This Father’s Day we’re highlighting six titles that explore fatherhood in all its various forms and with all the love, grief, sacrifice, and joy that comes with this role. From an alternative fiction novel about a father who must fight the forces of evil to a poignant memoir about one woman’s unorthodox father and an expansive literary novel about finding peace with your family while following your dreams, these six books show fatherhood in all its iterations across time, cultures, and circumstances.

And if you’re looking for a gift your own father might want to read, check out this list on Bookshop.org!

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson

Stephen, a first-generation Londoner born to Ghanaian immigrant parents, is on the cusp of big life changes. He feels pressured to follow a certain path—a university degree, a move out of home—but when he decides instead to follow his first love, music, his world and family fractures in ways he didn’t foresee. Now Stephen must find a path and peace for himself: a space he can feel beautiful, a space he can feel free.

“This novel is about the dynamic between a father and son over three summers  . . . but it is also about music, and dancing, and those pleasures in life that are simple and yet also everything.”—Esquire

 

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

In this beloved New York Times bestseller, Reuben Land, an eleven-year-old asthmatic boy,  has reason to believe in miracles. But he will soon learn that life, even when touched by the divine, is never easy. Along with his father and poetically inclined sister, Reuben finds himself on a cross-country search for his outlaw older brother who has been controversially charged with murder.

“Boldly romantic and unabashedly appealing, a collage of legends from sources sacred and profane—from the Old Testament to the Old West, from the Gospels to police dramas. It’s a journey you simply must not miss.”—Ron Charles, Christian Science Monitor

 

Touched by Walter Mosley

Martin, his wife, and his two children are the only Black family on their neighborhood block in L.A. When Martin Just wakes up one morning he suddenly knows two things: Humanity is a virus destined to destroy all existence. And that he is the Cure. Filled with intergalactic visions, deadly threats, and explosive standoffs between mostly good and nearly completely evil, Touched is perfect for fans of  Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, and Jeff VanderMeer.

“An expansive dystopian fantasy that is equally sexy and incisive.”—Entertainment Weekly

 

Bad, Bad Seymour Brown by Susan Isaacs

EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE FOR THE SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD

New York Times-bestselling author Susan Isaacs returns to a pair of her readers’ favorite characters, former FBI agent Corie Geller and her retired cop dad, who must solve one of the NYPD’s coldest homicide cases—before the crime’s sole survivor is killed

“Offbeat characters, witty narration, and a winsome father-daughter dynamic complement Isaacs’s clever if madcap plot. Fans of breezy suspense will be delighted.”—Publishers Weekly

 

Dadland by Keggie Carew

A poignant and engaging family memoir about a daughter who is racing to assemble her father’s story—one that includes parachuting into France and Burma for British special forces during World War II—as his mind dissolves into dementia.

“Part memoir, part biography, part military history, Carew’s first book is also a lovingly unconventional elegy for a generation.”—Dawn Raffel, San Francisco Chronicle

 

 

Frighten the Horses by Oliver Radclyffe (Out September 17)

A trans man’s coming of age story, about a housewife who comes out as a lesbian and tentatively, at first, steps into the world of queerness. The story of a flawed, fascinating, gorgeously queer man, Frighten the Horses introduces Oliver Radclyffe as a witty, arresting, unforgettable voice.

“The finest literary telling of the experience of gender transition that I’ve ever read. It’s a terrific, expansive story because the focus of this warm-hearted man always returns to his children. He’s simply a wonderful parent, and that’s what keeps the reader turning the pages.”—Kate Bornstein, author of Gender Outlaw