Susan Choi with John Whittier Treat

The discovery of a family secret can add layers to any story; likewise, when a character questions her own memories or when others around her doubt those memories or make attempts at gaslighting. Add to that mixture a healthy pull between familial and national allegiance. Whether or not your real life background is fraught with these types of conflict or uncertainty, you might be a reader who enjoys escaping in the pages of stories that tackle such issues.

Novelist Susan Choi’s 2019 coming-of-age book Trust Exercise won the National Book [...]