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Friday Fiction: Midsummer Edition July 21, 2017 Jessica FitzHanso, Head of Reader Services Lisa Francine, Reader Services & Children's Specialist
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Fall Friday Fiction
Friday, September 22,
10:30 AM
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May 2, 2017 A baker's apprentice in Normandy endures shame and anger as her kind mentor is targeted and arrested for his Jewish heritage, a violation that compels the young woman to engage in discreet resistance activities, baking contraband loaves of bread for the hungry using surplus ingredients taken from occupying forces.
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The Best We Could Do
by Thi Bui March 7, 2017
The debut graphic novel memoir from Thi Bui is an intimate look at one family’s journey from their war-torn home in Vietnam to their new lives in America. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.
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The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
by Dalai Lama XIV, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with Douglas Abrams September 20, 2016
Two leading spiritual masters share their hard-won wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity, sharing personal stories and teachings about the science of profound happiness and the daily practices that anchor their emotional and spiritual lives.
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Chemistry
by Weike Wang May 23, 2017
Losing her love for her major when her graduate studies become subject to research failures and high pressure, a Boston University student contemplates a marriage proposal from a more successful fellow scientist while she pursues an entirely different kind of chemistry.
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Down Among the Sticks and Bones
by Seanan McGuire June 13, 2017
In Every Heart a Doorway we met Jack and Jill, two sisters bound together yet alienated. In this installment, we learn how these two girls escape their parents when they exit the world we know for a realm of fairy-tale horror via a magic stairway, appearing in a trunk in a locked room. This is a story about two young women and the trauma that shapes them; a story about love, hate, and the thin line between. A captivating and emotional novella that irresistibly sweeps the reader along.
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Dragon teeth
by Michael Crichton May 23, 2017
A recently discovered novel by the ER creator and best-selling author of Jurassic Park is set in the Wild West during the golden age of fossil hunting and follows the exploits of two ambitious paleontologists who sabotage each others' careers in a rivalry that came to be known as the Bone Wars.
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The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry June 6, 2017
Set in the late-19th century, follows the experiences of an intellectually minded young widow and a pious vicar who investigate rumors about a mythical sea creature that has been blamed for a death in coastal Essex.
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Fierce Kingdom
by Gin Phillips July 25, 2017
Trapped in a closed zoo after witnessing a life-shattering event, a woman and her 4-year-old son navigate the zoo's hidden pathways and under-renovation exhibits to stay ahead of a dangerous adversary who tests their survival and the limits of the mother-child bond.
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Goodbye, Vitamin
by Rachel Khong July 11, 2017
Struggling with disillusionment after a broken engagement, Ruth moves back home with her parents to discover that her father's erratic memory loss and her mother's eccentricity are manifesting in near-comical ways that help Ruth transform her grief.
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Hello, Sunshine
by Laura Dave July 11, 2017
Sunshine’s entire world comes crashing down on, of all days, her birthday. What I love about Sunshine is that she exudes confidence even when she shows up at her estranged sister’s home with only the things that fit in her car. Sunshine formulates a plan and sees it through. She completely embraces the only job available in her new path to greatness. I found myself rooting for her from the very beginning and I couldn’t wait to read what she was up to next. I loved this novel. I’m a big fan of this author!
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Killers of the Flower Moon
by David Grann April 18, 2017
In the 1920s, a string of unsolved murders rocked the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. Made rich by oil rights, the Osage were already victimized by unscrupulous businessmen and societal prejudice, but these murders were so egregious, the newly formed FBI was brought in to investigate. Immensely readable, this book brings a shameful part of U.S. history alive and will keep readers thinking long after they have finished the book.
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The Little French Bistro
by Nina George June 13, 2017
Terribly depressed by the emptiness of her long marriage, Marianne decides to end it all by jumping off a Paris bridge. Her unwanted rescue and ensuing marital abandonment jolt Marianne into ditching her tour group and setting out for Finistere, the westernmost coast of Brittany. Keeping body and soul together by working at a seaside bistro, Marianne finds herself healing through the company of a diverse group of quirky locals. The Little French Bistro is merveilleux. It refreshes like the sea breeze sweeping the Breton coast.
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The Lying Game
by Ruth Ware July 25, 2017
Isa and her friends are boarding school misfits who are notorious for playing “the lying game.” The more believable your lies, the more points you earn. A suicide at the school results in the girls being expelled under a cloud of suspicion. Fifteen years later, Isa hasn’t seen her three closest girlfriends in a decade, but one text will bring them together again to deal with their deadly childhood secrets. I could not put this atmospheric book down. This is definitely going to be a summer hit.
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March: Book One
by John Lewis, co-writer Andrew Aydin, illustrator Nate Powell August 13, 2013
A first-hand account of the author's lifelong struggle for civil and human rights spans his youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., and the birth of the Nashville Student Movement.
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Midnight at the Bright Ideas bookstore
by Matthew Sullivan June 13, 2017
Lydia Smith is enjoying her comfortable life. She has a job she loves at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. Then one of her favorite "bookfrogs" (code word for eccentric bookstore regulars) commits suicide and leaves her his small horde of books. She discovers a strangely methodical defacement which is a kind of code. A delicate spiderweb of connections leading back to a murderous incident in Lydia’s childhood is revealed. This pushed me into reading 'just one more chapter' until late into the night.
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The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
by Arundhati Roy June 6, 2017
A provocative love story explores a spectrum of powerful emotions experienced by diverse protagonists, each of them searching for meaning, love, and a place of safety.
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Miss You
by Kate Eberlen April 4, 2017
Tess and Gus meet at when they are both eighteen and on holiday in Italy. Their meeting is one of those instant connections, but they go in different directions. Tess returns home, expecting to go to university, but instead her mother dies leaving her to care for her much younger sister. Gus goes to medical school and must deal with the death of his brother. Tess and Gus’ lives momentarily intersect at various points over the years. I enjoyed both of their stories and the anticipation of hoping they would meet again and make a final connection.
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Mrs. Fletcher
by Tom Perrotta August 1, 2017
Struggling to adjust to her empty nest when her only child departs for college, a middle-aged divorce 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.
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My Absolute Darling
by Gabriel Tallent August 29, 2017
Enduring an isolated existence after the death of her mother, 14-year-old Turtle roams the rocky shores and tide pools of the California coast and refutes every outside attempt to engage her before an unexpected friendship with a newcomer helps her realize the vulnerabilities of her life with her charismatic father.
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Paper Hearts
by Meg Wiviott September 21, 2015
Follows the story of two girls as they forge a powerful friendship that carries them through horrific circumstances.
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Poisoned: How a Crime-Busting Prosecutor Turned His Medical Mystery into a Crusade for Environmental Victims
by Alan Bell April 4, 2017
After years of prosecuting hardcore criminals, rising legal star Alan Bell took a private sector job in South Florida's newest skyscraper. Suddenly, he suffered such bizarre medical symptoms, doctors suspected he'd been poisoned by the Mafia. Bell's rapidly declining health forced him to flee his glamorous Miami life to a sterile "bubble" unit in the remote Arizona desert. As his career and marriage dissolved, Bell pursued medical treatments in a race against time, hoping to stay alive and raise his young daughter. He eventually discovered he wasn't poisoned by a criminal, but by his office building. His search for a cure led him to discover the horrifying truth: his plight was just the tip of the iceberg. Millions of people fall ill and die each year because of toxic chemical exposures-without knowing they're at risk. Bell chose to fight back. Despite his precarious health, he began collaborating with top scientists dedicated to raising awareness about this issue and finding treatments for victims. Meanwhile, his daughter miraculously found the one doctor who helped him. As Bell's health improved, he teamed up with other lawyers to avenge other victims in court. This riveting book puts a human face on the hidden truths behind toxic dangers assaulting us in our everyday environments-and offers practical ways to protect ourselves and our children
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The Reminders
by Val Emmich May 30, 2017
Moving away from the West Coast when someone records and uploads his bonfire of personal objects after a devastating loss, Gavin starts over in New Jersey and struggles to forget painful memories at the side of a friend's 10-year-old daughter, a girl with an eidetic memory.
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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid June 13, 2017
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a delightful tale of old Hollywood, so full of detail, that you’ll swear Evelyn was a real actor. Monique Grant is tasked with writing an article about the famous woman, so she interviews Evelyn who tells us all about her career, starting in the 1950s — and her many marriages. This novel will enchant you, and Evelyn will stay with you long after you finish reading.
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Stephen Florida
by Gabe Habash June 6, 2017
A troubled college wrestler in North Dakota falls in love and becomes increasingly unhinged during his final season.
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Touch
by Courtney Maum May 30, 2017
A New York City trend forecaster finds herself wanting to overturn her own predictions, move away from technology, and reclaim her heart.
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The Weight of Ink
by Rachel Kadish June 6, 2017
Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is a historical fiction about two women separated by centuries, and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order reconcile the life of the heart and mind.
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The Windfall
by Diksha Basu June 27, 2017
Moving to a wealthy community after the lucrative sale of their website, Mr. and Mrs. Jha, formerly of East Delhi, struggle with cultural changes while their son, studying in America, pursues romance and wonders how his parents' new status will affect his life choices.
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Words in Deep Blue
by Cath Crowley June 6, 2017
Teenagers Rachel and Henry find their way back to each other while working in an old bookstore full of secrets and crushes, love letters and memories, grief and hope.
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You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
by Sherman Alexie June 13, 2017
The author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian presents a literary memoir of poems, essays and intimate family photos that reflect his complicated feelings about his disadvantaged childhood on a Native American reservation with his siblings and alcoholic parents.
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Americanah
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Separated by respective ambitions after falling in love in occupied Nigeria, beautiful Ifemelu experiences triumph and defeat in America while exploring new concepts of race, while Obinze endures an undocumented status in London until the pair is reunited in their homeland 15 years later, where they face the toughest decisions of their lives. By the award-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun.
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Atlas shrugged
by Ayn Rand
The decisions of a few industrial leaders shake the roots of capitalism and reawaken man's awareness of himself as an heroic being.
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Fall of giants (Century Trilogy #1) by Ken FollettFollows the fates of five interrelated families--American, German, Russian, English and Welsh--as they move through the world-shaking dramas of World War I, the Russian Revolution and the struggle for women's suffrage. By the best-selling author of The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End.
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Winter of the world (Century Trilogy #2) by Ken FollettA follow-up to the best-selling Fall of Giants continues the stories of five interrelated families from different world regions who struggle with social, political and economic turmoil in the years leading up to World War II, during which Carla considers a dangerous act against the Nazis, brothers Woody and Chuck pursue respective paths to key world events and Lloyd takes a stand against Communism.
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Edge of eternity (Century Trilogy #3) by Ken FollettA conclusion to the epic trilogy by the best-selling author of Winter of the World continues the experiences of five intertwined international families as they confront the social, political and economic turmoil of the second half of the 20th century.
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In this grave hour : a novel (Maisie Dobbs #13) by Jacqueline WinspearMaisie Dobbs is plunged into a treacherous personal battle when she stumbles on the deaths of refugees who may not be who they seem against a backdrop of the outbreak of World War II in England. By the best-selling author of Journey to Munich.
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Mischling : a novel
by Affinity Konar
Twin sisters fight to survive the evils of World War II and the Holocaust.
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Small great things : a novel
by Jodi Picoult
Hesitating to treat the newborn of a white supremacist couple who has demanded that a white nurse assist them, a black nurse is placed on trial in the tragic aftermath and is aided by a white public defender with whom she begins questioning their beliefs as the case becomes more racially charged. By the #1 best-selling author of Leaving Time.
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