“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd ★
In her fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family in Sepphoris with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, a relentless seeker with a brilliant, curious mind and a daring spirit. She yearns for a pursuit worthy of her life, but finds no outlet for her considerable talents. Defying the expectations placed on women, she engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes secret narratives about neglected and silenced women. When she meets the eighteen-year-old Jesus, each is drawn to and enriched by the other’s spiritual and philosophical ideas. He becomes a floodgate for her intellect, but also the awakener of her heart.
Their marriage unfolds with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, James and Simon, and their mother, Mary. Here, Ana’s pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to the Roman occupation of Israel, partially led by her charismatic adopted brother, Judas. She is sustained by her indomitable aunt Yaltha, who is searching for her long-lost daughter, as well as by other women, including her friend Tabitha, who is sold into slavery after she was raped, and Phasaelis, the shrewd wife of Herod Antipas. Ana’s impetuous streak occasionally invites danger. When one such foray forces her to flee Nazareth for her safety shortly before Jesus’s public ministry begins, she makes her way with Yaltha to Alexandria, where she eventually finds refuge and purpose in unexpected surroundings.
Description from Goodreads.
“For fans of historical novels, particularly… The Red Tent, or, more recently, Naamah… Kidd uses her unexpected narrator to reveal new perspectives on an endlessly parsed era.” – Washington Post
“A well-researched novel about a young Jewish woman, who fights against cultural norms to realize the passion and potential inside her.” – Good Morning America
“The latest from Sue Monk Kidd introduces us to Ana, a courageous, intelligent woman who marries Jesus long before his public ministry begins. Based on meticulous historical research, this is a humanizing look at Jesus the man, as well as an inspiring story of a strong woman living in a society bent on her silence.” – Good Housekeeping
“A master of literary women’s fiction, Kidd always strikes a chord with her strong, feisty female protagonists… [The Book of Longings] is written with reverence and strives for historical accuracy… it’s an engaging story about a young woman defying the odds to make her voice heard, a story that remains relevant today… [and] underscore[s] what’s lost when one group—be it one gender, race or religion—gets to write the history for all.” – Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Kept Animals by Kate Milliken ★
Rory Ramos is a dutiful teenager with a love of photography who works as a ranch hand at the stable her stepfather manages in Topanga Canyon, California, a dry, dusty place reliant on horses and hierarchies. There she rides for the rich clientele, including twins June and Wade Fisk. June begins to take an interest in Rory—but she is more drawn to Vivian Price, the beautiful teenager with the movie-star father, who lives down the hill, and Rory can’t help noticing, swims in her pool nearly every night. Rory’s ambiguous roots and blue-collar upbringing keep her largely separate from the likes of the Prices and the Fisks—until her stepfather is involved in a tragic car accident. From that moment on, the lives of these teenagers become inextricably linked—are they friends or foes, lovers or rivals?—sparking a series of events that come to a head the night a wildfire tears through Topanga Canyon, and Rory’s life is changed forever.
Kept Animals is narrated by Rory’s daughter, Charlie, twenty years after that fateful 1993 fire. Rory is away on assignment as a war photographer, and Charlie knows the key to her own existence lies in the story of what happened during that unseasonably warm fall. And without her mother to tell her the truth, she must unravel it by herself.
Taut, propulsive, and gorgeously written, Kate Milliken’s debut is a searing exploration of girlhood, class, and fate.
Description from Goodreads.
“In this rugged and ravishing debut, a tragic car accident upends the lives of multiple Southern California families—particularly three teenage girls, whose lives and desires intersect in ways none of them could have imagined.” – O, The Oprah Magazine
“This gifted author has packed enough material for at least two books into her debut.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[A] gripping debut novel that sweeps back and forth from Topanga Canyon in 1993 to Little Snake, WY, in 2015… Milliken pulls out all the stops to deliver a riveting page-turner, an unforgettable story of loss and renewal. She is a powerful talent to watch.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Complicated explorations of family dynamics, sexuality, race, and patriarchal norms weave through each character, making this book as heart wrenching as it is memorable… I’ll be returning to this novel again and again, and I’m certain that in my future reads, I’ll discover even more of each character. That’s really what pushes a book from good to great–and Kept Animals is decidedly in the ‘fantastic’ category.” – New Orleans Review
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The Moment of Tenderness by Madeleine L’Engle ★
From the beloved author of A Wrinkle in Time comes a deeply personal, genre-bending short story collection that transcends generational divides and reminds readers that hope, above all, can transform suffering into the promise of joy.
This powerful collection of short stories traces an emotional arc inspired by Madeleine L’Engle’s early life and career, from her lonely childhood in New York to her life as a mother in small-town Connecticut. In a selection of eighteen stories discovered by one of L’Engle’s granddaughters, we see how L’Engle’s personal experiences and abiding faith informed the creation of her many cherished works.
Some of these stories have never been published; others were refashioned into scenes for her novels and memoirs. Almost all were written in the 1940s and ’50s, from Madeleine’s college years until just before the publication of A Wrinkle in Time.
From realism to science-fiction to fantasy, there is something for everyone in this magical collection.
Description from Goodreads.
“Few fantasy writers had as indelible an influence on a certain tribe of bookish, introverted, curious children during the 20th century as the great L’Engle… for fans of L’Engle, [these stories] allow us a window into her process of writing fantasy, which she called the ‘one and only language in the world that cuts across all barriers of time, place, race, and culture.'” – The Millions
“Gemlike… A luminous collection that mines the mundane as cannily as the fantastic and extraterrestrial.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“…illuminating… Unswerving throughout is L’Engle’s mastery of mood-setting language and her depiction of the complexity of human relationships… The book will obviously attract L’Engle aficionados, but the thoughtful selection and organization recommends the volume to anyone curious about a writer’s evolution.” – Publishers Weekly
“Fans of A Wrinkle In Time will enjoy dipping back into L’Engle’s elegant prose and her distillation of normal life into singular beauty.” – Good Housekeeping
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The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen
Nobody can leave an island. An island is a cosmos in a nutshell, where the stars slumber in the grass beneath the snow. But occasionally someone tries…
Ingrid Barrøy is born on an island that bears her name – a holdfast for a single family, their livestock, their crops, their hopes and dreams.
Her father dreams of building a quay that will connect them to the mainland, but closer ties to the wider world come at a price. Her mother has her own dreams – more children, a smaller island, a different life – and there is one question Ingrid must never ask her.
Island life is hard, a living scratched from the dirt or trawled from the sea, so when Ingrid comes of age, she is sent to the mainland to work for one of the wealthy families on the coast.
But Norway too is waking up to a wider world, a modern world that is capricious and can be cruel. Tragedy strikes, and Ingrid must fight to protect the home she thought she had left behind.
Description from Goodreads.
“Even by his high standards, his magnificent new novel The Unseen is Jacobsen’s finest to date, as blunt as it is subtle and is easily among the best books I have ever read.” – Irish Times
“A beautifully crafted novel… Quite simply a brilliant piece of work… Rendered beautifully into English by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw, The Unseen is a towering achievement that would be a deserved Booker International winner.” – New European
“A profound interrogation of freedom and fate, as well as a fascinating portrait of a vanished time, written in prose as clear and washed clean as the world after a storm.” – The Guardian
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SUSPENSE
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown ★
Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.
Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer—traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: a mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa’s past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.
Nina’s, Vanessa’s, and Lachlan’s paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.
This dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel showcases acclaimed author Janelle Brown at her best, as two brilliant, damaged women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction they will ever play.
Description from Goodreads.
“It’s Dynasty meets Patricia Highsmith… Duplicity abounds when two messed-up clans collide, and Brown’s final multiple twists are doozies.” – Washington Post
“Brown offers a glittering, high-stakes drama, stacking childhood nostalgia against the power to reinvent oneself in the age of social media… Packed with plot twists.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Fiendishly clever.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Dual narrators—Vanessa and Nina—have the same effect on the many twists and reveals as a funhouse mirror, warping the reader’s ability to know who to root for, because both women are likable. But both come from families that make the Borgias look like the Brady Bunch, so you know it’s going to be last man standing as class warfare, social media, money, and old history square off in this complex and riveting thriller” – Amazon Book Review
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Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They’re admired in their community and are a loving family. Up until the day Sebastian is taken.
A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. The only thing keeping her going is the unlikely chance that one day Sebastian reappears. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding him, she discovers that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman.
Kenzie Li is an artist and grad student—Instagram famous—and up to her eyeballs in debt. She knows Derek is married. She also knows he’s rich, and dating him comes with perks: help with bills, trips away, expensive gifts. He isn’t her first rich boyfriend, but she finds herself hoping he’ll be the last. She’s falling for him—and that was never part of the plan.
Discovery of the affair sparks Marin back to life. She’s lost her son; she’s not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix. But as she sets a plan in motion, another revelation surfaces. Derek’s lover might know what happened to their son. And so might Derek.
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] diabolically plotted psychological thriller of lust, obsession, greed, and betrayal… a captivating double helix of duplicity.” – Publishers Weekly
“A delightfully twisty psychological thriller perfect for fans of You and Gone Girl.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[A] captivating, thought-provoking read that will stick to my bones for a long time to come.” – Bookish Geek
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MYSTERY
Dead Land by Sara Paretsky
Chicago may be the city of broad shoulders, but its political law is “Pay to Play.” Money changes hands in the middle of the night, and by morning, buildings and parks are replaced by billion-dollar projects.
Chicago PI V.I. Warshawski gets pulled into one of these clandestine deals through her impetuous goddaughter, Bernie Fouchard. Bernie tries to rescue Lydia Zamir, a famed singer-songwriter now living on the streets; Zamir’s life fell apart when her lover was murdered next to her in a mass shooting at an outdoor concert. Not only does Bernie plunge her and V.I. headlong into the path of some ruthless developers, they lead to the murder of the young man Bernie is dating. He’s a computer geek working for a community group called SLICK.
V.I. is desperate to find a mysterious man named Coop, who roams the lakefront in the middle of the night with his dog. She’s sure he holds the key to the mounting body count within SLICK. Coop may even know why an international law firm is representing the mass murderer responsible for Lydia’s lover’s death. Instead, the detective finds a terrifying conspiracy stretching from Chicago’s parks to a cover-up of the dark chapters in America’s meddling in South American politics. Before she finds answers, this electrifying novel pushes V.I. close to the breaking point: People who pay to play take no prisoners.
Description from Goodreads.
“Sara Paretsky’s gloriously kick-ass private eye, V.I. ‘Vic’ Warshawski, is back for the 20th time in a political-rot thriller that’s the definition of perfection in the genre… The novel’s robustly flavorsome cast of characters includes a semi-deranged land preservationist, a corrupt Nobel Prize winner, a Chilean Ayn Rand disciple and several wonderful dogs.” – Washington Post
“[A] series bar-raiser… A high point in Paretsky’s long-running and much-loved series.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“As long as Paretsky’s hotheaded, quick-witted sleuth is on the job, imperiled young women… will always have a champion.” – New York Times Book Review
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Final Judgment by Marcia Clark
When it comes to relationships and self-preservation, defense attorney Samantha Brinkman has always been cut and run. But it’s different with her new lover, Niko, an ambitious and globally famous entrepreneur. Sam is putting her faith in him. She has to. He’s also her new client—a suspect in the murder of an investor whose shady dealings turned Niko’s good life upside down.
He had the motive: revenge. As did many others who banked a fortune on the wrong man. That’s a point in Niko’s favor. So is his alibi for the day of the slaying. Until that alibi mysteriously disappears. As Sam’s feverish search for another viable killer begins, the investigation only leads deeper into Niko’s past and its secrets.
From the darkest suspicions to final judgment, fighting for Niko is Sam’s job. To do it, she must risk everything on a man who could make all her worst fears come true.
Description from Goodreads.
“The plot twists are both plausible and shocking in this intelligent page-turner. Fans of whodunits featuring ethical dilemmas will be pleased.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“With its fast-moving plot and winning characters, this fourth entry in the Brinkman series will keep readers turning pages and rooting for Sam.” – Booklist
“[A] classy novel of high-stakes suspense shot through with ambiguous morality and laced with wit and humor. Marcia Clark is unequaled in her ability to create a legal thriller so thoroughly steeped in the often crazy worlds of law, crime, and human frailties.” – Writers & Readers
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HISTORICAL FICTION
A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry
Winona Cole, an orphaned child of the Lakota Indians, finds herself growing up in an unconventional household on a farm in West Tennessee. Raised by her adoptive father John Cole and his brother-in-arms Thomas McNulty, this odd little family scrapes a living on Lige Magan’s farm with the help of two freed slaves, the Bougereau siblings. They try to keep the brutal outside world at bay, along with their memories of the past. But Tennessee is a state still riven by the bitter legacy of the civil war and when first Winona and then Tennyson Bouguereau are violently attacked by forces unknown, Colonel Purton raises the Militia to quell the rebels and night-riders who are massing on the outskirts of town. Armed with a knife, Tennyson’s borrowed gun and the courage of her famous warrior mother, Winona decides to take matters into her own hands and embarks on a quest for justice which will uncover the dark secrets of her past and finally reveal to her who she really is. Exquisitely written and thrumming with the irrepressible spirit of a young girl on the brink of adulthood, A Thousand Moons is a glorious story of love and redemption.
Description from Goodreads.
“Barry prefers moral complication to the righteous simplicities of ‘us’ and ‘them’… the writing brings off Barry’s characteristic balancing act, between the lyrical telling that comes to him naturally and the grubby, tormenting world he wants to show us… The politics and power struggles, male brutality and race rhetoric in this novel are imagined with an intuitive, unsparing realism… Because of something unguarded in his writing, and his idiom borrowed from ordinary speech and proverbial wisdom, we can trust him to touch the terrible stories from our collective past without betraying them, or turning them merely into clever art. His work reminds us how much we need these rare gifts of the natural storyteller, for reckoning with our past and present.” – The Guardian
“A poetic sensibility runs through this luminous novel of sorrow and uplift by the Booker-nominated, multi-award-winning Barry. Highly recommended.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“A compelling tale of identity and revenge… a journey that is horrifying, thrilling and enchanting in equal measure, all of it rendered in Barry’s uniquely lyrical prose, which seems at once effortless and dense with meaning… prose this good is a kind of enchantment, transcending the constructs that are supposed to define us to speak in a voice that is truly universal.” – Observer
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HORROR
If It Bleeds by Stephen King
A collection of four uniquely wonderful long stories, including a stand-alone sequel to the No. 1 bestseller The Outsider.
News people have a saying: ‘If it bleeds, it leads’. And a bomb at Albert Macready Middle School is guaranteed to lead any bulletin.
Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency is working on the case of a missing dog – and on her own need to be more assertive – when she sees the footage on TV. But when she tunes in again, to the late-night report, she realizes there is something not quite right about the correspondent who was first on the scene. So begins ‘If It Bleeds’, a stand-alone sequel to the No. 1 bestselling The Outsider featuring the incomparable Holly on her first solo case – and also the riveting title story in Stephen King’s brilliant new collection.
Dancing alongside are three more wonderful long stories from this ‘formidably versatile author’ (The Sunday Times) – ‘Mr Harrigan’s Phone’, ‘The Life of Chuck’ and ‘Rat’. All four display the richness of King’s storytelling with grace, humor, horror and breathtaking suspense. A fascinating Author’s Note gives us a wonderful insight into the origin of each story and the writer’s unparalleled imagination.
Description from Goodreads.
“Vintage King: a pleasure for his many fans and not a bad place to start if you’re new to him.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“The four never-before-published novellas in this collection represent horror master King at his finest, using the weird and uncanny to riff on mortality, the price of creativity, and the unpredictable consequences of material attachments… King clearly loves his characters, and the care with which he develops their personalities draws the reader ineluctably into their deeply unsettling experiences. This excellent collection delivers exactly the kind of bravura storytelling King’s readers expect.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“…good company in the dark.” – New York Times
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The Wise Friend by Ramsey Campbell
Patrick Torrington’s aunt Thelma was a successful artist whose late work turned towards the occult. While staying with her in his teens he found evidence that she used to visit magical sites.
As an adult he discovers her journal of her explorations, and his teenage son Roy becomes fascinated too. His experiences at the sites scare Patrick away from them, but Roy carries on the search, together with his new girlfriend.
Can Patrick convince his son that his increasingly terrible suspicions are real, or will what they’ve helped to rouse take a new hold on the world?
Description from Goodreads.
“A sense of eerie disquiet pervades this impressive supernatural thriller… With razor-sharp prose, Campbell layers his satisfying narrative with intricate, unsettling details to create the feeling of glimpsing something strange out of the corner of one’s eye. Fans of cerebral, slow-burning horror will enjoy this twisty treat.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] stunning, dark, descriptive and magical character-focused horror tale… the finest modern horror story I’ve read in a long time.” – Grimdark Magazine
“In a narrative that whizzes by so fast you can barely catch your breath, The Wise Friend shows just how much we take our realities for granted. It’s an unsettling, uneasy – and therefore exhilarating – ride.” – Sublime Horror
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ROMANCE
Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai ★
OMG! Wouldn’t it be adorable if he’s her soulmate???
I don’t see any wedding rings [eyes emoji]
Breaking: #CafeBae and #CuteCafeGirl went to the bathroom AT THE SAME TIME!!!
One minute, Katrina King’s enjoying an innocent conversation with a hot guy at a coffee shop; the next, a stranger has live-tweeted the entire episode with a romantic meet-cute spin and #CafeBae is the new hashtag-du-jour. The problem? Katrina craves a low-profile life, and going viral threatens the peaceful world she’s painstakingly built. Besides, #CafeBae isn’t the man she’s hungry for…
He’s got a [peach emoji] to die for.
With the internet on the hunt for the identity of #CuteCafeGirl, Jas Singh, bodyguard, friend, and possessor of the most beautiful eyebrows Katrina’s ever seen, comes to the rescue and whisks her away to his family’s home. Alone in a remote setting with the object of her affections? It’s a recipe for romance. But after a long dating dry spell, Katrina isn’t sure she can trust her instincts when it comes to love—even if Jas’ every look says he wants to be more than just her bodyguard…
Description from Goodreads.
“Girl Gone Viral is a fun, sexy rom com that’s impossible to resist.” – PopSugar
“Rai’s lovely, slow-building romance between the very appealing Katrina and Jasvinder will delight readers.” – Booklist
“…gorgeous romance… Rae handles her characters’ mental health issues with incredible care while not shying away from depicting the effects such issues would have on a relationship. Katrina and Jas’s loving, mutual support of one another is truly touching. This sensitive and sexy contemporary is sure to be a hit.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Available Formats:
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YOUNG ADULT
Kent State by Deborah Wiles
May 4, 1970.
Kent State University.
As protestors roil the campus, National Guardsmen are called in. In the chaos of what happens next, shots are fired and four students are killed. To this day, there is still argument of what happened and why.
Told in multiple voices from a number of vantage points — protestor, Guardsman, townie, student.
Description from Goodreads.
“A well-researched and deeply moving portrait of an iconic moment in U.S. history.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“In her account, Wiles implicitly challenges her readers to find parallels between then and now and, in so doing, does a service to history. An important book not to be missed.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“…powerful… this hard-hitting historical novel provides valuable perspective on unrest and violence, both timely and timeless…” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
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Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
A boy desperate to hold on, a girl ready to let go.
Fitz Holton waits in fear for the day his single mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s starts stealing her memory. He’s vowed to stay close to home to care for her in the years to come–never mind the ridiculous college tour she’s forcing him on to visit schools where he knows he’ll never go. Juniper Ramirez is counting down the days until she can leave home, a home crowded with five younger siblings and zero privacy. Against the wishes of her tight-knit family, Juniper plans her own college tour of the East Coast with one goal: get out.
When Fitz and Juniper cross paths on their first college tour in Boston, they’re at odds from the moment they meet– while Juniper’s dying to start a new life apart for her family, Fitz faces the sacrifices he must make for his. Their relationship sparks a deep connection–in each other’s eyes, they glimpse alternate possibilities regarding the first big decision of their adult lives.
Time of Our Lives is a story of home and away, of the wonder and weight of memory, of outgrowing fears and growing into the future.
Description from Goodreads.
“A romance that simmers at a slow burn. Juniper’s character is well drawn, and her struggle with balancing her ambition with her familial responsibilities is both complex and authentic… A cleverly plotted teen romance.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Readers will get both a lesson in vocabulary and on fate—as well as a reminder not to work against the time we are given… A romance that is sure to entertain and enlighten high school readers.” – School Library Journal
“[A] wonderful contemporary about two people anticipating and fearing their futures and coming to grips with the realities of having to leave their home to build their own identity away from the places they’ve grown up in. I’d recommend this to anyone who is about to graduate and has some existential fears about leaving those they love to figure out who they themselves are. A beautiful story about what it means to grow up, grow apart and find the way back to the ones you love.” – The Nerd Daily
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NONFICTION
My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me: A Memoir by Jason B. Rosenthal
On March 3, 2017, Amy Krouse Rosenthal penned an op-ed piece for the New York Times’ “Modern Love” column —”You May Want to Marry My Husband.” It appeared ten days before her death from ovarian cancer. A heartbreaking, wry, brutally honest, and creative play on a personal ad—in which a dying wife encouraged her husband to go on and find happiness after her demise—the column quickly went viral, reaching more than five million people worldwide.
In My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me, Jason describes what came next: his commitment to respecting Amy’s wish, even as he struggled with her loss. Surveying his life before, with, and after Amy, Jason ruminates on love, the pain of watching a loved one suffer, and what it means to heal—how he and their three children, despite their profound sorrow, went on. Jason’s emotional journey offers insights on dying and death and the excruciating pain of losing a soulmate, and illuminates the lessons he learned.
As he reflects on Amy’s gift to him—a fresh start to fill his empty space with a new story—Jason describes how he continues to honor Amy’s life and her last wish, and how he seeks to appreciate every day and live in the moment while trying to help others coping with loss. My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me is the poignant, unreserved, and inspiring story of a great love, the aftermath of a marriage ended too soon, and how a surviving partner eventually found a new perspective on life’s joys in the wake of tremendous loss.
Description from Goodreads.
“Rosenthal’s gut-wrenching, honest, and uplifting memoir offers reassurance and connection to readers experiencing their own losses.” – Booklist
“An essay gone viral leads to this memoir about deep loss and navigating profound grief… filled with advice and support for anyone else going through similar circumstances.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Rosenthal’s grief journey is expressed with candor, humor, and gratitude…recommended for readers either experiencing grief or wanting to understand how to support someone experiencing loss.” – Library Journal
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The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Katherine Sharp Landdeck
When Japanese planes executed a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Cornelia Fort was already in the air. At twenty-two, Cornelia had escaped Nashville’s debutante scene for a fresh start as a flight instructor in Hawaii. She and her student were in the middle of their lesson when the bombs began to fall, and they barely made it back to ground that morning. Still, when the U.S. Army Air Forces put out a call for women pilots to aid the war effort, Cornelia was one of the first to respond. She became one of just over 1,100 women from across the nation to make it through the Army’s rigorous selection process and earn her silver wings.
In The Women with Silver Wings, historian Katherine Sharp Landdeck introduces us to these young women as they meet even-tempered, methodical Nancy Love and demanding visionary Jacqueline Cochran, the trailblazing pilots who first envisioned sending American women into the air, and whose rivalry would define the Women Airforce Service Pilots. For women like Cornelia, it was a chance to serve their country–and to prove that women aviators were just as skilled and able as men.
While not authorized to serve in combat, the WASP helped train male pilots for service abroad and ferried bombers and pursuits across the country. Thirty-eight of them would not survive the war. But even taking into account these tragic losses, Love and Cochran’s social experiment seemed to be a resounding success–until, with the tides of war turning and fewer male pilots needed in Europe, Congress clipped the women’s wings. The program was disbanded, the women sent home. But the bonds they’d forged never failed, and over the next few decades, they came together to fight for recognition as the military veterans they were–and for their place in history.
Description from Goodreads.
“A must-read for those interested in women’s and World War II history.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Drawing on memoirs, archives, and interviews with surviving WASP members, Landdeck creates palpable portraits of many women’s experiences and their lives after the program was disbanded. A compelling history that brings forgotten heroes back in the spotlight.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[A]n entertaining chronicle of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program during WWII… A generous selection of high-quality photographs and Landdeck’s own experience as a licensed pilot enrich the narrative, capturing the joy of flying and the unique sense of freedom and independence these women would remember for the rest of their lives. This colorful history soars.” – Publishers Weekly