5 Best Sarah Jessica Parker Book Club Picks For Summer—Including One She Calls ‘Beautifully Imagined’
The actress’ must-read novels span space, war and secrets
Key Takeaways
- Sarah Jessica Parker's SJP Lit imprint focuses on publishing women's stories.
- Parker calls 'The Radiant Dark' a 'beautifully imagined' story about motherhood.
- Her picks span genres, from WWII fiction to a secret alien contact story.
Sarah Jessica Parker knows how to curate a collection worth obsessing over. The Sex and the City star has quietly built one of Hollywood’s most trusted book clubs through her publishing imprint, SJP Lit, dedicated to what she calls “women’s stories.” “I’m not exclusively interested in them, but I seem to be drawn to them,” Sarah told Today in May 2024, “and I think that’s because for so long, I didn’t see them as much in contemporary fiction, so skillfully and masterfully offered.” Below, we’re sharing her five best book picks for summer, including one Sarah herself calls “a beautifully imagined story.”
The five best books from Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint
From space adventures to WWII romances here are the five best books from Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint SJP Lit.
‘The Radiant Dark’ by Alexandra Oliva
This SJP Lit book, a USA Today Bestseller set in the Adirondacks in 1980 follows Carol Girard and her husband as they navigate life with their newborn. While Carol knows she should be overjoyed, she can’t shake a lingering sadness. Everything changes one night when she sees a mysterious flickering light in the sky—which the government says is a mysterious communication from aliens in a distant galaxy. The discovery ignites an unexpected passion in the Girard family, and soon they find themselves at the center of humanity’s first contact. As it turns out, they might be the key to cracking the alien message and changing the world forever.
What Sarah says: “It’s sweeping and intimate. A beautifully imagined story about motherhood, ambition, longing, and what it means to be human in the face of the unknown. I can’t wait for you to read it.”
What readers are saying: “I don’t even know how to properly describe this book… it was just incredible. It felt like I lived an entire life alongside these characters, and now that it’s over, I feel a little lost. It made me feel everything. It made me think about my own life, my own mortality, and how the world will keep going long after I’m gone.”
‘The Story of the Forest’ by Linda Grant
In 1913, Mina and her brother Jossel boarded a ship from a forest near the Baltic Sea to England. When they arrive, WWI breaks out. Jossel is sent to the front lines, where he saves a fellow soldier’s life. As a thank you, the soldier vows to marry Mina if he survives the war. As time passes, drama, love and loss unfold in unexpected ways. Based on the author’s own family history and legends, this SJP Lit book is a perfect read for the summer.
What Sarah says: “You are in for a treat. Inspired by the author’s own family legend, The Story of the Forest is a remarkable tale of one European Jewish family spanning decades and generations, from 1913 Latvia to post-war Liverpool and modern-day London.”
What readers are saying: “I could not put this down, and what left me in floods of tears was the postscript. What an amazing undertaking! I cannot wait for the next story Linda Grant will share with us!”
‘Women and Children First’ by Alina Grabowski
Set in a small Massachusetts town, this SJP Lit novel begins after a young woman dies at a house party under mysterious circumstances. The death shatters the tight-knit community, but no one is more devastated than the young girl’s mother. What begins as a tragic loss quickly spirals into a dangerous blame game as neighbors turn on each other, desperate to uncover the killer’s identity before they strike again.
What Sarah says: “Those first pages were just power—so alive and you immediately feel this attraction to this young person and her life. It’s just so skillfully and so quickly given to us that you’re like—and that’s why people respond the way they have to this book, which is like, critically and commercially, it’s just found its way.”
What readers are saying: “This book is perfect. From the way Alina Grabowski structured this story, to the glimpses of the different lives we’re allowed to see because of this structure, there is so much feeling and emotion weaved throughout the pages.”
‘These Days’ by Lucy Caldwell
If you love WWII novels, then don’t miss this one by Lucy Caldwell, printed by SJP Lit in April 2025. Set in 1941 Belfast, the plot follows sisters Emma and Audrey. One is about to get married and the other is in a secret relationship. But as the bombs continue to fall during the Belfast Blitz, both sisters are forced to figure out what and who they want—even as death, lies and secrets complicate everything. What follows is a battle of love, loss and sisterhood.
What Sarah says: “What a treat and a joy to be able to bring Lucy Caldwell’s novel These Days to US readers with SJP Lit. These Days is a stunning WWII novel about two sisters during the Belfast Blitz. A story about girlhood, family and resilience.”
What readers are saying: “I was deeply moved by this intimate, emotionally charged story. The sisters’ struggles are rendered in vivid, heartfelt prose, and the tension of living under the constant threat of violence is palpable. What stayed with me most was the novel’s attention to the quiet, everyday moments of life—how war disrupts not just cities, but the hopes, identities and choices of ordinary people.”
‘Room 706’ by Ellie Levenson
Suspenseful, thrilling and page-turning, this SJP Lit novel has it all. Kate’s world revolves around her child and her husband—they are everything to her. But as she gets older, Kate begins to yearn for something more, something just for herself. She starts a secret affair, meeting her lover at a hotel to escape her everyday life. But when her lover becomes possessive and traps her in the hotel, everything changes. Now Kate must confront her secrets and find a way out.
What Sarah says: “Poignant, immersive and utterly human, I adored this brilliant novel.”
What readers are saying: “This story is about love, fear, death and forgiveness. It’s about looking back, evaluating and trying to move forward not knowing what the future could possibly entail. Room 706 is an incredible life journey which will jolt you.”
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