I've read some really strong novels in the past few weeks. I started 2026 reading more slowly than I would have liked (I blame that on the fact that once again the district I work in is having to cut millions of dollars from its budget and for a second year in a row there will be significant cuts and job reductions; I'm finding concentrating on reading a little difficult as we all wait to hear the budget details that will be rolled out on February 23), but even looking back on what I am reading, I can't complain about the quality.
Good People by Patmeena Sabit is such a good read. The Sharaf family looks like they've achieved the American dream, having arrive in the United States with virtually nothing, they now live in a nice house in a good neighborhood and send their children to good schools. However, their daughter Zorah, has perhaps become too American, refusing to follow her parents rules or the expectations of their culture. Narrated by the various people that know the Sharafs, we see things from various perspectives, but never from the Sharafs themselves. So, when something happens to Zorah, readers are left to put pieces of the puzzle together to determine if the happy family was really as happy as it appeared.
Libby Page's This Book Made Me Think Of You was a book that any book lover would enjoy. Six months after Tilly's husband dies she receives a phone call from Alfie, the manager of The Book Page, a bookstore, informing her that she has a package to pick up. It turns out that Tilly's husband purchased a book to gift her each month of the first year after his death. Tilly hasn't read a book in a long time, although she remembers loving to spend her time that way at one point. But each book which is accompanied by a note from her husband, Joe, seems like a perfect selection and Tilly starts reading again, steps out of her comfort zone, and also finds new friends - and maybe even something more than friendship. This is a book that I read quickly. i loved the various book titles that are interspersed in the story, the bookstore setting, and the way Page showed how important books and reading are.
Sadeqa Johnson's latest novel is another amazing work of historical fiction that chronicles a little known aspect of history. Told by three narrators: Ozzie, a Black serviceman who is stationed in Europe after World War II, Sophie a teenage girl who has just received a scholarship to a high school which allows her to leave the loveless home she has been raised in, and Ethel, the wife of a military officer who discovers an orphanage full of children who were the product of Black American officers and German women. These three stories all connect as Ethel not only adopts several children, but also works to get the children adopted by Black families in the United States. This is a fascinating chapter in history that was new to me, but it is also a well written story that Johnson has researched and managed to create characters to tell about it. I often will fall asleep while reading, but last night, I stayed up until I had finished this entire book.
I still have quite a stack of novels I'm excited to pick up, so choosing the next read is always a challenge.
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