Gift guide: 5 books for the fiction lovers on your holiday shopping list
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Shopping for the reader in your life is no easy task. Thankfully, there is no such thing as too many books, and the gift of fine fiction is always appreciated.
This past year saw some banner titles for fiction. But among the countless titles that have debuted in 2019, how do you choose? USA TODAY has pored over this year's best-reviewed, best-selling and buzziest of new fiction titles and chosen five tales that should please even the pickiest readers on your holiday list.
1. "The Dutch House," by Ann Patchett
About: A doomed house, distant father and wicked stepmother help forge an unbreakable bond between two siblings, who have only each other when all else is lost. Patchett spins the story into a dark fairy tale of sorts about the nature of inheritance and forgiveness.
The buzz: Emily Gray Tedrowe for USA TODAY says, “The story of devotion between the two characters at the heart of this fairy tale will delight Ann Patchett’s many fans, and will no doubt bring her even more admirers.”
Get "The Dutch House" from Amazon for $16.79
More: Ann Patchett in top form in deeply moving new novel of sibling love, 'The Dutch House'
2. “Red at the Bone,” by Jacqueline Woodson
About: Melody prepares for her 16th birthday, wearing the coming-out dress her mother never got to wear because of her teenage pregnancy. Woodson explores the ramifications of unplanned pregnancies on two families and the lifelong consequences of decisions made in youth.
The buzz: Heather Scott Partington for USA TODAY says, "Woodson most poignantly portrays the brutality and liberty of a woman putting herself first."
Get "Red at the Bone" from Amazon for $15.69
More: Jacqueline Woodson's 'Red at the Bone' a poignant generational tale of unplanned pregnancy
3. “The Testaments,” by Margaret Atwood
About: The much-anticipated sequel to the feminist dystopian classic "The Handmaid's Tale" was one of the winners of this year's Booker Prize. Atwood says of the book, "Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in."
The buzz: USA TODAY’s Barbara VanDenburgh says, “'The Testaments' is worthy of the literary classic literary classic it continues.”
Get "The Testaments" from Amazon for $15.60
More: Sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale,' Margaret Atwood's 'The Testaments,' well worth the wait
4. “The Nickel Boys,” by Colson Whitehead
About: Two black boys experience horrific abuse at a juvenile reform school in the Jim Crow-era South. The book was inspired by the real-life and equally horrific Dozier School for Boys.
The buzz: Mark Athitakis for USA TODAY raves, “'The Nickel Boys' is straight-ahead realism, distinguished by its clarity and its open conversation with other black writers: It quotes from or evokes the work of Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison and more. Whitehead has made an overt bid to stand in their company."
Get "The Nickel Boys" from Amazon for $13.59
More: 'The Nickel Boys' is a literary achievement. Will Colson Whitehead win another Pulitzer?
5. “The Water Dancer,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
About: A magical story told in soaring prose. Hiram Walker is born into bondage on a plantation with the gift of perfect photographic recall, and a near drowning floods him with images of his ancestors – and a yearning to escape.
The buzz: Naming it the first pick in her newly revamped book club, Oprah Winfrey called the novel "one of the best books I have ever read."
Get "The Water Dancer" from Amazon for $16.80
More: Oprah battled 'very serious' pneumonia, reveals latest book club pick
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This article originally appeared on Reviewed.com: Gift guide: 5 books for fiction lovers on your holiday list in 2019
