The Best New Books to Read During Christmas Vacation

It’s 2008 and the economy is about to crash, when Jende Jonga, an illegal immigrant from West Africa, starts a new job as a driver for an executive at Lehman Brothers. The result is an enormously big-hearted novel. Buy the book

The latest novel from best-seller Ann Patchett follows the six children of what becomes a complicated blended family over five tumultuous decades. We promise: they’ll make your relatives seem sane, even at Christmas. Buy the book

A private plane crashes over Martha’s Vineyard, leaving two survivors: a loner artist and the four-year-old heir to a conservative media empire. Hawley (the creator of the TV show Fargo) sure knows how to write suspense. Buy the book

It's not exactly standard holiday fare, but Desmond’s book—which follows eight Wisconsin families in the midst of housing crises—is unparalleled. Buy the book

Antoinette Conway is the newest detective on the Murder Squad, and her latest case seems like a routine lover’s quarrel gone bad—except that Antoinette swears she’s seen the victim before. Buy the book

If anyone’s aging father were to write from Budapest that he had gotten surprise gender reassignment surgery, we’re glad it was this Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Buy the book

There’s nothing more riveting than the Manson family—particularly the young, pretty girls who joined and were captivated enough to kill for their charismatic leader. This gripping debut novel reimagines the story through the eyes of a 14-year-old. Buy the book

Four siblings have spent their adult lives depending on an inheritance that they’ll all receive when the youngest turns 40. But a few months before their windfall, one gets into a reckless accident that might squander it all. Buy the book

If you’ve spent the holidays dodging nosy aunts who want to know when you’ll get married, this is an empowering look at the social, economic and political forces that have led to women marrying later, or not at all. Buy the book

We think any new Zadie Smith novel is cause for celebration. This one follows two aspiring dancers growing up in London—a complicated story of friendship, race, art and identity. Buy the book