March 25, 2026
If you liked Remarkably Bright Creatures and stories about friendship and comfort in unexpected places, you might like these reads.
Here you'll find a zany case of mistaken identity, an ancient tome written in an indecipherable language, and an unexpected series of adventures with an exuberant ten-year-old!
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
"Would you mind terribly, old boy, if I borrowed the rest of your life? I promise I'll take excellent care of it." Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he'd return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is there's nobody left in Fred's life to borrow from. At eighty-two, he's desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness. Fred's luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now he has a roof over his head, three meals a day, and, most importantly, the chance to be part of a family again. All he has to do is hope that his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up. As Fred navigates life in Bernard's shoes, he learns about the man's past and what it might take to return a life in better condition than he found it. Bittersweet and remarkably perceptive, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a feel-good, clever novel about grief, forgiveness, redemption, and finding family, from an exciting new voice in fiction.
Life Hacks for a Little Alien
Before she thinks of herself as Little Alien, our protagonist is a lonely girl who doesn't understand the world the way other children seem to. So when a late-night TV special introduces her to the mysterious Voynich Manuscript--an ancient tome written in an indecipherable language--Little Alien experiences something she hasn't before: hope. Could there be others like her, who also feel like they're from another planet? Convinced the Voynich Manuscript holds the answers she needs, Little Alien and her best (and only) friend Bobby decide they must find this strange book. Where that decision leads them will change everything.