Clap When You Land

In her novel, 2018 National Book Award winner Elizabeth Acevedo follows two teenage girls who discover they are half-sisters after their father dies in a plane crash. The book, flips between the young women’s perspectives to showcase their different backgrounds and personalities. One lives in New York City and the other in the Dominican Republic, where the plane was headed. As the two grieve their enormous loss, they unearth more of their families’ secrets and forge an unexpected but powerful bond.

Summer Longing

Ruth Cooperman, recently retired, is excited for her summer in Provincetown, where she’s rented a cottage on the waterfront. But shortly after she arrives, the woman at the center of Jamie Brenner’s novel is surprised to find an abandoned baby on the porch. Not knowing what to do, Ruth calls in reinforcements, including her estranged daughter, and the entire town comes together to navigate the challenges of raising a child. Who left her in Ruth’s care is a mystery that tests many of the newly formed relationships.

Dirt

Over a decade ago, journalist Bill Buford documented his formative trip to Italy, where he learned how to properly cook the country’s cuisine, in his best-selling memoir Heat. Now, Buford’s back with another, but this time he’s immersing himself in all things France. Dirt captures his five years spent in Lyon with his wife and twin toddlers. There, Buford grows obsessed with the history of the food he's preparing and eating, which he describes in tantalizing detail. The book also invokes plenty of humour.