Reese Witherspoon has selected Cesca Major’s Maybe Next Time as the latest pick for her popular book club.
Major’s novel, published in March by Morrow, follows Emma, a literary agent in London, who relives the day of her husband’s death over and over again. A critic for Kirkus called the book “a story of mindfulness and joy in the small routines of love and family.”
Shortly after its release, Apple Studios acquired the film rights to Major’s novel; the movie adaptation will be produced by Witherspoon, with Major on board as an executive producer.
In an essay on the Reese’s Book Club website, Major said her novel was inspired by the early days of the Covid lockdown. “I needed escapism,” she wrote. “I knew then I wanted to write a great love story.…Part mystery, part love story, I wanted to write this book as a reminder of the many ways women are pulled in a hundred different directions. The many ways we push the things and the people we love down the list so that we can tick off other things.”
Witherspoon announced the book’s selection on Instagram, calling the book “fascinating.” Major—who also writes under the pen names C.D. Major, Rosie Blake, and Ruby Hummingbird—also posted about the novel’s selection on the social media platform, writing, “It’s a love letter to love, to the people in our lives and mostly to women—mothers or not—who shoulder so much extra stuff and stretch themselves thin. I hope you love it and THANK YOU FOREVER to Reese and her team for making my dreams come true.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
