This week, we’re celebrating Jess Riley‘s newest novel, Mandatory Release! This snarky mash-up of “Girls” and “Oz” is so painfully honest you might think you’re reading a memoir—it’s a darkly comic, unexpectedly sexy love story about broken people putting themselves back together. In honor of her book, Jess has chosen five books that inspired her to write Mandatory Release:

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

A riveting exploration of the choices that define our lives, of friendship andlove, of the families we are born into and those we struggle to create. For every woman who has ever had a friend too dangerous to forgive and too essential to forget, Summer Sisters will glue you to every page, reading and remembering.

The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper

After writing a super-successful novel berating his hometown of Bush Falls, Connecticut, Joe Goffman must go back to the place he swore he’d never return to when his father has a stroke. But with the help of some old friends, Joe discovers that coming home isn’t all bad—and that maybe the best things in life are second chances.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

A strikingly clever and deeply romantic debut about falling in love with the person who makes you feel like the best version of yourself. Even if it’s someone you’ve never met.

The Wishbones by Tom Perrotta

When wedding band guitar player Dave Raymond is sent into a tailspin after the sudden death of a fellow musician, in a moment of weakness, he proposes to his longtime girlfriend, Julie. The engagement has hardly been announced when Dave meets Gretchen, a bridesmaid at one of the weddings at which Dave’s band, The Wishbones, play, and before long he’s having serious doubts about his own marital plans.

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Rob is good on music: he owns a small record shop and has strong views on what’s decent and what isn’t. But he’s much less good on relationships. The book is in one sense a love story, both sweet and interesting; most entertaining, though, are the hilarious arguments over arcane matters of pop music.

Pinterest PS – Take flight with this fun Pinterest board inspired by Mandatory Release!