The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

Title: The Lager Queen of Minnesota
Author: J. Ryan Stradal
Genre: Domestic Fiction

This book is written by a Minnesota native and follows the lives of two sisters from the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" don't cha know. Older sister Edith followed the more traditional path of marrying young, raising a family, and baking pies - a skill through which she ekes out a meager living. Younger sister Helen knows at an early age that beer is her destiny. She majors in chemistry so she can become a brewer. Though her mom disapproves, her dad secretly supports her goal and ends up leaving the entire farm to Helen. This one-sided allocation of the inheritance creates a rift between the sisters.

Will either sister make their mark in beer history? Will they ever speak to each other again? Can you read this book without wanting to have some pie or beer?

I would recommend this as a book club book - especially one that would pair it with a beer tasting or a pie social.

- Sarah R.

Check out The Lager Queen of Minnesota @ the library! 

The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder

Family weddings tend to be perfect memories, preserved in photographs where we all put on our best smiles, for family and friends. Anyone involved in a wedding will tell you there is much more going on beneath the surface of those perfect family photos.

It starts with an invitation, and a guess at how much the invitations cost. Siblings Alice and Paul have always been a pretty united front against their half sister Eloise, a woman who lived a life of privilege and ease that made their middle-class American life seem so ordinary. Now Eloise is getting married, insisting that they come to England for the event, and showing them the life they could never achieve.

Paul is happily partnered with Mark, living in Philadelphia doing kind of controversial work, that most psychologists would kill to do. Alice is on the West Coast, sleeping with her boss, and a still bit lost after Mexico. Being forced to face their mother, and their half sister is enough to push them to breaking points they didn't know they had.

Written in the same dysfunctional vein as Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections and Cynthia D'Aprix-Sweeney's The Nest, you won't be able to look away from the train wreck of a family in The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Min Jin Lee's Pachinko is a multi generational story set in Japan that focuses on the twists and turns of history as it affects an immigrant Korean family beginning in 1900. This book is sure to be of interest to those fascinated by history or reading about how events affect life in weird and wonderful ways.

The Mother's Promise by Sally Hepworth

Alice Stanhope and her daughter Zoe have only ever had one another to rely on. Poor Zoe struggles with crippling social anxiety and is reliant upon her mother, who fiercely protects her. With no family left and Zoe's father out of the picture, they're all the other needs. That's until Alice is diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer.

Like any mother desperate to make sure her child is well cared for, Alice turns to the only two women she knows. Though they're practically strangers, Alice turns to Kate, her oncology nurse and Sonja, the social worker on her case, to help make sure that Zoe is cared for after Alice is gone. As these four strong female characters come together, they are forced to face their deepest fears--those of abandonment, physical and emotional abuse, estrangement, and infertility. 

Filled with the perfect combination of love, humor, and sadness, Sally Hepworth's The Mother's Promise is an unforgettable novel illustrating the immeasurable amount of love a mother has for her child. 

Carry On by Lisa Fenn

In 2009 ESPN showed a short human interest film featuring a blind wrestler who would carry his legless teammate to and from the mats at meets. The powerful portrayal of hope and friendship caused many people to take an interest into the two boys from Ohio who had every disadvantage one could imagine. One of those people was the producer of the story, Lisa Fenn.

Dartanyon Crockett's larger than life statute was able to hide the fact that he could barely see, and his physical presence on the athletic field gave him a place in a world where he would have few things. He held on to hope, because he wanted to make his diseased mother proud. Leroy Sutton lost his legs in a tragic train accident, and spent his life with his mother squandering what resources should have helped him. He used humor to hide pain, and arm strength to show he could do what anyone else could. These boys became brothers, and we rarely seen without each other. 

When Lisa Fenn was sent the short article from the paper about the boys from her father, a Cleveland local, she knew there was a story there. As a producer for ESPN she knew this was something special, and convinced her boss to see what she saw. What she didn't know is that her life was going to be changed as much as the boys were. With out knowing what she was doing, she started looking out for these boys, hoping to elevate them out of their life of poverty and give them a better life. 

If you are looking for a powerful true story, in the same vein as The Blindside, check out Carry On by Lisa Fenn.

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

It first resembles some sort of reality television show: 7 people living in a house on a beautiful 

island off the coast of Spain for two weeks. But it turns out that we're really being invited along on a family vacation of sorts. Seven very different people come together for a chance to relax, swim, and eat glorious food and we soon realize that each has their own hopes, fears, and issues.

Jim: father of the Post family is "a cool 60" years old and finds himself faced with the void of retirement forced upon him once it came to light that he had an affair with a 23-year-old intern (sorry, editorial assistant) at work.

Franny: matriarch, freelance food writer and woman coming to terms with herself due to the shock of her husband's infidelity this trip also marks their 35th wedding anniversary.

Sylvia: their 18-year-old daughter who has just graduated high school and is hoping to lose her virginity before learning for Brown in the fall.

Bobby: the Post's oldest child. Struggling Miami real estate agent and ambivalent gym rat.

Carmen: Bobby's long-time athletic trainer girlfriend who Franny and Jim have always felt was "too old" for their son.

Charles: Franny's best friend for almost 40 years and artist.

Lawrence: Charles' husband and accountant for movie productions. Wants more than anything to adopt a baby and become a father with Charles.

Throw all of these people and their separate and shared histories together and you've got...an interesting two weeks ahead. Break-ups, blowups, possible adoptions--all bubbling under the surface of this seemingly ideal vacation. Straub's characters are fully formed and the reader gobbles up page after page trying to see what will happen next. Will Bobby dump Carmen? Will Franny just divorce Jim already? This seemingly light-hearted beach novel packs a realistic punch for readers. Be sure to check out a copy of The Vacationers today.

The Green Road by Anne Enright

Enright's The Green Road features Rosaleen Madigan is an Irish wife and mother who attempts to control her family, husband and four children, with histrionics and melodrama. So in 1980, when oldest son Dan announces his intention to study for the priesthood, his mother starts to cry during Sunday dinner and, after dinner, takes to her bed for days. The family carries on, the burden of running the household falling on the oldest daughter, Constance. Eventually Rosaleen emerges from her bedroom and ordinary life resumes.

Decades later, Rosaleen is a widow and her children have left home. Dan, who did not become a priest, lives in North America and is involved in the art world and the gay community. His brother Evan has gone in an entirely different direction, providing medical care to poor people in Africa. Youngest daughter Hanna has gone into acting and only Constance remains near the family home, following the traditional Irish path of wife and mother. Feeling lonely, neglected and incapable of maintaining her property, Rosaleen decides she will sell her old house and live in something more modern. She summons her children home for Christmas and they dutifully obey. But the Christmas conversation devolves into arguments and injured feelings. Once again Rosaleen responds melodramatically, disappearing into the Irish countryside on a cold winter night. It is a pattern which will repeat itself again. Rosaleen may not get what she wants but she will be the center of attention.

After You by Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes is back with her new book, After You, the sequel to her New York Times bestselling Me Before You. After You follows Louisa Clark after Will Traynor's assisted suicide. Louisa finds herself in the throws of grief, unable to move on. Much to her dismay, she's joined the Moving on Circle for those dealing with the loss of a loved one. She's working at a job she hates, with a horrible boss that makes her wear the outfit of an Irish dancer, right down to the curly haired wig. Though her luck can't get much worse, Louisa winds up taking a tumble off of her balcony, severely injuring her hip. Her life is a mess.

As if Louisa's life needs any more chaos, a teenager named Lily shows up to Louisa's flat with some shocking news--that she's Will's daughter. Wanting to know what her father and his family was like, Lilly befriends Louisa. For Louisa, already struggling with the loss of Will, the constant memories and once again dealing with the Traynors is often a bit much. Even though Lilly creates some chaos while she's staying with Louisa, she's the catalyst for Louisa's ability to begin to let go of her grief. Louisa finally feels complete enough to begin dating someone and do things she never thought she'd be able to do, including contemplating taking a caregiver-type job in the New York City.

With many of the same characters from Me Before You, Moyes' new book will make you laugh while also pulling on your heartstrings. From the sad ending of Me Before You, it's nice to see where Louisa's life ends up.

The Stories We Tell by Patti Callahan Henry

In The Stories We Tell, Eve and Cooper Morrison have everything they could ever want. They have money, perfect careers, a beautiful house in Savannah, and the perfect, well-to-do, old family. Eve owns a letterpress studio, where she focuses on designing and making homemade cards, invitations, and special paper items. Her husband, Cooper, owns an e-magazine company. On the outside, everything is exactly how it should seem.

While everything appears perfect from the outside, that facade couldn't be farther from the truth. Eve's sister Willa is staying with Eve and Cooper just until she gets her life "sorted out." Eve's teenage daughter is going through a rebellious state. And as if that isn't bad enough for Eve, Cooper thinks that she's is so busy devoting time to everything else except her marriage to him.

Amid all of the chaos in the Morrison family, Cooper and Willa wind up in a car accident that leaves Willa with some memory loss. When Cooper tells what happened the night of the accident, things don't seem to match up. Why would Cooper say that Willa was drunk when she wasn't? Where did the money in Eve's business bank account go? Why is Eve receiving cryptic messages written in greeting cards designed by letterpress ?

Sorting through Coopers story, Willa's memories, and the real facts, Eve has to decide if her perfect life is really worth all of this.

Big Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty

Big Little Lies follows three women, all at a crossroads in life. Meet Madeline, a forty-something, divorced and remarried mom of a teenager and two elementary school age children. To put it lightly, Madeline is never afraid to speak her mind. Her oldest, Abigail would much rather live with Madeline's ex-husband and his new wife, Bonnie, much to Madeline's chagrin. As if that wasn't bad enough, Madeline's youngest has just started kindergarten with her ex-husband and Bonnie's daughter. Awkward.

Enter Celeste. Seen as the gorgeous, wealthy mom of two twin, kindergarten-aged boys Celeste has all that she could ever need...on the outside. Although money has never been an issue and she's tall and beautiful and her life appears otherwise perfect, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Though pretending to have a perfect marriage on the outside, Celeste tries desperately to hide the fact that she's the victim of domestic abuse. There's a constant inner struggle for Celeste...should she leave Perry? What about the boys?

Then there's new to town, young, single mother Jane. Jane is plain. reserved and often appears sad, worrying about her five year old son, Ziggy. While Jane's mom is so enamored with the fact that Ziggy is his grandfather reincarnated, Jane is concerned that Ziggy has inherited some questionable behavior from his father, Jane is constantly on edge trying to protect the little life she's created, but will it be enough to protect them?

When all of these women meet at kindergarten orientation, they realize that though their stories may be different, they completely understand one another. This whodunit  type story revolving around murder, bullying, and domestic abuse, will definitely keep you reading, laughing, and guessing who exactly did what.