Grab Jenna Bush Hager’s September 2024 Read With Jenna Book Club Pick

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In addition to being the co-host of Today‘s fourth hour, Today with Hoda and Jenna, Jenna Bush Hager is a six-time published author, co-authoring children’s books with her twin sister Barbara, and penning a memoir of her own.

So it stands to reason that the news personality would also be a huge reader — and she is.

In March 2019, she picked the inaugural novel in the Read with Jenna book club, and every month since then, she’s highlighted one book (or two, during select months) and that book’s author on the Today Show.

The book club has a diverse roster of books, ranging from memoirs to thrillers, with plenty of family dramas and books about sisterhood sprinkled in.

If you want to catch up on the Read with Jenna selections, we’ve compiled them below, along with what Bush Hager had to say about them on the show when introducing them.

Happy reading!


Read with Jenna 2024 Picks

Read with Jenna 2023 Picks

  • December ’23: We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein

    December '23: We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.23/5 stars

    Bush Hager’s final pick of 2023 is a historical novel about a group of citizens who worked to ensure that the lives of Jewish people in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II were not lost to history.

    “It is a book about love and resilience, about hope, even in the darkest moments,” Bush Hager said. “It’s timely and powerful, and it proves that even in the darkest corners, love still remains.”

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  • November ’23: The Sun Sets in Singapore by Kehinde Fadipe

    November '23: The Sun Sets in Singapore by Kehinde Fadipe
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.45/5 stars

    The Sun Sets in Singapore follows three Nigerian expats whose tight-knit community is rocked by a mysterious and handsome new arrival.

    “I loved this story about friendship, who we lean on, female ambition and what defines us,” Bush Hager said.

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  • October ’23: How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

    October '23: How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.48/5 stars

    How to Say Babylon is a memoir of author Safiya Sinclair’s experience growing up in a Rastafarian family in Jamaica and her struggle to break free from her father’s strict beliefs.

    “It’s a book about freedom, choice, becoming who we’re meant to be,” Bush Hager said about the book. “But it’s also about family and a mom’s devotion.”

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  • September ’23: Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood

    September '23: Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.4/5 stars

    Amazing Grace Adams is set over just one day, with flashbacks inserted to help readers understand how Grace gets to the point she’s at: walking through London with a cake, determined to connect with her estranged teenage daughter.

    “I dare you not to fall wildly in love with Grace,” Bush Hager said.

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  • August ’23: Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

    August '23: Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.86/5 stars

    For August 2023, Bush Hager went with a throwback, rather than a new release. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume was first released in 1998, and it’s one of only four novels for adults penned by the legendary author.

    “It is the perfect, perfect beach read but that doesn’t mean that it’s an easy read,” Bush Hager said about the book, which follows two best friends throughout their lives as they spend summers together in Martha’s Vineyard.

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  • July ’23: Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

    July '23: Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.95/5 stars

    This multigenerational story follows three Vietnamese-American women dealing with the aftermath of their matriarch’s death.

    “You will sit down and finish this in one reading,” Bush Hager remarked. “That’s what I did!”

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  • June ’23: The Celebrants by Stephen Rowley

    June '23: The Celebrants by Stephen Rowley
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.67/5 stars

    According to Bush Hager, The Celebrants is “the perfect summer book,” so of course it was a June 2023 pick!

    The novel, which follows a group of college friends who make an unusual pact to celebrate each other while they’re still alive by throwing living funerals, will “make you cry on one page and laugh hysterically on the other.”

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  • May ’23: Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

    May '23: Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.15/5 stars

    Chain Gang All-Stars is set in a private prison system where female gladiators are given the chance to fight for their freedom.

    “It’ll make you have conversations about the prison industrial complex,” Bush Hager said. “It pushed me, for sure — but that’s the incredible thing about reading.

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  • April ’23: Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling

    April '23: Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.22/5 stars

    “You’ve never been anywhere like the world Michelle created,” Bush Hager said about the debut novel. “That’s one of the things I love about reading. It’ll take you to places you’ve never traveled.”

    The novel takes place shortly on a settlement in the north of Canada and explores who and what survives in a warming world, plus the lengths people will go to just to survive.

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  • March ’23: Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown

    March '23: Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.40/5 stars

    On the cover of Black Candle Women, Bush Hager compares the novel to the book and film Practical Magic. The story, which takes place over one year, follows four generations of Black women and a family love curse.

    “It’s about love, it’s about mothers and daughters — and it will bring you so much joy,” she said.

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  • February ’23: Maame by Jessica George

    February '23: Maame by Jessica George
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.08/5 stars

    “It felt singular and interesting — raw and new,” Bush Hager said about her February pick, the debut novel by Jessica George.

    Maame follows Maddie, a young woman trying to build a life for herself outside of the shadow of her family. The book’s summary says “it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures―and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong.”

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  • January ’23: Sam by Allegra Goodman

    January '23: Sam by Allegra Goodman
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.78/5 stars

    Sam is about as perfect of a coming-of-age story I have ever read,” Bush Hager said, about the pick that kicked off 2023. “It explores what happens when one girl loses the wonder of childhood — the innocence of her early years only to reclaim her power and hope.”

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Read with Jenna 2022 Picks

  • December ’22: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

    December '22: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.17/5 stars

    To round out 2022, the Jenna Bush Hager book club went with a contemporary classic: Donna Tartt’s 1992 novel The Secret History.

    She described the book, which follows a group of classics students led down a dark and dangerous path, as “a pillar of the last 30 years in literature.”

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  • November ’22: The Cloisters by Katy Hays

    November '22: The Cloisters by Katy Hays
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.43/5 stars

    Just one month before spotlighting The Secret History, Bush Hager chose a book she describes as “The Secret History meets The Talented Mr. Ripley.”

    The Cloisters follows a circle of researchers who discover a mysterious tarot deck and other shocking secrets in New York’s Met Cloisters.

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  • October ’22: The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

    October '22: The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.07/5 stars

    “It’s epic in scope,” Bush Hager said. “I couldn’t believe how beautiful the writing was. I was underlining things — it just says so much about where we find hope and love amid our darkest times.”

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  • September ’22: Solito by Javier Zamora

    September '22: Solito by Javier Zamora
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.5/5 stars

    “It was a beautiful book about family, those that we have and those that we make, and the little family that they made on their journey, which was almost sort of Iliad-esque,” Bush Hager said. “An epic journey to their loved ones, because they had no choice.”

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  • August ’22: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford

    August '22: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.88/5 stars

    This novel imagines the many, many generations of Afong Moy, the first known female Chinese immigrant to the United States.

    “It’s a book about strength and goodness,” Bush Hager said. “I just thought that this was the most incredible book that really displays the strength of women, and a time where I think we need it most.”

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  • July ’22: The Measure by Nikki Erlick

    July '22: The Measure by Nikki Erlick
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.01/5 stars

    If you could find out the exact number of years you had left on earth, would you? That’s the question The Measure asks.

    “I know it sounds like a book about death but really it’s a book about how we choose to live,” Bush Hager said.

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  • June ’22: These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany

    June '22: These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.23/5 stars

    “This book perfectly portrays the power, vulnerability and solace I have always found in female friendship,” Bush Hager says of the novel that follows three navigating love, sex, faith, and major life changes together.

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  • May ’22: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt

    May '22: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.41/5 stars

    “This novel is filled with love, humor, joy and healing,” Bush Hager said. “It demonstrates the power and beauty of unexpected friendships.”

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  • April ’22: Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

    April '22: Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.11/5 stars

    The story of Memphis unfolds over seventy years to paint a portrait of one family as they grapple with inheritance, brutality, justice, faith, forgiveness, sacrifice, and love.

    “This debut novel is a magnificent, engaging book about how love, trauma and sacrifice are passed down through three generations of Black women,” said Bush Hager.

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  • March ’22: Groundskeeping by Lee Cole

    March '22: Groundskeeping by Lee Cole
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.58/5 stars

    “It’s a story about love and identity and where we are from,” Bush Hager said. “It is about what makes us a family. I feel like it will lead to a lot of important conversations about what brings us together and what divides us. In a time when our country does seem so divided, I felt like it would be a healing, beautiful book for so many to read.”

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  • Feb. ’22: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

    Feb. '22: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.11/5 stars

    Following the death of their mother, siblings Byron and Benny are left with a puzzling inheritance: the recipe for her black cake, passed down through generations, and a voice memo where their mother shares the story of a young swimmer escaping her island home as she’s suspected of murder.

    “There was something almost mysterious about it,” Bush Hager noted. “I was on the edge of my seat. I wanted to know what was going to happen and who these character were.”

    The novel was adapted into a series for Hulu in 2023.

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  • Jan ’22: The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

    Jan '22: The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.54/5 stars

    “Is it possible for a book to be so good that it ruins reading all together?” Bush Hager remarked. “I had serious concerns that this might be true after finishing The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan.”

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Read with Jenna 2021 Picks:

  • Dec. ’21: Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding

    Dec. '22: Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.34/5 stars

    Bright Burning Things marked Irish author Lisa Harding’s U.S. debut. The novel depicts a mother’s ongoing struggle with addiction as she cares for, and tries not to lose, her young son.

    “While heartbreaking at times, I found the book to be about resilience and the power of a mother’s love,” Bush Hager said.

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  • Nov. ’21: The Family by Naomi Krupitsky

    Nov. '21: The Family by Naomi Krupitsky
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.57/5 stars

    The Family spans years, telling a mafia story through the lens of two best friends who are the daughters of different families. As they grow up their loyalty to each other, and to their Families, is continually tested.

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  • October ’21: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

    October '21: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.23/5 stars

    “When I read Amor Towles third and most recent book, The Lincoln Highway, I knew I had to share it with my book club,” Bush Hager remarked. “Not only is it one of the most beautifully written books I have ever picked up, it’s a story about hope, friendship and companionship in a time when we need it so much.”

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  • September ’21: Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

    September '21: Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.18/5 stars

    “From joyful childhood memories to the fear and trauma that accompanied her families undocumented status, Wang’s detailed descriptions will transport readers to the streets of New York City’s Chinatown,” Hager said, about Wang’s memoir.

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  • August ’21: The Turnout by Megan Abbott

    August '21: The Turnout by Megan Abbott
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.12/5 stars

    The Turnout is a mystery thriller set at a family-run ballet studio as a mysterious interloper threatens the studio and their upcoming production of The Nutcracker.

    “I love how Megan Abbott looks at the darker sides of things that we all remember, such as ballet classes as children,” said Bush Hager.

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  • July ’21: Hell of a Book by Jason Mott

    July '21: Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.05/5 stars

    Bush Hager describes Hell of a Book, which won the 2021 National Book Award, as “a beautiful story about family love and dedication to finding out who we are.”

    The novel follows a Black author on a cross-country book tour as multiple storylines about Black men in the past, present, and future unfold.

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  • June ’21: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

    June '21: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.05/5 stars

    The third novel in Taylor Jenkins Reid’s famous four quartet (following The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six) is Malibu Rising, which follows the four children of a famous rockstar (and husband of Evelyn Hugo, from that novel), as they throw an epic party that changes all of their lives forever.

    “I felt like Malibu Rising was a compulsively fun read that anybody would want to throw in their beach bag,” said Bush Hager.

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  • May ’21: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

    May '21: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.11/5 stars

    “Now, more than ever, I love reading about women who chart their own courses,” Bush Hager said, explaining her May 2021 pick. “As a mom of two little girls and a young boy, I believe it is important to highlight fictional and nonfictional stories of fierce, independent women who don’t conform to what society says we need to be.”

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  • April ’21: Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

    April '21: Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.36/5 stars

    This novel is about the bonds of marriage and friendship, and the strange coming-of-age that happens as adults become empty nesters.

    “I was captivated by the way the author writes intimately about human connection, including the ties between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, and friends,” Bush Hager said.

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  • March ’21: What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster

    March '21: What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.57/5 stars

    What’s Mine and Yours follows two families whose paths become intertwined over 20 years when two mothers find themselves on opposite sides of an integration debate affecting their school district.

    “The story is epic in scope. It is about understanding the demons and the hardships that come before us and how they affect our lives,” Bush Hager explained.

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  • February ’21: Send for Me by Lauren Fox and The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

    February '21: Send for Me by Lauren Fox and The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
    Photos: Amazon

    Send for Me Goodreads rating: 3.44/5 stars

    The Four Winds Goodreads rating: 4.3/5 stars

    In February 2021, Bush Hager picked not one, but two historical fiction novels as her Read With Jenna book of the month.

    “Choosing two historical fictions for February was not intentional but it definitely emphasizes our readers’ desire to explore this genre,” she said, explaining that a group of club members chose The Four Winds, while Send for Me was her pick.

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    Buy The Four Winds in Paperback | Buy The Four Winds Kindle e-book

  • January ’21: Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

    January '21: Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.72/5 stars

    Black Buck is my favorite type of book: a surprise, a fresh gift,” Bush Hager explained. “Alternating moments of satirical humor with heartbreaking realities, this is a book that will have readers both laughing and crying.”

    This satire of America’s workforce follows an unambitious 22-year-old working in sales who reimagines himself as a ruthless salesman named Buck.

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Read with Jenna 2020 Picks:

  • December ’20: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

    December '20: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.11/5 stars

    Bush Hager’s final pick of 2020 is a classic from Toni Morrison, who is the TODAY host’s favorite author of all time. The novel tells the story of an 11-year-old in Ohio who longs to be blonde-haired and blue-eyed.

    “I was totally in awe of Toni Morrison’s ability to make us feel like we were walking in Pecola’s footsteps,” Bush Hager recalled, of the first time she read the book as a student.

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  • November ’20: White Ivy by Susie Yang

    November '20: White Ivy by Susie Yang
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.56/5 stars

    “White Ivy is a juicy and fun read with a shocking twist. It’s a coming-of-age novel that will lead to conversations about otherness and ambition,” Bush Hager said.

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  • October ’20: Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

    October '20: Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.17/5 stars

    Bush Hager’s October 2020 pick was recently made into a Netflix original movie starring Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali, executive produced by the Obamas.

    “It is a suspense at its core, but to call it only a thriller discredits the incredible detail and intimacy with which the author writes about and understands family dynamics and race,” Bush Hager explained.

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  • September ’20: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

    September '20: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.12/5 stars

    Transcendent Kingdom follows a sixth-year PhD student coping with loss, mental illness and addiction in her family, and unanswered questions.

    Bush Hager says, “Where do we look for solace when the worst happens? How do we make sense of senseless tragedies? This is a story about those big questions.”

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  • August ’20: Here for It by R. Eric Thomas and The Comeback by Ella Berman

    August '20: Here for It by R. Eric Thomas and The Comeback by Ella Berman
    Photos: Amazon

    Here For It Goodreads rating: 4.04/5 stars

    The Comeback Goodreads rating: 3.74/5 stars

    Noelle Santos, owner of The Lit Bar in The Bronx, New York, chose Here For It in collaboration with Jenna. The memoir, presented in the form of essays, chronicles Thomas’ experience growing up Black and gay.

    The Comeback, on the other hand, is a novel that follows a young actress reckoning with abuse in Hollywood.

    Buy Here for It in Paperback | Buy Here For It Kindle e-book

    Buy The Comeback in Paperback | Buy The Comeback Kindle e-book

  • July ’20: Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan

    July '20: Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.65/5 stars

    Friends and Strangers is a compellingly readable book that feels a little bit like a beach read, but at the same time tackles themes of acceptance of others and also of yourself,” said the Today show Read with Jenna founder about her July 2020 pick.

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  • June ’20: A Burning by Megha Majumdar

    June '20: A Burning by Megha Majumdar
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.73/5 stars

    Explaining her June 2020 pick, Bush Hager said, “Themes of fate and class, corruption and justice abound as A Burning poses the question: Who do we stand by when the worst happens? And what do we stand for?”

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  • May ’20: All Adults Here by Emma Straub

    May '20: All Adults Here by Emma Straub
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.58/5 stars

    All Adults Here centers on a mother of three grown adults, who reckons with the ways she may have failed her children as a mother after she witnesses a school bus accident in the center of her town.

    “The book explores how families can be messy and complicated while at the same time stay centered on love,” Bush Hager said. “It poses big themes that you can discuss with friends and family but also remains light and fun at its core.”

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  • April ’20: Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore

    April '20: Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.77/5 stars

    Explaining why she chose Valentine, Bush Hager said, “From the beginning, I was drawn to the book’s setting: a western corner of my home state of Texas.”

    “I also immediately felt my heritage in this novel, even glimpsing my grandma Jenna—a homemaker who never graduated from college but taught me every constellation in the sky—in the women of Valentine.”

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  • March ’20: Writers & Lovers by Lily King

    March '20: Writers & Lovers by Lily King
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.02/5 stars

    Lily King’s novel follows a writer grieving the unexpected death of her mother, who finds herself in a love triangle with a professor and his student.

    “I chose ‘Writers and Lovers’ because I don’t think I’ve chosen a book like this,” Bush Hager said. “Lily King really explores different themes that our book club hasn’t explored.”

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  • February ’20: The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

    February '20: The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.44/5 stars

    “While reading, there were times when I felt like Adunni was whispering, singing and in parts, crying to me,” Bush Hager said. “This is truly a love story about one young girl whose resilience and grit drive her, until her voice is loud and clear.”

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  • January ’20: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

    January '20: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.08/5 stars

    The first Read with Jenna pick of 2020 was adapted into a 2023 Apple TV+ miniseries starring Connie Britton. Bush Hager said she picked the novel “because it is a book about love and loss and finding your way after the unthinkable.”

    Dear Edward follows the sole survivor of a plane crash that kills both of his parents and his brother as he struggled to adapt to life after loss.

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Read with Jenna 2019 Picks:

  • December ’19: Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl

    December '19: Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.30/5 stars

    Opinion writer Margaret Renkl examines family, joy, and grief in essays, through the lens of going from child to caretaker.

    Bush Hager said, “The way that she put it all together felt like a beautiful collage.”

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  • November ’19: Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

    November '19: Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.96/5 stars

    Nothing to See Here is about two longtime friends at different places in life; Madison’s twin stepkids move in with her, and she hires Lillian to be their caretaker. There’s only one slight issue — the twins burst into flames whenever they’re agitated.

    “It sounds a little bit sci-fi but I don’t think any book has touched me about parenthood as much as Nothing to See Here,” Bush Hager said.

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  • October ’19: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

    October '19: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.10/5 stars

    Ann Patchett’s Pulitzer Prize finalist follows two siblings over 50 years as they try to overcome their past.

    “What I kept coming back to in this book was Danny and Maeve’s closeness, their bond, how they raise each other,” Bush Hager said.

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  • September ’19: The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall

    September '19: The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.07/5 stars

    Explaining her reasoning behind selecting The Dearly Beloved, Bush Hager said, “It’s a book about faith, friendship, relationships and what connects us.”

    The story follows two married couples in the 1950s who connect when the husbands become copastors at a famous New York City church.

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  • August ’19: Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

    August '19: Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.92/5 stars

    “I think particularly now it’s critical that we open our minds to the way others live,” Bush Hager said of the novel, which follows Patsy as she leaves her daughter behind in Jamaica to make a better life for herself in New York.

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  • July ’19: Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

    July '19: Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.83/5 stars

    “I was captivated by Evvie Drake right away,” Bush Hager said. “By the character of Evvie, and her predicament of finding herself as a young widow, and trying to find herself after being in this marriage and being in this relationship since high school.”

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  • June ’19: Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

    June '19: Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.65/5 stars

    Like many of Bush Hager’s picks, sisterhood is a core theme of Searching for Sylvie Lee, a thriller about a young woman who vanishes during a trip to the Netherlands.

    “Amy is searching for her sister and the sisterhood is, I think, the most beautiful part of it,” Bush Hager said.

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  • May ’19: A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

    May '19: A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.26/5 stars

    This debut novel explores the tension between three Palestinian women as they struggle to express their individual desires as they raise families in the United States.

    “It’s about what is acceptable for a woman — how a woman can use her voice, and to see these women change, and to see their idea of what they can be change over generations is really the story of so many women,” Bush Hager said.

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  • April ’19: The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yi-Williams

    April '19: The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yi-Williams
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 4.10/5 stars

    This memoir by Yip-Williams, a lawyer who was born blind, was published posthumously after a terminal cancer diagnosis.

    “She wrote throughout her cancer diagnosis to, I think, make sense of it,” Bush Hager explained. “But she also had two young daughters, like I do. She was the same age that I am when she was diagnosed, which I think was one reason I immediately connected with it.”

    Buy in Paperback | Buy Kindle e-book

  • March ’19: The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin

    March '19: The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
    Photo: Amazon

    Goodreads rating: 3.71/5 stars

    The first-ever Read With Jenna pick was The Last Romantics, a novel about an imperfect family reckoning with the life-changing events of one summer.

    “The Skinner siblings have this dynamic that any of us who are lucky enough to have siblings or best friends that are like sisters or brothers, we know that feeling of that shared history,” Bush Hager said.

    Buy in Paperback | Buy Kindle e-book


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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Writer/Reporter for Decider. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, how to watch your favorite sports teams and movies on each streaming service and the very best in tech, like soundbars, to enhance your viewing experience. Not only does Angela test and compare the services, devices and merch she writes about, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech and pop culture. Prior to joining Decider and the New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews. 


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