“Memories are simply moments that refuse to be ordinary” – Diane Keaton, Then Again
FICTION
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey ★
“That girl’s got more wrong notions than a barn owl’s got mean looks.”
Esther is a stowaway. She’s hidden herself away in the Librarian’s book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her–a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda.
The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.
Description from Goodreads.
“A dazzling neo-western adventure… Gailey’s gorgeous writing and authentic characters make this slim volume a pure delight.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Full of just as much heart and grit as flashy horseback riding and wiley gunfights, Upright Women Wanted blends the feel of a western with a very modern commentary on learning to embrace one’s identity and find one’s people.” – The Nerd Daily
“In this near-future Western, the only thing standing against a fascist dystopia is a group of gunslinging, roving librarians—which is basically the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.” – Literary Hub
“Upright Women Wanted centers a group of strong people willing to stand up against the patriarchy and I am HERE for it. This book conveys so much in such a short period of time and I need everyone to start talking about it.” – Novel Knight
Available Formats:
Print Book
Everywhere You Don’t Belong by Gabriel Bump
In this alternately witty and heartbreaking debut novel, Gabriel Bump gives us an unforgettable protagonist, Claude McKay Love. Claude isn’t dangerous or brilliant—he’s an average kid coping with abandonment, violence, riots, failed love, and societal pressures as he steers his way past the signposts of youth: childhood friendships, basketball tryouts, first love, first heartbreak, picking a college, moving away from home.
Claude just wants a place where he can fit. As a young black man born on the South Side of Chicago, he is raised by his civil rights–era grandmother, who tries to shape him into a principled actor for change; yet when riots consume his neighborhood, he hesitates to take sides, unwilling to let race define his life. He decides to escape Chicago for another place, to go to college, to find a new identity, to leave the pressure cooker of his hometown behind. But as he discovers, he cannot; there is no safe haven for a young black man in this time and place called America.
Percolating with fierceness and originality, attuned to the ironies inherent in our twenty-first-century landscape, Everywhere You Don’t Belong marks the arrival of a brilliant young talent.
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] pointedly affecting debut novel… With deft writing and rat-a-tat, laugh-until-you-gasp-at-the-implications dialog, Bump delivers a singular sense of growing up black that will resonate with readers.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
[A] spiraling coming-of-age tale about abandonment and perseverance… sparks with originality… The ripped from the headlines plot of Everywhere You Don’t Belong draws instant interest.” – Foreword Reviews
“[An] astute and touching debut… Bump balances his heavy subject matter with a healthy dose of humor, but the highlight is Claude, a complex, fully developed protagonist who anchors everything. Readers will be moved in following his path to young adulthood.” – Publishers Weekly
Available Formats:
Hoopla eBook
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata
In 1929 in New Orleans, a Dominican immigrant named Adana Moreau writes a science fiction novel titled Lost City. It is a strange and beautiful novel, set in a near future where a sixteen-year-old Dominican girl, not all that unlike Adana herself, searches for a golden eternal city believed to exist somewhere on a parallel Earth. Lost City earns a modest but enthusiastic readership, and Adana begins a sequel. Then she falls gravely ill. Just before she dies, she and her son, Maxwell, destroy the only copy of the manuscript.
Decades later in Chicago, Saul Drower is cleaning out his dead grandfather’s home when he discovers a mysterious package containing a manuscript titled A Model Earth, written by none other than Adana Moreau.
Who was Adana Moreau? How did Saul’s grandfather, a Jewish immigrant born on a steamship to parents fleeing the aftershocks of the Russian Revolution, come across this unpublished, lost manuscript? Where is Adana Moreau’s mysterious son, Maxwell, a theoretical physicist, and why did Saul’s grandfather send him the manuscript as his final act in life? With the help of his friend Javier, Saul tracks down an address for Maxwell in New Orleans, which is caught at that moment in the grip of Hurricane Katrina. Unable to reach Maxwell, Saul and Javier head south through the heartland of America toward that storm-ravaged city in search of answers.
Blending the high-stakes mystery of The Shadow of the Wind, the science fiction echoes of Exit West, and the lyrical signatures of Bolaño and Márquez, Michael Zapata’s debut shines a breathtaking new light on the experiences of displacement and exile that define our nation. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a brilliantly layered masterpiece that announces the arrival of a bold new literary talent.
Description from Goodreads.
“As intriguing as the plot may sound upfront, it can’t speak to the otherworldly beauty of Michael Zapata’s writing. Don’t even bother trying to mark all the gorgeous passages that give you goosebumps, because there wouldn’t be much left unmarked. Zapata’s lyrical style has firm roots in Gabriel García Márquez’s work, with a boldness of delivery to the tune of Jorge Luis Borges… Zapata has treated us to a thrillingly mysterious storyline with a beautiful payoff.” – BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
“Exquisite… Zapata shows that the multiverses we crave are contained within each person, each event. Every new story we hear is a parallel universe in our own backyard, if only we cultivate the ability to listen.” – Little Village Magazine
“Zapata spins an iridescent web of grief, loss, and memory… A lush, spellbinding tale.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Available Formats:
Print Book
Black Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abraham
“I like the idea of a god who knows what it’s like to be a twin. To have no memory of ever being alone.”
Twin sisters Bibike and Ariyike are enjoying a relatively comfortable life in Lagos in 1996. Then their mother loses her job due to political strife, and the family, facing poverty, becomes drawn into the New Church, an institution led by a charismatic pastor who is not shy about worshipping earthly wealth.
Soon Bibike and Ariyike’s father wagers the family home on a “sure bet” that evaporates like smoke. As their parents’ marriage collapses in the aftermath of this gamble, the twin sisters and their two younger siblings, Andrew and Peter, are thrust into the reluctant care of their traditional Yoruba grandmother. Inseparable while they had their parents to care for them, the twins’ paths diverge once the household shatters. Each girl is left to locate, guard, and hone her own fragile source of power.
Written with astonishing intimacy and wry attention to the fickleness of fate, Tola Rotimi Abraham’s Black Sunday takes us into the chaotic heart of family life, tracing a line from the euphoria of kinship to the devastation of estrangement. In the process, it joyfully tells a tale of grace and connection in the midst of daily oppression and the constant incursions of an unremitting patriarchy. This is a novel about two young women slowly finding, over twenty years, in a place rife with hypocrisy but also endless life and love, their own distinct methods of resistance and paths to independence.
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] piercing, supple debut… Abraham stuffs her novel past brimming, but its sophisticated structure and propulsive narration allow her to tuck in a biting critique of corrupt colonial religion and universally exploitative men… Twin sisters cut adrift in a perilous, duplicitous world learn that ‘only the wise survive.’ A formidable debut.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Abraham’s fierce debut follows four Nigerian siblings living in Lagos from childhood in 1996 through early adulthood in 2015… The novel’s strength lies in its lush, unflinching scenes, as when a seemingly simple infection leads gradually but inexorably to a life-threatening condition, revealing the dynamics of the family and community along the way. Abraham mightily captures a sense of the stresses of daily life in a family, city, and culture that always seems on the edge of self-destruction.” – Publishers Weekly
“This may be her first book, but Tola Abraham’s storytelling power is immediately apparent―lush, sharp, and shot through with hope!” – Well-Read Black Girl
Available Formats:
Hoopla eBook | Hoople eAudiobook
A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next door―an apparently traditional family with new money, ambition, and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter.
Thanks to his thriving local business, Brad Whitman is something of a celebrity around town, and he’s made a small fortune on his customer service and charm, while his wife, Julia, escaped her trailer park upbringing for the security of marriage and homemaking. Their new house is more than she ever imagined for herself, and who wouldn’t want to live in Oak Knoll? With little in common except a property line, these two very different families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie’s yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers.
Told from multiple points of view, A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today―What does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don’t see eye to eye?―as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.
Description from Goodreads.
“Riveting… Fowler empathetically conjures nuanced characters we won’t soon forget, expertly weaves together their stories, and imbues the plot with a sense of inevitability and urgency. In the end, she offers an opportunity for catharsis as well as a heartfelt, hopeful call to action. Traversing topics of love, race, and class, this emotionally complex novel speaks to–and may reverberate beyond–our troubled times.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“…fascinating… The plot is skillfully executed, delving into each character’s complexities fully enough that their choices make perfect sense. This page-turner delivers a thoughtful exploration of prejudice, preconceived notions, and what it means to be innocent in the age of an opportunistic media.” – Publishers Weekly
“In a departure from her best-selling historical fiction… Fowler writes a searing story of a neighborhood in present-day America, shining a spotlight on the effects of class and race as two families collide in a small, gentrifying community… Fowler skillfully renders her characters and their experiences into an unforgettable, heartbreaking story. Great for book clubs and fans of Tayari Jones and Jodi Picoult.” – Library Journal
Available Formats:
Print Book | Playaway | eBook | eAudiobook
The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren’t really honest with each other. But what if they were? And so he writes–in a plain, green journal–the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It’s run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves–and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica’s Café.
The Authenticity Project‘s cast of characters–including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life is a lot less perfect than it looks online; and their other new friends–is by turns quirky and funny, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. It’s a story about being brave and putting your real self forward–and finding out that it’s not as scary as it seems. In fact, it looks a lot like happiness.
The Authenticity Project is just the tonic for our times that readers are clamoring for–and one they will take to their hearts and read with unabashed pleasure.
Description from Goodreads.
“A well-suited subject for the Instagram era, this book makes you realize that no one’s life is what it seems.” – Good Morning America
“[A] wistful, humorous tale… a beautiful and illuminating story of self-creation.” – Publishers Weekly
“An enjoyable, cozy novel that touches on tough topics.” – Kirkus Reviews
Available Formats:
Playaway
The Freedom Artist by Ben Okri
In a world uncomfortably like our own, a young woman called Amalantis is arrested for asking a question. Her question is this: Who is the Prisoner?
When Amalantis disappears, her lover Karnak goes looking for her. He searches desperately at first, then with a growing realization that to find Amalantis, he must first understand the meaning of her question.
Karnak’s search leads him into a terrifying world of lies, oppression, and fear at the heart of which lies the Prison. Then Karnak discovers that he is not the only one looking for the truth.
The Freedom Artist is an impassioned plea for justice and a penetrating examination of how freedom is threatened in a post-truth society. In Ben Okri’s most significant novel since the Booker Prize–winning The Famished Road, he delivers a powerful and haunting call to arms.
Description from Goodreads.
“The Freedom Artist represents a heady jumble of influence and inspiration, a tapestry of biblical reference, mythology, folklore and fable. The lyrical simplicity of Okri’s prose, with its short sentences and chapters, only heightens the power of the novel’s political message.” – Financial Times
“A multilayered allegorical narrative that cuts to the heart of our current political and cultural malaise, while maintaining a mythical, mesmeric flavor that makes the reader feel these are stories they have always known… It’s savagely political, disturbing and fiercely optimistic, the deeply felt work of a writer who refuses to stop asking the hardest questions.” – The Guardian
“Ben Okri’s most significant novel since his Man Booker Prize-winning masterpiece The Famished Road, The Freedom Artist weaves together ancient myth and modern politics for an impassioned story primed for the post-truth age. A story of love and loss, fiercely told and impossible to ignore.” – Waterstones
Available Formats:
Hoopla eAudiobook
trans(re)lating house one by Poupeh Missaghi
In the aftermath of Iran’s 2009 election, a woman undertakes a search for the statues disappearing from Tehran’s public spaces. A chance meeting alters her trajectory, and the space between fiction and reality narrows. As she circles the city’s points of connection–teahouses, buses, galleries, hookah bars–her many questions are distilled into one: How do we translate loss into language?
Melding several worlds, perspectives, and narrative styles, trans(re)lating house one translates the various realities of Tehran and its inhabitants into the realm of art, helping us remember them anew.
Description from Goodreads.
“An ambitious, important book, erudite and anguished, about the role of writer as witness.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Missaghi’s lyrical, meditative debut merges fiction, poetry, and critical study to explore Iran’s history and volatile present… a bravura exhibition of writing as performance art.” – Publisher’s Weekly
“Missaghi, a writer, translator, editor and teacher, uses a fragmented style, veering from journalism to magical realism, to tell a fragmented story that produces no answers, only questions: ‘Will the trauma ever stop being inherited? Will humans ever change?’” – The Millions
Available Formats:
Hoopla eBook
Real Life by Adeline Dieudonné
At home there are four rooms: one for her, one for her brother, one for her parents… and one for the carcasses. The father is a big game hunter, a powerful predator; the mother is submissive to her violent husband’s demands. The young narrator spends the days with her brother, playing in the shells of cars dumped for scrap and listening out for the chimes of the ice-cream truck, until a brutal accident shatters their world.
The uncompromising pen of Adeline Dieudonné wields flashes of brilliance as she brings her characters to life in a world that is both dark and sensual. This breathtaking debut is a sharp and funny coming-of-age tale in which reality and illusion collide.
Description from Goodreads.
“Dieudonné’s startling debut tackles dark themes with grace, wit, and sincerity. A deeply disturbing, furiously tender, and darkly comedic debut.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Transforming the traditional coming-of-age novel, Adeline Dieudonné’s successful first work is a captivating, unnerving take on emancipation and the hope of escaping violence.” – France-Amérique
“When the innocence of fairy tales meets the terror of a Stephen King thriller.” – RTL
Available Formats:
Hoopla eBook
The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck
Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.
Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.
Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.
Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.
Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.
When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to bear their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.
Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.
Description from Goodreads.
“Examining how the tales we tell have the power to hurt and to heal, Hauck’s crossover novel is for both romance and inspirational readers. Its message will resonate with readers long after the last page.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“…exhilarating… Hauck inspires and uplifts with this mix of tales. Readers who enjoy Karen Kingsbury will love this.” – Publishers Weekly
“…an emotional ride that only Rachel Hauck can take you on. Everything she touches is pure genius.” – Captivated Reading
Available Formats:
Hoopla eAudiobook
Vera Violet by Melissa Anne Peterson
Vera Violet recounts the dark story of a rough group of teenagers growing up in a twisted rural logging town. There are no jobs. There is no sense of safety. But there is a small group of loyal friends, a truck waiting with the engine running, a pair of boots covered in blood, and a hot 1911 with a pearl pistol grip.
Vera Violet O’Neely’s home is in the Pacific Northwest—not the glamorous scene of coffee bars and craft beers, but the hardscrabble region of busted pickups and broken dreams. Vera’s mother has left, her father is unstable, and her brother is deeply troubled. Against this gritty background, Vera struggles to establish a life of her own, a life fortified by her friends and her hard-won love. But the relentless poverty coupled with the twin lures of crystal meth and easy money soon shatter fragile alliances.
Her world violently torn apart, Vera is forced to leave everything behind and move to St. Louis, Missouri. She settles into a job at an inner-city school where she encounters the same disarray of community. And alone in her small apartment, Vera grieves. She thinks about her family and the love of her life, Jimmy James Blood. In this brilliant, explosive debut, Melissa Anne Peterson establishes herself as a fresh, raw voice, a writer to be reckoned with.
Description from Goodreads.
“Dark and explosive… The novel offers no easy solutions but rather delves into the psychology of poverty and the vicious cycles that come with trying to survive. There’s no preaching. Instead, Peterson brings life to a host of memorable characters whose struggles are seared into readers’ brains. Vera Violet announces the arrival of a new writer who is comfortable with her craft and knows how to relay a story in vivid and affecting detail. Vera Violet packs a powerful punch.” – Shelf Awareness
“The sense of place in the novel is palpable, the treatment of its characters empathetic and complex. Violence and grief saturate the forest of these words. The mosaic of Vera’s world is dark, but so is capitalism, which facilitates poverty and oppression. Vera Violet is a compelling read from a potent new voice.” – Seattle Times
Available Formats:
Hoopla eBook | Hoopla eAudiobook
MYSTERY
Perfect Little Children by Sophie Hannah
All Beth has to do is drive her son to his Under-14s away match, watch him play, and bring him home.
Just because she knows her ex-best friend lives near the football ground, that doesn’t mean she has to drive past her house and try to catch a glimpse of her. Why would Beth do that, and risk dredging up painful memories? She hasn’t seen Flora for twelve years. She doesn’t want to see her today, or ever again.
But she can’t resist. She parks outside the open gates of Newnham House, watches from across the road as Flora and her children Thomas and Emily step out of the car. Except… There’s something terribly wrong. Flora looks the same, only older. As Beth would have expected. It’s the children. Twelve years ago, Thomas and Emily were five and three years old. Today, they look precisely as they did then.
They are still five and three. They are Thomas and Emily without a doubt – Hilary hears Flora call them by their names – but they haven’t changed at all.
They are no taller, no older… Why haven’t they grown?
Description from Goodreads.
“Save a friendship, save a life—a surprising lesson for an unusual and absorbing thriller.” – Kirkus Reviews
“…a jaw-dropping denouement…” – Publishers Weekly
“In her usual fashion, Sophie Hannah begins with an intriguing, bizarre plot, then masterfully spins a story of twists and turns. She plays with our imagination, making us wonder if the passing of time tricks our minds into seeing things that aren’t there. Readers will quickly turn the pages of Perfect Little Children to discover whether those things really are there.” – Washington Independent Review of Books
Available Formats:
Print Book
A Divided Loyalty by Charles Todd
Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge is assigned one of the most baffling investigations of his career—a cold murder case with an unidentified victim and a cold trail with few clues to follow.
Chief Inspector Brian Leslie, a respected colleague of Ian Rutledge’s, is sent to Avebury, a village set inside a great prehistoric stone circle not far from Stonehenge.
A young woman has been murdered next to a mysterious, hooded, figure-like stone, but no one recognizes her—or admits to it. And how did she get there? Despite a thorough investigation, it appears that her killer has simply vanished.
Rutledge, returning from the conclusion of a case involving another apparently unknown woman, is asked to take a second look at Leslie’s inquiry, to see if he can identify this victim. But Rutledge is convinced Chief Superintendent Jameson only hopes to tarnish his earlier success once he also fails.
Where to begin? He too finds very little to go on in Avebury, slowly widening his search beyond the village—only to discover that unlikely—possibly even unreliable—clues are pointing him toward an impossible solution, one that will draw the wrath of the Yard down on him, and very likely see him dismissed if he pursues it. But what about the victim—what does he owe this tragic woman? Where must his loyalty lie?
Description from Goodreads.
“This is a series, written by a mother-and-son team under the Charles Todd pseudonym, that shows no signs of slowing down. As always, this one combines crisp plotting with stylish prose. Ideal for historical-mystery devotees.” – Booklist
“Another solid novel with one of the best characters in books…” – Red Carpet Crash
“There’s not a weak episode to be found in Todd’s terrific series.” – BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
Available Formats:
Print Book | Playaway | eBook | eAudiobook
Blues for Outlaw Hearts and Old Whores by Massimo Carlotto
Acclaimed as one of today’s best contemporary noir writers, Massimo Carlotto reaches new heights in the most complex “Alligator” novel to date. Rich with biting humor, humanity, and psychological insight, this is an exemplary noir novel from a crime writer at the top of his game.
Marco Buratti, a.k.a. the Alligator, and his partners Max the Memory and Beniamino Rossini have fallen into a trap laid by their worst enemy, Giorgio Pellegrini, a wanted man who has no intention of living as a fugitive for the rest of his life and turns state evidence, but something goes wrong. Blackmailed by a high government official, the Alligator and his partners are forced to investigate. But they’ve been framed: even if they discover who’s behind the crime, they’ll rot in prison. To survive, some rules will have to be bent, and others broken.
Description from Goodreads.
“Carlotto’s novels are perfectly balanced, everything moves in the right, often unexpected direction. Sudden turns of events are interspersed with dialogue that reminds of postwar American noir films… Somewhere up there Raymond Chandler is surely clapping.” – La Stampa
“…gripping… Carlotto makes even minor characters three-dimensional, such as a woman whose face shows that ‘she’d expected more from life and couldn’t figure out why that hadn’t come to pass,’ in this grim tale of violence and corruption. James Ellroy fans will be satisfied.” – Publishers Weekly
“Carlotto is able to dig all the way into the rotten depths of society, and highlight the scars that disfigure our democracies.” – Milano Nera
Available Formats:
Hoopla eBook
ROMANCE
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
A wedding planner left at the altar. Yeah, the irony isn’t lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina’s managed to make other people’s dreams come true as a top-tier wedding coordinator in DC. After impressing an influential guest, she’s offered an opportunity that could change her life. There’s just one hitch… she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials.
Tired of living in his older brother’s shadow, marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he’ll be working with his brother’s whip-smart, stunning—absolutely off-limits—ex-fiancée. And she loathes him.
If they can survive the next few weeks and nail their presentation without killing each other, they’ll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina’s ready to dish out a little payback of her own.
But even the best laid plans can go awry, and soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn’t interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again…
Description from Goodreads.
“The Worst Best Man is a romantic comedy that’s fun and flirty, young and fresh.” – Popsugar
“Sosa handles alternating viewpoints with perfect aplomb as she once again deftly dishes up for lucky readers another irresistibly fun romance spiced with a zesty sense of humor and spiked with love scenes as hot as the ghost chilis that pepper the Brazilian cuisine featured in this tantalizing tale of love, family, and friendship.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Sosa imbues a soap operatic premise with weight and heart in this fantastically fun contemporary rom-com… Sosa’s characterization of Lina is masterfully nuanced… Romance fans are sure to be swept away by Sosa’s empathetic characters as they make the most of a ridiculous situation.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Available Formats:
Print Book
YOUNG ADULT
Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed
YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes… until he meets Maya.
NO
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.
MAYBE SO
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.
Description from Goodreads.
“Buoyed by humor, enriched by a colorful supporting cast, and strung through with a charming (and charmingly awkward) romantic subplot, Jamie and Maya’s story, their miscommunications, and their true connection will win hearts and inspire action.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Albertalli and Saeed unfold a story told in alternating chapters that weaves together timely, relevant, and engaging themes. With topical references to state and national issues… this is a warm, beautiful story about relationships’ beginnings, endings, and transitions; and the transformative power of local activism.” – School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Albertalli and Saeed’s collaborative authorship is seamlessly achieved via alternating first-person narratives that offer a nuanced lens on the current U.S. political climate and individuals’ roles in democracy. With a convincing, relevant message about democratic responsibility, studded with references to activists, the authors offer an honest handling of cultural misunderstandings, microaggressions, and open communication via Jamie and Maya’s tight-knit families and developing relationship.” – Publishers Weekly
Available Formats:
Print Book | eBook
The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz
Caledon Holt is the Kingdom of Renovia’s deadliest weapon. No one alive can best him in brawn or brains, which is why he’s the Guild’s most dangerous member and the Queen’s one and only assassin. He’s also bound to the Queen by an impossible vow–to find the missing Deian Scrolls, the fount of all magical history and knowledge, stolen years ago by a nefarious sect called the Aphrasians.
Shadow has been training all her life to follow in the footsteps of her mother and aunts–to become skilled enough to join the ranks of the Guild. Though magic has been forbidden since the Aphrasian uprising, Shadow has been learning to control her powers in secret, hoping that one day she’ll become an assassin as feared and revered as Caledon Holt.
When a surprise attack brings Shadow and Cal together, they’re forced to team up as assassin and apprentice to hunt down a new sinister threat to Renovia. But as Cal and Shadow grow closer, they’ll uncover a shocking web of lies and secrets that may destroy everything they hold dear. With war on the horizon and true love at risk, they’ll stop at nothing to protect each other and their kingdom in this stunning first novel in the Queen’s Secret series.
Description from Goodreads.
“…de la Cruz’s trademark tight construction, detailed world building, and action-packed romance are all at work in this sure-to-be-popular new series.” – Booklist
“A classic plucky heroine fantasy in the vein of Tamora Pierce and Kristin Cashore.” – Kirkus Reviews
“The action-packed narrative captures readers’ attention from the start, expertly weaving plot twists, betrayal, magical elements, and traces of humor throughout.” – School Library Journal
Available Formats:
Print Book
What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel
The girls at North Bay Academy are taking sides. It all started when Mike Parker’s girlfriend showed up with a bruise on her face. Or, more specifically, when she walked into the principal’s office and said Mike hit her. But the students have questions. Why did she go to the principal and not the police? Why did she stay so long if he was hurting her? Obviously, if it’s true, Mike should be expelled. But is it true?
Some girls want to rally for his expulsion—and some want to rally around Mike. The only thing that the entire student body can agree on? Someone is lying. And the truth has to come out.
Description from Goodreads.
“This hard-hitting novel about social norms and mental health expresses the importance of honesty and self-advocacy.” – Publishers Weekly
“A must read for young adults… What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel answers all the questions we never knew we had about dating abuse.” – Affinity Magazine
“A poignant, thought-provoking novel that will resonate deeply.” – Kirkus Reviews
Available Formats:
Hoopla eBook
NONFICTION
Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era by Jerry Mitchell
On June 21, 1964, more than twenty Klansmen murdered three civil rights workers. The killings, in what would become known as the “Mississippi Burning” case, were among the most brazen acts of violence during the civil rights movement. And even though the killers’ identities, including the sheriff’s deputy, were an open secret, no one was charged with murder in the months and years that followed.
It took forty-one years before the mastermind was brought to trial and finally convicted for the three innocent lives he took. If there is one man who helped pave the way for justice, it is investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell.
In Race Against Time, Mitchell takes readers on the twisting, pulse-racing road that led to the reopening of four of the most infamous killings from the days of the civil rights movement, decades after the fact. His work played a central role in bringing killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham and the Mississippi Burning case. Mitchell reveals how he unearthed secret documents, found long-lost suspects and witnesses, building up evidence strong enough to take on the Klan. He takes us into every harrowing scene along the way, as when Mitchell goes into the lion’s den, meeting one-on-one with the very murderers he is seeking to catch. His efforts have put four leading Klansmen behind bars, years after they thought they had gotten away with murder.
Race Against Time is an astonishing, courageous story capturing a historic race for justice, as the past is uncovered, clue by clue, and long-ignored evils are brought into the light. This is a landmark book and essential reading for all Americans.
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] fast-paced account of the slow path to justice in a series of racially motivated murder cases… A fine work of investigative journalism and an essential addition to the history of the civil rights movement.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] superb first book… Under death threats, [Jerry Mitchell] raced against time to interview witnesses before they died and bring justice to families who had been denied it. This thrilling true crime account deserves a wide audience.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Gripping… It is, on one level, the closest memoir can get to a John Grisham thriller. On another level, it’s a profound firsthand testament to how, per Faulkner, the past is never dead, but neither is the need for justice.” – Garden & Gun
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Brother & Sister: A Memoir by Diane Keaton
When they were children in the suburbs of Los Angeles in the 1950s, Diane Keaton and her younger brother, Randy, were best friends and companions: they shared stories at night in their bunk beds; they swam, laughed, dressed up for Halloween. Their mother captured their American-dream childhoods in her diaries, and on camera. But as they grew up, Randy became troubled, then reclusive. By the time he reached adulthood, he was divorced, an alcoholic, a man who couldn’t hold on to full-time work–his life a world away from his sister’s, and from the rest of their family.
Now Diane is delving into the nuances of their shared, and separate, pasts to confront the difficult question of why and how Randy ended up living his life on “the other side of normal.” In beautiful and fearless prose that’s intertwined with photographs, journal entries, letters, and poetry–many of them Randy’s own writing and art–this insightful memoir contemplates the inner workings of a family, the ties that hold it together, and the special bond between siblings even when they are pulled far apart. Here is a story about love and responsibility: about how, when we choose to reach out to the people we feel closest to–in moments of difficulty and loss–surprising things can happen. A story with universal echoes, Brother & Sister will speak across generations to families whose lives have been touched by the fragility and “otherness” of loved ones–and to brothers and sisters everywhere.
Description from Goodreads.
“Immersive and haunting… Keaton eloquently and unflinchingly examines her younger brother’s life, drawing from excerpts of his poetry and her mother’s journals and letters… A cohesive, honest look at an entire family impacted by a troubled individual, as well as how Keaton maintained a bond with her sibling despite tremendous challenges. A must for Keaton’s fans and for those seeking to comprehend the nuances of sibling and family relationships.” – Library Journal
“A resonant family memoir—a slim but weighty book. Keaton focuses on her complex relationship with her younger brother, whose escalating instability—vividly described—affected Keaton, her parents, and her two sisters. The author, who became the ‘family documentarian’ after her mother’s death, utilizes family letters and journals to enhance the narrative… Keaton talks about the complexities of loving a brother she never quite knew; of watching him become consumed by alcohol and then ‘falling into the process of dying’; and of wishing she had done more to help him… A haunting meditation on mortality, sibling love, mental illness, and regret.” – Publishers Weekly
“Poignant… an addition to Keaton’s two previous works of memoir [in which] she strives to understand her troubled younger brother, Randy Hall. She recalls the pair at 5 and 3, sharing a bedroom; in the second part of the book she depicts the siblings sitting quietly, as Keaton holds her ailing brother’s hand. In between these moments of intimacy, Keaton admits to long periods of estrangement from Randy, who ‘took failure and wore it the way Hester Prynne wore her scarlet letter,’ spending an isolated life writing, collaging, drinking, and existing by grace of the support—financial and otherwise—of his parents and sisters… Keaton thoughtfully wrestles with her conscience while attempting to assemble a clearer picture of her brother’s nature. She sheds her whimsical persona to explore difficult burdens, which those with an unstable sibling will recognize.” – Kirkus Reviews
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When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father’s War and What Remains by Ariana Neumann
In 1941, the first Neumann family member was taken by the Nazis, arrested in German-occupied Czechoslovakia for bathing in a stretch of river forbidden to Jews. He was transported to Auschwitz. Eighteen days later his prisoner number was entered into the morgue book.
Of thirty-four Neumann family members, twenty-five were murdered by the Nazis. One of the survivors was Hans Neumann, who, to escape the German death net, traveled to Berlin and hid in plain sight under the Gestapo’s eyes. What Hans experienced was so unspeakable that, when he built an industrial empire in Venezuela, he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it. All his daughter Ariana knew was that something terrible had happened.
When Hans died, he left Ariana a small box filled with letters, diary entries, and other memorabilia. Ten years later Ariana finally summoned the courage to have the letters translated, and she began reading. What she discovered launched her on a worldwide search that would deliver indelible portraits of a family loving, finding meaning, and trying to survive amid the worst that can be imagined.
When Time Stopped is an unputdownable detective story and an epic family memoir, spanning nearly ninety years and crossing oceans. Neumann brings each relative to vivid life. In uncovering her father’s story after all these years, she discovers nuance and depth to her own history and liberates poignant and thought-provoking truths about the threads of humanity that connect us all.
Description from Goodreads.
“Profound, gripping, and gut-wrenching… This heartbreaking and unforgettable memoir belongs in every library for the important history Neumann unearths. Like Anne Frank’s diary, it offers a story that needs to be told and heard.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Neumann debuts with a deeply moving account of her father’s life during the Holocaust… This gripping, expertly researched narrative will inspire those looking to uncover their own family histories.” – Publishers Weekly
“[An] astonishing story of survival… Neumann’s eloquent, skillfully researched book will appeal to many, especially those interested in family histories and the lives of Holocaust survivors.” – Library Journal
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The Force of Nonviolence by Judith Butler
Judith Butler’s new book shows how an ethic of nonviolence must be connected to a broader political struggle for social equality. Further, it argues that nonviolence is often misunderstood as a passive practice that emanates from a calm region of the soul, or as an individualist ethical relation to existing forms of power. But, in fact, nonviolence is an ethical position found in the midst of the political field. An aggressive form of nonviolence accepts that hostility is part of our psychic constitution, but values ambivalence as a way of checking the conversion of aggression into violence. One contemporary challenge to a politics of nonviolence points out that there is a difference of opinion on what counts as violence and nonviolence. The distinction between them can be mobilized in the service of ratifying the state’s monopoly on violence.
Considering nonviolence as an ethical problem within a political philosophy requires a critique of individualism as well as an understanding of the psychosocial dimensions of violence. Butler draws upon Foucault, Fanon, Freud, and Benjamin to consider how the interdiction against violence fails to include lives regarded as ungrievable. By considering how “racial phantasms” inform justifications of state and administrative violence, Butler tracks how violence is often attributed to those who are most severely exposed to its lethal effects. The struggle for nonviolence is found in movements for social transformation that reframe the grievability of lives in light of social equality and whose ethical claims follow from an insight into the interdependency of life as the basis of social and political equality.
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] scholarly yet boldly articulated essay collection… her avowal of ‘global interdependency’ as a positive force for equality resonates, as does her discussion of the ways in which state powers twist the definition of ‘violence’ to stifle protest. Political activists with a background in philosophy will appreciate Butler’s insights.” – Publishers Weekly
“As a strategy of resistance and protest, nonviolence is often seen as passive and resolutely individual. Butler’s philosophical inquiry argues that it is in fact a shrewd and even aggressive collective political tactic.” – New York Times Book Review