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Fiction A to Z January 2019
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| The Dakota Winters by Tom BarbashWhat happens: 23-year-old Anton Winter comes of age, with a little help from his friends.
What it includes: father-son dynamics, television talk shows, John Lennon, Manhattan in the 1980s, and Ted Kennedy's presidential campaign.
Why you might like it: Chock-full of '80s culture and sprinkled with celebrities (both real and imagined), this engaging and imaginative novel casts a nostalgic spell. |
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| The Adults by Caroline HulseStarring: Matt (and his girlfriend, Alex), Claire (and her boyfriend, Patrick), and Matt and Claire's seven-year-old daughter, Scarlett, all of whom are spending Christmas together at a family amusement park.
What happens: As the cover image suggests, it doesn't go well. Someone is shot with a bow and arrow, but before we get to that point in this entertaining debut, tension and jealousy abound.
Read it for: the police interviews and fun-park brochures that are interspersed with scenes of the quickly deteriorating situation; the astringent, dry wit; plenty of British slang; and a giant invisible rabbit named Posey. |
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North of Dawn
by Nuruddin Farah
A Somalian couple's tranquil life abroad in Oslo is irrevocably transformed by the arrival of their jihadist son's widow and children, who respectively retreat into strict religion and hunger for freedoms in a new homeland.
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| Come With Me by Helen SchulmanChoose your own adventure: For breadwinning mom Amy, it's a real option when her boss enlists her to try out cutting-edge software that will allow her to experience what her life might have been had she made different choices. With a faltering marriage and three challenging kids, that's mighty appealing for Amy.
For fans of: other domestic dramas that add a fantastical element to the age-old question of "What if?," like Leigh Himes' The One That Got Away or Taylor Jenkin Reid's Maybe in Another Life. |
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The Dependents
by Katharine Dion
Feeling adrift after his wife of nearly 50 years passes away, Gene seeks to repair his relationship with his daughter and reflects on the loyalties, betrayals and secrets that shaped the family's ties to another couple. A first novel.
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| Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. LeeWhat it's about: the relationship between responsible Miranda and her irrepressible younger sister Lucia, which is severely tested by Lucia's wild behavioral swings and cycles of depression and delusion.
Read if for: an astute, compassionate picture of what it's like to struggle with mental illness or to love someone who does; vividly described settings, including New York City in the 1990s and several locations in Ecuador; the complex intermingling of cultures.
Reviewers say: "powerfully hopeful" (Bust Magazine). |
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Family Trust
by Kathy Wang
Featuring: terminally ill patriarch Stanley Huang, and his prospective heirs, who wonder how much he's really worth while considering their own failures and successes as second-generation Taiwanese Americans.
What it's about: While debut author Kathy Wang pokes fun at Silicon Valley culture, this is a novel about family relationships, aging, and class privilege.
Is it for you? Fans of Cynthia D'aprix Sweeney's The Nest will find much to appreciate.
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| Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas ContrerasWhat it's about: In Pablo Escobar's unstable, violent Colombia, two very different girls form a bond that ultimately threatens to be their undoing.
Featuring: seven-year-old Chula, precocious and sheltered by her family's money; 13-year-old Petrona, who works as a maid after her family is destroyed by guerrillas.
Reviewers say: "dazzling and devastating" (San Francisco Chronicle). |
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| Cherry by Nico WalkerStarring: an unnamed Army medic who turns to heroin to cope with PTSD, and takes to robbing banks to support his addiction.
Is it for you? Raw, brutal writing depicts the horrors of war and the harrowing traumas of addiction.
About the author: Like his main character, debut author Nico Walker is an Army veteran, recovering heroin addict, and is currently in prison for bank robbery. |
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An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
by Hank Green
The first to document the appearance of the Carls, giant robot-like statues popping up around the world, April May finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight that puts her relationships, identity and safety at risk.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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