20 must-read spring books from Viola Davis, Janelle Monáe, Robin Roberts, Don Winslow and more
Robin Roberts and Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis; buzzy novels perfect for book clubs from Emily St. John Mandel and Jennifer Egan; and an Afrofuturistic compilation from pop star and actor Janelle Monáe.
So go outside and enjoy the weather if you must, but keep your nose in these 20 upcoming books:
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‘The Match,’ by Harlan Coben
Release date: Tuesday.
In the latest installment of Coben’s thrilling Wilde series, a DNA match on an online ancestry database gives Wilde an opening to track down his father. But trying to find the truth behind his abandonment opens him to greater danger.
‘A Ballad of Love and Glory,’ by Reyna Grande
Release date: Tuesday.
Amidst the atrocities of the Mexican-American war, Mexican army nurse Ximena Salomé falls in love with Irish soldier John Riley, who has deserted the Yankee army to join the Mexicans in their fight.
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‘Atomic Anna,’ by Rachel Barenbaum
Release date: April 5.
Renowned nuclear scientist Anna Berkova tears through time when Chernobyl’s reactor melts down, sending her and three generations of brilliant women on a quest to right the wrongs of the past and prevent the nuclear disaster.
‘The Candy House,’ by Jennifer Egan
Release date: April 5.
It’s been nearly 12 years since Egan’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “A Visit from the Goon Squad” was hailed as a postmodern masterpiece. In this sibling novel, tech guru Bix Bouton creates “Own Your Unconscious,” a technology that allows users to access and share every memory they’ve ever had.
‘Sea of Tranquility,’ by Emily St. John Mandel
Release date: April 5.
The author of “Station Eleven” and “The Glass Hotel” returns with a fantastical new novel that takes readers from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a lunar colony 500 years later in a story that sweeps across time and space.
‘Brighter by the Day: Waking Up to New Hopes and Dreams,’ by Robin Roberts with Michelle Burford
Release date: April 12.
The longtime “Good Morning America” host brings a much-needed dose of positivity and optimism to viewers’ lives each morning. Now, she pens a guide full of insight to help readers live more joyful lives.
‘Hello, Molly!’ by Molly Shannon
Release date: April 12.
You probably know her as a hilarious longtime “Saturday Night Live” comedian. But Shannon’s life began with unbelievable tragedy when she lost her mother, baby sister and cousin in a car accident. Her father, who was at the wheel, raised Shannon in a household where her gifts could blossom. She shares her story in this new memoir.
Amy Bloom’s ‘In Love’ is a devastating memoir of a wife helping her husband die by suicide
‘Stepping Back from the Ledge: A Daughter’s Search for Truth and Renewal,’ by Laura Trujillo
Release date: April 19.
In her moving debut memoir, the managing editor for Life and Entertainment at USA TODAY goes on a quest of emotional discovery and healing in the wake of her mother’s suicide, looking for clues to explain her family’s heartbreaks and intergenerational trauma.
‘Where the Children Take Us: How One Family Achieved the Unimaginable,’ by Zain Asher
Release date: April 26.
The CNN anchor pays tribute to her mother who, after her father’s death, raised four children alone as a Nigerian immigrant in South London, overcoming incredible hardships and obstacles to help her children succeed.
‘The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor – the Truth and the Turmoil,’ by Tina Brown
Release date: April 26.
Brown, the British royal family chronicler and author of “The Diana Chronicles,” tells the inside story of how the British monarchy tried to reinvent itself in the wake of Princess Diana’s death and the forces threatening to rip it apart.
‘Finding Me,’ by Viola Davis
Release date: April 26.
The Oscar-, Emmy- and Tony-winning thespian (“Fences,” “The Help,” “How to Get Away With Murder”) shares her personal story of overcoming childhood poverty and dysfunction to become one of the most celebrated artists of her generation.
‘City on Fire,’ by Don Winslow
Release date: April 26.
A beautiful woman sets off a war between the two criminal empires controlling New England in this contemporary Iliad from the celebrated crime writer.