The Complete Guide to Jenna Bush Hager’s Book Club Picks

Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite (November 2025)

“This is a book about family, sisterhood and what it means to fall in love.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O'Neill (October 2025)

“[Three sisters] return for a Thanksgiving weekend to all be under one roof, and just as families know better than anybody, old patterns come out. We find out about a tragedy that has left these sisters reeling, but it also is full of love and hope and humor." —Jenna Bush Hager

The Names by Florence Knapp (May 2025)

“We watch a family who comes together, grows apart, and we meet this boy whose name, in three different ways, predicts who he will be. It’s a book about second chances. It’s a book about family, it’s a book about hope.” —Jenna Bush Hager

This Motherless Land by Nikki May (November 2024)

“[A] beautiful” re-imagining of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. —Jenna Bush Hager

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors (September 2024)

“I grew up with a mother and grandmother who read Little Women to me, which is about a strong group of sisters. Not since then has a book about sisterhood stuck with me as much as Coco Mellors’ Blue Sisters.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Wedding People by Alison Espach (August 2024)

"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 Bush Hager

The Waters by Bonnie Jo Campbell (January 2024)

"I love The Waters by the great Bonnie Jo Campbell so much. 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.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood (September 2023)

"It takes place over one day with a ton of flashbacks, so you see why Grace's life has been shattered. You find out her marriage is falling apart. Her daughter won’t speak to her. [Yet the book is] wildly funny.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Banyan Moon by Thao Thai (July 2023)

"When Minh, the beloved matriarch of the Tran family, passes away, her granddaughter, Ann, goes back to the family house in Florida. It’s the story of Ann and her estranged mom Huong, and the sweeping love story of Minh in Vietnam.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley (June 2023)

“[It’s] the perfect summer book. It’ll make you cry on one page and laugh hysterically on the other.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown (March 2023)

"It’s about love, it’s about mothers and daughters—and it will bring you so much joy.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Groundskeeping by Lee Cole (March 2022)

“It’s a story about love and identity and where we are from. It is about what makes us a family. I feel like it will lead to a lot of important conversations about what brings us together and what divides us.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (February 2022)

“This book is about family, legacy, and what binds us together. There was something almost mysterious about it. I was on the edge of my seat. I wanted to know what was going to happen and who these characters were.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Hell of a Book by Jason Mott (July 2021)

“It is a story of love and family. It is powerful, poignant, and beautiful, and what makes me so excited is I cannot wait to be part of these conversations. It’s a story of race, family, love, and justice. It’s original and Jason Mott is a talent.” —Jenna Bush Hager 

Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (April 2021)

"I was captivated by the way the author writes intimately about human connection, including the ties between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, and friends.” —Jenna Bush Hager

What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster (March 2021)

"The story is epic in scope. It is about understanding the demons and the hardships that come before us and how they affect our lives. As a mother myself, I related to the mothers' fierce love for their children even when they made mistakes. Nobody understands us like our families, even when imperfect." —Jenna Bush Hager

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (September 2020)

"Where do we look for solace when the worst happens? How do we make sense of senseless tragedies? This is a story about those big 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.” —Jenna Bush Hager

All Adults Here by Emma Straub (May 2020)

"I think in a time when all we want is hope, All Adults Here is a bright and beautiful book to reach for. 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." —Jenna Bush Hager

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (November 2019)

"I don’t think any book has touched me about parenthood as much as Nothing to See Here. 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 Bush Hager

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (October 2019)

“I read The Dutch House right after I had Hal, and even in the middle of the night when I was feeding him I reached for this beauty of a book. What I kept coming back to in this book was Danny and Maeve’s closeness, their bond, how they raise each other.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin (March 2019)

“The Skinner siblings have this dynamic that any of us who are lucky enough to have siblings or best friends that are like sisters or brothers, we know that feeling of that shared history.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (December 2025)

"Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books of all time. I love Jane Austen so much.” —Jenna Bush Hager

These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany (June 2022)

"Just like in my own life, this book is about three strong women who are the heroines of their own stories. This book perfectly portrays the power, vulnerability and solace I have always found in female friendship." —Jenna Bush Hager

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow (April 2022)

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

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan (January 2022)

“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 mother." —Jenna Bush Hager

Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding (December 2021)

"I have never read a book that addresses mental health and alcoholism in as transparent and beautiful a way as Bright Burning Things. While heartbreaking at times, I found the book to be about resilience and the power of a mother’s love.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (December 2020)

"It was the first book that really opened my eyes to how literature can create understanding and take you into worlds you don’t know. I was totally in awe of Toni Morrison’s ability to make us feel like we were walking in Pecola’s footsteps. I remember marking it up like I had never marked up any books before." —Jenna Bush Hager

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn (August 2019)

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

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum (May 2019)

"It's about what is acceptable for a woman—how a woman can use her voice. And to see these women change, and to see their idea of what they can be change over generations is really the story of so many women." —Jenna Bush Hager

Devotions by Mary Oliver (December 2024)

“I love [Mary Oliver’s] work. It’s about nature and love and what it means to be human.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Swift River by Essie Chambers (June 2024)

“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 Bush Hager

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (March 2024)

"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 Bush Hager

Maame by Jessica George (February 2023)

“I just couldn't believe the author’s talent and the range of emotions I felt while reading it. On one page I was crying, yet on another page, I laughed hysterically.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Sam by Allegra Goodman (January 2023)

"Sam is about as perfect of a coming-of-age story I have ever read. It explores what happens when one girl loses the wonder of childhood—the innocence of her early years only to reclaim her power and hope.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Measure by Nikki Erlick (July 2022)

“It sounds ominous in many ways but actually, it is about love and how we choose to spend our days. I think it will make everyone feel immense gratitude for the beautiful little moments." —Jenna Bush Hager

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (May 2022)

“This novel is filled with love, humor, joy and healing. It demonstrates the power and beauty of unexpected friendships. I can’t wait for this creative, feel-good story to surprise and delight the Read With Jenna book club this May.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Family by Naomi Krupitsky (November 2021)

“A story that will leave you craving Sunday night dinners, and brings 1930s and 1940s Brooklyn to life.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour (January 2021)

"Black Buck is raw and intimate—and a title I knew our book club readers needed to read as we begin this new year with a fresh start. Alternating moments of satirical humor with heartbreaking realities, this is a book that will have readers both laughing and crying." —Jenna Bush Hager

White Ivy by Susie Yang (November 2020)

"White Ivy is a juicy and fun read with a shocking twist. It’s a coming-of-age novel that will lead to conversations about otherness and ambition. Ivy isn’t your typical heroine.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Comeback by Ella Berman (August 2020)

"This beautifully written and compulsively readable book broke me from my pandemic blockage. 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.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan (July 2020)

“Friends and Strangers is a compellingly readable book that feels a little bit like a beach read, but at the same time tackles themes of acceptance of others and also of yourself. It’s a compelling book that takes on modern issues surrounding adulthood, motherhood, and class." —Jenna Bush Hager

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (March 2020)

“I chose Writers & Lovers because I don’t think I’ve chosen a book like this. Lily King really explores different themes that our book club hasn’t explored.” —Jenna Bush

The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré (February 2020)

"While reading, there were times when I felt like Adunni was whispering, singing and in parts, crying to me. This is truly a love story about one young girl whose resilience and grit drive her, until her voice is loud and clear." —Jenna Bush Hager

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (January 2020)

"I chose Dear Edward because it is a book about love and loss and finding your way after the unthinkable. 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 me.” —Jenna Bush Hager

This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer (February 2025). 

“It’s February, which means it’s the month of love, and I have the best, most epic love story for you to fall in love with this month. In this beautiful book, we meet Abe and Jane who, upon the end of their life, are recounting their love story as a way to keep their memories alive.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Good Material by Dolly Alderton (February 2024)

“I love this book so much. I’m obsessed with it because it’s a deconstructed love story." —Jenna Bush Hager

The Sun Sets in Singapore by Kehinde Fadipe (November 2023)

“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. I loved this story about friendship, who we lean on, female ambition and what defines us.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (August 2023)

“It's about that time in your life where you're trying to figure out who you're going to be. It is the perfect, perfect beach read but that doesn't mean that it's an easy read." —Jenna Bush Hager

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (July 2019)

"In a lot of romantic comedies, you kind of know exactly what’s going to happen. 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." —Jenna Bush Hager

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan (September 2025)

“You read it once and then, even though it’s 500 pages, want to reread again. We meet two families whose lives intersect in ways that upon Page 1 you could never expect. We watch as America changes and these two families’ lives change.” —Jenna Bush Hager

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch (June 2025)

"In the '80s, we meet a young mother who falls in love and is punished for it. In the early aughts, we meet Heron who is an older man who has to reckon with the decision he made and tell the story of her life.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Real Americans by Rachel Khong (May 2024)

“It’s set in 2000, right when Y2K was happening, and it starts as a love story. 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.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez (March 2024)

"One thing you may not know about me is that I lived in Panama, in 2005, 2006. 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.” —Jenna Bush Hager

We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein (December 2023)

"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." —Jenna Bush Hager

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn (October 2022)

“It’s epic in scope. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the writing was. I was underlining things—it just says so much about where we find hope and love amid our darkest times.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford (August 2022)

“The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is one of the most beautiful books of motherhood of what we pass on to those that come after us—what we inherit. It's a book about strength and goodness. I just thought that this was the most incredible book that really displays the strength of women.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (September 2021)

"Amor Towles is one of those authors that I think will become a Steinbeck of our generation and you know it's hard to say this about many books but I think The Lincoln Highway will be a classic that we will read for years to come.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (June 2021)

"I felt like Malibu Rising was a compulsively fun read that anybody would want to throw in their beach bag. I think after the year we’ve had, everybody is looking forward to summer and this book felt like the perfect kick-off." —Jenna Bush Hager

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead (May 2021)

"Now, more than ever, I love reading about women who chart their own courses. As a mom of two little girls and a young boy, I believe it is important to highlight fictional and nonfictional stories of fierce, independent women who don’t conform to what society says we need to be." —Jenna Bush Hager

Send for Me by Lauren Fox (February 2021)

"It’s a love story, but is also about all the complications we experience in life from heartbreak to tough choices. Truthful and real, this is a book that completely captures the textures of real life. I’ve read so many books set in the pre-WWII era, but this one felt really raw and fresh.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore (April 2020)

"This beautiful story of justice, redemption, grace, and strength will arrest and transport you. From the beginning, I was drawn to the book’s setting: a western corner of my home state of Texas.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (September 2019)

"I think it would be really interesting to read with your spouse and with friends. I told [my husband] Henry right after I finished it that I thought he should read it. It’s a book about faith, friendship, relationships and what connects us.” —Jenna Bush Hager

How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair (October 2023)

"It's a book about freedom, choice, becoming who we're meant to be, [but it's also about] family and a mom's devotion." —Jenna Bush Hager

Solito by Javier Zamora (September 2022)

“I don’t think I’ve ever read a memoir which captivated me in so many ways. 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.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang (September 2021)

“Beautiful Country was one of those remarkable books that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading it. I love memoirs and I particularly love beautifully written memoirs that read almost like novels." —Jenna Bush Hager

Here For It by R. Eric Thomas (August 2020)

Chosen in the wake of George Floyd’s death, and in collaboration with Noelle Santos, owner of The Lit Bar, the only independent bookstore in The Bronx, Jenna “knew (Santos) would have ideas on books that we can read as a club that would help us open our minds.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl (December 2019)

"It was a beautiful walk in the woods, you stopped and took in all of these beautiful things about life. About relationships, about family, about friendships, about finding who you are. The way that she put it all together felt like a beautiful collage.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams (April 2019)

"She wrote throughout her cancer diagnosis to, I think, make sense of it. But she also had two young daughters, like I do. She was the same age that I am when she was diagnosed, which I think was one reason I immediately connected with it." —Jenna Bush Hager

My Other Heart by Emma Nanami Strenner (August 2025)

"I love this book so much. It’s the story of mothers, daughters, friendship. It’s full of heart and full of twists. I could not put it down.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Happy Wife by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores (July 2025)

"Happy Wife is one of those delicious, fun summer books that you’ll open on the beach and never put down.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Heartwood by Amity Gaige (April 2025)

"A novelistic cousin to Strayed’s best-selling 2012 memoir of tackling the Pacific Crest Trail after her mother’s death, it’s the story of three woodsy women each lost in her own wilderness, and the gnarled roots between mothers and daughters." —New York Times Book Review

The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight (January 2025)

“This is a book about friendship, motherhood and finding ourselves with mystery and romance at its core. This debut novel will sweep you up your feet.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich (October 2024)

"[Louise Edrich is] a master, a legend at building stories around community. This is a book about family and community. It is a book about upward mobility and finding our true passions.” —Jenna Bush Hager

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (July 2024)

“All the Colors of the Dark [is about] two best friends—both misfits—Patch and Saint. They live in a small town and the small town is such a part of the story. Something happens to them when they are young, which catapults a whole life of friendship and chasing each other.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Secret History by Donna Tartt (December 2022)

“It is a pillar of the last 30 years in literature. 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.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Cloisters by Katy Hays (November 2022)

“I have recommended it to everybody that I possibly can because I feel like it's the perfect mystery.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Turnout by Megan Abbott (August 2021)

“As a kid, I loved to stay up late during the summer reading mystery novels with a flashlight. As I used the light on my phone to finish Megan Abbott’s The Turnout, I was taken right back to the summer nights of my youth." —Jenna Bush Hager

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (October 2020)

"It’s chilling and mysterious but also poignant and even funny. My only advice: Read it with the lights on. 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.” —Jenna Bush Hager

A Burning by Megha Majumdar (June 2020)

"Themes of fate and class, corruption and justice abound as A Burning poses the question: Who do we stand by when the worst happens? And what do we stand for?" —Jenna Bush Hager

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok (June 2019)

"Mysteries are my guilty pleasures. I always think I'm kind of good at solving what's happened early on in the book. Amy is searching for her sister and the sisterhood is, I think, the most beautiful part of it." —Jenna Bush Hager

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (March 2025)

"This is a book about how technology shackles us even when it connects us, how it can make us not feel present, and it’s a commentary on that. It is a book that is filled with beautiful characters who you will never forget, and it really shows the power we all have to dream.” —Jenna Bush Hager

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (April 2024)

"I love the concept. I think it's a commentary on swiping and dating in the modern world. It makes you think about what we need in order to feel our best. Who we need that makes us more powerful, more brave.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (May 2023)

"It’ll make you have conversations about the prison industrial complex. 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.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling (April 2023)

“It is action-packed. You’ve never been anywhere like the world Michelle created. That’s one of the things I love about reading. It’ll take you to places you’ve never traveled.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Featured image: Patrick Randak / NBC