Expectation: A noir crime mystery with Mandel’s signature observations about life and culture.
Reality: Dreadfully slow and utterly pretentious, thankfully the author’s storytelling has improved since her debut.
Your House Will Pay – Steph Cha
Expectation: A trauma-fest ripped from the headlines.
Reality: A surprisingly balanced and detailed microhistory of early 1990s racial tensions in Los Angeles. The story had many layers that were explored in detail without making this feel like an agony dump.
Open Throat – Henry Hoke
Expectation: An exploration of the trials and tribulations of a queer mountain lion navigating an increasingly difficult life in Los Angeles.
Reality: Not necessarily queer but highly engrossing with a wonderfully executed ending.
The Rachel Incident – Caroline O’Donoghue
Expectation: A dramedy about two messy best friends navigating early adulthood in Ireland.
Reality: A surprisingly relatable story that succeeds, even though our main characters — Rachel and James — are difficult to love.
The People Who Report More Stress – Alejandro Varela
Expectation: Rich social commentary about urban, middle-aged and non-white queer life.
Reality: Uneven and heavy handed, the collection felt rushed and lazy.
Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans – Dan Baum
While Baum’s love of New Orleans’ inhabitants and history is apparent, this well-written and researched – but horribly overstuffed and scattershot – book is not nearly as interesting as he thought it would be. All-in-all, this would appeal most to people who like day-in-the-life narratives, but for those looking for history or insight about Hurricane Katrina and rebuilding New Orleans will be left disappointed.
Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw: Reimagining Success as a Disabled Achiever – Eddie Ndopu
Descriptive writing — delivered through his one good finger — paired with well-placed curse words and Ndopu’s flair for the flamboyant, brought his journey at Oxford to life in vivid detail. While he presents scenario after scenario of him being treated as less than by “Uprights,” this isn’t about sour grapes.
Wow, No Thank You – Samantha Irby
While there were a few laugh out loud moments within each of the 18 essays, “Wow” didn’t fully capture my attention.
The Celebrants – Steven Rowley
Expectation: A novel that will keep you laughing through tears as you experience the “living funerals” of our five lifelong friends.
Reality: Some paper-thin characters and melodrama masquerading as legitimate emotion overshadow the few bright spots in the story.
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water – Angie Cruz
Expectation: A depressing exploration of life for an underemployed immigrant during the Great Recession.
Reality: Buoyed by the charm of the main character and a fantastic audiobook performance by Rossmery Almonte, this was far more entertaining than anticipated.
The Late Americans – Brandon Taylor
Expectation: Honestly, I’m not sure but it wasn’t a short story collection masquerading as a novel.
Reality: Interesting concepts overshadowed by unlikable characters and absolutely zero plot. While a step forward in writing for the author, this was a dull read.
Romantic Comedy – Curtis Sittenfeld
Expectation: A smart, timely commentary on celebrity culture and self-esteem.
Reality: All of that plus laugh out loud funny. I was compulsively entertained from start-to-finish.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey
Expectation: A classic retelling of David and Goliath but set in a mental institution in the 1960s.
Reality: It has not aged well, and I barely finished it.
Yellowface – R. F. Kuang
Expectation: A timely and highly literary story about plagiarism and diversity set against the backdrop of the publishing industry.
Reality: A dark, shocking and highly engrossing novel that dismantles so many hot button issues in less than 400-pages. Unfortunately the last third lost steam.
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington – Alexis Coe
This is largely a Cliff’s Notes view of the American Revolution and fledgling democracy, which is honestly the right amount for most readers, while focusing on subjects often overlooked - Washington’s propaganda machine, political enemies, women and slaves.
In Memoriam – Alice Winn
Expectation: A gut-punch queer love story set within the backdrop of World War I trenches.
Reality: Stilted dialogue, a ping-pong narrative structure and an unbelievable connection between the two main characters made this rather disappointing.
Brother & Sister Enter the Forest – Richard Mirabella
Expectation: A modern retelling of Hansel and Greta but with PTSD being the villain.
Reality: An engrossing and complex story about forgiveness and self-love. It’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, but it’s worth the read.
The End of Eddy - Édouard Louis
Expectation: An unflinching queer coming of age story.
Reality: Darker and more disturbing than I imagined but also oddly captivating.
The Absolutist – John Boyne
Expectation: A story about the forbidden love between two soldiers in World War I.
Reality: Half of the novel is filler, but Boyne delivers some shocking revelations and a satisfying conclusion.
Like a Love Story – Abdi Nazemian
Expectation: A sweet but slight coming of age tale set amidst the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City in the late-1980s.
Reality: While there’s a lot of melodrama and the plot is stale, it’s a great introduction to this era in queer history, and the importance of having a gay Iranian lead character cannot be understated.