The debut novel from Raven Leilani tackles it all: race, class, sex, depression, loneliness, and New York City. Edie, the narrator, is a 23-year-old black orphan trying to figure it out. After making some inappropriate sexual choices, she loses her admin job in the publishing industry and finds herself with nowhere to go - until the wife of her married lover takes her in. Her relationships are fraught and strange, warm and raw. The voice is honest and sharpβa must-read.
new adult fiction by maggie stiefvater (the raven boys). i have't read it yet because i don't want to pay for it but trust that once the library gets it i will have my NOSE IN THAT BOOK. i also highly recommend maggie's substack; she writes beautifully about making and reading and the world.
Luster by Raven Leilani - Edie starts hooking up with a married middle aged white man and moves in with his wife and daughter. HBO needs to hurry up with that adaptation they announced.
Severance by Ling Ma - Candance Chen grapples with her unfulling life and job as a virus begins to spread and turns people into these zombie-like indivuals. Released in 2018 but somehow encapsulates a lot of that COVID quarantine panic. All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews - Sneha is struggling out here with jobs, evictions, and complicated relationships but she has plans to fix everything.
