Staff Picks: Alex Cruz-Jimenez’s Favorites

Bette is a late-in-life lesbian when her girlfriend Mei suggests they take a break so that Bette can sleep around and have all of the experiences she missed out on before Mei. It’s all about figuring out life in your 20s and navigating love, friendship, family, and the mess that can be the queer dating scene. I was hooked from page one, and don’t think I’ll ever stop recommending this funny, sexy, messy book to anyone who will listen.

I’m not much of an emotional reader, but this book had me crying within the first 10 pages. When Lydia Bird loses her fiancé in a car accident, her whole world is turned upside down and she doesn’t know how to move on from the loss of the love of her life. Her doctor prescribes her pills to help her sleep, but every time she takes them she is transported to an alternate reality where her fiancé is still alive, and they are living the life she always thought she wanted. Lydia now has to balance her two lives, and neither of them is what she expected. This was such a compelling story of love, loss, and hope that I wish I could read it again for the first time.

This is one book you won’t want to miss. Blythe Connor is determined to be the best mother she can be, or at least better than her mother was to her. But as time passes, Blythe becomes convinced something isn’t quite right with her daughter Violet. When no one else seems to see the evil lurking inside the little girl, Blythe begins questioning her sanity and her place in the family. This was such a profound and thrilling read about generational trauma, motherhood, and complicated family relationships. You don’t need to be a mother to sympathize with Blythe or to get chills at all the creepy little moments in the book.

I’m not usually one for memoirs, but this book went beyond all of my expectations of the genre. While the book is very much about Miller’s life in the aftermath of her sexual assault and the court process she suffered through, the writing was so beautiful and equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful. She made me laugh and cry multiple times throughout the book, and as a big bonus, the paperback has an afterword of Miller’s reflections on the year since revealing her identity.