Bookstore employee Nina Hill likes to read—a lot. She also enjoys keeping an uberdetailed planner and not digressing from her schedule, even if it involves doing nothing. Similar to Greta Garbo, she wants to be left alone—by most people. She likes her quirky coworkers, her trivia team members, and her cat, Phil. She doesn't want anything to do with her newly discovered family or Tom, the good-looking sports buff on a rival trivia team. Now seems like a perfect time for Nina to come out of her shell, but is she ready or even able? Waxman's third novel (The Garden of Small Beginnings) is full of pop culture references (bonus points for readers who catch the Men at Work one), and the handwritten planner entries are reminiscent of those in Bridget Jones's diary. However, the third-person narration doesn't really work here—Nina would tell her story better—and the occasional sexual references don't fit the book's innocent tone. VERDICT Will appeal to chick lit fans who enjoy copious rapid-fire dialog. [See Prepub Alert, 1/23/19.]—Samantha Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY

In this love letter to book nerds, Waxman (The Garden of Small Beginnings) introduces the extraordinary introvert Nina Hill. Nina, who grew up on the east side of L.A. in Larchmont, Calif., has never wanted to leave her hometown. She loves her apartment, with its shelves of books; her cat; and her job as a clerk at a book shop. Filling her time with trivia nights, movies, book club, yoga class, and, of course, reading, she feels she has the perfect life. Then, one day at work, a lawyer shows up and tells her of the death of the father she never knew and the existence of his huge extended family. As Nina gets to know her newfound relatives, who all live in Southern California, she also notices a handsome and charming trivia rival, Tom, who seems to be taking an equal interest in Nina. With witty dialogue and a running sarcastic inner monologue ("Moms of a certain age know dozens of people through various channels, so they have to perform this human form of canine butt sniffing all the goddamn time"), Waxman brings Nina to vibrant life as she upends her introverted routine and become part of the family. Fans of Jojo Moyes will love this. (July)