The best books of September 2020, according to Amazon's editors

Set in post WWII Japan, this sweeping story about a love child left with her scandalized, and brutal, grandparents will have you rooting for its resilient heroine, Nori, who must summon the courage to assert her own identity and live life on her own terms.

In this powerful memoir that examines the ways in which institutionalized racism permeates our judicial system, Brittany K. Barnett describes her efforts to fight for the men and women unfairly incarcerated for minor drug offenses, including her own mother.

The latest in Louise Penny's beloved Inspector Gamache series finds our hero in Paris, investigating the attempted murder of his godfather. "All the Devils Are Here" is a great entry point into the popular series, and an intriguing origin story for the faithful. 

In Yaa Gyasi's highly anticipated follow-up to "Homegoing," a PhD candidate in neuroscience channels her studies into trying to understand the depression and addiction plaguing her family, while also mourning the imperfect but very real consolations her faith once provided.  

Best-selling author Fredrik Backman returns in a novel about an open house that turns into a hostage situation. But this is Backman so it's not a thriller! "Anxious People" is another reassuring and endearing yarn that will expand your empathy in unlikely places.   

A budding Egyptologist's life gets sidetracked by her mother's terminal cancer diagnosis in a profound novel by Jodi Picoult that explores the ways in which the decisions we make shape us.

The prequel to Ken Follett's juggernaut Kingsbridge series lives up to the hype. Set at the tail end of the Dark Ages when England was being constantly battered by the Vikings, it's a star-crossed love story, but also another sly critique of the so-called pious.

A well-researched and character driven history of the early years of the CIA, "The Quiet Americans" is not just about the work they do — much of it morally complex — but how it affects them as human beings.

For fans of Lori Gottlieb's "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone," a therapist recounts five of her most fascinating patients, with a focus on how heroic they are for overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. 

Based on the viral Buzzfeed article "How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation," Anne Helen Petersen does a deep dive into how former generations, especially the Boomer generation, have set Millennials up for failure.

A young girl forges a relationship with an estranged aunt, upending her life in ways that frighten and excite, and also change the way she sees her parents, the city she loves, and the other people around her.

In this unique and provocative work comprised of everything from personal musings, to tweets, to historical documents, and even Beyoncé lyrics, Claudia Rankine challenges herself and her readers to confront questions about bias, privilege, and racism.