9 Charming Books to Read If You Love Emma Straub

Suffused with family drama and heartfelt humor, If We’re Being Honest by Cat Shook is the perfect next read for Straub fans. When family patriarch Gerry Williams dies, the entire Williams clan — cousins, siblings, aunts, and uncles — gather at the family home in Eulalia, Georgia, to mourn his passing. The funeral, however, is anything but ordinary: After an emotional eulogy from Gerry’s best friend reveals a surprising secret of the heart, the entire Williams family is left to piece together their grief while navigating their own personal complications of life and love. Brimming with warmth, If We’re Being Honest is an “appealing, astutely observed debut about familial love and the secrets we keep” (Kirkus) and makes a splendid choice for anyone in search of some literary sunshine this spring and summer.

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry puts a bewitching twist on the teen sports tale. The book takes place in 1980s Danvers, Massachusetts, where the original witch trials occurred back in 1692. Dynamic co-captains Abby Putnam and Jen Florenza will do whatever it takes to get their field hockey team to the state finals and win the championship, even if it means dabbling in the dark arts and practicing a bit of witchcraft. A charmed novel driven by female friendship and feminine flair, We Ride Upon Sticks is sure to satisfy Straub readers with its playfulness and narrative wit.

Internationally bestselling author Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library conjures a dizzying realm of infinite worlds — a library filled with books that tell the story of your life, and every life you could have lived had you made a different choice. Nora finds herself in the Midnight Library, wandering through its stacks, pondering her possible lives, and grappling with her choices. Should she take a different path? Undo that breakup? Choose a different career? A wondrous tale with a complex protagonist at its heart, The Midnight Library is a feel-good book that’s sure to appeal to Straub fans, especially those who loved the time-bending touch of This Time Tomorrow.

If you enjoy the sly humor and relatably frayed family dynamics of Straub’s novels, add Grant Ginder’s Let’s Not Do That Again to your TBR list. Nancy Harrison is the mother of two grown children, Nick and Greta — and if it weren’t for them, Nancy’s campaign for Senate would be running without a hitch. Instead, Greta just made front-page news after rioting with extremist protesters in Paris. Now Nancy and Nick, who has plenty of his own issues to sort out, must get to Paris and find Greta before Nancy loses her daughter and her shot at a Senate seat. Ginder’s perfectly imperfect characters combined with his skillful mix of family drama and politics make Let’s Not Do That Again a thoroughly enjoyable read.

In Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan uses humor and wit to tell her heartfelt family saga of strife, struggle, and love. For years, members of the Kelleher family have gathered at their beachfront cottage in coastal Maine. The property has served as the site of countless family gatherings and memorable nights beneath the stars. This summer, however, three generations of Kelleher women will gather at the property, each bringing distinct anxieties, conflicts, and desires to be sorted out with the help of their loved ones — or settled in spite of them. With its aching exploration of familial bonds and its magical coastal backdrop, Maine is perfect for fans of Straub’s The Vacationers.

National bestseller Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore interweaves some of Straub’s best-loved themes to craft a story of love, family, and identity. New Year’s Eve 1982 finds Oona Lockhart weighing what to do next with her life; after all, when the clock strikes midnight, she’ll be turning 19. But rather than cheer along with the countdown, Oona faints, then wakes up 32 years in the future as a 51-year-old woman in a house that’s apparently hers and with a friendly stranger to greet her. Every year following, Oona’s birthday transports her to another out-of-order age. Bursting with humor and witty pop culture references, Oona Out of Order is a “delightfully freewheeling romp” (Booklist, starred review). If you loved Straub’s This Time Tomorrow, Montimore’s time-twisty tale is sure to delight.

In Jesse Q. Sutanto’s eminently delightful debut novel, protagonist Meddy Chan finds herself in a mess that only her mother and her four meddling aunties can get her out of. It all starts when Meddy accidentally kills her blind date. She turns to her Ma for help, who enlists Meddy’s wily aunts to dispose of the body. And just when you think things couldn’t get any more chaotic, Meddy’s one-that-got-away college sweetheart shows up and sends her into a tailspin. Smart, funny, and impossible to put down, Dial A for Aunties is sure to charm Straub readers with its witty writing and bighearted characters.

In The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid unspools a tale of “Tinseltown drama at its finest” (Redbook). Old Hollywood starlet Evelyn Hugo has been out of the public eye for years. When she decides it’s time to tell her story, she chooses a little-known magazine reporter named Monique to write her biography. As the two women sit down to record Evelyn’s life — tracing Evelyn’s arrival in Hollywood in the 1950s, her departure 30 years later, and the many husbands along the way — a unique bond develops between the pair  and unexpected connections are unearthed. Enriched with glamor, heartache, and epic love, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an enthralling story that Straub readers will eagerly devour.

We finish our list with Nothing to See Here, an uproariously funny novel by Kevin Wilson. Childhood friends Lillian and Madison haven’t spoken in years, but now Madison needs help, and Lillian’s the only person she can trust. Madison is desperate to find a caregiver for her twin stepkids — someone who can handle two children who literally burst into flames when they’re flustered or stressed. With nothing to lose, Lillian takes the job. And while the combustible youngsters come as a shock, something else emerges from Lillian’s heart: a fiery love for these two very special kids. Wildly inventive and bursting with wit, Nothing to See Here is a bright and charming family dramedy that Straub fans are sure to enjoy.