ELENA FERRANTE, POET laureate of young women’s disaffection, triumphs again in a tale of a precocious, angry girl from two shattered families. A MINUS

THE LYING LIFE OF ADULTS
Europa Editions
2020

A WOMAN WITHOUT A MEMORY nonetheless feels compelled to help her husband become a rock star. But where did she come from? Why does 1969 feel so strange to her? Intriguing speculative fiction with a musical twist. A MINUS

HARMONY LOST (SONGS OUT OF TIME BOOK 1)
Imagine Imprints
2020

THE WEBS OF INTRIGUE SPUN by Thomas Cromwell at the court of Henry VIII begin to tangle. Satisfying, vibrant conclusion to Hilary Mantel’s brilliant Tudor trilogy. A MINUS

THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT
Henry Holt and Co.
2020

A UGANDAN WOMAN’S SEARCH for her mother, her bonds with her two grandmothers and her aunts, her friendships with other women—beautiful, sweeping, evocative novel tells generations of women’s stories. A MINUS

A GIRL IS A BODY OF WATER
Tin House Books
2020

A FIELD-HOCKEY TEAM’S SECRET pact changes all of their lives. Witty, extravagant, warm-hearted book about growing up in late-1980s Massachusetts is an incandescent read. A MINUS

WE RIDE UPON STICKS
Pantheon
2020

FOUR GENERATIONS OF CHEROKEE women make their way through lives of hardship and struggle, leavened with a love for each other and their land. A MINUS

CROOKED HALLELUJAH
Grove Press
2020

LEGACIES OF POWER AND TORMENT bring three people together amid a 1940s mob war. Powerful fantasy, heartbreaking prose. A MINUS

TROUBLE THE SAINTS
Tor Books
2020

STUNNING, RESONANT HORROR tale of four Blackfeet men haunted by bad decisions, by history, and even by the land that once was theirs. Breathtaking. A MINUS

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS
Gallery / Saga Press
2020

SHARP, BRILLIANT ESSAYS from a Black poet and journalist about how society, family, culture, religion, and even consumer products affect Black women’s lives. Incisive writing, lots of heart. A MINUS

THIS IS MAJOR
Harper Perennial
2020

RAZOR-SHARP SOUTHERN NOIR is beautifully relentless, impeccably written. Part Ernest J. Gaines, part Richard Stark, entirely distinctive. A MINUS

BLACKTOP WASTELAND
Flatiron Books
2020