Found Family Staff Picks (5/27/26)

We love a good found family trope, so here are some upcoming found family stories we are excited about!

AMANDA’S PICK: SWEET PEA BY KIT DE WAAL

This is an unforgettable story of a Black woman who creates her own chosen family after tragedy, in a tale of the enduring power of a mother’s love. When Paulette arrived on English shores as a girl, she left behind a grandmother in St. Kitts who called her “Sweet Pea” and taught her to embrace love and forgiveness. Years later, Paulette is left to grieve when her partner is killed in a car accident. After giving birth to her son, Bird, a twist of fate brings her face-to-face with the driver responsible, and the young grandson he is struggling to raise. Despite her grief, Paulette takes the boy under her wing, cooking him meals and letting him call her Sweet Pea. As the years go by, she discovers the value of forgiveness and the strength she has found in love. In the tradition of Alice McDermott, Colm Toibin and Anna Quindlen, Kit de Waal presents us with a tender and emotionally-compelling novel about the healing power of one woman’s love and care for her found family.

EMILY’S PICK: BRIDGET & GABE ARE NOT OKAY BY LEX CROUCHER

No one does found family quite like Lex Croucher. In this sequel to GWEN & ART ARE NOT IN LOVE, Camelot’s famous couples have fallen apart. With rumors swirling throughout the country of sightings of the holy grail, the questing beast, and the green knight, Gabriel, Arthur, Bridget, and Gwen—plus a whole round table of characters—head out on a quest to visit the towns. To quote Gwen, “And what a happy little tragedy we’ll be. Heartbreak, on tour.” Lex Croucher’s signature humor and storytelling are on full display in this delightful sequel. Everything I loved about the first book is here again in the second: the lovable found family, the heartwarming queer relationships, the laugh-out-loud banter, and the medieval adventures. But this book also delves deeper into themes of grief, mental health, and healing, as both Gabriel and Bridget find their way back to themselves—and their loves—after heartbreaking loss. For anyone who enjoys hilarious and heartfelt romps through history, the (aptly-named) Camelot Disasters series is sure to be a hit.

MARGO’S PICK: TO VEX & TO HEX BY NEENA NOON

TO VEX & TO HEX is a cozy, heartwarming, and spicy story set in an enchanting bookstore and filled with found family and small town charm. Lucy is a witch whose life revolves around Crawley Books. Crawley Books and its elderly owner, Charles, feel more like family than her own. But when Charles’ aggravating (but attractive) grandson, Grayson, arrives from Ireland to help after Charles breaks his hip, Lucy is determined to hex him into leaving. But Grayson is finally determined to mend his relationship with Charles, and begins vexing her to reclaim his place in his grandfather’s life. As shenanigans ensue, the two find they share feelings they’re both trying to ignore. If they can stop hexing and vexing, they might be able to take a chance on each other. With a charismatic group of characters, themes of reconciliation and healing family wounds, and lots of banter, this book is rich with feeling and emotional depth.

HALLIE’S PICK: NOBODY’S QUEST BY ALYSSA DAY

I love a story with a group of misfits that come together to form their own family, and NOBODY’S QUEST does just that. In a world devastated by a century of conquest under the war goddess Morrigan, a desperate new quest arises based on the literal interpretation of a prophecy: that “nobody” can defeat her. So when the goddess Artemisen chooses Soli—a nobody from the lowest caste who suffers from chronic depression—to lead one last desperate mission, the world laughs. But together with a group of five others just as broken as she is, they are humanity’s last chance. And maybe, just maybe, being a “nobody” is more powerful than anyone ever imagined. This is an epic fantasy with fantastic world-building, a touch of romance, and a ragtag group of misfits who come together to form a beautiful found family.