GMA Book Club List 2020
The GMA Book Club List 2020 is a complete list of the Good Morning America Book Club picks for 2020, along with reviews of books Jackie and I read. I wanted to make this list to see how the book choices change and evolve from year to year. I have been a fan of GMA for a long time, but I sometimes get confused about which book was released when. To keep it straight, I wanted to divide the full list by year.
Jackie and I read a lot of books, especially celebrity book club picks. We often get spoilers in advance, so we have the opportunity to read the book before the release dates. We want to ensure that we are reading the best books so we can give you the best recommendations. If you are looking for the complete Good Morning America Book Club List, I have that list too.
Whether you are reading the book for yourself or to read with a book club, picking your next book can be difficult. I hope this list helps give you some great ideas of what to read next. The GMA Book Club chooses a wide variety of books. You will find everything from YA fantasy to thrillers and historical fiction. Jackie and I consistently love the GMA book club picks.
*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you. Some books have been gifted. All opinions are our own.
The GMA Book Club List 2020
Long Bright River
Author: Liz Moore
Year: 2020
Genre: Fiction
More info: February 2020 GMA Book Club Pick
Age Range: 18+
Plot
The contemporary fiction story revolves around 2 sisters. One is a cop, one is an opioid addict – both are being impacted by a string of murders in the Kensington area of Philadelphia. This book dealt with many issues around drug addiction and it handles them without judging.
Trigger Warnings
Drug Addiction
Why Kirsten loves it
Long Bright River is phenomenal and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. The story takes place in Philly’s Kensington neighborhood which is known for having a huge opioid problem. You can’t live in my area and not know about the epidemic spreading through our city. It’s devastating and scary and this book deals with it head-on.
Adaptation
This TV series starring Amanda Seyfried came to Peacock in 2025.
Find this book in: Best Contemporary Fiction Novels / Books About Mental Illness / Novels About Addiction/ Best Books of 2020 / GMA Book Club list 2020
February 2020 – NO BOOK
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Author: Rebecca Serle
Year: 2020
Genre: Fiction
More info: March 2020 GMA Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋💋
Age Range: 18+
Plot
Dannie is an ambitious lawyer with a plan. She has her life planned out until she falls asleep and spends one hour in the future. Nothing is familiar- not her house, the ring on her finger, or the man by her side. When she wakes, she cannot get the images out of her head.
Trigger Warnings
Cancer, Grief
Why Jackie loves it
What a refreshing contemporary fiction book about the power of love and friendship. I sat down and read this book in one sitting easily. It is captivating from the first sentence and had me until the last page. I loved this time travel book, it was unexpected, unconventional, and a delight to read. It would also be a great one for book clubs! There is lots to discuss in this one.
Find this book in: Friendship Books / Contemporary Fiction Novels / Time Travel Books / GMA Book Club List 2020 / Books With Numbers in the Title
Oona Out of Order
Author: Margarita Montimore
Year: 2020
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
More info: April 2020 GMA Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range:16+
Plot
I absolutely loved this story about Oona who at the stroke of midnight on her 19th birthday, finds herself in her 51-year-old body. She is greeted by a stranger who is waiting for her in her home and tells her that every year, she will jump to another point in her life- she will live her life out of order.
This is an emotional, well-written story that will not only keep you quickly turning pages but also make you think about the small things in life that we take for granted.
Why Jackie loves it
This is such a unique book that left me wanting more with every turn of the page. Because this book is a nonlinear narrative, you never know what is going to happen or what age Oona will be.
Find this book in: New Year’s Eve Books / Best Time Travel Books / Nonlinear Narrative Novels / Feel-Good Books / Books Set in the 80s / GMA Book Club List 2020
The Book of V
Author: Anna Solomon
Year: 2020
Genre: fiction
More info: May 2020 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Plot
This is a story about the lives of three women whose stories overlap and show how the lives and roles of women have changed over three centuries, and remained stagnant at the same time. Lily is a mother, daughter, second wife, and aspiring writer. Vivian is a political wife and Esther is a young woman in Ancient Persia who is offered as a sacrifice to the king in the hope that she can save her people.
The Vanishing Half
Author: Brit Bennett
Year: 2020
Genre: Literary Historical Fiction
More info: June 2020 GMA Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
The premise of this book set in the 70s is so unique. Two black sisters are so pale they can pass for white. One embraces her black heritage and her hometown, the other disappears into white suburbia. When they meet up again 20 years later through their own daughters, the result is a stunning portrayal of the ties that tether us to our families.
Trigger Warnings
Racism, Domestic Abuse
Why Kirsten loves it
I adored Bennett’s debut book The Mothers so I was nervous to read her sophomore novel. Sometimes the next novel doesn’t live up to the first, but The Vanishing Half absolutely does with this wonderful and thought-provoking book.
Adaptation Information
Issa Rae is producing the movie adaptation of this book for HBO.
Find this book in: Books Becoming Movies / Thought-Provoking Books / Books Set in the 70s / Books About Sisters / Books by Female BIPOC Authors / Family Drama Books / Beach Reads 2021 / Best Books About Siblings
Sex and Vanity
Author: Kevin Kwan
Year: 2020
Genre: Romance
More info: July 2020 GMA Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋💋
Age Range:17+
Plot
Kevin Kwan is such a fun writer. I loved Crazy Rich Asians and this book is just as witty. However, this book deals with some more serious topics as Lucie Churchill find herself torn between the world of her father’s family and their WASP ways and her American-born Chinese mother.
Trigger Warnings
Racism, Antisemitism
Why Kirsten loves it
Lucie finds herself undeniably drawn to George Zao. When she meets him again 5 years later while with her fiance, things become more complicated. I love the way Kwan deals with the complex emotions in a story that is funny and completely engaging.
Find this book in: Good Morning America / Poolside Reads / Ultimate Beach Reads 2021 / GMA Book Club List 2020
The Lions of Fifth Avenue
Author: Fiona Davis
Year: 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
More info: August 2020 Good Morning America Book Club Pick, New York Times Bestseller
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
Laura is the wife of the NYPL’s superintendent and lives in an apartment within the historic institution. While already a mother, she is looking for more out of life and enrolls in journalism school. But when she’s out learning more about the world, she becomes more involved in the burgeoning women’s suffragette movement. Soon, she needs to determine where her loyalties lie.
In 1993, her granddaughter, Sadie is curious about her famous grandmother – particularly after she becomes a curator at the NYPL, solidifying her family legacy at the storied institution. When items from her exhibits go missing, she teams up with a private security expert to figure out who is behind the theft. But she’s not expecting the secrets to involve her family.
Trigger Warnings
Suicide
Why Kirsten loves it
This historical fiction novel about the New York Public Library is a dual-timeline mystery about rare books going missing from the library’s collection. Fiona Davis’s signature style had me basking in the vivid descriptions, making me feel as if I were standing inside the famed library. I adored the Gilded Age sections but was less enthralled by the present-day timeline.
Find this book in: Books About Libraries / Gilded Age Books / Books About Books / GMA Book Club List 2020 / Books With Numbers in the Title
Fifty Words for Rain
Author: Asha Lemmie
Year: 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
More info: September 2020 GMA Book Club Pick
Age Range: 16+
Plot
Let me start by saying that this is a beautifully written book that follows Noriko Kamiza from the time she is dropped off at her grandparents’ house and through her life. The story examines Japanese culture in a world after WWII.
Trigger Warnings
Racism, Suicide
Jackie’s Thoughts
Nothing good happens in this book. Nothing. If I had known this before I read it, I may have liked it more. This Saga follows Nori through hardship and loss. It is a beautiful book but it left me miserable.
Find this book in: Good Morning America / Books Set in Japan / GMA Book Club List 2020
The Midnight Library
Author: Matt Haig
Year: 2020
Genre: Time Travel Fiction
More info: October 2020 GMA Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 18+
Plot
The story is about a library with books filled with the infinite possibilities of the lives not lived. Have you ever wondered about a choice, or a path not taken?
When Nora finds herself in the library she is forced to face the choices that she made in her life- relationships, education, profession… The books in the library are endless, each an alternate reality of the endless life choices. Nora has to decide what kind of life she wants to live.
Trigger Warnings
Suicide
Why Jackie loves it
I loved Matt Haig’s last book and was so excited to read this one. This is a magical time travel book and I loved every minute of getting to know Nora’s paths untravelled. Matt Haig is a master of magical realism.
Find this book in: Time Travel Books / Books About Books / Time Loop Books / Magical Realism / Best Books of 2020 / Adult Fantasy Novels / Books About Libraries / Ultimate Beach Reads 2021
Memorial
Author: Bryan Washington
Genre: Fiction
Release Date: October 2020
More info: November 2020 Good Morning America Book Club Pick, Stonewall Book Award Winner, 2021
Plot
Mike is a Japanese American chef and Benson is a Black day care teacher. They have been together for a few years, but other than the fact that they love each other, they cannot remember why they are a couple. When Mike finds out his estranged father is dying, he goes to Japan to say goodbye. It is here that he learns about his family and his past. Meanwhile, his mother is back in Houston with Benson. They are roommates who might actually help each other get what they want from life.
This Time Next Year
Author: Sophie Cousens
Year: 2020
Genre: Romance
More info: December 2020 GMA Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋💋
Age Range: 18+
Plot
When two women are in the hospital in labor and there is one huge cash prize for the first baby born in 1990, one child, Quinn, will be born into a charmed life and the other will be named Minnie Cooper. When Minnie meets Quinn on the eve of their thirtieth birthday, well, it is the meet-cute of the decade.
Why Jackie loves it
If I could see this romantic comedy on the big screen, I would love every second. This is an enemies-to-lovers book at its best.
Find this book in: Best Holiday Books / New Year’s Eve Books / GMA Book Club List 2020
Expert Tip
The GMA Book Club has chosen so many great books since it began in 2019 that it can be hard to choose your next book. Here are some helpful hints:
- The GMA Book Club offers the widest variety of genres among all celebrity book clubs. If you love mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, or fantasy, the GMA Book Club might be your best bet to find a book you love.
- Are you a “Kirsten” or a “Jackie”? Have a look at our reviews of the books to help you choose
- This list includes books that may not be on other lists because we did not love all the books. Have a look at the thoughts section.
- If the description says “why I love it”, it’s a 4 or 5-star book.
- If it says “why I like it”, it’s a 3-star book.
- If it says “thoughts”, it was not a winner for Jackie or me.
- If you love a certain genre, pick a book from that genre as your next read.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best book from the GMA Book Club List 2020?
The best book from the GMA book club list 2020 is Long Bright River by Liz Moore. This fiction is a powerful story of two sisters. One is a cop and the other is an opioid addict. It is an unforgettable story.
Is there a YA pick for the GMA book club in 2020?
No. As a matter of fact, the GMA book club only picked eleven books in 2020. There was no pick in February 2020.
Epilogue
What is your favorite book from the GMA book club list 2020?
