Last Updated on January 3, 2024 by BiblioLifestyle
Finding the books that will stand out isn’t easy, especially when so many options exist. Fortunately for aspiring and avid readers everywhere, we’ve put together a list of 2023 books about friendship and family dynamics. So whether you crave heartfelt stories full of love and laughter or thought-provoking tales that examine unique relationships between characters, this list has something for everyone. So read on to discover the best 2023 books about friendship and family!
The Best Books about Friendship & Family of 2023
Whether you crave heartfelt stories full of love and laughter or thought-provoking tales that examine unique relationships between characters, this list of best books about friendship and family has something for everyone.
- The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
- The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent
- Maame by Jessica George
- The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel
- What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez
- Rootless by Krystle Zara Appiah
- Commitment by Mona Simpson
- The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley
- Life and Other Love Songs by Anissa Gray
- Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah
- Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti
- Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
- If We’re Being Honest by Cat Shook
- The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
- Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
- The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
- Summer Stage by Meg Mitchell Moore
- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
- Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman
- The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
- Fireworks Every Night by Beth Raymer
- Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellano
- Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur
- High Time by Hannah Rothschild
- The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
- Watch Us Dance by Leila Slimani, Sam Taylor (Translated by)
- Holding Pattern by Jenny Xie
- Old Enough by Haley Jakobson
- Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
A young Indian woman rumored to have killed her husband is being asked for help by other women in their village so they can get rid of their husbands.
The Bandit Queens is one of the books selected in The 2023 Winter Reading Guide.
You can also listen to my chat with Parini on the podcast here: The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff.
Maame by Jessica George
A coming-of-age novel about a mid-20s British Ghanaian woman who, after tragedy strikes, is forced to reassess her life.
Maame is one of the books selected in The 2023 Winter Reading Guide.
It was also one of the Read With Jenna Book Club selections.
The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel
The lives of a large group in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village become intertwined when a baby lands on their collective doorstep, and messy situations ensue.
The Sweet Spot is one of the books selected in The 2023 Winter Reading Guide.
You can also get to know Amy more in our author feature here: MEET: Amy Poeppel author of “The Sweet Spot”
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez
A powerful debut novel of a Puerto Rican family in Staten Island who discovers their long‑missing sister is potentially alive and cast on a reality TV show, and so they set out to bring her home.
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez is one of the books in The BiblioLifestyle 2023 Spring Reading Guide.
You can also listen to my chat with Claire on the podcast here: What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jiménez.
Commitment by Mona Simpson
A masterful and engrossing novel about a single mother’s collapse and the fate of her family after she enters a California state hospital in the 1970s.
Commitment is one of the books in The BiblioLifestyle 2023 Spring Reading Guide.
The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley
A novel featuring a college dropout and an eighty-four-year-old woman on the run from the law, full of tremendous heart, wit, and wisdom from the USA Today bestselling author of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island.
Life and Other Love Songs by Anissa Gray
A father’s sudden disappearance exposes the private fears, dreams, longings, and joys of a Black American family in the late decades of the twentieth century, in this page-turning and intimate new novel from the author of The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls.
Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah
An unexpected friendship saves a young man’s life in this moving, utterly charming debut about chosen family, the winding road to happiness, and the grace of second chances.
Listen to my chat with Elvin on the podcast here: Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah
Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti
Advika Srinivasan never thought she’d be someone’s fourth wife, let alone the new wife of Julian Zelding, one of Hollywood’s most renowned film producers—a gripping tale of marriage, ambition, and power from the author of GMA Book Club pick Dava Shastri’s Last Day.
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
From the New York Times bestselling author J. Ryan Stradal, a story of a couple from two very different restaurant families in rustic Minnesota, and the legacy of love and tragedy, of hardship and hope, that unites and divides them.
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club is one of the books in The BiblioLifestyle 2023 Spring Reading Guide.
If We’re Being Honest by Cat Shook
For fans of We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange and All Adults Here by Emma Straub, Cat Shook’s debut novel If We’re Being Honest is the snappy, smart, heartwarming story of the Williams family, and the sweltering summer that rewrote their history.
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
A random connection sends two strangers on a daylong adventure where they make a promise one keeps and the other breaks with lasting effects in this breathtaking new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After.
Listen to my chat with Carley on the podcast here: Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune.
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
A big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own, for readers of The Midnight Library. What’s the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can’t give yourself a beautiful life?
The Collected Regrets of Clover is one of the books in The 2023 Summer Reading Guide.
Summer Stage by Meg Mitchell Moore
From the bestselling author of Vacationland, a spirited summer page-turner following a family of actors grappling with fame, scandal, and ambition.
Summer Stage is one of the books in The 2023 Summer Reading Guide.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children’s author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner’s life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.
The Wishing Game is one of the books in The 2023 Summer Reading Guide.
Fireworks Every Night by Beth Raymer
A young woman trapped in a deeply dysfunctional family in the seedy wilds of 1990s South Florida has to make a choice—save her family, or save herself—in this larger-than-life debut novel from the acclaimed author of Lay the Favorite.
Fireworks Every Night is one of the books in The 2023 Summer Reading Guide.
Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellano
An outrageously funny debut novel about a woman who moves to what’s meant to be her dream home after her marriage disintegrates . . . only to find herself embroiled in the trials and tribulations that come with owning a beach house.
Save What’s Left is one of the books in The 2023 Summer Reading Guide.
It’s also one of the Good Morning America Book Club selections.
High Time by Hannah Rothschild
A modern English comedy of morals and manners, about a highborn family of outrageous characters, in a story that proves revenge can be sweet.
High Time is one of the books in The 2023 Summer Reading Guide.
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselves—by the bestselling and celebrated author of The Guncle.
It was also one of the Read With Jenna Book Club selections.
Watch Us Dance by Leila Slimani, Translated by Sam Taylor
The rebellions within an interracial family play out against the countercultural rebellions of the 1960s in this sexy, stylish, sophisticated new novel by the award-winning, internationally bestselling author of The Perfect Nanny and In the Country of Others.
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
A sweeping, evocative debut novel following three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family’s inherited burdens, buried secrets, and unlikely love stories.
Get to know Thao some more in this author feature: MEET: Thao Thai author of “Banyan Moon”
It was also one of the Read With Jenna Book Club selections.
What do you think about this list of best books about friendship and family of 2023?
Have you read any books from this list? What are your favorite books about friendship and family of 2023? What books would you add to the list? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
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