Mary Paula Hunter's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Demon's story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking 'like a little blue prizefighter.' For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.

In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn't an idea, it's as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn't an abstraction, it's neighbours, parents, and friends. 'Family' could mean love, or reluctant foster… show more.

Three brothers tear their way through childhood - smashing tomatoes all over each other, building kites from rubbish, hiding when their parents do battle, tiptoeing around the house as their mother sleeps off her graveyard shift. Paps and Ma are from Brooklyn - he's Puerto Rican, she's white. Barely out of childhood themselves, their love is a serious, dangerous thing. Life in this family is fierce and absorbing, full of chaos and heartbreak and the euphoria of belonging completely to one another. From the intense familial unity felt by a child to the profound alienation he endures as he begins… show more.

"An immersive, heartbreaking story about war, passion, and the road not taken." - People

"One of the most beautiful and moving love stories you'll read this year." - Nylon Magazine

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2018 BY The Washington Post * The New York Post * Vulture * Real Simple * Bustle * Nylon * Thrillist * Mental Floss * Self magazine * Booklist * Refinery 29

An emotionally riveting debut novel about war, family, and forbidden love-the unforgettable saga of two ill-fated lovers in Korea and the heartbreaking choices they're forced to make in the years surrounding… show more.