Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Farrar) is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

Best-selling Rooney (Beautiful World, Where Are You), who has had two novels adapted for TV, writes a story about love, family, and grief. Brothers Peter and Ivan have little in common, but both are dealing with the death of their father and managing relationships with the women in their lives. With a 500K-copy first printing.—LJ Reviews

The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin (Morrow)

Appeared on the November 2019 LibraryReads list

“A fresh look at family dynamics, this is the story of four siblings and their love for one another, spanning their entire lives. For fans of The Nest by Cynthia D’aprix Sweeny and The Past by Tessa Hadley.”—Jennifer Dayton, Fairfield Public Library, Fairfield, CT

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (Riverhead; LJ starred review)

Appeared on the Sept 2015 LibraryReads list

“Fates and Furies is a modern portrait of marriage. Lotto Satterwhite is the center, the hub around which all the characters revolve in the first half of the book. In the second half of the book, the lens turns to Lotto’s wife Mathilde, and her side of the lopsided partnership gives us a totally different view. Groff is a master of language. It’s not a gentle read. But it’s magnificent.”—Kelly Currie, Delphi Public Library, Delphi, IN

Family Meal by Bryan Washington (Riverhead; LJ starred review)

In his second novel (after Memorial), NYPL Young Lion Washington offers a heart-shaking, scorchingly honest study of the damage we do ourselves, the lure of addictive behavior, and the courage it takes to face one’s anguish. After the death of his lover Kai, a devastated Cam returns home to Houston from Los Angeles, haunted by Kai’s loquacious ghost. Working at a queer bar called Harry’s, Cam encounters TJ, to whom he was once close as breathing; TJ’s Korean father and Black mother took in Cam when he was orphaned, he worked in their bakery, and together the two boys discovered what it means to be queer. Now they’re estranged, and the bitterness between them is palpable. Yet so is the love. When Cam’s awful emptiness pushes him into destructive behavior, affectingly shown, TJ is there for him, and Cam is later there to call out TJ’s demons. It’s a long road, but in the end Cam can say, “What I have learned is that we need everyone.” Fittingly, everyone in this novel, from TJ’s parents and bakery workers to Kai’s family to bar owner Fern and his husband and son, is beautifully drawn. VERDICT A group portrait that strikingly captures both pain and healing; highly recommended.—Barbara Hoffert