.  After You is the sequel to Me Before You, and it follows Louisa's life the year after the point in time that ended the first book, tying up loose ends.  I won't give too much away though.  I wish I could put this book in the Must Read category, but again the topic of suicide doesn't suit everyone.