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The Paper Wasp
By Lauren Acampora
This novel tells the tale of two women: Abby Graven, who lives in her childhood home in small-town Michigan and her former best friend, Elise, who is successfully pursuing a career in Hollywood.
Entranced by Elise’s success, Abby scrapbooks about the up-and-coming starlet, eventually meeting her again at their high school reunion. After taking Elise up on her offer to visit her in Hollywood, Abby soon realizes the star’s life isn’t as picture-perfect as it seems — and the relationship between them changes.
288 pages (hrd), Grove Press, $26
This Side of Water
By Maureen Pilkington
Winner of the 2019 American Fiction Award in the short-story category, this anthology from a former book publisher includes 16 stories, each of which features some element of water, whether it’s tears, Long Island Sound, or holy water.
One story focuses on a young girl who spies on her mother and a priest; another woman visits a cemetery to resurrect her father; while another young woman witnesses her parents’ adultery. With settings in Scarsdale and New Rochelle, the collection features humor, honesty, and suspense.
204 pages (pbk), Regal House Publishing, $14.95
Summer Darlings
By Brooke Lea Foster
On sale May 5, keep this in mind for an upcoming beach trip. Set in the summer of 1960 in Martha’s Vineyard, the story is told from the perspective of Brooklyn native Heddy Winsome, who decides to spend the summer as a nanny of a family with money but winds up surrounded by mystery.
353 pages (hrd), Gallery Books, $27
