Gwen's Recent Favorites

“Olga and her brother Pedro 'Prieto' Acevedo had a rough start—their activist mother left them to lead a militant group in Puerto Rico; their father died young from AIDS—but they've both found success, Olga as a high-end wedding planner and Prieto as a congressman. Olga Dies Dreaming follows the pair (and some of their loved ones) as they navigate their careers, dreams, responsibilities, and loyalties in the rapidly gentrifying Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. It's a story about family and boundaries, and doing the painful but rewarding work of discovering one's purpose. I fell in love with Olga so quickly, and that's due in large part to Inés del Castillo's narration.”

“A literary mystery by the award-winning author of The Great Believers. Makkai cleverly tackles relevant topics in this page-turner.”

“Spanning from the final days of Constantinople to the distant space-exploring future, this is about how stories resonant across space and time. I know that readers will emerge from its pages grateful: for our connections with each other, how great art outlasts all of us, how together we are all writing one big story, imperfect and hopeful.”

“A companion novel to the bestselling Firekeeper's Daughter, I loved this edge of your seat mystery delving into issues of Indigenous artifacts, ancestors and missing girls. Set over the course of a summer Perry Firekeeper-Birch is an intern in for the tribe's affairs and gives us an inside peak at this world. Things heat up quick when she learns about the local college not repatriating the tribes artifacts and ancestors bones and she makes a series of decisions that will change everything. All the while there is a mystery involving missing indigenous girls that comes to a shocking conclusion. A thought-provoking thriller!”

“Violeta was born in 1920 during a pandemic and is dying in 2020 during another. In between is her rich, event-filled life. In her long life in a South American nation, she has witnessed and been affected by political upheavals, wars, social unrest and change, and technological advances. She has suffered excruciating loss, endured hardship and abuse, and experienced great passion and undying love. Through it all, she has been intensely independent and strong, always paving her own way. Allende reveals the details of Violeta’s life and character through her final letter to one she loves dearly. Using this technique and her beautiful prose, Allende grants us an intimate view of this fierce and inspiring woman.”

“This book has an ethereal feeling that you get wrapped up in while reading. Nothing quite makes sense but that’s just as it should be. You’re hooked. It is so atmospheric, so meta, so fascinating. I’ve heard many interpretations of this book, and each one makes perfect sense. And it’s all of this with a gay main character and romance and the central theme, the central pillar being a love of and devotion to stories. Of course I was going to love it.”

“This is a beautifully written, stunning, and scandalous story about two identical black twin girls, one who runs away from home at age 16. And then their lives completely shift, as one continues living her life as a Black woman, and the other that tries to pass herself off as white. This novel came at just the right time, in the middle of the Black Lives Matter protests and racial unrest in the United States. Brit Bennett has done a brilliant job with her novel! It is compelling and the audiobook on Libro.fm is exceptional!”

“LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book on Libro.fm, as an audiobook. To hear the Ojibwe words spoken is a treat not to be missed. Great reader in Isabella Star Lablanc!”

“A love letter to 1960s Harlem that’s also a heist novel, a family saga, and so much more. Colson Whitehead proves once again that he’s always at the top of his game!”

“Lauren Groff has created an incredibly powerful portrait of the compelling Marie de France, banished to 12th-century England to live in a failing abbey. I fell in love with Marie and the sisters she lives with.”

“Exit West will take your breath away as it magically weaves together a story of falling in love while the world falls apart. Spirited Nadia captures the heart of the thoughtful Saeed, but as their different paths in life converge, ordinary life gives way to the insults of war. Mohsin Hamid conveys the story of these young refugees with tenderness, humanizing the horrors that we too often see as merely headlines. As chaos touches so many lives around the globe, Hamid writes eloquently of the beauty found in our struggle to survive. This is more than a timely story; this is a remarkable work of art.”