NLW: Staff book picks: Tonia & Kristin

 

Tonia

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

 

I’ve always had a soft spot for gothic horror, especially stories centered around haunted or mysterious houses—and A House with Good Bones hit all the right notes for me. This Southern gothic tale is one of the cleverest horror novels I’ve read in a while. It strikes that rare balance between witty and unsettling, offering some genuinely funny moments without ever sacrificing the eerie atmosphere or the creepy tension that builds throughout the story.

I really enjoyed the main character, Sam, and her relationship with her mom. Their dynamic felt real and grounded, even as things around them started to get stranger and more unsettling. Their stories about Sam’s grandmother—whose presence is felt in both subtle and chilling ways—really stood out to me. As the buried family secrets start to unravel, the story picks up momentum and becomes a real page-turner.

There’s a lot of fun to be had in this book, but it also has teeth. It doesn’t let you get too comfortable or cozy, which I appreciated. If you enjoy stories with decaying houses, Southern folklore, and a mix of humor and horror, you will love this like I did.

 

Kristin

TJ Klune builds intricate, authentic characters and can weave dozens of threads into some of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever read. His published works vary in scope, but the ones I love most are the Cerulean Chronicles: The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea; Under the Whispering Door; and The Bones Beneath My Skin. This last one was self-published in 2018, but republished in a new edition by Tor Books in 2025. Bones is a bit of departure from Klune’s feel-good cozy fantasies. Nate Cartwright has just lost his parents, his job, and even his brother has no interest in him. Nate returns to the only things his parents left him—a cabin and a truck, deep in the Oregon woods. Unfortunately, the cabin appears to have been recently occupied. A little girl calling herself Artemis Darth Vader and a tightly wound man named Alex quickly turn Nate’s life upside down. Part thriller, part supernatural/sci-fi/fantasy, and a tiny part romance, this “latest” book from Klune is already on my best of the year list.

 

Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet by Samantha Allen 

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Untamed by Glennon Doyle 

Family Family by Laurie Frankel 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune 

Assistant to the Villain &  Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer 

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman 

Bittersweet in the Hollow and Lies on the Serpent's Tongue by Kate Pearsall

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanne Raybourn

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Nevermore 6-11-24: The Cartographers, My Side of the River, The Forgiving Kind

 

Reported by Rita

The Cartographers: a Novel by Peng Shepherd

When her estranged father is found dead with a seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, cartographer Nell Young soon discovers the map is extremely valuable—and that a mysterious collector will stop at nothing to destroy it and anyone who gets in the way.

 Unbelievable fantasy story, but the maps were very interesting.    – MH     4 stars

 

My Side of the River: a Memoir by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

Exploring separation, generational trauma, and the toll of the American dream, the author recounts what happened when, at 15, her parents were forced back to Mexico, leaving her and her brother to fend for themselves as underage children affected by broken immigration laws.

  It's a quick read with fascinating characters. Well written.    – KM      5 stars

 

The Forgiving Kind by Donna Everhart

After her beloved father dies in 1950s North Carolina, 12-year-old water diviner Martha "Sonny" Creech must deal with a shady, bigoted neighbor who is trying to insert himself in her family's cotton farm business. By the author of The Education of Dixie Dupree. 

A really good book, but kind of depressing.     – WJ      5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

The Cider House Rules by John Irving

Before We Were Yours: a Novel by Lisa Wingate

Some Days There's Pie: A Novel by Catherine Landis

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

Cat Confessions: a "Kitty Come Clean" Tell-All Book by Allia Zobel Nolan

The Women by Kristin Hannah

The Ship of Brides: a Novel by Jojo Moyes

Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

Abingdon Boardinghouse Murders by Greg Lilly

 

New Books 

In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face-To-Face With the Idea of an Afterlife by Sebastian Junger