Welcome to my monthly feature “Book of the Month Selections: What Book Should You Choose?”! Every month, I provide commentary on the books that are chosen as that month’s Book of the Month selections that will hopefully help you choose your pick, and tell you which book(s) I’m going to choose. AND, I provide you with the most up to date version of my Ultimate Guide to the Book of the Month Judges with free, downloadable template (below).

After almost a year into Book of the Month‘s new judging structure, I’m detecting some trends. They’ve been choosing books from previous Book of the Month authors (John Boyne, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanan, Jasmine Guillory, Sarah Pinborough, Riley Sager, etc.). They seem to pick at least one psychological thriller every month…and generally a light read as well. We’ve seen less literary fiction and far less nonfiction this year, which I really miss. 

Choose the best Book of the Month selection for you every time!

Check out my fun new tool to help you pick the best Book of the Month selection for your taste: my Ultimate Guide to the Book of the Month Judges and free, downloadable template to help you find your go-to BOTM judge!

Book of the Month December 2018 Selections

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Release Date: January 8, 2019
384 Pages
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.29 on 1,798 ratings
Selected By: Riley Sager (Author of Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied)

Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed. 

When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding. As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.

My Thoughts:
From the ladies of The Wife Between Us fame comes their sophomore novel, the premise of which sounds a little like Wendy Walker’s All is Not Forgotten (my spoiler discussion). Kaytee Cobb of the Currently Reading Podcast said it’s “Super readable, much less predictable than their first novel and far more twisty, this sophomore thriller by Hendricks and Pekkanen is weird and crazy.” Goodreads reviewers said it was unputdownable, is told from dual points of view (Jessica and the psychiatrist), is full of dislikable characters, the twists are more subtle (a few select reviewers did say it was slow), and is better than The Wife Between Us. They also recommend going in blind, which I plan to do. I DNF’d The Wife Between Us, but this one sounds more up my alley, so I’m planning to give it a try.

One Day in December by Josie Silver
Released: October 16, 2018
416 Pages
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.1 on 6,950 ratings
Selected By: Erica de Leon (BOTM Readers Committee)

A love story about what happens after you meet, or rather, don’t meet the one.

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic…and then her bus drives away.

Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.

My Thoughts:
This is a light, rom-com style story…and those usually aren’t up my alley. But, I’m planning to give this one a try because three of my most trusted recommendation sources loved it! Gayle Weiswasser, co-host of The Readerly Report podcast, said it has a “cheesy premise,” but it was a “thoroughly enjoyable, engrossing book with a surprising amount of heft.” Renee at It’s Book Talk said she “read this in one sitting, laughing, crying and in the end slowing down because I didn’t want it to end. And, Jan (one of my blog readers) said “This book is all about fate, timing, and star-crossed love, told with a side of humor and a lot of heart. You’re not a romance reader? Neither am I! But this book melted my non-romance reading heart into a puddle.”

The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay
Release Date: January 15, 2019
448 Pages
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.17 on 12 ratings
Selected By: Brianna Goodman (Book of the Month Editorial Team)

In the wake of her mother’s death, Shalini, a privileged and restless young woman from Bangalore, sets out for a remote Himalayan village in the troubled northern region of Kashmir. Certain that the loss of her mother is somehow connected to the decade-old disappearance of Bashir Ahmed, a charming Kashmiri salesman who frequented her childhood home, she is determined to confront him. But upon her arrival, Shalini is brought face to face with Kashmir’s politics, as well as the tangled history of the local family that takes her in. And when life in the village turns volatile and old hatreds threaten to erupt into violence, Shalini finds herself forced to make a series of choices that could hold dangerous repercussions for the very people she has come to love.

My Thoughts:
Vijay’s debut novel is said to examine “Indian politics, class prejudice, and sexuality through the lens of an outsider, offering a profound meditation on grief, guilt, and the limits of compassion.” It sounds like a hefty, serious book. It’s being compared to Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West and has gotten blurbs from Anthony Marra (author of The Tsar of Love and Techno) and Ben Fountain (author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk). Goodreads reviewers said the writing is gorgeous, excellent character development, the pace is somewhat slow, and the story is moving.

No Exit by Taylor Adams
Release Date: January 15, 2019
352 Pages
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.2 on 10.048 ratings
Selected By: Liberty Hardy (co-host of Book Riot‘s All the Books podcast)

A brilliant, edgy thriller about four strangers, a blizzard, a kidnapped child, and a determined young woman desperate to unmask and outwit a vicious psychopath.

A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?

On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside, are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.

Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate.

My Thoughts:
No Exit is a mystery / thriller and the Goodreads reviewers are saying all the things you generally hear about mysteries and thrillers…”the twists left me breathless”, “unputdownable”, “will keep you up at night”, etc. A few reviewers were frustrated by the ridiculousness of Darby’s lack of preparation for snow in that area of the country and some unrealistic plot scenarios. Reviewers did warn of bad language and graphic violence. No Exit is said to be for fans of Karin Slaughter and Harlan Coben…and the film rights have been purchased by 20th Century Fox.

Severance by Ling Ma
Released: August 14, 2018
304 Pages
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.93 on 2,579 ratings
Selected By: Brianna Goodman (Book of the Month Editorial Team)

An offbeat office novel turns apocalyptic satire as a young woman transforms from orphan to worker bee to survivor.

My Thoughts:
I’ve been seeing this debut novel popping up on some high profile Best Books of 2018 lists (Kirkus, New York Times 100 Notable Books). Jaclyn Krupi (a trusted recommendation source) said it’s “a very clever, humane satire about the global economy, the meaningless nature of contemporary life, consumption and survival. A recent past dystopia where an epidemic sweeps the world, this book questions consumerism, connection and life itself and it’s completely brilliant.” Tyler Goodson (one of my best recommendation sources) rated it 5 stars and said “what happens when nostalgia becomes a disease? I’m not sure how Ling Ma has written a novel about this question that is so smart and funny, but also so horrifying. I’m in awe.” Goodreads reviewers said it’s a post-apocalyptic anti-capitalist office satire, resonates with millennials, and is told in fragments. Some mentioned not liking the ending and some reviewers said the story was slow.

What Book of the Month Club December 2018 selection(s) will I choose?

I’m choosing An Anonymous Girl and One Day in December…both books that are out of my comfort zone, but I’m choosing based on the strength of reviews from trusted sources. 

Make your Book of the Month selections by Thursday, December 6th.

What book will you choose this month?

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