Best Book Club Books for 2024

Book Summary

Frederick was born 82 years ago, and ever since, he has approached life with a huge heart full of kindness. But now, he’s desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness. Then, he’s mistaken for grumpy Bernard from a local nursing home. As long as the real Bernard doesn’t show up, Fred has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head.

Denise is a middle-aged mom who works at the care facility while struggling with a crumbling marriage and other challenges that have zapped her joy. She vowed never to let a man deceive her again, making her suspicious of Fred since Bernard would never be as kind as he suddenly has been.

Book Summary

This thought-provoking novel transports you back to 1840s Missouri, the land of Huckleberry Finn. However, in James, you’ll find the story reimaged from the point of view of the enslaved man, Jim, who prefers to be called James.

James overhears that he’s about to be sold to a man in New Orleans. If this happens, he’ll never see his wife and daughter again. That thought is too much for him to bear, so he decides to hide on Jackson Island until he comes up with a long-term plan. The island is also the temporary home of Huck Finn, who is running from his abusive father.

Together, the unlikely duo is determined to make it down the Mississippi River to the elusive Free States. Along the way, they encounter the same trials Mark Twain included, but they feel different through the eyes of James.

Book Summary

All the Colors of the Dark crosses genres from literary fiction to mystery and even to romance as it follows the characters from their teen years in 1975 into adulthood.

In the small Ozarks town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family, Misty, is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy with one eye. Patch saves the girl, but this leaves heartache in his wake.

While Mont Clare was once a close-knit community, after this event, the town will never be the same. The trauma experienced by Patch, his friend Saint, and Misty will haunt them as they grow into adulthood. The trauma causes each character to make choices you may not agree with, creating many twists and a suspenseful vibe throughout the compelling story.

Book Summary

When 1960s housewife Beverly discovers her husband’s infidelity, she refuses to go with the status quo and ignore it. And when he threatens to take the house and kids, she’s ready to fight back.

As the daughter of a former Senator and soon-to-be ex-wife of an incumbent’s campaign manager, politics is her strongest career option. Beverly boldly marches into the office of the young underdog opponent, Michael Landau, and demands a job. Her chutzpah, combined with her father’s reputation, earns her a trial run.

As if balancing this new job, her two young children, and her impending divorce weren’t enough, it seems her mother has moved in under the guise of helping with the kids. But Beverly knows there must be more to the story.

Book Summary

India Allwood always wanted to be an actress and her dreams came true with success on Broadway and on TV. Now she’s making a movie about adoption, but she’s disheartened that the storyline doesn’t sit right with her.

India is an adoptive mom herself to twin 10-year-olds, and she’s tired of only seeing adoption stories in movies that are filled with pain and regret. So when a journalist asks her, she tells the truth – she thinks the movie she’s making is a bad one. Soon, she’s caught in the middle of a media storm.

When her twins turn to family for help, things just get messier. One thing is for certain – no matter how families are formed, they are always complicated.

Book Summary

Briarwood House is an all-female boardinghouse in Washington DC, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. It’s 1950 when the mysterious widow Grace moves into the attic. She throws attic-room dinner parties for her new friends, including a beautiful English wife and mother, a police officer’s daughter who is involved with a gangster, a baseball star frustrated with the end of the female league after WW2, and a woman who threw herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare. 

While Grace’s dinner parties are healing to the women, she also has her own secrets…and there may be an enemy within the group. 

Book Summary

Emma realizes that her life might have gotten a bit too hectic and tiring when she falls asleep in an IKEA showroom. Between trying to be a good mother to her kids, a good daughter to her ailing mother, and a good wife, she’s struggling to keep up. Thank goodness for her best friend, Roz, who keeps her sane. But when Roz climbs through her bathroom window one day with terrible news to share, Emma loses all confidence in her ability to keep it together.

Thurston’s once-full life is empty these days. He’s recently widowed, and without his wife of sixty-two years, he no longer finds joy or purpose in his life. When driving his niece to work one day, Thurston has a chance encounter with Emma and quickly gets drawn into the whirlwind of her chaotic life.

Thurston’s calming presence helps Emma put her problems in perspective, and soon, the two form an unlikely friendship.

Book Summary

Marie and her husband recently lost one of their children to a tragic accident, and she is desperate to help her family get a fresh start for the sake of her other three surviving kids. She travels to New Hampshire in hopes of selling a family estate only to find a war veteran, known to locals as “the river witch” living in a cabin on the property. Davina insists that it was a gift to her from Marie’s grandfather.

If Davina refuses to move on, then Marie won’t be able to either. As the women fight over the property, battle lines are drawn in the town and within Marie’s family, with both sides digging into their positions. When tensions reach a breaking point, a force outside of their control intervenes.

Book Summary

Adunni is a 14-year old runaway, living in Tia’s guest room in Lagos after escaping her rural village. Tia has helped her enroll in school, and Adunni can’t wait to get the education she has always dreamed of.

But then an unexpected knock at the front gate turns into a harrowing ordeal. Tia must decide whether she can continue protecting Adunni, or if she will take the chance to finally learn a secret that her mother has kept hidden from her.

Adunni must use her “louding voice,” as she calls it, to save not only her own life, but also to help all the young women of her home village, Ikati.

Book Summary

Emilia Bassano has access to English theater in 1581 as Lord Chamberlain’s mistress. However, she wants to be a playwright, not just an audience member. However, in 1581, that is not a role society would accept a woman to be in. But her desire to see her work on the stage is strong, so she pays a man for the use of his name. In order for her work to be seen, she had to write herself out of history.

In the present, playwright Melina Green has written a new work inspired by her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. However, four hundred years later, Melina faces some of the same challenges as Emilia. Will she also be willing to forgo credit in order to see her work performed?

Book Summary

Beverly is on the local schoolboard and her archrival Lula has turned into a local celebrity as she’s been on a mission to rid the public libraries of all inappropriate books—none of which she’s actually read.

To counteract the “pornographic” books housed in the local library, Lula starts a little library in her front yard, full of “worthy literature”.

At night, Beverly’s adult daughter Lindsay sneaks over to Lula’s little library and replaces the books, but swaps the dust covers. Suddenly, Our Confederate Heroes actually contains Beloved and The Southern Belle’s Guide to Etiquette turns into The Girl’s Guide to the Revolution.

As Beverly and Lula’s rivalry intensifies when they run against each other to replace the mayor, the townspeople who have been changed by borrowing the books from Lula’s begin to reveal themselves. Everyone from the postman to the prom queen have something to say, eventually forcing Lindsay to confess.

Book Summary

In 1961, the only son of a family that owns a summer camp in the Adirondacks disappeared while hiking and was never found. Now, in 1975, a camp counselor discovers that their daughter, thirteen year old Barbara, is missing. Are the tragedies related?

As soon as they realize Barbara is not in her bunk, a frantic search is launched. The investigation is deeply layered, with Barbara’s counselor, Louise, her bunkmate, Tracy, her mother, Alice, and a young female detective all sharing their own impactful stories along the way.

Book Summary

Each member of the Russell family has a special gift. Penelope, the oldest sister, is a seamstress who infuses the fabric used in her designs with the strength, joy, or love that the wearer needs. Free-spirited younger sister Lilith leads a nomadic life with her daughter, and there always seems to be a person nearby who has just what they need – an apartment for rent, a temporary job opening, or a car to borrow. And music follows Lilith’s adult daughter, Mattie, wherever she goes. The perfect song always seems to start mysteriously playing.

When Lilith dies unexpectedly, Mattie returns to the family’s Victorian home (which has a personality all its own) for a short visit. However, the reading of the will reveals that Lilith had different plans for her daughter. In order to receive her inheritance, Mattie must stay in the small town long enough to complete a series of tasks.

Her late mother hopes to lead Mattie to her birth father and help her discover her own path in life while keeping her heart open to love.

Book Summary

Aboard a short flight from Hobart to Sydney, Australia, a passenger (who will come to be known as “The Death Lady”) walks up and down the aisles, telling each person the age at which they will die and the cause of death.

Some passengers learn that they have many, many years ahead of them – like one who will live to be 103. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are less than a year away.

A few months after the flight, one passenger dies exactly as predicted. Then soon after, two more. Now even those who initially viewed their encounter with “The Death Lady” as an entertaining story to share at cocktail parties are paying close attention.

Book Summary

When their sister Nicky dies unexpectedly, the remaining Blue sisters must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.

Avery, the eldest, lives with her wife in London and works as a lawyer after recovering from a heroin addiction. Bonnie was a boxer but now works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat. Their youngest sister, Lucky, is a model in Paris and is still trying to outrun her hard-partying ways.

The sisters must reckon with the loss of the sister who held them together, and are forced to confront both the disappointments of their childhood and their present struggles.

Book Summary

Joe’s mum has spent her whole life trying to prepare him for independence, knowing he’ll have to find a way to be okay when she is gone. As long as he has a routine or clear instructions, he can do anything. But when his routine breaks or new aspects are introduced, he has a hard time coping. So she writes everything down in an instructional notebook, it’s his own personalized guide for life.

Joe is in his early 20s now and ready for a job. If his mom can get him all set in his new routine, maybe he can spend a night alone at their home so she can get her first break in his lifetime. His new job at the Compass store brings both friendship and bullies, but the job isn’t the only big change in his life this year.

Book Summary

Frances “Frankie” McGrath is a 21-year-old nursing student who has been raised by her conservative parents to always do “the right thing.” But when her brother ships out for Vietnam in 1965, she begins to change her views of right and wrong. Frankie impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows her brother to Vietnam. As she tends to the green and inexperienced young men who have been sent to fight the war, she is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction. Returning home to a changed America doesn’t prove to be any easier.

While The Women is the story of Frankie going to war, it also shines a light on the story of all women who risk everything to help others. The publisher describes this book as “a novel of searing insight and lyrical beauty” that is “profoundly emotional” and “richly drawn.”

Book Summary

For many actors and actresses, winning an Oscar is the pinnacle of success that sets them up for an even better future. But for Hattie McDaniel, her best supporting actress win after playing the role of Mammy in the controversial movie Gone With the Wind was life-changing in a different way.

After winning, Hattie was trapped between two worlds, neither of which appreciated her. White Hollywood saw her only as her character, Mammy. The Black community, led by the NAACP, detested the demeaning portrayal of their community and waged war against her.

Through it all, Hattie struggled but also continued her fight to pave a path for other Negro actors, focused on war efforts, fought housing discrimination, and navigated four failed marriages. Along the way, she was supported by a core group of friends, including Clark Gable, Louise Beavers, Ruby Berkley Goodwin, and Dorothy Dandridge.

Book Summary

Cassie is a NYC bookseller who receives an unusual book as a gift from one of her favorite customers. Filled with strange writing and mysterious drawings, the book even includes a handwritten message to Cassie in the front. It states that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door.

Cassie will soon discover that the Book of Doors can transport her anywhere in the world that she can imagine. She also learns that there are other books in the world with magical powers – some wondrous and others dreadful, especially in the hands of dangerous individuals.

When Cassie and her best friend, Izzy, are confronted by violence and danger, they need help. It appears that the only person who can help them is Drummond Fox, who possesses his own secret library of magical books. His books are hidden for protection, but someone is hunting them all.

Book Summary

By 1906, San Francisco was full of the newly wealthy and those dreaming of new wealth. Two of those dreamers were Gemma, who was trying to rekindle her singing career, and Suling, a Chinese seamstress trying to escape an arranged marriage. The women meet through the acquaintance of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate and collector of Chinese antiques, including the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace.

However, before the women can benefit from Thornton’s patronage, the 1906 earthquake rips through the city and Thornton disappears. Then, five years later, the Phoenix Crown reappears at a Paris costume ball. Gemma and Suling must join forces to figure out what really happened to Thornton.

Book Summary

This character-driven read explores life for those left behind after a loved one passes away too soon, in this case, a mother of four in her 30s, Annie. The story is told from three points of view: Annie’s husband, her best friend, and her oldest child. When her husband, Bill, and best friend, Annemarie, fall apart after Annie’s death, Ali is forced to step up and care for her younger brothers.

Over the course of one year, Annie is always present in the memories of all three characters as they gain strength and try to redefine what their lives will look like without her.

Book Summary

The Shahs came to America from India twenty years ago with good educations, a shared dream, and little else. Now, they’re moving into a perfect gated community in Pacific Hills, California with their three American-born children. This move represents all the work and sacrifices they made along the way.

However, one Saturday night, their twelve-year-old son is arrested. Each family member is forced to redefine who they are and what success really means. The book explores themes of policing, immigration, generational conflict, social class, and privilege in a page-turning tale.

Book Summary

This collection includes six story stories set in New York City and a novella set in LA. The novella, Eve in Hollywood, follows Evelyn Ross from Towles’ Rules of Civility as she boards a train home to Indiana in 1938. However, along the way, she extends her ticket to LA. She arrives in Hollywood’s golden age and crafts a new future for herself, which is shown to the reader from seven different points of view.

Book Summary

Sara is struggling after both her business and marriage failed. When her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, it just feels like another punch from her terrible year. However, Aunt Rosie left Sara a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a shocking secret. Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina was murdered.

Sara is recharged by this new mission to find out what happened to Serafina. She ends up on an epic adventure through the Italian countryside and learns all about her feisty great-grandmother, who fought for the rights of all the women in her small village. However, as Sara begins challenging the status quo like Serafina did, she’ll find herself in the same danger.

Book Summary

Travel back to 1860 as Abraham Lincoln wins the presidency of a very divided America. Southern extremists states were trying to destroy the Union by seceding one after another. Slavery was a big topic of debate, and eventually, the beliefs of both sides were focused on one piece of land – Fort Sumter in Charleston.

The Demons of Unrest covers the five-month period between Lincoln’s election in November 1860 and the start of the Civil War in April 1861. In addition to Lincoln, the book teaches us about Major Robert Anderson, Fort Sumter’s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between both.

Book Summary

Every woman Justin goes on a date with seems to find their soulmate right after breaking up with him. It’s his curse, and now, thanks to a Reddit thread, EVERYONE knows.

However, his viral embarrassment may have a silver lining. Emma has the same problem and has sent him a message. The solution is obvious. They’ll date each other, break up, and then destiny will bring them each their own soulmates.

Traveling nurse Emma finds a job in Minnesota and rents a cute cottage on Lake Minnetonka for her summer fling with Justin. But when Emma’s toxic mother shows up, and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they’re suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected. Will these challenges quickly rip them apart, or does fate have other plans?

Book Summary

In 1924, when Cecily was only 4, her mother reluctantly left her at an orphanage and promised to return when she had money to support her. However, three years later, her mother hasn’t returned, and Cecily is “adopted” by a traveling circus. She’s assigned to be the “little sister” of a glamourous bareback rider, and believes she’s found the family she has always dreamed of. By the time Cecily is a teenager, she’s seen the problems in her traveling world. When she falls in love with a roustabout named Lucky, her life changes again in a dangerous way.

In 2015, Cecily is 94 and has a quiet Minnesota life with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandson. When her great-grandson has a project for school, the family takes DNA tests, and the results reveal a tragic story Cecily has kept secret for decades. Four generations are forced to reevaluate what “family” really means.

Book Summary

This novel traces the history of Colorado’s Sand Creek Massacre in 1864, and also explores how the Carlisle Indian Industrial School was impacted by a traumatic event involving Orvil Red Feather from Tommy Orange’s acclaimed There There.

In the 19th century, Star is a survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre who is brought to the Fort Marion Prison Castle under the evangelical guard of Richard Henry Platt. Platt would go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, founded with the intent to eradicate Native history and culture. A generation after the Massacre, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by Platt.

In Oakland in 2018, Opal is trying to hold her family together after her nephew Orvil’s near-death experience. Beginning during his recovery in the hospital, Orvil becomes obsessed with researching similar incidents online, all the while becoming dependent on prescription medication. His younger brother, Lonny, has PTSD from the event.