Take This FRIENDS Quiz and Get a Book Recommendation

Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club is a quirky romance story, which is totally your vibe. After spending three years in Shanghai, Sophie Go has returned to her home town of Toronto, ready to set up her business as a professional matchmaker. But there’s one problem: she never actually graduated from matchmaking school. Toronto turns out to be quite the competitive market, and no one’s interested in hiring a matchmaker with zero credentials. Desperate for clients, Sophie hits the jackpot when she stumbles upon a secret club within her condo complex: the Old Ducks, a group of seven Chinese septuagenarians who never found love. Sophie convinces the group to hire her to find them each the perfect matches. But when she uncovers their stories of loss and heartbreak, will Sophie realize she’s in over her head?

You need a heartfelt contemporary novel. Mika in Real Life is the story of Mika Suzuki. She’s 35 and her life is a complete disaster. Her last relationship was a total mess that ended up going up in flames. She might just be living with a hoarder. She’s a constant disappointment to her traditional Japanese parents. Oh, and she’s just been fired from her job. But then she gets a phone call from Penny, the daughter Mika put up for adoption 16 years ago. Penny is looking to forge a relationship with her birth mother, and Mika is desperate to be the kind of woman her daughter can look up to. And so Mika tells a little lie. And then another lie on top of that lie to cover up the first lie. And before Mika knows it, she’s invented an entire made-up life for herself, one in which she’s mature, put-together, is lucky in love, and has a successful career.

You need to read a thriller! Try The Darkness of Others. Psychiatrist Imani Banks and her restauranteur husband Philip are living in a posh townhouse in Brooklyn Heights. Meanwhile, Tonya Sayre moves to Manhattan with dreams of becoming a Broadway star, but instead she’s working in a restaurant and struggling to support her teen daughter Layla. After Philip’s restaurant closes due to the pandemic lockdown, he and Imani decide to let Tonya and Layla rent their extra rooms. But Tonya begins skipping payments, and Imani becomes concerned that Tonya may be responsible for the death of their neighbors. Evicting someone during a lockdown is tricky, though, even when you think that person might be a murderer.

You’re in the mood for something dark, with elements of mystery and horror. Jackal is the book for you. Liz Rocher doesn’t have the fondest memories of her predominantly white hometown, but since her best friend is getting married, Liz reluctantly returns to Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Although she prepares for the worst, she couldn’t have anticipated what happens on the day of the wedding: the bride’s daughter Caroline goes missing. As the search for Caroline begins, Liz realizes she’s seen this before. Years ago, Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in school, also disappeared in a similar manner.

Nonfiction is more your thing, specifically memoirs. Why Didn’t You Tell Me? is a memoir by Carmen Rita Wong. Carmen grew up believing that her father was a Chinese hustler named Peter Wong, whom her mother was forced to marry for a green card. But as her mother was dying of cancer, Carmen found out that Peter was in fact not her father. After her mother died, Carmen felt like she’d never get answers to who she is or where she belongs. And worst of all, she’d never understand why her mother didn’t tell her the truth. This memoir follows Carmen’s search for understanding as she digs into the hidden side of her mother that she never had the chance to know while her mother was alive.