HPL 2023 Books You May Have Missed

A deeply moving and unflinching debut following a young Vietnamese-Australian woman who returns home to her family in the wake of her brother's shocking murder, determined to discover what happened--a dramatic exploration of the intricate bonds and obligations of friendship, family, and community. Just let him go. These are the words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother...

"Both epic and intimate, the story of one man's life across generations and historical upheavals: a deeply affecting novel about love, loss, ambition, and resolution from the best-selling author of Atonement. When the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has closed, eleven-year-old Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. 2,000 miles from his mother's protective love, stranded at an unusual boarding school,...

"Reminiscent of Gabriela Garcia's Of Women and Salt, Leah Franqui brings us an engrossing, deeply personal novel with a mystery at its heart as a daughter returns to Puerto Rico to search for her troubled father, who has gone missing after Hurricane Maria. From the outside, Elena Vega's life appears to be an easy one: the only child of two professional parents, private school, NYU. But her 20s are aimless and lacking in connection. Something has...

"Rival photographers are forced to collaborate on a body-positive lingerie campaign, but they might have to readjust their focus when sparks fly. Photographer Cassie Harris loves her job-her company, Buxom Boudoir, makes people look beautiful and feel empowered with her modern twist on classic pinup photography. Cassie's best friend, Dana, is about to launch her own lingerie line and wants Cassie to shoot and direct the career-changing national campaign....

Independent bookstore owner Sophie Bernstein is burned out on books. Mourning the death of her husband, the loss of her favorite manager, her only child's lack of aspiration, and the grim state of the world, she fantasizes about going into hiding in the secret back room of her store. Meanwhile, renowned poet Raymond Chaucer has published a new collection, and rumors that he's to blame for his wife's suicide have led to national cancellations of his...

"The award-winning author of 'Rashi's Daughters,' Maggie Anton, has written a wholly transformative novel that takes characters inspired by Chaim Potok and ages them into young adults in Brooklyn in the 1950s, a time of Elvis & Marilyn, communist scares & polio vaccines, Jewish migration & American integration. When Hannah Eisin, a successful journalist, interviews Rabbi Nathan Mandel, a controversial Talmud professor, she persuades him to teach her...

"From an exhilarating new voice comes a dazzling debut novel about an Indian-American immigrant building a life for herself in the Midwest-a brilliant and utterly absorbing story of love, friendship, and precarity in 21st century America Graduating into the trough of yet another American recession, Sneha is one of the fortunate ones. However mind-numbing the work, her entry-level consulting job is the key that unlocks every door: she can pick up the...

"Ghost meets The Bold Type in this sparkling adult debut about a disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, from nationally bestselling author Ashley Poston. Florence Day is a ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem-after a terrible break-up, she no longer believes in love. It's as good as dead. When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man,...

"When a piece of land comes up for sale in this exclusive community, it sparks a war between the Brittons and the Johnsons. It's old money versus new money, and neither family seems willing to compromise. Will the tension between them shatter any hopes of a peaceful summer? Hidden away near the end of Long Island, New York, is a community where affluent African Americans, their friends, and the wannabes have secretly vacationed for more than 75 years....

"A lush, engrossing tale of love, deception and scandal in the 18th century French court of King Louis XV. Against the tumult of 18th century France, King Louis XV has tired of courtly intrigues and becomes a connoisseur of innocence. On the grounds of the Palace of Versailles lies Deer Park, a hunting ground that also offers another pleasure: a mansion where his young mistresses are housed. But when these girls first arrive at Deer Park, it is under...