As we settle into spring, I’m so excited to announce our @readwithjenna May pick — Caller Unknown by @gillianmauthor ! This is a fast-paced, electric thriller that will have you reading into the night.
Set in West Texas, this story is full of twists and turns. As exciting as it is, it is also a deep, tender story about motherhood and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love.
We rarely choose mysteries and thrillers in the book club, so I can’t wait for everyone to read this one. It’s out everywhere next Tuesday, 5/5, but you can preorder your copy now! ✨
The May 2026 Read with Jenna selection is "Caller Unknown" by @gillianmauthor !
For her May 2026 Read With Jenna pick, Jenna Bush Hager picked a thriller that “will keep you reading late into the evening."
The prolific British writer’s latest novel unfolds in a remote Texas landscape, where a mother visits her teenage daughter after she completes a summer acting program, only to realize things have gone drastically off-course.
Hit the link in bio to read more about the book, including TODAY.com's interview with McAllister, and pre-order your book today from your local indie bookstore! Pick it up when it hits shelves on May 5 and read along with us!
Your favorite author's favorite author's new release is our favorite read this month! CALLER UNKNOWN is a thriller set in Texas that showcases the lengths of a mother's love for her child. With fans like Liane Moriarty, Freida McFadden, Jodi Picoult, Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, Clare Mackintosh and Emily Henry, @gillianmauthor is one writer you won't be able to put down! Have you grabbed your copy yet? :books:
This one’s for the dreamers. PURE OX, my latest contribution, out January 2027.
Set in New York, it’s about Ox, an ordinary sanitation worker with big dreams of becoming a writer. After a chance encounter with a high-powered literary agent, his dream meets reality, and he’s soon being wined and dined by every major publisher, fighting to make sense of an industry that wants what he has, even if it doesn’t exactly welcome him with open arms. Tensions arise as sanitation workers go on strike, forcing Ox, like many of us, to wonder whether the duty we have to others is stronger than the duty we have to ourselves. As you can imagine, the novel has a lot of emotional ups and downs, but at its core, it’s a hopeful and humorous story centered around one question: How can we make the most of our lives and not waste a second?
Preorders are always appreciated. Link in bio. Thank ya. مردم ایران قلبم با شماست // People of Iran, my heart is with you
A new month brings new reads — lots and lots of them.
Find some books to look forward to this month, but far from the only ones! Do you recognize any of these titles?
We're finishing our first week with CALLER UNKNOWN as our Read with Jenna May 2026 pick! This thriller by @gillianmauthor is one that Jenna says “will keep you reading late into the evening.”
Have you picked up your copy yet? 📞
The May Read with Jenna selection is "Caller Unknown" by @gillianmauthor !
The book was called "an unputdownable adventure that was both heartwarming and thrilling" by @fmcfaddenauthor , and a book that "hit just right" for Jenna Bush Hager.
"Caller Unknown" is available wherever you get your books! Head to your local indie bookstore today and read along with us 💜
@gillianmauthor 's latest novel, "Caller Unknown," unfolds in a remote Texas landscape, where a mother visits her teenage daughter after she completes a summer acting program, only to realize things have gone drastically off-course.
The British writer was interested in exploring how Simone, the protagonist, and her husband, Damian, have drastically different reactions to the disappearance of their daughter, and calls the book "an ode to the Texan desert, to making the best out of every day even when all feels lost, and to loving somebody so much that, when tested, a mother might become the most dangerous woman in the room."
"Caller Unknown" is now available wherever you get your books! Head to your local indie bookstore and read along with us 📖
Link in bio for TODAY.com's interview with Gillian McAllister. 🔗
Lewis Pullman had a lot of fun working with Sally Field on "Remarkably Bright Creatures!" "She’s both a sage professional and like an eight-year-old at the same time," Pullman said. The book the movie is based on was a Read with Jenna pick, and Jenna and Pullman agreed that Sally's real-life playfulness mirrors her character Tova's.
It's the first day of May, and we are starting the month thinking about our Read with Jenna selection, CALLER UNKNOWN by @gillianmauthor !
The prolific British writer’s latest novel unfolds in a remote Texas landscape, where a mother visits her teenage daughter after she completes a summer acting program, only to realize things have gone drastically off-course.
“Yes, it is a book set in Texas, where I’m from, but also it’s a book that is about motherhood,” Jenna says when describing what drew her to the book. “What lengths we’ll go to to protect those we love.”
Pre-order your copy today, and pick it up when it hits shelves, May 5.
Link in bio for more about this month's pick, including TODAY.com's interview with McAllister. 🔗
