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Fiction A to Z February 2018
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| Green by Sam Graham-FelsenWhat it's about: It's 1992, and sixth-grader Green is one of the few white students at Boston's Martin Luther King Middle School. After Marlon, a studious black kid from the housing projects nearby, stands up for him, a friendship is born. It's strong enough to weather the typical middle school problems, but it may not be strong enough to survive their differences -- or the increasingly bigger problems they face.
Why you might like it: you're interested in stories about interracial friendships (and the strains they come under) or you enjoy coming-of-age stories told by imperfect but likable narrators. |
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| Heart Spring Mountain: A Novel by Robin MacArthurWhat it's about: Ostensibly, a woman's search for her mother, lost after tropical storm Irene floods Vermont. But it's also the tale of three generations of her family, of the experiences of women in rural America, and of hidden family histories.
Read it for: authentic characters, a complex narrative structure, and a strong depiction of people's connection to the land.
Reviewers say: "nuanced, poetic, and evocative" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| A State of Freedom by Neel MukherjeeWhat it is: a set of interconnected stories (each written in a different style), bound together by recurring characters and common themes, and set in modern-day India.
Why you might like it: A State of Freedom offers a variety of characters all dealing with disruption; the divide between the haves and have-nots is starkly depicted.
Read it with: V.S. Naipul's 1971 novel In a Free State, which is similarly structured. |
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| The Maze at Windermere by Gregory Blake SmithWhat it is: the stories of five characters, over three centuries, all set in Newport, Rhode Island. Links between them create a rich, layered tale that reveals not only changes in American society but also the vagaries of the human heart.
Is it for you? Absolutely, if you like historical fiction in which distinct characters -- and the writing style -- clearly reflect their times. Shifting points of view and a complex structure reflect the title, too.
Reviewers say: "staggeringly brilliant" (The Washington Post). |
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| Red Clocks by Leni ZumasIntroducing: four very different women in a small Oregon fishing town, all struggling with personal issues in a country where Roe v. Wade has been overturned, single parenthood is soon to be outlawed, and misogyny is on the rise.
Why you might like it: You've read Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and are looking for another chilling take on women's reproductive rights, identity, and freedom.
Book buzz: Red Clocks, which the author has said draws on real government proposals, has been trumpeted by such diverse media outlets as Amazon, The Wall Street Journal, Elle, PopSugar, and more. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Bedford Public Library
2424 Forest Ridge Dr.
Bedford, Texas 76021
817-952-2350
www.bedfordlibrary.org
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