Evening Begins the Day
Jessica Brilliant Keener
Koehler Books, 312 pages | Published March 24, 2026
A woman coping with the trauma of her husband’s emotional affair. A high- achieving mom who maintains control in a chaotic family life by keeping up appearances. A high school senior desperate to be seen and affirmed. Jessica Brilliant Keener’s urgent writing draws readers into the lives of these disparate and multigenerational characters and the high-stakes outcomes of their messy lives.
While the narrative moves swiftly, Evening Begins the Day takes a more leisurely journey as characters pursue healing through the ancient Jewish practice of the Counting of the Omer. With thoughtful dialogue and internal monologues, the characters seek loving kindness, grow in compassion for themselves and acceptance of others, and wonder about what we need from one another, as well as from our faith practices and communities. It’s a compelling work of fiction that invites readers to both briskly turn pages and pause to reflect.
Whistler: A Novel
Ann Patchett
Harper, 304 pages | Published June 2, 2026
When Daphne Fuller is unexpectedly reunited with Eddie Triplett, who was briefly her stepfather 40 years earlier, their renewed relationship opens a door to the past. In a non-linear fashion, Whistler jumps from the present day, as Daphne and Eddie share secrets and experiences that define them, to the past, as they reveal to each other and their family the details of a long-ago accident that separated them.
The brilliant Ann Patchett wonders about the stories we craft ourselves and those told to us as children, questioning if we can be reliable narrators of the defining moments in our lives. Once the full story is told, we have been blessed with a satisfying narrative, invited into the lives of characters who feel like friends, and left to wistfully imagine how to fill the gaps in our own memories. Perhaps they can only be filled in when we offer our own stories — and hear those of others in return.
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