J. Courtney Sullivan grew up outside of Boston, attended Smith College, and now lives and dates in Manhattan. She has written for The New York Times, Allure, Tango, and the New York Observer.
Like Family (2025) Erin O White "This novel is a gift. I could not put it down, and then I was so sad when it was over. The world depicted in Like Family is the world I want to live in. Among other things, it is the most beautiful love letter to female friendship I've ever encountered in fiction. A must-read."
The Satisfaction Cafe (2025) Kathy Wang "An intimate portrait of a life unlike any I have read before. I loved this novel and its heroine so much. Kathy Wang writes with humor, wisdom and compassion. A must-read."
I'll Be Right Here (2025) Amy Bloom "I read this stunning novel in a single sitting and then moped around for days because I missed the characters so much. Amy Bloom is at the height of her powers in this epic tale of how we shape the lives of those around us in ways both ordinary and extraordinary, and how they shape ours in return."
Sleep (2025) Honor Jones "SLEEP marks the arrival of an astonishing new voice in the world of literary fiction. Honor Jones writes with honesty and courage about life's complications and contradictions. This novel is propulsive and funny and heartbreaking."
The Names (2025) Florence Knapp "Fascinating and deeply moving, The Names explores how one decision can shape the course of a life - and many other lives in turn. Knapp's characters are perfectly drawn and entirely original, while also being emblematic of the ways domestic violence can damage all the members of a family."
Hate Follow (2024) Erin Quinn-Kong "If you've ever seen a picture-perfect influencer mom on Instagram and wondered what's really going on behind closed doors, you are going to love Hate Follow. I raced through this juicy, funny, insightful novel about a mom who makes a killing by oversharing her kids' lives online and the teenage daughter intent on stopping her. Erin Quinn-Kong examines all the fraught elements of this arrangement without ever casting judgment on her characters."
The Sicilian Inheritance (2024) Jo Piazza "I loved this epic tale of one woman's quest to learn the truth about what happened to her great-grandmother a century ago. A gripping story of motherhood, ambition, misogyny and female power, now and then, it is also a great mystery that kept me guessing until the final pages."
After Annie (2024) Anna Quindlen "A new Anna Quindlen novel is always cause for celebration. After Annie might just be my favorite one yet. It's a beautiful and deeply moving story about love, loss, friendship, marriage, family, and community from one of our wisest chroniclers of modern life. I treasured every page."
Save What's Left (2023) Elizabeth Castellano "Save What's Left is an absolute delight. It's laugh out loud funny and full of heart. I loved it."
The Favor (2023) Adele Griffin "Adele Griffin is a compelling new voice in literary fiction."
When in Rome (2023) Liam Callanan "When in Rome is a total delight. It has all my favorite things - a gorgeous setting, a fierce and funny female protagonist, and nuns! Best of all, it showcases Liam Callanan's trademark wisdom about the human heart, and reminds us that it's never too late to change your life."
Pineapple Street (2023) Jenny Jackson "Pineapple Street is that rarest of gifts - a novel you don't want to put down for anything. Transporting and laugh-out-loud funny, this intergenerational story is a perfect tale for our times."
Flight (2022) Lynn Steger Strong "A gorgeous novel, both intimate and expansive. Flight is packed full of wisdom about family, marriage, class, climate, love and loss. Lynn Steger Strong is a master of creating characters so funny, flawed and true that they feel like people you know. I couldn't put it down."
Vigil Harbor (2022) Julia Glass "This novel has it all: a vibrant and unforgettable cast of characters, an evocative setting, and a plot full of secrets and surprises. Glass gives us her signature wit and wisdom about the world we live in now (and where we might be headed if we're not careful). A must-read."
The Daughters of Erietown (2020) Connie Schultz "A moving, unforgettable story about time, progress, and how the mistakes of one generation get repeated or repaired by the next."
Dear Edward (2020) Ann Napolitano "A dazzling novel that will break your heart and put it back together again."
If, Then (2019) Kate Hope Day "A gorgeous novel that asks us to imagine all the possible versions of ourselves that might exist. A must read."
Oliver Loving (2018) Stefan Merrill Block "Stefan Merrill Block has a masterful understanding of family dynamics. He writes with authority about the power of secrets, shared history and how tragedy shapes lives. The result is a haunting, bittersweet, addictive novel that will keep you wondering until the very end."
Perennials (2017) Mandy Berman "Berman is at her most insightful when exploring the awkward unfurling of female adolescence. . . . Perennials is a sharp meditation on the changing female body, and the ways in which such changes are often involuntary and unwanted. . . . [She] skillfully captures the details and rituals of camp."
Leaving Lucy Pear (2016) Anna Solomon "Anna Solomon writes with a poet's reverence for language and a novelist's ability to keep us turning the page. Leaving Lucy Pear is a gorgeous and engrossing meditation on motherhood, womanhood, and the sacrifices we make for love."
The Royal We (2015) (Royal We, book 1) Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan "A joy from start to finish. The Royal We is that rare novel that makes you think, makes you cry, and is such fun to read that you'll want to clear your schedule until you've turned the final page. But be warned - Cocks and Morgan have created a world so rich, a romance so compelling, and characters so funny and alive, that you'll be terribly sad to see them go."
The Magician's Lie (2015) Greer Macallister "A suspenseful and well-researched tale of magic, secrets and betrayal that will keep you guessing until the end."
The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D (2012) Nichole Bernier "I loved this bittersweet novel, which manages to be both a compelling mystery and a wise meditation on friendship, marriage and motherhood in an age of great anxiety. Bernier will have you thinking about her characters long after you've turned the final page."
The Art of Forgetting (2011) Camille Pagán "This impressive debut is at turns funny, thought provoking, and achingly sad. It is (dare I say it) unforgettable."
The Weird Sisters (2011) Eleanor Brown "At once hilarious, thought-provoking and poignant, this sparkling and devourable debut explores the roles that we play with our siblings, whether we want to or not. The Weird Sisters is a tale of the complex family ties that threaten to pull us apart, but sometimes draw us together instead."
(b.1981)
