If You Only Read One: April 2021

We know that we read — and review — a lot of books. It definitely helps that there are three of us, in that regard. So with this feature, we want to tell you our favorite read of the month - if we only recommend one book to pick up, what would it be?

Elizabeth

It’s budget season at work, and since balancing the budget is one of my core work responsibilities, I haven’t had a ton of time for personal reading this month — if only we could make this blog our full time job, eh? That said, I did have several books that I genuinely enjoyed reading, and if I had to only choose one, it would be Emily Henry’s “People We Meet on Vacation” (Bookshop | Kindle). My full review will be up next week to coincide with release day (I got my early copy from Book of the Month!), but you all know that I’m a sucker for a well-written and thoughtful romance, and I think Emily Henry is one of the best there. Poppy and Alex’s love story is wonderful and believable, and the care she brings to it is remarkable. Plus, even with all that goes awry, it made me look into flights to Palm Beach.

Moira

If ever there was a book for 2021, it would be Torrey Peters’ “Detransition, Baby” (Bookshop | Kindle). The crux of the novel revolves around the fallout of Ames, who after detransitioning is living as a man, impregnating his boss. In an attempt to build a modern family, he tries to enlist Reese, his ex-girlfriend who has always longed to be a mother, into co-parenting. The novel doesn’t shy away from letting its characters embody their full humanity, and no one is reliably on their best behavior. It’s a delightfully messy and gripping book for a time in which gender seems somehow both less and more important than ever.

Shannon

My full review of this is coming tomorrow, but I was completely blown away by Robert Jones, Jr.’s debut novel, “The Prophets” (Bookshop | Kindle). It’s a truly stunning novel that showcases Black queer love against the cruelest possible backdrop—a Mississippi plantation. Jones’ prose reads like poetry, and while it’s at times tough to get through, it’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and reminds us that while slavery may have been abolished, its effects are still felt in America today.

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