Loading
Jenna Bush Hager’s book club picks
A roundup of #ReadWithJenna’s monthly book club picks.
Published on June 11, 2024
Swift River: A Read with Jenna Pick
Essie ChambersJune 2024. Teenager Diamond Newberry feels like she’s drowning in a current of microaggressions and fatphobia in Swift River, a working-class, otherwise all-white New England town in the late 1980s. Ultimately, the river of life takes Diamond, who’s mixed-race, on a winding journey connecting her to unknown and distant relatives. Debut author Chambers, producer of the documentary “Descendant” and mixed-race herself, writes with the clarity and acuity acquired from personal experience and extensive research.
The Great Divide: A Novel
Cristina HenriquezMarch 2024. Henríquez (“The Book of Unknown Americans”) fashions an epic historical novel out of slice-of-life fragments. In 1907, the construction of the Panama Canal affects people from all walks of life — including Ada, a Barbadian teenager desperate to support her family, and Omar, a local young man who joins a digging crew against his father’s wishes. Their stories, and many others in the story, unveil a forgotten history shaped by imperialism (or, what some call progress).
The Waters
Bonnie Jo CampbellJanuary 2024. Jenna Bush Hager’s book club kicks off the year with a “beautifully written exploration of love, secrets, the resilience of nature, and the enduring spirit of rural America.” The lush island where much of the novel takes place is just as much a main character as the spirited and powerful multigenerational women that care for it.
How to Say Babylon: A Memoir
Safiya SinclairOctober 2023. Award-winning poet Sinclair (“Cannibal”) came of age in Jamaica under an authoritarian and often violent father, who expected his children — particularly his daughters — to adhere to the strict values of the Rastafari movement. Poetry (given to Sinclair by her mother) became her solace and, ultimately, her escape. Beautifully rendered, this memoir reckons with how a painful past can shape a bright future.
Amazing Grace Adams: A Novel
Fran LittlewoodSeptember 2023. Once, Grace Adams had a thriving career and a happy family. Now, she’s 45 and grappling with an aging body, impending divorce, and estrangement from her teen daughter, Lotte. Littlewood’s debut moves between the past and the present, where we find Grace making her way across London to deliver a birthday cake to Lotte, hoping to reconcile. This story strikes a chord with readers across all phases of life.
Banyan Moon: A Novel
Thao ThaiJuly 2023. After the death of her beloved grandmother, Minh, Ann Tran reconnects with her estranged mother, Huơng, at their family home, a gothic-style manor on the Gulf Coast. Banyan House, like the Tran family, has many secrets that could either permanently sever Ann and Huơng’s relationship or help rebuild it. Told from three perspectives, Thai’s first literary foray is a family saga about Vietnamese American women whose choices echo through generations.
Camp Zero: A Novel
Michelle Min SterlingApril 2023. “Annihilation” meets “The Handmaid's Tale” when Rose, a Korean American sex worker determined to provide for her mother, and Grant, a teacher trying to escape his family’s reputation, arrive at a climate refugee settlement in remote Canada. Sterling’s thrilling plot moves quickly between Rose, Grant, and an all-women society called White Alice. Tensions build in each storyline as it becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems.
Black Candle Women: A Novel
Diane Marie BrownMarch 2023. Weaving between present-day California and mid-century New Orleans, “Black Candle Women” follows the Montrose women, who must confront a curse that’s plagued their family for generations after Nickie, the youngest Montrose, brings home a potential suitor. Jenna Bush Hager chose this family saga for her book club saying, “This magical story is full of voodoo and hoodoo, love and loss, and the importance of family through thick and thin.”
Maame: A Today Show Read With Jenna Book Club Pick
Jessica GeorgeFebruary 2023. The February #ReadWithJenna pick follows Maddie, the dependable one in her British Ghanaian family, who finally chooses to prioritize herself and build the life she deserves. George’s novel is a coming-of-age journey featuring a vulnerable protagonist readers can simultaneously identify with and root for. Bush Hager is teaming up with Universal International Studios to develop the TV series adaptation of “Maame.”
The Cloisters: A Novel
Katy HaysNovember 2022. There’s plenty of off-kilter, chilling elements — from ruinous tarot readings to ruthless academic competition — in this expansive debut that’s been compared to “The Secret History.” Ann Stillwell thinks she’s escaping her small town for a big-time internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but instead she winds up at The Cloisters, which, in Hays’ hands, is more occultish than educational.
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy: A Novel
Jamie FordAugust 2022. “The Many Daughters of Afong Moy” soars back and forth and in-between the 1830s and the 2040s, exploring intergenerational connections — the good, the bad, the traumatic, and the ecstatic. This stirring novel explores the uncanny links in the lives of a nurse in WWII, a dating app developer in the present day, a poet laureate in the future, and more — all descendants of Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman in America.
The Measure: A Novel
Nikki ErlickJuly 2022. What would you do if you knew how long you were going to live? That’s exactly what the protagonists must answer in “The Measure.” Mysterious boxes reveal the fates of everyone on Earth, and the book’s subtly connected characters must reckon with their life-changing knowledge. “I think it will make everyone feel immense gratitude for the beautiful little moments,” says Bush Hager of her July 2022 book club selection. “I know it sounds like a book about death but really it’s a book about how we choose to live."
Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
Shelby Van PeltMay 2022. Pelt’s debut is full of whimsy, wit, and warmth, following grief-stricken Tova as she works at the local aquarium. There, she befriends Marcellus, an octopus who possesses knowledge deeper than most humans can fathom. Their friendship grows deeper still as Marcellus helps Tova solve the mysterious disappearance of her son — a tragedy that has plagued her for decades. Bush Hager’s May book club selection is creative and comforting, especially for animal lovers.
The School for Good Mothers: A Novel
Jessamine ChanJanuary 2022. A scathing commentary on the assumptions and stereotypes about mothers and the government powers that separate families, Chan’s dystopian drama is a page-turner. Frida Liu’s recent divorce may be the last straw, but at least she has her 18-month-old daughter — until she doesn’t. When the single mom leaves her child home alone for two hours, she’s sent to a rehabilitation facility where she must act as a surrogate mother to other children in order to earn back her own.
Bright Burning Things: A Novel
Lisa HardingDecember 2021. “I have never read a book that addresses mental health and alcoholism in as transparent and beautiful a way as ‘Bright Burning Things,’” Bush Hager says of her December #ReadWithJenna book club pick. Harding’s novel follows alcoholic mother Sonya as she makes poor choice after poor choice while still trying to be a devoted, caring mom to her son, Tommy. This is a devastating story of a mother’s love for her son in danger of being drowned out by her personal demons.
Good Company: A Novel
Cynthia D'Aprix SweeneyApril 2021. Sweeney’s follow up to her debut bestseller “The Nest” is a story about human connection. Flora and Julian have the type of relationship that most would envy. Married for over 20 years with a daughter about to head to college, their life together is stable and full of love. All of that changes in an instant when Flora discovers Julian’s wedding ring hidden away, the very same ring he claimed to have lost 13 years ago. This discovery sends shockwaves through Flora’s life, having her question everything she thought she knew about her marriage and her relationship with her best friend, Margot. A character-driven family drama that explores the life-changing consequences that can unfold from a single event.
Black Buck: A Novel
Mateo AskaripourJanuary 2021. Askaripour’s darkly funny satire follows Darren, who graduated valedictorian from high school but is now content to live with his mom and work as a barista. That all changes when he joins an elite sales team at a NYC tech company as the only Black employee. The new role sparks his ambition — and a whole lot of trouble.
White Ivy: A Novel
Susie YangNovember 2020. Bush Hager’s November pick is the propulsive story of one woman’s dark obsession with her rich classmate. Young Ivy Lin learned a lot from her grandmother — like how to lie and steal. But when her mother catches her, Ivy gets sent back to China, shattering her American dreams. As an adult, Ivy returns to the WASPy Boston suburb of her youth where she’ll do anything to get close to glamorous “golden boy” Gideon.
Leave the World Behind: A Novel
Rumaan AlamOctober 2020. A simple premise belies the provocative racial themes that unfold in this slow burn thriller nominated for the National Book Award in Fiction. A white Brooklyn family renting a luxurious house in the Hamptons receives an unexpected visit from an older Black couple claiming to be the homeowners returning home early. Netflix has already scooped up the movie rights for this thriller, with Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali to star in the upcoming December 2023 adaptation.
Valentine: A Thriller
Elizabeth WetmoreApril 2020. Wetmore’s debut novel is a story about small-town Texas in the mid-1970s, as a community reels from an act of violence and economic upheaval. “For anybody looking for a great escape, this is a wonderful book where you will find yourself really engrossed in the stories of these women,” Hager said in the announcement post.
Writers & Lovers: A Novel
Lily KingMarch 2020. Wryly funny, heartbreakingly sad, and surprisingly romantic. The protagonist, Casey, is a smart but stuck 30-something who’s waiting tables, drowning in debt, and struggling to write a novel she’s been working on for six years. She has a sharp wit and terrific eye for details, which is put to use in puncturing the social absurdities of wealthy WASPs and broke artists in equal measure.
Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss
Margaret RenklDecember 2019. #ReadWithJenna’s final book club pick of 2019 is an indie darling from Margaret Renkl. “It’s beautiful and it is a slower pace but I kind of loved that at the end of the year. We end with something slow and reflective and gorgeous,” Bush Hager said in the announcement. Renkl wrote this book about her mother’s life soon after her death.
Nothing to See Here: A Novel
Kevin WilsonNovember 2019. Wilson’s scifi-tinged novel features two kids who take the description of “spitfire” to the next level. The twins spontaneously combust whenever they’re upset or otherwise experience an emotion too intensely. What’s a parent to do? “The theme is definitely on family and being yourself and finding who you are, even if what you are seems strange to the rest of the world,” Bush Hager said in TODAY’s announcement post.
The Dutch House: A Novel
Ann PatchettOctober 2019. Get swept up in Patchett’s touching story about the beautiful relationship between a brother and sister. As the two siblings navigate the disintegration of their family and the loss of their beloved childhood home, the novel feels at once like a modern fairytale — there’s even a wicked stepmother — and a Victorian work of familial greed and the cruelty of circumstance. Layered with Patchett’s signature wit and incisive descriptions, this is the perfect novel to escape into. Plus, it's narrated by the wonderful Tom Hanks.
The Dearly Beloved: A Novel
Cara WallSeptember 2019. Wall explores questions of faith and religion through the lives of two ministers, James and Charles, and their wives, Nan and Lily. Each of the quartet have greatly differing personalities and perspectives on God (or the lack thereof) shaped by their respective backgrounds. Beautifully written and rich in characterization, “The Dearly Beloved” leaves readers much to ponder as the debut novel follows the group through decades of tragedies, triumphs, love, friendship, and loyalty.
Patsy: A Novel
Nicole Dennis-BennAugust 2019. In this winner of the 2020 Lambda Award for best Lesbian Fiction, many tough choices face the titular Patsy: She decides to leave Jamaica, her daughter, and her husband looking for a better life in America and her first love, Cicely. While she grabs the reins of her life, it doesn’t stay on course, and she’s left trying to navigate through her desired dreams and harsher reality. A bold exploration of immigration and motherhood.
A Woman Is No Man: A Novel
Etaf RumMay 2019. “A Woman is No Man” focuses on three generations of women in a Palestinian family all grappling with gendered societal and cultural expectations. Their voices, which are so often marginalized, come through loud and clear in this debut.