“Yesteryear” by Caro Claire Burke
With Anne Hathaway already attached to the film adaptation, Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel, “Yesteryear” is poised to be one of the year’s buzziest books. We meet Natalie Mills, a wildly successful social media influencer who’s obsessed with promoting her idyllic “trad-wife” (traditional wife) lifestyle on an Idaho farm with her husband and six children.
Natalie gains millions of followers posing for Instagram — making homemade jam and sewing handmade clothes — while behind the scenes relying on nannies, producers, and modern appliances to foster the illusion of a devoted pioneer-style life.
But when her carefully curated world starts to falter, Natalie wakes up in the 1800s and is forced to live the brutal realities of frontier life without modern conveniences or support staff. Suddenly faced with handwashing clothes, hauling firewood, and endless physical labor, she barely recognizes the family she staged for the camera. What’s happening and why?
Darkly funny and sharply timely, “Yesteryear” explores the seductive power of perfectly curated online identities and the consequences of narcissism — with plenty of rich material for lively book club discussion.
“John of John” by Douglas Stuart
Scottish writer Douglas Stuart, the Booker Prize-winning author of “Shuggie Bain,” returns with the highly anticipated latest novel “John of John.” Set in the remote islands off Scotland’s northwest coast, the story follows young art student John-Calum Macleod as he comes back to his rural hometown to help care for his ill grandmother.
Back among his tight-knit community, John faces difficult reunions with his father, grandmother, and mother. His father, a devout Presbyterian sheep farmer and weaver, expects him to follow a traditional path — one that clashes with John’s own desires and identity. As he grapples with faith, duty, and his sexuality within a rigid culture of masculinity, John reflects that “the closer he was to home, the more lost he felt.”
A stunning twist of fate and ironic realizations make this a heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful story. Stuart’s novel is a beautifully crafted portrait of family, identity, and the quiet courage required to confront long-held secrets.
“More Than Enough” by Anna Quindlen
In her latest novel, “More Than Enough,” Anna Quindlen mines familiar territory: the unbreakable bonds of family and friendships. Polly Goodman, a newly remarried 40-something high school English teacher in a Manhattan private school, seems to have an enviable life — a job she enjoys, a loving husband, and a supportive circle of book club friends.
But a DNA ancestry test given as a joke gift from those friends reveals the startling possibility of an unknown relative, raising unsettling questions about buried family secrets. The discovery arrives at an already emotional time, as Polly struggles with IVF treatments and her overwhelming desire for a baby, while also caring for an aging parent with dementia and a friend facing illness.
Though not Quindlen’s strongest work, “More Than Enough” is another warm and compassionate novel, offering wise insights about motherhood, the nourishing power of friendships, and what truly defines family.
“The Rest of Our Lives” by Ben Markovits
Ben Markovits’s Booker Prize finalist “The Rest of Our Lives” is an honest and poignant story of a middle-aged man at a crossroads — both literal and emotional.
After dropping his daughter off at college in Pittsburgh, Tom Layward impulsively drives west instead of returning home to Westchester. His sudden detour is fueled by a decision he made 12 years earlier: to wait till his daughter graduates from high school before leaving his wife after he learns of her brief affair. Recently suspended from his academic job, Tom sets off on a cross-country journey, encountering old friends, his brother, his son, and an ex-lover along the way.
As the miles pass, he reflects on earlier professional disappointments, his health, and the tenuous state of his marriage. The journey becomes a reckoning with past choices, the uncertain road ahead, and whether forgiveness and second chances may still be possible.
