A mysterious pandemic causes a quarter of the world to permanently lose the ability to sleep--without any apparent health implications. The outbreak creates a new class of people who are both feared and ostracized, most of whom optimize their extra hours to earn more money.

Aleford, Massachusetts. The Fairchild family is in lockdown mode as the pandemic spreads. Tom continues his sermons from Zoom; their children, Ben, who's in college, and Amy, a high school senior, are doing remote learning at home. Town halls remain lively and well-attended, despite residents joining from their living rooms. In the midst of one Zoom meeting, damaging images suddenly flash upon everyone's screens. Claudia, the local art teacher, is...

"As a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and on-again, off-again friend, William. For the next several months, it's just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea. Rich with empathy and emotion, Lucy by the Sea vividly captures the fear and struggles that come with isolation,...

"From the internationally bestselling author of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, a moving tale of forbidden love and extraordinary courage in the face of disaster. Eighteen-year-old Niri and his family live a modest but secure life working in the villa of the wealthy Benzes. But when the pandemic comes, they are all let go, and left staring into the abyss of abject poverty. As their situation grows increasingly desperate, the once rule-abiding monastery...