Welcome to my September 2025 Favorite Books post! This monthly post is where I share the 5 star books I’ve read so far each month. You can see the first half of my September reading here and I will share the rest of my September reads next week. There is still a little bit of time left this month so if I have any additional 5 star reads they will be shared in next week’s post as well. The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.
Title: Wayward Girls
Author: Susan Wiggs
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow, 7/15/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
This historical fiction book is about girls who were housed in the care of nuns if they were considered troubled or in trouble, whether they were pregnant, attracted to girls, seen as promiscuous, etc. It takes place in Buffalo, NY in the 1960s. The main character is Mairin, whose step father is the real source of trouble, but she finds herself sent away to participate in free labor at the laundry in this home for wayward girls.
“In 1968 we meet six teens confined at the Good Shepherd—a dark and secretive institution controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns—locked away merely for being gay, pregnant, or simply unruly. Mairin— free-spirited daughter of Irish immigrants, committed to keep her safe from her stepfather. Angela—denounced for her attraction to girls, sent to the nuns for reform, but instead found herself the victim of a predator. Helen—the daughter of intellectuals detained in Communist China, she saw her “temporary” stay at the Good Shepherd stretch into years. Odessa—caught up in a police dragnet over a racial incident, she found the physical and mental toughness to endure her sentence. Denise—sentenced for brawling in a foster home, she dared to dream of a better life. Janice—deeply insecure, she couldn’t decide where her loyalty lay—except when it came to her friend Kay, who would never outgrow her childlike dependency. Sister Bernadette—rescued from a dreadful childhood, she owed her loyalty to the Sisters of Charity even as her conscience weighed on her. Wayward Girls is a haunting but thrilling tale of hope, solidarity, and the enduring strength of young women who find the courage to break free and find redemption…and justice.”
I loved this story and meeting the various girls that Mairin befriends. She is a determined character and I loved how she cared for the other girls. We see the women again in the present as they look for proof and payback for what happened to them.
Title: One of Them
Author: Kitty Zeldis
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Harper, 9/9/25
Source: PR for Author
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
One of Them is about Vassar students Anne and Delia. In the post WWII time period, they are both Jewish, but Anne hides her Judaism to fit in, and Delia does not, which may contribute to how she is ostracized by the other students. Both women end up traveling to Paris and their paths intersect as their journeys continue. I didn’t realize before reading that the book covers the time period leading up to the founding of Israel, and I thought it did a good job of showing the tensions and difficulties of that time.
“Anne Bishop seems like a typical Vassar sophomore—one of a popular group of privileged WASP friends. None of the girls in her circle has any idea that she’s Jewish, or that her real first name is Miriam. Pretending to be a Gentile has made life easier—as Anne, she no longer suffers the snubs, snide remarks, and daily restrictions Jews face. She enjoys her college life of teas, late-night conversations, and mixers. She turns a blind eye to the casual antisemitism that flourishes among her friends and classmates—after all, it’s no longer directed at her. But her secret life is threatened when she becomes fascinated by a girl not in her crowd. Delia Goldhush is sophisticated, stylish, brilliant, and unashamedly Jewish—and seems not to care that she’s an outcast among the other students. Knowing that her growing closeness with Delia would be social suicide if it were discovered, Anne keeps their friendship quiet. Delia seems to understand—until a cruelty on Anne’s part drives them apart and sends them scattering to other corners of the world, alone and together.”
I really liked reading about Anne and Delia and their lives playing out in this historical time period. I loved the friendship the two formed as their paths continued to cross.
Title: The Correspondent
Author: Virginia Evans
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Crown, 4/29/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
I’m so glad I was able to read this one as it was definitely a top read of the year for me! This epistolary novel reveals the life story of Sybil, now in her 70s, through the letters she writes and receives from family members and friends.
“Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter. Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.”
I loved how Sybil befriended people through writing, including the son of a former colleague and a customer service representative at a website about ancestry. I also loved that she wrote to authors about their books. During the time period of the story, Sybil’s former career as a law clerk comes back to haunt her and she remembers an old case that she feels regretful about. Learning about her life throughout the book made me love her and want her as a friend. Her life did include some sad and tragic events which may be difficult to read.
Title: Sisters In The Wind
Author: Angeline Boulley
Genre: YA Thriller
Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners, 9/2/25
Source: Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Love this series
My Rating: 5 Stars
I was so quick to download this because I have loved each other her other books and Isabella Star LeBlanc does an amazing job narrating them! This one brings back familiar characters and introduces Lucy, raised by a single father, followed by entry into foster care when he passes away.
“Ever since Lucy Smith’s father died five years ago, ‘home’ has been more of an idea than a place. She knows being on the run is better than anything waiting for her as a ‘ward of the state’. But when the sharp-eyed and kind Mr. Jameson with an interest in her case comes looking for her, Lucy wonders if hiding from her past will ever truly keep her safe. Five years in the foster system has taught her to be cautious and smart. But she wants to believe Mr. Jameson and his ‘friend-not-friend’, a tall and fierce-looking woman who say they want to look after her. They also tell Lucy the truth her father hid from her: She is Ojibwe; she has – had – a sister, and more siblings, a grandmother who’d look after her and a home where she would be loved. But Lucy is being followed. The past has destroyed any chance at safety she had. Will the secrets she’s hiding swallow her whole and take away any hope for the future she always dreamed of? When the past comes for revenge, it’s fight or flight.”
Lucy is not aware of her Ojibwe background and therefore is not protected by the Indian Child Welfare Act, ICWA, which itself is not used appropriately by those who should be protecting children. Lucy’s experiences in foster care are revealed in flashbacks, as in the present she is on the run and being followed. I loved listening to the unique and well told thriller aspects of the story, as well as getting to know the members of Lucy’s found family.
Come back next week for the rest of my September reads!
Do you have a favorite book you’ve read this month?
