The Boys

The Boys

by Katie Hafner

Spiegel & Grau, 2022. 256 pages. Fiction

When introverted, eccentric Ethan Fawcett falls in love with the vivacious Barb, he has every reason to believe he will no longer live in solitude. But then the global pandemic hits, and their relationship takes a turn for the worse. Ethan grows obsessed with providing the perfect life for their adopted 8-year-old twins, Tommy and Sam, and in the process he pushes Barb away. Once the planet returns to a version of normalcy, Ethan takes Tommy and Sam on a week-long biking adventure in Italy. During this disastrous excursion, it becomes clear just how unusual Ethan and his children are—and what it will take for Ethan to repair his marriage.

The Boys is an interesting combination of sweet love story, light domestic drama, and an unexpected twist that turns the story into something else entirely. I appreciated this warm-hearted and compassionate take on living in an early pandemic world full of uncertainty and anxiety. Hafner writes both Ethan and Barb as characters you can root for. And then there's that plot twist I mentioned, which is guaranteed to make you question everything you've read prior to that point. If you like domestic fiction with an unexpected surprise, you'll enjoy reading The Boys.

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As a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and longtime friend, William. For the next several months, it's just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea. They will not emerge unscathed.

Joan is Okay

by Weike Wang

Random House, 2022. 212 pages. Fiction

Joan is a thirtysomething ICU physician at a busy New York City hospital, the daughter of Chinese parents who moved to America to secure the American dream for Joan and her brother, Fang, then returned to China. Joan's whole life has been about study and work. Sometimes Joan looks up and wonders where her true roots lie: at the hospital, where her white doctor's coat makes her feel at home; or with her family, who try to shape her life by their own social and cultural expectations. When Joan's father suddenly dies, Joan is forced to reckon with aspects of her life that she's been avoiding for years.

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