What’s on your shelf? Here are some recommendations from past and present to expand your personal library.
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
This collection of loosely-connected short stories jumps back and forth across time through the lives of a rotating cast of characters. The main characters (if there really are only two) are music producer Bennie and his kleptomaniac assistant Sasha, with the stories revolving around people connected to them.
Read if: You like Pulitzer Prize winners, rock and roll history, cyclical books where everything’s indirectly related, or The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
How would you spend your last day alive? This YA novel features two boys, Mateo and Rufus, who are total strangers unfortunately receiving a Death-Cast, meaning today is their End Day. Through an app called Last Friend, they meet up, determined to make the best of their last day alive.
Read if: You like YA fiction with an emotional punch, anything by Lauren Oliver or John Green, or you prefer your fiction existential.
Magisterium Series by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
Callum Hunt, reluctant mage, teams up with fellow mage students Tamara and Aaron at the Magisterium, a mysterious school dedicated to teaching magic. The Iron Trial kicks off the series with a dangerous, dark mage on the loose, who is hiding a secret connection to Callum that threatens magicians around the world.
Read if: You like Percy Jackson, MG adventures, or are looking for something to fill the Harry Potter-shaped gap in your reading list.
