Remember me by Charity Norman

Emily returns to New Zealand from England to look after her father, Felix, who is suffering and deteriorating from Alzheimer’s. hanging over them is the mystery of Leah, who was a next door neighbour and disappeared 25 years ago. During his more lucid moments Felix reveals secrets he has kept about Leah. The descriptions of Felix, his disease and relationship with Emily were honest and well written and the heart of the story. The mystery of Leah has a surprising ending and at times makes an emotional read and also making it a great read.

The sentence by Louise Erdrich

Set in Minneapolis at the beginning of the pandemic, including the time when George Floyd was murdered, The Sentence is about Tookie, who discovered reading whilst in gaol, and came to work at a book shop after she was released. The shop’s most annoying customer has died, and begins to haunt Tookie and the shop, so Tookie and her colleagues have to find a way to move her on, while coping with all that life in Minneapolis in 2020 involves, particularly for First Nations people. It’s a funny, moving, and cathartic reminder of the importance of culture, strength, hope, and love. A whole star goes to the book shop setting (it’s a real shop, owned by the author who is also in the book!) and all the books mentioned – there are lists!

These precious days by Ann Patchett

Starting with the gorgeous painting on the cover, this book has been a balm, a comfort to read and reflect on in light of all that has happened, personally, and collectively. These Precious Days is a collection of essays on many topics -family, friends, growing up, knitting (I cried in this one), the power of (children’s) books, writing, marriage, the impact people can have on each other. Collectively they are a celebration of life, brimming with an energy that is open-hearted and kind; a kind of thankfulness for the way all things, the good and the hard, can be a gift.

The promise by Damon Galgut

Set in South Africa over three decades, this is the story of a family in decline. When their mother dies, three siblings return home, a place of complicated feelings and relationships. Their mother extracted a promise from their father to give a house to their black housekeeper, and this unkept promise plagues the family for many years. This was a slow burn for me; a dark, bleak, character study and reflection on the complicated changes in South Africa.

Crownbreaker by Sebastien de Castell

A fitting end to a greatly enjoyable series. As ever Kellen and Reichis find themselves in great peril and must use all their wits, strength and friendships to make it through. I really loved that the main character didn’t have special gifts; he was the opposite of the chosen one, and his journey and growth were more about confidence and wisdom than the attaining of skills or gifts. It is very funny and full of heart.

The missing pieces of Nancy Moon by Sarah Steele

After her grandmother’s funeral Flo discovers a box that contains vintage sewing patterns, fabric swatches and postcards from 1962 . They belonged to a relative Nancy Moon who she has not heard of before. As her marriage is also breaking down Flo decides to recreate the outfits of Nancy Moon and recreate the 1962 journey of Nancy. The story is told through the voices of both Flo and Nancy, anchored by the outfit they both wore. Family secrets are revealed, relationships are healed and it made me nostalgic about sewing with my mother.

The woman in the purple skirt by Natsuko Imamura

The Woman in the Purple Skirt falls beautifully into the ‘women who are not okay” sub-genre of recent years – My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Sorrow and Bliss, Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead, Beautiful World Where Are You – that sort of book, with bonus creepiness. Translated from the Japanese it is about a woman in a purple skirt as seen, intensely, by a woman in a yellow cardigan. It’s an understated but unsettling tale of single women’s lives, workplace dynamics, community, loneliness, and obsession. It starts quietly but builds up to pack a real punch, and the audiobook is well done, though the accent is not my favourite.

The library of the dead by T.L. Huchu

Set in a post-catastrophic Edinburgh (near future or alternate?) The Library of the Dead is about Ropa, a fourteen year-old ghostalker of Zimbabwean heritage – count me in! While trying to make a living and care for her grandmother and sister, Ropa takes messages from ghosts to their families. She hears that someone is doing something terrible to children, and this sends her on an adventure that brings her to an amazing library, new friends, magic, and much danger. It had a slow start, but I am fully on board for the series.

With love from London by Sarah Jio

This was such a heartwarming read. It is told through the alternating voices of Eloise and her daughter Valentina. Eloise had to leave Valentina when she was a child and it is only after Eloise’s death that Valentina can discover what happens. We are taken through Valentina’s healing journey as she takes over her mother’s bookshop in London. The love of community, friends and books shone through the story.

Scary monsters by Michelle de Krester

Scary Monsters had me singing the David Bowie song whenever I looked at the cover, but drove all else from my head when I was reading. It is two novellas, each with its own cover, and you can choose the order in which you read them (I chose Lyle first). Don’t be fooled by the cover art, they are both dark. Lili is set in the early 80s and Lyle in the not-too-distant future. Both characters migrated to Australia when they were young, and the issue of belonging is a scary monster for each, and racism, misogyny and ageism permeate the book. Lili is teaching English in France before going to university, and her story is about friendship, power, and growing up. Lyle lives with climate crisis, extreme pressure to conform in a believable dystopian future. Disturbing, beautiful, darkly humorous, clever and thought-provoking, it might be my favourite de Kretser novel.