The Correspondent: A Novel by Virginia Evans

 

The Correspondent: A Novel by Virginia Evans. Crown, 2025. Adult contemporary fiction.

    All of her life Sybil Van Antwerp has written letters. She writes to her family members and friends, to authors of books she has read, and to various others. Sybil makes sense of the world through writing. She has spent her life as a whip smart lawyer and is retired. Now that she is in her eighties and her vision is failing, her world is getting smaller. With quiet drama and quite a bit of humor, Evans has written a beautiful book about aging, family, friends, and forgiveness. This is a sure hit for book groups. It is a balm for the soul of anyone without being preachy.

All We Say: The Battle for American Identity, History in 15 Speeches by Ben Rhodes

 

  

All We Say:  The Battle for American Identity, History in 15 Speeches by Ben Rhodes. Random House, 2026, 411 pages.

     So much of what we know of history is the result of a speech that someone gave and someone else wrote down or recorded.  As a speech writer himself, Ben Rhodes can put an experienced eye on what it takes to give a memorable speech. As a former deputy national security advisor, Rhodes knows about what it takes to influence others and see through rhetoric and bluster. From Ben Franklin who advocated compromise to Donald Trump of whom Rhodes says, "The Second Trump presidency is the kind of dark place where the breakdown of a moral framework can lead.", Rhodes shows the progression of American politics and tries to identify what makes America the country it is today. This is one of the most insightful and scariest books I have read in a very long time. 

Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution by Amanda Vaill

 

The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution by Amanda Vaill. Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 2025. Adult nonfiction. History. 720 pages.

     Readers who are familiar with the Hamilton musical, will immediately recognize the Schuyler sisters. Angelica and Eliza and Peggy are central to the Alexander Hamilton tale. In this well researched and documented history of the Schuyler family and the early history of America, Amanda Vaill has done a masterful job of showing their influence on the events of the American Revolution itself. The two beautiful older sisters, Angelica Church, and Eliza Hamilton share a deep love for Alexander Hamilton himself. Interestingly, when Hamilton is killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, Eliza advocates for saving his papers and documents and his place in American history. She outlives him by decades. 

from online: 

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE
FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD IN BIOGRAPHY
FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN BIOGRAPHY

"Marvelous . . . An act not only of recovery, but of world building." --The Atlantic

"A thoroughly fascinating biography, filled with Vaill's signature warmth, humor and insight." --The New York Times Book Review

"Elegantly written, intimately detailed and infused with feeling, a gripping account of these two remarkable women, their elite family and their tumultuous era." --The Wall Street Journal

"One of our great biographers takes the sisters out of Hamilton's supporting cast and puts them front and center." --Town & Country

America's founding era reconsidered through the lives of two women as formidable as, and in some respects stronger than, the men they loved, married, and mothered.

Big Little Truths: A Novel by Liane Moriarty

 

Big Little Truths: A Novel by Liane Moriarty. Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, 2026. Adult contemporary fiction. 447 pages.

     If you have read BIG LITTLE LIES or seen the Netflix series based on that book, you will be familiar with these characters. The book is set in Australia, but the series was set in Monterey, California. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep, the series basically follows the book's five main female characters. A forward to this new book explains a few exceptions.

     In this novel, the former first grade children are now teenagers. The parents have aged as well and face typical mid-life crises such as aging parents, health issues, and dealing with teen angst. Chapters alternate between the handful of women who are the main characters. The teens talk themselves at the ends of many chapters. One new character is the new high school principal. The new high school history teacher, Melody Montclair, and her handsome husband become central to the plot. As always, the author weaves the story carefully and you really don't have to have read the first book to understand this one.  It's hard to put the book down near the end as actions race to a surprising conclusion. 

The Boleyn Secret: A Novel by Alison Weir

 

The Boleyn Secret: A Novel by Alison Weir. Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, 2026. 530 pages.  Historical fiction.

Alison Weir, author of many other novels about the Tudor era and the wives of Henry VIII, has scored a victory with this tale about Katherine Carey, the daughter of Anne Boleyn's sister Mary.  Notes at the back tell what is known as truth and which parts Weir based on rumors of the time. Starting with young Katherine, who is beckoned to the Tower to be with her kinswoman, Anne Boleyn, as Anne awaits her beheading, and following Katherine throughout her life, the narrative gives details and moves along chronologically. The novel will add an interesting part to the Tudor era historical fiction.

The Calamity Club: A Novel by Kathryn Stockett

 

The Calamity Club: A Novel by Kathryn Stockett. Spiegel and Grau, 2026. 638 pages. Adult fictio. Historical fiction.

     Most readers are familiar with THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett. It's been twenty years and now it's time for her second novel. Totally different from her first book, this one is also set in Mississippi and centers mainly on women. Chapters feature different narrators and all have stories to tell! It's easy to tell the women apart. The details about clothing and houses and people help the Depression and the 1930's come alive. No one does Southern dialect better than Stockett.  Don't let the length of this novel scare you! It is a a great read and worth it's weight to take on that summer vacation...maybe to Oxford, Mississippi? 

 

The Quilt Whisperer Investigates by Peggy Ehrhart. Kensington, 2026. Adult fiction.

   In this first book of the Quilt Whisperer series, Caroline Platte is introduced as a curator, historian, and textile expert at the Yates Museum in Banburyport. Nancy Critchley, a wealthy local, is about to loan a valuable antique quilt to the "Banburyport at 400" exhibit at the museum, but she is found dead at her home. Caroline's friend Libby joins the local coffee drinkers to talk over the mystery and try to solve the crime. 

    Mystery lovers are in good hands in this fast paced who-done-it. Caroline and Libby and their community are friendly and interesting. Descriptions of the historic town and its houses are detailed. The whole setting near the ocean smacks of the north Atlantic and is appealing. Stay tuned for more in this new series and look for Ehrhart's Knit and Nibble successful series, too.