Recommendations based on Mostly Dead Thingsby Kristen Arnett

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Topeka School

    by Ben Lerner
    A coming-of-age story set in the 90s, exploring the complexities of language, masculinity, and family dynamics.

    FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE WINNER OF THE, LOS ANGELES TIMES, BOOK PRIZE, ONE OF, THE ,, NEW YORK TIMES, TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR A, TIME, GQ, Vulture,, and, WASHINGTON POST , TOP 10 BOOK of the ... (Barnes & Noble)

  2. There There

    by Tommy Orange
    A powerful novel that follows the lives of twelve Native Americans living in Oakland, California, as they prepare for a powwow.

    The book begins with an essay by Orange, detailing "brief and jarring vignettes revealing the violence and genocide that Indigenous people have endured, and how it has been sanitized over the ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

    by Carmen Maria Machado
    Collection of surreal stories exploring the complexities of gender, sexuality and identity.

    In Her Body and Other Parties , Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her ... (Goodreads)

  4. Ordinary People

    by Diana Evans
    Two couples navigate their relationships and identities in contemporary London, exploring themes of race, class, and love.

    ‘You can take a leap, do something off the wall, something reckless. It’s your last chance, and most people miss it.’ South London, 2008. Two couples find themselves at a moment of reckoning, on the ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Stone Sky

    by N.K. Jemisin
    A climactic finale to a trilogy, featuring a powerful woman's journey to save her world from destruction.

    Following the events of, The Obelisk Gate, , the former inhabitants of Castrima-under are moving north after damage by rival comm Rennanis has compromised the mechanisms of the geode and made it ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Best Kind of People

    by Zoe Whittall
    A respected teacher is accused of sexual misconduct, and his family must confront the accusations and their own secrets.

    What if someone you trusted was accused of the unthinkable? George Woodbury, an affable teacher and beloved husband and father, is arrested for sexual impropriety at a prestigious prep school. His ... (Goodreads)

  7. Cleaning the Gold

    by Karin Slaughter
    Two of the most iconic characters in crime fiction, Will Trent and Jack Reacher, team up to solve a mystery involving a missing person and a stolen cache of gold.

    From New York Times bestselling authors Karin Slaughter and Lee Child comes this electrifying short story featuring their iconic characters Will Trent and Jack Reacher Jack Reacher and Will Trent ... (Barnes & Noble)

  8. Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

    by Jason Reynolds
    Ten stories of kids walking home from school, each with their own struggles and secrets, intersecting in unexpected ways.

    From National Book Award finalist and, New York Times, bestselling author Jason Reynolds comes a novel told in ten blocks, showing all the different directions a walk home can take. This story was ... (Goodreads)

  9. On a Sunbeam

    by Tillie Walden
    A group of women travel through space to restore old buildings. A love story unfolds between two of the crew members.

    Throughout the deepest reaches of space, a crew rebuilds beautiful and broken-down structures, painstakingly putting the past together. As new member Mia gets to know her team, the story flashes back ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley

    by Hannah Tinti
    A father-daughter journey of healing, as they confront the secrets of the past.

    A father protects his daughter from the legacy of his past and the truth about her mother's death in this thrilling new novel from the prize-winning author of, The Good Thief., After years spent ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Incendiaries

    by R.O. Kwon
    A powerful story of love, faith, and loss. A young woman becomes involved in a cult and a bombing plot, while her boyfriend tries to save her.

    Three people meet at Edwards University in Noxhurst, a fictional town in upstate New York: Phoebe Lin, the American daughter of two South Koreans, John Leal, a mysterious half-Korean Edwards drop-out ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Witness to a Trial

    by John Grisham
    A short story about a murder trial, told from the perspective of a witness.

    A startling and original courtroom drama from, New York Times, #1 Bestseller John Grisham that is the prequel to his newest legal thriller, THE WHISTLER A judge’s first murder trial. A defense ... (Goodreads)

  13. Juliet Takes a Breath

    by Gabby Rivera
    A young Puerto Rican woman's journey of self-discovery, exploring her identity and sexuality.

    Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, ... (Goodreads)

  14. Motherhood

    by Sheila Heti
    A woman contemplates whether or not to have a child, exploring the complexities and societal expectations surrounding motherhood.

    From the author of How Should a Person Be? (“one of the most talked-about books of the year”— Time Magazine ) and the New York Times Bestseller Women in Clothes comes a daring novel about whether to ... (Goodreads)

  15. Wilder Girls

    by Rory Power
    A group of girls are quarantined on an island after a mysterious disease breaks out, causing grotesque mutations.

    A, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER!, "The perfect kind of story for our current era." — Hypable , From the author of, Burn Our Bodies Down, a feminist, Lord of the Flies, about three best friends living ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. Station Eleven

    by Emily St. John Mandel
    Post-apocalyptic exploration of a world drastically changed after a pandemic.

    An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse,, Station Eleven, tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  17. Tokyo Ueno Station

    by Miri Yū
    A ghost reflects on his life as a homeless laborer in Tokyo's Ueno Park, haunted by memories of his family and the unfulfilled promises of post-war Japan.

    Born in Fukushima in 1933, the same year as the Emperor, Kazu’s life is tied by a series of coincidences to Japan’s Imperial family and to one particular spot in Tokyo; the park near Ueno Station – ... (Goodreads)

  18. A Son of the Circus

    by John Irving
    A doctor's search for his father and his own identity amidst a chaotic life of a traveling circus.

    A Hindi film star . . . an American missionary . . . twins separated at birth . . . a dwarf chauffeur . . . a serial killer . . . all are on a collision course. In the tradition of A Prayer for Owen ... (Goodreads)

  19. This Must Be the Place

    by Maggie O'Farrell
    A story of a family's journey through life, love, and loss, spanning continents and decades.

    A dazzling novel from bestselling writer Maggie O'Farrell, winner of the Costa Novel Award—an irresistible love story that crisscrosses continents and time zones as it captures an extraordinary ... (Goodreads)

  20. New York 2140

    by Kim Stanley Robinson
    Humanity adapts to the changing landscapes of a future flooded New York City.

    It is 2140. The waters rose, submerging New York City. But the residents adapted and it remained the bustling, vibrant metropolis it had always been. Though changed forever. Every street became a ... (Goodreads)

  21. Wanderers

    by Chuck Wendig
    A group of strangers are mysteriously drawn together to save the world from an impending disaster.

    Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable ... (Goodreads)

  22. Transit

    by Rachel Cusk
    A woman's journey of rediscovering herself after divorce, through encounters with others.

    The stunning second novel of a trilogy that began with, Outline, one of, The New York Times Book Review,’s ten best books of 2015 . In the wake of family collapse, a writer and her two young sons ... (Goodreads)

  23. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

    by Jan-Philipp Sendker
    An epic search for the truth, discovering the power of love and the beauty of forgiveness.

    A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without ... (Goodreads)

  24. Recursion

    by Blake Crouch
    A scientist creates a technology that allows people to preserve and relive their memories, but it has unintended consequences.

    Memory makes reality.That's what NYC cop Barry Sutton is learning, as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Changeling

    by Victor LaValle
    A young man's journey of self-reflection and acceptance, confronting the truth of his traumatic past.

    One man’s thrilling journey through an enchanted world to find his wife, who has disappeared after seemingly committing an unforgiveable act of violence, from the award-winning author of the, The ... (Goodreads)

  26. My Absolute Darling

    by Gabriel Tallent
    A teenage girl's extraordinary journey of personal growth and transformation.

    Julia "Turtle" Alveston, age fourteen, lives in California with her sociopathic father, Martin. He is convinced of impending catastrophe, forcing her to learn survivalist skills. Turtle is thus ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Breath, Eyes, Memory

    by Edwidge Danticat
    A young girl's exploration of her family's history and her own identity in Haiti.

    At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York, to be reunited with a mother she barely remembers. There she discovers secrets that no child ... (Goodreads)

  28. Red Sister

    by Mark Lawrence
    A young girl embarks on a journey of adventure and magic to save her homeland.

    The planet Abeth was originally settled by four tribes with various abilities. The hunska have superhuman speed; the gerant have superhuman strength, the marjal can work elemental magic; the quantal ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Indignation

    by Philip Roth
    A young man's struggle to find his place in the world, facing personal and societal pressures.

    Set in America in 1951, the second year of the Korean War , Indignation is narrated by Marcus Messner, a Jewish college student from Newark, New Jersey , who describes his sophomore year at Winesburg ... (Wikipedia)

  30. The Magician's Assistant

    by Ann Patchett
    After the death of her magician husband, Sabine learns about his past and discovers secrets that challenge her understanding of their relationship.

    Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781857028157 Sabine– twenty years a magician's assistant to her handsome, charming husband-- is suddenly a widow. In the wake of his death, she finds he has left a ... (Goodreads)