Tuesday , March 19 2024
Wondering what to read this month? We've got you covered with these fabulous May picks

Anticipated May Fiction

May has already started with a bang, and we have some amazing fiction releases to prove it. From thrillers, to missed connections and misguided intentions, these May reads will at least give you one reason to enjoy Daylight Saving Time.

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo: Longtime children’s book author, Santopolo’s first adult novel is slam dunk of emotional roller coaster at its best. The novel tells the story of Lucy and Gabe, how they meet in college, eventually part ways and their reunions throughout the span of ten years, but the circumstances don’t allow them to love each other like before, instead making them face some very difficult choices. Publication date: May 9.  G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

In This Moment by Karma Brown: Meg Pepper has a fulfilling career and a happy family. Her marriage is not entirely happy nor is her relationship with her teenage daughter the best one, but she manages to make it work. But one day she stops her car to let a teenage boy cross the street at the exact moment another car races down the road and hits him.

Meg blames herself and the part she played in the accident, and propelled by remorse she makes it her mission to help the boy’s family as he recovers. But while Meg tries to make things right with her conscience, she begins to alienate her own family, while at the same time being drawn towards the boy’s father, Andrew. Will Meg learn to forgive herself and exorcise past demons before her family falls apart? Publication date:  May 30.  Harlequin Books.

Touch by Courtney Maum: Sloane Jacobsen is THE trend forecaster, from technology to fashion to lifestyle. One of her strongest claims is that the world is over populated and that the high rise of costs makes having children and a family impractical. When a tech giant mammoth hires her to lead a conference celebrating the voluntarily childless, it doesn’t take long for Sloane to see the repercussions of everything she’s advocated for. This becomes even more evident when her ever more distant lover revels his intent to publish a treaty on the end of penetrative sex. Can Sloane make the right choice for herself when everything she’s ever spoken in favor of threatens to ruin her own life? Publication date: May 30. G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier: Osei Kokote, a diplomat’s son, seeks allies at his new school to help him survive. He finds one in Dee, the most popular girl in school. But jealousy soon threatens this new relationship. Ian is determined to end the friendship between the black boy and the blond girl. In the end, the school, students and teachers will have their lives irrevocably changed. Publication date: May 16, Crown Publishing.

The Long Drop by Denise Mina: This psychological thriller set in 1950’s Glasgow relates the horrible murders of women in a sinlge household who were found slaughtered in their beds. The father, William Watt, had an alibi but police were convinced of his guilt. In a strange turn of events Watt meets career criminal Peter Manuel, who has details only the murderer could know. Watt agrees to meet him, but no one really knows what happened between them, and their next encounter is at court.Publication date: May 23 Little Brown and Co.

Once in Lourdes by Sharon Solwitz: A novel of teenage friendship set against the back drop of the Vietnam War, four high school friends make a pact. For two weeks, they will live for each other and for each day and when the two weeks end, they will commit the ultimate sacrifice on the very spot that cemented their friendship. Kate, Vera, C.J., and Saint will experience unforeseen change in those two weeks that will decide the rest of their lives. Publication date: May 30. Random House.

Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki: Writer Lady Daniels decides to take a break from her husband. But she needs help with her young son if she wants to follow though with her plan to finish her memoir. S., a charming artist comes to her aid and Lady is thrilled that she’s found the perfect person to care for her young son, while also helping with her raucous teenager But is S. as wonderful as she appears to be or is she hiding something truly disturbing? Publication date: May 9. Crown Publishing.

Lilli de Jong by Janet Benton: Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and banished from her Quaker home and teaching position, Lilli de Jong enters a charity for wronged women to deliver her child. She is stunned at how much her infant needs her and at how quickly their bond overpowers her heart. Mothers in her position have no sensible alternative to giving up their children, but Lilli can’t bear such an outcome. Determined to chart a path toward an independent life, Lilli braves moral condemnation and financial ruin in a quest to keep herself and her baby alive. Publication date: May 16. Doubleday Books.

Chemistry by Weike Wang: The unnamed narrator of this unique debut novel is finding her love of chemistry falling into the realm of the theoretical more than practical. She’s pressured by everyone around her, her peers, her advisor, and most of all by her Chinese parents, not to mention her boyfriend’s marriage proposal. She decides to leave everything behind in a quest to find out what it is she really wants. Publication date: May 23. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

About Adriana Delgado

Adriana Delgado is a freelance journalist, with published reviews on independent and foreign films in publications such as Cineaction magazine and on Artfilmfile.com. She also works as an Editorial News Assistant for the Palm Beach Daily News (A.K.A. The Shiny Sheet) and contributes with book reviews for the well-known publication, Library Journal.

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Jill Santopolo's debut novel 'The Light We Lost' is a testament to the endurance and power of true love