Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Lily Chen and Matthew Allen can’t be more opposite, but that doesn’t stop them from falling in love. Matthew comes from a wealthy family on the East coast, and Lily was raised in Tampa, Florida, with scientist parents that fled China during Mao’s revolution. Rachel Khong weaves an incredible tale crossing three generations and exploring complicated family dynamics, our own desires and the perception of what we are worthy of. A novel about fortune, inheritance, family, the choices we make—and the things we think we control.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Released in 2022, this powerful, witty story is a great way to enter the new year, as life takes you on your own unique, unexpected journey, just like Elizabeth Zott—a highly intelligent chemist working at Hastings Research Institute in the early 1960s. Her all-male team is misogynous, except the equally intelligent Calvin Evans, a Nobel-prize nominated scientist and loner. The unlikely pair fall in love. A few years later, Elizabeth is headlining a successful cooking show where in true Zott fashion, she approaches cooking as a scientist. This book takes readers on unexpected twists and turns, offering an empowering message along the way.
For Kids: Journey by Aaron Becker
For Middle-Grade: Wish by Barbara O’Connor
For YA: Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Casie Leigh Lukes is an Eagan-based writer, editor and owner of Cocoa&Champagne—creator of custom library curations. You can find her on Instagram @cocoaandchampagne.
