Waiting on a Friend
Natalie Adler
1980s East Village: a woman who can see her friends' ghosts is haunted by the one she can't reach, as AIDS tears through her world. Big-hearted and heartbreaking.
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The Simp: A Novel Without a Hero
Roshan Sethi
A struggling actor finally lands the role of a lifetime — as personal assistant to a ridiculous Hollywood couple. Razor-sharp and very funny about fame and groveling for it.
★ 5The Greengage Summer
Rumer Godden
Children left mostly to themselves at a French hotel one hazy summer, right on the edge of growing up. Gorgeous and a little dangerous.
★ 5Writers & Lovers
Lily King
The protagonist of Lily King’s novel Writers & Lovers lives in Cambridge, too, but Casey is older than Becky, a little more rudderless. Her mother has just died, her boyfriend has broken up with her, and she’s living in a garden shed splitting her time between waitressing and writing. It sounds depressing. It’s not. Casey’s wit, relatability, and dogged ambition make her easy to spend time with, and I ended the book almost hoping I’d run into her in Harvard Square.