In Linda Holmes’ delightful Flying Solo, Laurie Sassalyn goes to her hometown of Calcasset, Maine, in the wake of her canceled wedding to sort out the affairs of her late great-aunt, Dot. There, she discovers romantic letters and a curious wooden duck among Dot’s possessions. After the duck vanishes, Laurie becomes embroiled in an adventure that reunites her with her first love, Nick. Along the way, she makes surprising discoveries about Dot and herself. The nature of independence and family connections are two of the novel’s many rich discussion topics.
Angela Appiah, the spirited Ghanaian American protagonist of Shirlene Obuobi’s On Rotation, has everything going for her. Enrolled in a prestigious medical school, she’s on the road to success—until she flunks an important exam and gets jilted by her boyfriend. Angela’s life takes another unexpected turn when she meets smart, sensitive Ricky Gutierrez, who really seems to get her. But is he worth pursuing? During a time of transformation, Angela is faced with tough questions. Obuobi’s winning tale of modern romance makes for transportive summer reading.
In Abbi Waxman’s Adult Assembly Required, Laura Costello relocates to Los Angeles in an effort to leave her past behind. All manner of adventures ensue as she connects with book-loving Nina and vivacious Polly, moves into a boarding house and contends with a still-hopeful ex-boyfriend. Easing into adulthood has its challenges, but Laura comes to understand that she can handle anything with help from her friends. Readers will lose themselves in this brisk, charming chronicle of millennials in LA.
Pestered about her lukewarm love life by relatives and friends, Yinka, a successful Nigerian woman living in London, sets out to find the right man in Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn. In need of an escort for her cousin’s wedding, Yinka cooks up a strategic plan for landing a date. But she learns that there’s more to the quest for Mr. Right than she imagined as she’s forced to come to terms with herself. With poignant themes of identity and independence, Blackburn’s buoyant look at contemporary courtship is a sure conversation-starter for book clubs.
