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| The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant GinderCynical Paul and snarky Alice are siblings who have reluctantly agreed to attend their half-sister's over-the-top wedding in England. That neither of them is in a successful relationship (Paul's boyfriend feels unfairly restricted by monogamy, while Alice is having an affair with her married boss) fuels their long-standing resentment of Eloise's privilege and their anger towards their mother, Donna. Narrated by multiple members of this dysfunctional family, this sardonic tale has a bite -- and plenty of drama. |
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The Sunshine sisters
by Jane Green
Receiving a sobering health diagnosis, a once-uninvolved mother-turned-Hollywood star calls her estranged adult daughters home in the hopes of ending her life, triggering old rivalries and secret fears that challenge family bonds. By the best-selling author of Falling.
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Last summer
by Holly Chamberlin
When her daughter, a pretty high school freshman, is targeted by bullies and suffers an emotional breakdown after her best friend Meg's betrayal, Jane Patterson, blaming both Meg and Meg's mother Frannie, tries to help her daughter while dealing with her own guilt and anger. Original.
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When the moon is low
by Nadia Hashimi
When her happy middle-class life in Afghanistan is shattered by the rise of the Taliban and her husband's murder by fundamentalists, a former schoolteacher embarks on a life-risking effort to escape to England with her three children. By the internationally best-selling author of The Pearl That Broke Its Shell. 50,000 first printing.
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Home Away from Home: Hotels, Motels, and Inns
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| Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill CleggAfter losing her entire family in a house fire the night before her daughter's wedding, June Reid is nearly catatonic, hiding out in a motel room thousands of miles from her hometown. Told from her point of view as well as others affected by the fire (some tangentially, as with the wedding florist), this "ineffably sad" (Booklist) fiction debut is also incredibly moving and deftly written; for a similar feel, try Per Petterson's tale of survivor's guilt, In the Wake. |
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All he ever wanted : a novel
by Anita Shreve
Years after escaping from a hotel fire and encountering an elusive woman, whom he subsequently married and divorced, a man travels from New England to Florida by train and remembers the relationship. Reader's Guide included. Reprint. 600,000 first printing.
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| Sweet Tomorrows: A Rose Harbor Novel by Debbie MacomberIn this conclusion to the heartwarming five-book Rose Harbor series, innkeeper Jo Marie is torn between two romantic relationships. Her boarder Emily is starting over in a new town, heartbroken but ready to begin chasing her dreams. While reading the previous four books would be helpful (especially in understanding why Jo Marie's decision is so painful), even newcomers to the series will be soothed by its themes of hope and healing. (Purists can start with The Inn at Rose Harbor). |
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Rose Harbor in bloom : a novel
by Debbie Macomber
Jo Marie Rose welcomes a new set of guests, including a cancer survivor who regrets ending a relationship with the man she truly loved and a woman who remembers her own broken engagement while planning an anniversary celebration
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| The Rocks by Peter NicholsThough they live on the same island (gorgeous, windswept Mallorca), Gerald and Lulu have managed to avoid each other since their brief marriage dissolved more than 60 years ago. But the book opens with the two of them meeting by chance on the cliff near Lulu's seaside hotel -- and falling to their deaths together. Moving backwards through time, The Rocks explores the rift between them, as well as the curious nature of the relationship between Lulu's son and Gerald's daughter. More tragic than romantic, this novel nevertheless "melds comedy and compassion" (Booklist). |
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| Beautiful Ruins by Jess WalterThough not strictly historical fiction, for half the book takes place in present-day L.A., this romantic, enjoyable novel will delight those yearning for the good old days of Hollywood glamour. It follows a young Italian who, in 1962, hosts a beautiful American starlet in his mediocre hotel. Pasquale is immediately smitten by Dee Moray, who's in hiding; her costar Richard Burton also appears, while an oily publicist takes pains to keep Dee hidden from view. Zipping between past and present, author Jess Walter offers both a twisty narrative and writing that is "funny, brash, [and] witty" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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