(Keep popping back as we will be constantly updating this list)
This is Going to Hurt – Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor – by Adam Kay
Adam Kay is an award-winning comedian and writer for TV and film. He previously worked for many years as a junior doctor and this book provides a funny, horrifying and heartbreaking no-holds-barred account of his time with the NHS. Life on and off the hospital ward and the story of why he decided to give it all up.
‘Hilarious and heartbreaking . . . This book may hurt, but in an important and necessary way’ - Cathy Rentzenbrink THE TIMES
Educated - by Tara Westover
An extraordinary memoir about a woman's discovery of education. Tara was born in rural Idaho, had no formal schooling and, despite being brought up in a dysfunctional family with limited opportunities, managed to end up as a scholar at Cambridge University. A compelling story of achievement.
‘A memoir to stand alongside classics by the likes of Jeanette Winterson and Lorna Sage . . . a compelling and ultimately joyous account of self-determination’ - Sunday Times
Everything I Never Told You – by Celeste Ng
A sixteen year old girl goes missing and her body turns up in the lake. While Police rule the death as a suicide, her family search for clues in an effort to determine what really happened. Not the crime thriller you might expect but a moving and thought provoking read.
‘This ghostly novel calls to mind The Lovely Bones’ – MARIE CLAIRE
An American Marriage – Tayari Jones
Newlyweds are living the ‘American Dream’ when the husband is arrested and sentenced for a crime the wife knows he didn’t commit. When his conviction is overturned, he returns home to find things have changed for them both.
'A moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple.' - Barack Obama
In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom – by Yeonmi Park
This biography tells the story of Park’s childhood in North Korea and her harrowing ordeal when leaving the country alongside her mother aged 13. The story of the choices she made in order to live.
‘Clear-eyed and devastating’- OBSERVER
Circe – by Madeline Miller
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe does not look or take after either her mother or father. She turns to the world of mortals for companionship and discovers that she possesses the power of witchcraft and can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
‘This summer’s must-read novel … Circe is poised to become the literary sensation of the summer, as much for the quality of its writing as its timeliness’ -- SUNDAY TIMES
Did you See Melody? – by Sophie Hannah
Having escaped from her family and to arrive at a 5-star spa resort she can’t afford, Cara lets herself into her room only to find it already occupied by a man and a teenage girl. A simple double booking you might think apart from the fact that the girl she saw in the room is the most famous murder victim in the country.
‘Gripping - and wryly funny - page-turner’ – GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Normal People – by Sally Rooney
Marianne and Connell are school friends and brought together by a strong intellectual and emotional connection but separated by their families’ circumstances and their social differences. When they next meet whilst studying at Trinity College much has changed and they resume their relationship.
‘The best young novelist - indeed one of the best novelists - I've read in years’ - Olivia Laing – NEW STATESMAN
The Cut Out Girl: A Story of War and Family, Lost and Found – by Bart van Es
The extraordinary true story of a young Jewish girl in Holland during World War II, who hides from the Nazis in the homes of an underground network of foster families, one of them the author's grandparents.
“Astonishing. Van Es has created a masterpiece of history and memoir, concluding on a note of reconciliation, hope and great love” - EVENING STANDARD
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – by Gail Honeyman
Eleanor has a regular job and leads an uncomplicated and quiet life. A creature of habit, with no friends who subsequently spends a lot of time in her own company. But she is completely fine….or is she?
‘A narrative full of quiet warmth and deep and unspoken sadness… Wonderful and joyful’ - Jenny Colgan, GUARDIAN