The Names by Florence Knapp

THE NAMES by Florence Knapp is a very dark book, but it is also a Read with Jenna pick and a LibraryReads selection for May 2025. The story begins in 1987 when Cora is deciding what to name her newborn son. From there the story splits into three scenarios, depending on the choice of naming the baby after his father and grandfather, or instead selecting a name Cora prefers, or choosing a more whimsical name suggested by her nine-year old daughter. Sadly, domestic abuse often features prominently in the vignettes and that makes for difficult reading even though debut author Knapp has created a fascinating book. She relates the story of this family in each circumstance roughly every seven years – book groups will be entranced. Expect to see a great deal of “buzz” on THE NAMES which received starred reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus (“inviting the reader to think about not just the ripple effects of a single decision and the workings of an abusive family but also about a profound and classic concern of fiction: How things we can control in life interact with things we could never have seen coming.”).

The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan

THE TREASURE HUNTERS CLUB by Tom Ryan is set in Maple Bay, Nova Scotia which is a seaside town and the “treasure” they are hunting is called Obelisk Treasure, from a pirate chest left long ago belonging to Captain Barnabas Dagger. Told in part in the present day, the story also shifts a generation or two back in time to when the club “members” (Henry Bellwood; Archie Jinx, “Junior” French, “Red” Oakley and Elmer Feltzen) stumble upon the treasure and decides to hide it again until they come of age. That would have turned their lives around, but instead the discovery acts as a curse of sorts which results in multiple deaths and a club member facing a long prison sentence. The treasure is stolen and hidden yet again, and future descendants try for forty years to find the treasure without luck.  It takes yet another generation to solve the complicated riddle. There is a beautiful old house called Bellwood which was fun to imagine and I liked the treasure hunting aspect, but so many characters were involved and the connections became confusing: “As she tries to wrap her head around the countless relationships that have played out here over the years, and the interactions and conversations and arguments and love affairs that spiraled out from them, it almost makes her dizzy.” The story starts out slowly since there is a great deal of backstory to explain, but the characters gradually come into focus and at about eighty percent of the way there is a crazy twist in the story, too. THE TREASURE HUNTERS CLUB received a starred review from Library Journal who described it as having, “the cozy charm of Jessica Fletcher’s Cabot Cove, with almost as many murders.”

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay

EVERYTHING WE NEVER HAD by Randy Ribay (Patron Saints of Nothing, a National Book Award finalist) is told in multiple perspectives across four generations of a Filipino-American family. The earliest action takes place in 1930 Watsonville, California where Francisco, a recent immigrant, has to deal with violence, prejudice, and his disappointment at life in America. In 1965 Stockton, California, readers meet Emil, Francisco’s son, a dutiful student and hard-working employee at his aunt’s restaurant. He resents his labor organizer father and vows to make his own way. Then there is 1983 Denver, Colorado where Chris yearns to play football but can’t ever live up to the standards of his demanding father, Emil. Chris rebels as he discovers a love of history and pursues his own interests as a teacher. His son, named Enrique Lorenzo and called Enzo, grows up in 2020 Philadelphia, coping with anxiety, the pandemic, and continuing discrimination. Once again, Ribay offers so much to unpack – immigrant feelings, generational conflict, parenting styles, and plenty of anger. Students will relate to the stories of each of these characters as a young man and may be intrigued by the way the societal environment and the individual choices of each character impacts the next generation. The novel does flip back and forth between time periods and this may be difficult for some students, but EVERYTHING WE NEVER HAD received multiple starred reviews, including from Booklist, Kirkus (“many heartwarming and heartbreaking moments offer deep insights into intergenerational patterns”), Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. The book contains a list of recommended resources, both print and online like Asian Mental Health Collective, Filipino American National Historical Society, Stop AAPI Hate, and United Farm Workers. Interested previewers can listen to an excerpt on the publisher’s website.

But What Will People Say? by Sahaj Kaur Kohli

In BUT WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY? Sahaj Kaur Kohli, founder of Brown Girl Therapy, shares her own journey as a child of immigrants, a college student, a victim of sexual assault, and a therapist. This is a very powerful text which explores “Navigating Mental Health, Identity, Love, and Family Between Cultures.” In a dozen chapters, Kohli writes movingly about topics like “When Things Don't Go According to Plan” (or Reflecting on your achievement behavior); “Where Do My Parents End and I Begin?” (or Learning about boundaries and your values); and “Getting Out of My Own Way” (or Combating self-sabotaging behaviors and mindsets). She points out that “one in three freshman college students (worldwide!) struggles with mental health issues… my struggles were due to a combination of what I call the three E's -- the need for external permission, emotional immaturity, and an expectation of exceptionalism.” By combining her own experiences and therapy training, she offers prompts and insights to both students and parents (e.g., “I wish they would have asked: What can we do to help you? What do you need from us? I wish they would have approached this with: We don't understand, but we're willing to try.”).  An extremely useful guide, especially for older teens, their parents, and mentors. 

Invisible Generals by Doug Melville

INVISIBLE GENERALS by Doug Melville is an amazing book that I first became aware of due to a feature on PBSNewsHour (see embedded video below). Melville is related to the first two Black generals in U.S. military history and he is clearly on a quest to honor them and recognize their contributions. So he should be. These men, Benjamin O. Davis and Benjamin O. Davis Jr., faced incredible pressures and unrelenting prejudice. Davis, Sr. had to enlist because, as a Black man, he could not get an appointment to West Point. His son was successful in that regard, but spent four years being ostracized; no one spoke to him or ate meals with him for the entire time. Their heroism and impact is readily apparent in the stories about their wartime service and subsequent contributions to plans for integrating the US military. Melville has created a very readable – yet astounding – recounting of family history and American history. Readers can sense his own pride and excitement in the video below:

 

The Local by Joey Hartstone

THE LOCAL by Joey Hartstone is an impressive courtroom drama set in East Texas in a small town called Marshall. The narrator and main character of this debut murder mystery has the absolutely fabulous name of Jimmy Euchre. He’s a practicing patent attorney, the “local” in a federal district which according to The Dallas News was indeed the busiest in the country for patent law, although that may be changing. Euchre has been hired by the New York based firm of Gordon & Greene to work with Abe Rabinowitz and Layla Stills on an infringement case involving a high tech and transport company called Medallion, headed by Amir Zawar. The chapters introducing all of these characters were fun and quick moving, reminiscent of the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer. Shortly after their initial time in court a prominent local official is murdered and Euchre shifts to criminal law, acting as defense attorney. He and Layla are aided by a private investigator, Lisa ‘the Leg’ Morgan. The middle section drags a bit, but the ending offers a nice surprise and potential for future cases. Hartstone is an accomplished writer for film (two features directed by Rob Reiner) and television (The Good Fight; Your Honor) so Grisham and Turow readers will certainly enjoy this legal thriller. I also recommend THE LOCAL to fans of S.J. Rozan’s Lydia Chin and Bill Smith series; there’s plenty of feisty-ness on display.