If you’re in search of stories that leave an imprint long after the last page, this trio of novels delivers depth, emotional resonance, and unforgettable characters. From Allegra Goodman’s hauntingly lyrical Isola, to Kristy Woodson Harvey’s heartfelt and redemptive Beach House Rules, and finally to the enduring power of Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, a book every reader and writer should read at least once.

A Simply Marvelous Book Written in Exquisite Prose

Isola by Allegra Goodman reads like a fairy tale while based in fact. Inspired by the real life of Marguerite de la Rocque, a French noblewoman born in the 1500s and orphaned at a young age, our protagonist must learn to survive circumstances that threaten to destroy her.

In the narrative, we meet Marguerite when she is still a child of privilege, dressed in gowns with pearls laced in her hair. She has periodic meetings with her unscrupulous guardian, Roberval, who has squandered her fortunes on self-serving exploratory voyages. She hopes that he will eventually disappear from her life, still leaving her well-endowed, but instead, he tightens the leash.

Roberval insists that she and her devoted nurse Damienne accompany him on a long trans-Atlantic expedition to colonize New France (Canada) in the St. Lawrence Gulf. Isolated and afraid, Marguerite befriends his secretary on board the filthy, turbulent ship, and they fall in love, conducting a clandestine romance in the dark of night. As he becomes aware, in an act of vengeful cruelty Roberval abandons Marguerite, her lover, and Damienne on a desolate, unforgiving island. This sets the stage for her transformative journey of self-discovery.

Grief soon finds them.  The marvels of a New World autumn give way to a ferocious winter. The castaways lament the survival lessons God and nature teach them, and each is tested beyond their endurance. The natural world is depicted in all its glory and formidable brutality. There is a profound exploration of love and loss, resilience, and ultimately a testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit. It is simply a marvelous book! GET THE BOOK.

~Joan Pagano, NYC, owner Joan Pagano Fitness

A Heartwarming Novel about the Power of Chosen Family

Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey is a heartwarming, multilayered novel that blends Southern charm with themes of resilience, reinvention, and the power of chosen family.  With its breezy beachside setting and emotionally deep storytelling, this book is more than just a summer read.  It is a celebration of friendship, forgiveness, and the courage to start over.  As I like to say about this story, it shows the very best of people being family when you are not blood related.

The story is about Charlotte Sitterly, whose life is turned upside down when her husband is arrested for white-collar crimes.  He maintains he is innocent throughout the story.  She is locked out of her home by the FBI, and her bank accounts have been frozen.  Charlotte and her teenage daughter, Iris find a place in a coastal North Carolina “mommune”—a former bed-and-breakfast turned sanctuary for single mothers.

They are also thrown into the spotlight of @Juniper Shores Socialite, the town’s anonymous Instagram account. I thought the posts on the Instagram account were mostly funny and some kind of sad.  As they begin living in this “mommune”, Charlotte and Iris are surprised by how much fun they are having with the other families despite their circumstances.  Iris is really upset with this current living arrangement until she finds out that a star athlete from her school is also living among this group of people.  She and her mother begin to explore the meaning of friendship and the true meaning of family.

I have been a big fan of Kristy Woodson Harvey since 2019, and have read all her books. I think this may just be my very favorite book of hers.  It resonated with me so much.  I love how Harvey creates these interesting, rich, and flawed characters.  You cannot help but love them and root for them.  This book was no different from the mysterious Alice Bailey (dubbed the “Black Widow”), by town gossip from the Instagram-famous Grace and the tenacious reporter, Julie.  I cannot recommend this book enough; it is a five-star read.  Congratulations, Kristy, on another fabulous book. GET THE DETAILS.

~France Katzen, Richmond, Virginia, an advocate for parents of children with addictions

Revisiting a Classic

We often get caught in the release of the latest “it” book and overlook the literary geniuses of the last century. One of my all-time favorite authors is Ernest Hemingway, not just because we share a birthdate, but for his unique ability to tell a powerful story with a few words that are never empty. Every word is weighed and deliberate. Writers often get caught in long wordy prose meant to impress the reader with their word wealth. They should all read A Farewell to Arms, which is a masterclass in restrained emotional power, weaving love and loss into the desolate landscape of World War I. The novel’s narrator, Frederic Henry, navigates the chaos of the front lines with a cool detachment that masks deeper wounds—his romance with the English nurse Catherine Barkley offering a fleeting refuge from the horrors around him.

Hemingway’s prose is famously sparse, but never empty. Every word feels weighed, deliberate, carrying the unsaid just beneath the surface. There’s a rhythmic simplicity to his sentences, like a heartbeat slowed by grief—evoking both immediacy and inevitability. The stark tone doesn’t diminish the emotional impact; instead, it intensifies it.

At its core, the novel questions the meaning of love, war, and faith in an indifferent world. The final chapters are devastating not for their drama, but for their quiet resignation. When Henry walks back from the hospital in the rain, alone, you feel the full weight of Hemingway’s existential bleakness. As Hemingway famously wrote, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” *A Farewell to Arms* makes you feel that break.

It’s not just a war novel or a tragic romance—it’s a meditation on the human condition, stripped to its raw essentials. If it’s been a while, revisit A Farewell to Arms with fresh eyes—it resonates differently now. And if it’s your first time, prepare to be moved. GET THE BOOK.

~Cheryl Benton, Glen Cove, NY,  aka “the head Tomato, writer, author, publisher