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Rich People Problems
by Kevin Kwan
When Nicholas Young hears that his grandmother, Su Yi, is on her deathbed, he rushes to be by her bedside—but he's not alone. The entire Shang-Young clan has convened from all corners of the globe to stake claim on their matriarch’s massive fortune. With each family member vying to inherit Tyersall Park—a trophy estate on 64 prime acres in the heart of Singapore—Nicholas’s childhood home turns into a hotbed of speculation and sabotage.
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| What We Lose by Zinzi ClemmonsRaised in the U.S., Thandi is the daughter of a mixed-race mother from South Africa and an African-American father. The privilege that her father's career as a professor affords their nuclear family stands in stark contrast to those family members still living in post-apartheid Johannesburg, but it is the death of Thandi's mother that forms the center of the novel. In a life shaped by not-belonging, the loss of her mother threatens to overwhelm Thandi, especially as she deals with an unplanned pregnancy. Written in short chapters punctuated by photographs and other ephemera, this collage-like debut has been garnering praise from sources from The New York Times to Vogue. |
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| Less by Andrew Sean GreerLess than a year after their breakup, midlist novelist Arthur Less is invited to his ex-boyfriend's wedding. Not wanting to go but lacking (so far) a compelling reason to RSVP his regrets, he accepts every other invitation that comes his way, traveling to New York, Mexico, Morocco, and other far-flung destinations. In his efforts to run away from facing the fact that he has irrevocably lost the love of his life, however, he finds other reasons to live -- though of course he's got to endure some comically wrong turns first. With a surprising narrator (you'll find out at the end who) and flawed but sympathetic characters, Less is a poignant meditation on the universal search for love and happiness. |
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Class Mom
by Laurie Gelman
Frowned upon by conservative fellow PTA members for her past as a single parent, Jen reluctantly agrees to become class mom during her youngest child's kindergarten year, a role that is challenged by parent drama, hypersensitive allergies and a former flame. A first novel.
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Mrs. Fletcher
by Tom Perrotta
Struggling to adjust to her empty nest when her only child departs for college, a middle-aged divorcee receives an erotic message from a secret admirer and becomes obsessed with a fantasy porn site for women; while miles away at college, her son encounters challenges to his outmoded ideas of sex. By the best-selling author of Little Children.
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| Luxe by Ashley AntoinetteIn this high-drama series debut, hardworking Bleu Montclair barely survives being shot by robbers one week before her escape from Flint, Michigan by way of a scholarship to UCLA. Though motivated to better herself, she nevertheless falls prey to her roommate, who leads her into a life where partying is prioritized over studying. Soon, Bleu is trafficking drugs in order to make a little more bank, with devastating results. Will Bleu free herself from her dangerous lifestyle and return to her studies? You won't find answers here, but bestselling author Ashley Antoinette will have you hooked and looking to pick up the next in the series, A Lala Land Addiction. |
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| Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó CrucetCuban-American student Lizet Ramirez has deeply upset her family by choosing to attend a private college far from home -- a school where she feels unmoored both socially and academically. At home, her quickly splintering family has been pulled into the story of orphaned Cuban immigrant Ariel Hernandez (modeled on real-life Elian Gonzalez) and the heated debates that surround him. These two stories -- the racist undertones of a privileged private college and the treatment of immigration on a national scale -- "play off each other in a masterful way" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Dear Committee Members by Julie SchumacherSly and satirical, this novel is told entirely through the biting letters of one overwhelmed college professor, who claims that the demands of academia require more letters of recommendation than published articles. Budget cuts, staff eliminations, favoritism, and other small indignities find their way into his endless stream of comical, frank, and sometimes passive-aggressive letters. Pick this up if you enjoyed Aaron Thiel's similarly college-set Ghost Apple. |
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| Loner by Teddy WayneDavid Federman is pretty smart but not particularly memorable. Overlooked in high school, he hopes to make a name for himself at Harvard, but (unsurprisingly) things don't get off to a great start. Ignoring friendly overtures from another girl, he becomes enamored of fellow freshman Veronica, and does everything and anything he can to ingratiate himself with her. Soon, his self-absorbed attempts move from pathetic to disconcerting to downright creepy, and we're left wondering exactly what is going on. Readers who appreciate psychological discomfort (think Sebastian Faulks' Engleby) will relish the increasingly unsettling nature of David's actions. |
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