The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman: Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers, and to demand the recognition she deserves.
Behind Her Lives by Briana Cole: Secrets, suspense, and a missing sister—who may not want to be found—are at the center of Brianna Cole’s latest enthralling multicultural drama. “That’s not my sister.” Overwhelmed by shock and relief, those are the only words Deven can muster when she is called to identify the body of a suicide victim. But as she stares at the lifeless stranger, she’s filled with questions: Who is this woman? Why was Deven listed as family? And most important, where is Kennedy? Her intuition tells her just one thing: this can’t be a total coincidence.
Waxing On by Ralph Macchio: Since The Karate Kid first crane-kicked its way into the pop culture stratosphere in June 1984, there hasn’t been a week Ralph Macchio hasn’t heard friendly shouts of “Wax on, wax off” or “Sweep the leg!” Now, with Macchio reprising his role as Daniel LaRusso in the #1 ranked Netflix show Cobra Kai, he is finally ready to look back at this classic movie and give the fans something they’ve long craved. The book is Ralph Macchio’s celebratory reflection on the legacy of The Karate Kid in film, pop culture, and his own life.
Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro: Signal Fires opens on a summer night in 1985. Three teenagers have been drinking. One of them gets behind the wheel of a car, and, in an instant, everything on Division Street changes. Each of their lives, and that of Ben Wilf, a young doctor who arrives on the scene, is shattered. For the Wilf family, the circumstances of that fatal accident will become the deepest kind of secret, one so dangerous it can never be spoken. Signal Fires is a deeply felt novel that examines the ties that bind families together—and the secrets that can break them apart.
You Are My Sunshine: A Story of Love, Promises, and a Really Long Bike Ride by Sean Dietrich: In this true-life tale, master storyteller Sean Dietrich–also known as the beloved columnist and creator of the blog and podcast “Sean of the South”–shares their hilarious, touching, and sometimes terrifying story of the long bike ride to conquer The Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath trail. You Are My Sunshine is a laugh-out-loud funny true story of a loving relationship, a grand adventure, and a promise kept.
The Measure by Nikki Erlick: Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice. It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live. From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?
Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories by Kelly Ripa: In Live Wire, her first book, Kelly shows what really makes her tick. As a professional, as a wife, as a daughter and as a mother, she brings a hard-earned wisdom and an eye for the absurdity of life to every minute of every day. It is her relatability in all of these roles that has earned her fans worldwide and millions of followers on social media. Whether recounting how she and Mark really met, the level of chauvinism she experienced on set, how Jersey Pride follows her wherever she goes, and many, many moments of utter mortification, Kelly always tells it like it is.
Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know by Ben Bowlin, Matt Frederick, Noel Brown, Noel Brown: The co-hosts of the hit podcast Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know discern conspiracy fact from fiction in this sharp, humorous, compulsively readable and listenable book. In times of chaos and uncertainty, when trust is low and economic disparity is high, conspiracy theories find fertile ground. Many are wild, most are untrue, a few are hard to ignore, but all of them share one vital trait: there’s a seed of truth at their center. That seed carries the sordid, conspiracy-riddled history of our institutions and corporations woven into its DNA.
Billie Starr’s Book of Sorries by Deborah E. Kennedy: Jenny Newberg, Queen of Bad Decisions, is about to make another one. In a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business, down-on-her-luck single mother Jenny is on a first-name basis with the debt collector at the bank, who is moving toward foreclosure. She is constantly apologizing to her precocious young daughter, Billie Starr, who is filling a book with her mother’s sorries, and it seems to Jenny that no apology will ever be enough.