Read With Jenna Book Club Picks

The book itself “encompasses all of the beauty” of an Austen novel, blending romance and friendship, plus, in a modern twist, deeper conversations about identity.

May, the author of “Wahala” and a “huge Jane Austen fan,” tells TODAY.com she was inspired to write “This Motherless Land” after a re-read of “Mansfield Park.”

"This is a book about family and community. It is a book about upward mobility and finding our true passions. You will love Kismet," Jenna says.

The Blue sisters — Avery, Bonnie, Nicky and Lucky — all grew up in Manhattan, but by adulthood, Avery has left for London, Bonnie has gone to Los Angeles and Lucky is in Paris.

When Nicky unexpectedly dies, the three estranged sisters return to New York and are forced to confront much more than the sale of their childhood home. They come up against the lasting effects of their grief, their family’s cycle of addiction and more.

"It’s about where we are when we're in the mid of our life and the expectations versus reality. It’s about love and friendship and finding that love when you least expect it. I think you will love this book if you want to laugh, maybe shed a couple tears, but also just have a lot of fun," Jenna says.

"All the Colors of the Dark" is about "two best friends — both misfits — Patch and Saint," Jenna says.

"They live in a small town and the small town is such a part of the story,” she says. “Something happens to them when they are young, which catapults a whole life of friendship and chasing each other.”

"'Swift River' is a story filled with secrets: community secrets and family secrets. It is a book that made me cry and then filled me with enormous hope," Jenna says.

Speaking to TODAY, Chambers says the book was inspired, in part, by her childhood growing up as one of only a few people of color in a small town, but that's where the similarities end.

“It’s set in 2000, right when Y2K was happening, and it starts as a love story,” Jenna says. “But then it spans time and place, so that really, it’s a story of family and what we carry, what we pass down, secrets, and how they can divide us, and then bring us back together again. You will love, love, love this book.”

Lauren, the protagonist of Gramazio's debut, walks into her London home and is surprised to find a man there. Not just any man, but her husband. When that husband goes up to the attic, another husband walks down the stairs, taking his place. And on and on it goes.

"I have loved 'The House on Mango Street' since I first read it in high school because I feel like Sandra Cisneros writes in such a poetic, gorgeous way, and the character of Esperanza has stayed with me all of those years," Jenna says. "But it is particularly meaningful to me because I read it when I was young, and then I taught it to my middle schoolers when I was a teacher in Baltimore."

"One thing you may not know about me is that I lived in Panama, in 2005, 2006," Jenna says. "So when I read this book, I was filled with memories of my time there. You will love these characters — it is epic and lovely. There are so many different storylines that all come together at the end, which is one of my favorite ways to read and fall in love with a story."

“Good Material” is narrated by Andy, a 35-year-old comedian recently dumped by his ex Jen, as he tries to figure out what caused the end of their four-year relationship.

"It is about a matriarch and healer and what happens when one of her three daughters brings home a baby. You will fall in love with the girl she grows up to be. She’s one of the most funny, interesting characters of all time. It’s about mothers and daughters. A book for anyone who loves nature, land and where we find beauty and magic. I promise you’ll pick up this book and fall in love," Jenna said.

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

“It’s about three best friends who each are at a different stage in their lives, even though they’re the same age, which I find to be so relevant for women these days,” Jenna says. “I loved this story about friendship, who we lean on, female ambition and what defines us.”

Sinclair is a poet, and Jenna says it shows in her writing. "It's a book about freedom, choice, becoming who we're meant to be," Jenna says, but it's also about "family and a mom's devotion."

"Amazing Grace Adams," a debut novel by British author Fran Littlewood, is the story of one woman's no good, very bad day.

"It takes place over one day with a ton of flashbacks, so you see why Grace's life has been shattered," Jenna say. "You find out her marriage is falling apart. Her daughter won’t speak to her."

Despite all this, Jenna says the book is "wildly funny" in its approach to "dealing with so many of the issues that mothers and wives face mid-age."

"It's a beautiful read and it will make you think about growing up and that friend of yours who you adored, but maybe didn't know if they were good for you.”

"Banyan Moon" is Thai's debut novel, and features three perspectives from the Tran family: Ann, Huơng and Minh are all narrators. Thai tells TODAY.com the book centers around the three women as they “grapple with some real losses and secrets.”

The book follows a group of friends who meet at UC Berkeley and stay in each other’s lives thanks to an unusual pact.

”It’s about female gladiators in a future world where there’s a sport unlike any we’ve seen. Prisoners are meant to fight each other in order to get their freedom,” she says. While violent, Jenna says there’s a “love story at its heart.”

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

“It felt singular and interesting — raw and new,” Jenna tells TODAY.com.

"Although it is a story of one girl, it will take all readers back to their own youth. I fell into this novel and read it in one sitting. Sam is the ideal book for all readers: those of you who read with us every month or those whose resolution it is to read more."

“With a book as layered as ‘The Secret History,’ there's going to be new revelations every time you read it. I feel like this is the type of book that needs to be reread every 10, 20, 30 years — which I just cannot believe,” she says.

“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. An epic journey to their loved ones, because they had no choice,” Jenna said.

"Jamie Ford astounds me," Jenna said of the book's author. The book, which she describes as "epic," imagines the many, many generations of Afong Moy, believed to be the first Chinese women in the U.S. "Each scene, each world that these women live in, are ones that I wanted to stay in for a long time. The characters are still with me — I can’t stop thinking about them."

Jenna said, "After my husband and I read it, we had a long conversation about our life. I think it will lead people to really think about how they live." Jenna Bush Hager said, "I know it sounds like a book about death but really it’s a book about how we choose to live."

The story is about best friends, Melak, Kees and Jenna as they find their way in the world. As they reconcile the cultural norms and societal expectations that accompany growing up in strict Muslim households with their own desires and passions, they know they have each other. They turn to each other when they are at their most raw, when they are looking for companionship and when they just want a good laugh.

"Van Pelt’s debut novel tells the story of Tova, a widowed, night shift janitor working at an aquarium in Washington State. Tova had taken the job to stay busy; something she’s been trying to do since her eighteen-year-old son disappeared on the Puget Sound 30-years-earlier.

While working, she forms an unexpected yet remarkable friendship with a giant pacific octopus named Marcellus. Marcellus is much smarter than he lets on. After he takes a liking to Tova, he helps her uncover the mystery behind the years-long disappearance of her son.

“Not since ‘The Life of Pi’ have I found a book with such creativity and such a strong voice,” Jenna told TODAY."

"This debut novel is a magnificent, engaging book about how love, trauma and sacrifice are passed down through three generations of Black women," said Jenna Bush Hager. "While the women endure deep loss, racism and abuse, they also find healing in friendship, community and forgiveness," said Jenna.

"Set in 2016 Kentucky, just prior to the election, aspiring writer Owen Callahan finds himself back home living with his uncle and grandfather. In exchange for writing courses, Owen becomes a groundskeeper at his local college. This is also how he meets and starts a secret relationship with writer-in-residence Alma Hazdic.

Alma comes from a very different background than Owen. She grew up in a liberal family of Bosnian immigrants. As the two become closer, they explore their different experiences of home and family during a divided moment in U.S. history."

"The story begins with a death. In her passing, Eleanor Bennett leaves her two children a slice of Black Cake made with their family’s secret recipe and a lengthy audio recording. With that, estranged siblings Byron and Benny untangle a web of mysteries and buried family secrets. As long-hidden truths come to light, they grapple with the impact of their mother's choices.

It is beautifully paced over multiple generations and shifting perspectives. It cover themes of immigration, racism, identity and familial trauma. I couldn’t believe it was a debut."

The dystopian drama is about a young Chinese mother whose pride and joy is her only daughter, Harriet. After making one critical mistake, Frida finds herself in a government reform program for bad mothers. While the custody of her child hangs in the balance, she must prove her worth as a mother or risk losing Harriet forever.

Once I started, I couldn’t put Chan’s novel down. This book is every mother’s worst nightmare written in exquisitely beautiful prose. It offers a sharp social commentary about parenthood and the vulnerability of mothers.

The novel is about Sonya, a former actress who is facing down the demons of her childhood trauma and failed career. As her alcoholism spirals out of control, the one thing she remains proud of is her four-year-old son, Tommy. While heartbreaking at times, I found the book to be about resilience and the power of a mother’s love. The writing is raw and intimate. I felt like I was in their apartment with them. To feel that close to the characters, to really understand their motives and desires made the novel gripping and powerful.

"Sofia Colicchio's bold and loud personality is a perfect balance to her best friend, Antonia Russo's reserved and quiet nature. As children, they recognize their fathers as powerful men in their community but they don't understand why. When Antonio's father goes missing after a walk with the boss, a crack begins to form in their life-long bond.

As they grow into young women with families of their own, their neighborhood of Red Hook grows around them. They become leaders in their community as they push the boundaries of the society they were born into. It all comes to a break on one night, when their loyalty to the Family and two each other faces the ultimate test."

"After Emmett is dropped off at home in Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm he's spent the last 15 months serving time at, he is shocked to find out his two friends from the detention center, Wooley and Duchess, snuck a ride in the trunk of the warden's car with big plans to travel to New York City. The three 18-year-old’s gather up Billy, Emmett's eight-year-old brother, and together they embark on their fateful journey.

Spanning just 10 days, the historical fiction novel is told from the shifting perspectives of eight different characters. Towles brilliantly captures the inner reality of each with profound and poetic prose."

"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," said Jenna, "Wang writes about learning English from library books, working for pennies sewing with her mother, dancing with her dad and her mother’s constant efforts to protect her."

Sisters Dara and Marie Durant, along with Dara’s husband, Charlie, run a ballet studio they inherited after the loss of their parents in a tragic accident. Up until now, the three of them have operated in harmony, each holding their own responsibilities in the family business. Just before the annual "Nutcracker" performance, when a suspicious accident occurs in the studio, a contractor named Derek enters their lives and threatens the delicate balance under which they operate. As Derek becomes a point of fixation for Marie and convinces the trio to undertake a lofty renovation, questions begin to surface about who he is, what he knows and why he is there.

Told through two parallel storylines. , "Hell of a Book" is a heart-breaking yet, at moments, hilarious, novel about living as a Black man in America. On one side, there is an unnamed Black author on a book tour through contemporary America. On the other, a young Black boy named Soot is growing up in the American South. The unnamed author is funny. Reality blurs as he experiences bizarre moments on tour and continues to encounter another unnamed character, known as The Kid. Meanwhile, in Soot’s story, we read about the injustices and fears faced by a young Black boy growing up in the South.

“Malibu Rising” tells the story of one summer night that changes everything for the four Riva siblings, Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit, who are the offspring of legendary singer Mick Riva. Over the course of a 24-hour period, Reid skillfully mixes Nina’s legendary end-of-summer party with flashbacks to Mick’s tumultuous relationship with his children’s mother. I loved the contrast between 1950s and 1980s Malibu and the insight into what makes these characters who they are.

Born in 1914, Marian drops out of school at the age of 14 to follow her passion for aviation. She becomes a pilot after a wealthy bootlegger provides her with a plane and lessons, a debt she pays back for the rest of her life. A century later, Hadley Baxter is an actor caught in the prison of celebrity culture in Hollywood. When she is cast to play Marian in a film about the pilot’s disappearance in Antarctica, the two women’s fates collide. "I’m not sure I have ever highlighted such an ambitious novel," Jenna said.

This novel's story begins when, 20 years into her happy marriage, Flora discovers an envelope containing the wedding ring her husband claimed to have lost years prior. "It’s in some ways a coming-of-age book for a woman that is about to become an empty nester. We will always evolve and change. Watching this character do that will feel very relatable for a lot of different women," said Jenna.

This novel is about two American families, specifically two mothers, each fighting for a better future for their kids. "As a mother myself, I related to the mothers' fierce love for their children even when they made mistakes," said the TODAY book expert. "Nobody understands us like our families, even when imperfect."

Set in pre-WWII and present-day Wisconsin, this novel follows the lives of two women as each are faced with impossible choices. "I’ve read so many books set in the pre-WWII era, but this one felt really raw and fresh. It captures the emotion of what it feels like to be human."

For the first time in her book club’s history, Jenna asked a group of club members to help her select a book. They picked "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah, a Depression-era novel that follows the story of Elsa Wescott and her family as they strive for a better life.

This novel tells the story of 22-year-old Darren who finds himself the only Black salesman at an eccentric tech start-up in New York City. "'Black Buck' is my favorite type of book: a surprise, a fresh gift," said Jenna. "Alternating moments of satirical humor with heartbreaking realities, this is a book that will have readers both laughing and crying."

This novel by Jenna's favorite author of all time tells the story of Pecola Breedlove, an 11-year-old Black girl living 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," Jenna recalled about the first time she read the novel in her sophomore English class at Austin High School. "I remember marking it up like I had never marked up any books before."

This novel follows the story of Ivy, a Chinese immigrant who strives for the glamorous life she associates with the American Dream, through any means necessary. "Ivy isn’t your typical heroine," Jenna explained. "She’s got a bit of an honesty problem and she loves to steal."

Jenna first read this book in the middle of the darkest days of the pandemic. The ominous novel tells the story of two families, strangers to each other, who become stranded in a vacation home together after a blackout. "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," said Jenna.

This novel follows the story of Gifty, a young Ghanaian-American woman pursuing a Ph.D., as she copes with loss and unanswered questions. "It’s also a book about mental health and race and I believe that, at this moment in our culture, it will lead to some really important conversations," said Jenna.

Jenna selected this novel in collaboration with Noelle Santos, owner of The Lit Bar, the only independent bookstore in The Bronx. In the wake of George Floyd's death, Jenna shared that she wanted to promote a book that could continue important conversations happening around the country. "I knew (Santos) would have ideas on books that we can read as a club that would help us open our minds," said Jenna.

In this novel, young actress Grace Turner reckons with the abuse that Hollywood allows. "Berman astonishingly began writing the novel before the #MeToo movement—and the novel takes advantage of the distance afforded by fiction to brilliantly continue the important conversation," said Jenna.

Told from alternating perspectives of a young mom named Elisabeth and her nanny, Sam, this is a book about what it means to live an authentic, happy and purposeful life. "It’s a compelling book that takes on modern issues surrounding adulthood, motherhood, and class."

Set in contemporary India, the book tells the plight of three unique characters whose lives become entangled after a horrific terrorist attack. "I've never been to India, but through Megha’s words, I was transported there," said Jenna.

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

Set in Odessa, Texas, in 1976, this novel follows the aftermath of a horrific act of violence: the attack of a 14-year-old girl named Gloria Ramirez. "From the beginning, I was drawn to the book’s setting: a western corner of my home state of Texas," said Jenna. "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."

After the unexpected death of her beloved mother, aspiring writer Casey Peabody finds herself in a love triangle between a writing professor and his student. “I chose 'Writers and Lovers' because I don’t think I’ve chosen a book like this,” said Jenna. “Lily King really explores different themes that our book club hasn’t explored.”

This debut novel tells the beautiful story of a young woman named Adunni who finds her voice and creates her own destiny in modern-day Nigeria. "She doesn’t get an education, she isn’t allowed to learn. Although it’s the fictional story of one young girl in Nigeria, it really is the story of so many others," Jenna explained.

This novel tells the story of a 12-year-old boy named Edward after he is the sole survivor of a plane crash that claims the lives of 183 passengers, including his family. "One element of this story I particularly loved was the relationship between Edward and his brother which reminded me so much of my sister and I," Jenna said.

Late Migrations is a compilation of essays written by author Margaret Renkl that weave together to touch on themes of love, loss and hope. The book begins with the story Renkl was told about the birth of her mother and ends with her death. "The way that she put it all together felt like a beautiful collage," Jenna said.

This story centers around a pair of estranged, longtime friends, Madison and Lillian, whose lives have gone in dramatically different directions. "The theme is definitely on family and being yourself and finding who you are, even if what you are seems strange to the rest of the world," Jenna explained.

Set over five decades, this novel follows the close sibling relationship of the book's main characters, Danny and Maeve, as they navigate life's obstacles. “What I kept coming back to in this book was Danny and Maeve’s closeness, their bond, how they raise each other,” said Jenna.

This gracefully written novel follows two couples brought together to lead a historic church in New York City during the 1960s and traces the course of their lives before and after they intersect. "It’s a book about faith, friendship, relationships and what connects us," Jenna said.

"She wants freedom, and as you read you understand what she’s running from — the secrets she needs to be freed of."

This story begins in Jamaica as the titular character gets her visa and makes the difficult decision to leave her daughter, Tru, behind while she seeks a better life for herself in America. "I think particularly now it’s critical that we open our minds to the way others live," Jenna said.

This debut novel from Holmes (who's best known as the host of NPR's "Pop Culture Happy Hour" podcast) follows the titular character Evvie Drake a year after the death of her husband. "In a lot of romantic comedies, you kind of know exactly what’s going to happen," Jenna said. "You know exactly the character's motivation, which is to find the guy. And really, I think (Evvie's) motivation is to find herself. And to me that felt really empowering and fresh."

This gripping story begins when Sylvie Lee goes missing on a trip to visit her extended family in the Netherlands and her sister, Amy, must step up to lead the search. "Amy is searching for her sister and the sisterhood is, I think, the most beautiful part of it," Jenna said.

Following three women in a Palestinian family, this novel explores the tension between each woman's expectations and dreams as they raise the next generation of women in the U.S. "The story really captivated me," Jenna said. "I couldn’t put it down."

Published posthumously, Yip-Williams' memoir traces her life beginning with her tumultuous childhood in Vietnam through her personal and professional successes as an adult. When confronted with a terminal diagnosis, she set out to document the miraculous life she'd led and the difficult task of grappling with its early end.

Jenna kicked off her book club with this moving and intimate novel that follows the story of four siblings as they grapple with tragedy. The final page of "The Last Romantics" is one of Jenna's favorite last pages of any book she's read!