Books about Chosen Family: Books and Bites Podcast, Ep. 95

On this episode, we discuss books about chosen or found family, one of the prompts on the Summer-Fall Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. 

According to library database NoveList, books with this theme focus on families "formed by choice, rather than birth." Close friends, nontraditional families, and people who bond over their circumstances can all form chosen families.

Our picks include a YA novel about a found family of unhoused teens trying to save the world; an alternative history about a ragtag crew working to rid the Mississippi River of its feral hippo problem; and a historical novel about a chosen family in post-World War II England and Italy.

Jacqueline's Pick: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

Riordan weaves Norse mythology into a mythical fantasy novel for modern day teen readers. When main character Magnus’s mother is murdered in their Boston apartment by wolves, he becomes homeless. 

Magnus keeps ahead of the truant officers and the wolves who killed his mother with the help of two other homeless teens. The three teens become close and look out for each other on the streets of Boston.

On his sixteenth birthday, Magnus learns that he is the son of a Norse god, Frey. Magnus is the only one who can retrieve weapons that can save the world from doomsday (Ragnarök).

Pairing: Perfect homemade falafel in honor of Arab American character Sam.

Michael's Pick: River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey

This alternate history tale introduces us to a late 19th Century U.S. where hippos have been introduced into the Mississippi River that runs through Louisiana. 

The story opens with the federal government hiring Winslow Houndstooth, a former hippo rancher, to assemble a crew to take care of the feral hippo problem before the river's crumbling dam fails. This ragtag group forms a highly dysfunctional chosen family. 

This hippo caper, or operation, as Winslow would say, is action-packed with hippo mayhem and full of colorful, interesting characters.

Pairing: A 19th century hippo romp calls for a 19th century New Orleans cocktail, the La Louisiane.

Carrie's Pick: Still Life by Sarah Winman

Still Life is a witty, sprawling historical novel about art, love, and friendship. It opens in WWII-era Florence, Italy, where 24 year-old British soldier Ulysses "Temps" Temper meets a kindred spirit, sixty-something art historian Evelyn Skinner.

Their time together in Florence is brief, with Temps and Evelyn's lives diverging into parallel narratives. Each forms their own chosen families, but will these two friends ever reunite?

Still Life spans the years 1901-1979, and plenty of things happen during that time. But relationships are the focus of this character-driven, leisurely paced novel.

Pairing: Pasta with olive oil and chili. Learn how to make two fresh pasta versions on the Pasta Grannies YouTube channel: "How to make an easy garlic, chilli & pepper pasta - with a twist!" and "Enjoy Maria's garlic, chili pepper & olive oil dressed 'sthridhlja' pasta!" 

Or make it using dried pasta with a recipe from the blog Saturdays in Rome.