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The gifted school by Bruce W Holsinger Set in the fictional town of Crystal, Colorado, The Gifted School is a keenly entertaining novel that observes the drama within a community of friends and parents as good intentions and high ambitions collide in a pile-up with long-held secrets and lies. Seen through the lens of four families who've been a part of one another's lives since their kids were born over a decade ago, the story reveals not only the lengths that some adults are willing to go to get ahead, but the effect on the group's children, sibling relationships, marriages, and careers, as simmering resentments come to a boil and long-buried, explosive secrets surface and detonate. It's a humorous, keenly observed, timely take on ambitious parents, willful kids, and the pursuit of prestige, no matter the cost.
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The lost book of Adana Moreau : a novel by Michael Zapata The story of a Latin American science fiction writer and the lives her lost manuscript unites decades later in post-Katrina New Orleans. In 1929 in New Orleans, a Dominican immigrant named Adana Moreau writes a science fiction novel. The novel earns rave reviews, and Adana begins a sequel. Then she falls gravely ill. Just before she dies, she destroys the only copy of the manuscript. Decades later in Chicago, Saul Drower is cleaning out his dead grandfather's home when he discovers a mysterious manuscript written by none other than Adana Moreau. With the help of his friend Javier, Saul tracks down an address for Adana's son in New Orleans, but as Hurricane Katrina strikes they must head to the storm-ravaged city for answers.
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Pride of Eden : a novel by Taylor Brown Obsessed with replacing his wildlife sanctuary’s escaped lion, a racehorse jockey and Vietnam veteran teams up with a former poacher and a veterinarian to battle underworld smugglers, breeders and trophy hunters. By the author of Fallen Land.
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Vagabonds by Jingfang Hao A century after the Martian war of independence, a group of kids are sent to Earth as delegates from Mars, but when they return home, they are caught between the two worlds, unable to reconcile the beauty and culture of Mars with their experiences on Earth in this spellbinding novel from Hugo Award-winning author Hao Jingfang. This genre-bending novel is set on Earth in the wake of a second civil war...not between two factions in one nation, but two factions in one solar system: Mars and Earth. In an attempt to repair increasing tensions, the colonies of Mars send a group of young people to live on Earth to help reconcile humanity. But the group finds itself with no real home, no friends, and fractured allegiances as they struggle to find a sense of community and identity, trapped between two worlds.
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The Vanishing Half
by
Brit Bennett
Featuring: twin sisters Stella and Desiree, who last saw each other as teenagers when they fled the Louisiana hometown where their father had been lynched.
Over the years: Stella has built a life for herself in which everyone, including her husband, believes her to be white; Desiree is the mother of a daughter so dark-skinned the hometown gossips stare.
Why you should read it: Spanning decades (from the 1940s to the 1990s), this is a compassionately drawn tale of family, colorism, and identity.
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What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons Starring: Thandi, the U.S.-raised daughter of a mixed-race mother from South Africa and an African American father.
What it's about: The death of Thandi's mother propels the novel -- in a life shaped by not-belonging, the loss of her mother threatens to overwhelm Thandi as she deals with an unplanned pregnancy.
Why you might like it: This collage-like debut features short chapters punctuated by photographs and other ephemera, and Thandi's family, at home and in post-apartheid Johannesburg, offers a nuanced exploration of race and privilege. | | What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell Who it's about: a lonely American professor in Bulgaria, drawn by need into an unstable relationship with a young hustler named Mitko -- until his violence leaves the professor scared for his life.
What happens: Years pass, and Mitko reappears once more, forcing the professor to come to terms with his past -- both with Mitko and with his own difficult childhood.
What reviewers say: "A luminous, searing exploration of desire, alienation, and the powerful tattoo of the past" (Kirkus Reviews). | | What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand What happens: In this engaging novel (a follow-up to Winter in Paradise), Irene Steel faces up to her late husband's double life, and finds herself returning to St. John -- perhaps for good.
Why you might like it: As in the best escapist fiction featuring wealthy families, the beach (and accompanying Steel villa) is beautiful, secrets are around every corner, and there are romantic entanglements aplenty.
What you need to know: the 3rd in the series, Troubles in Paradise, is coming this October. | | What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross Twenty-one years ago: Lucy stole a baby and passed her off as adopted. Now, 21-year-old Mia has discovered the truth of her origins and is refusing to speak to Lucy, who has fled to avoid prosecution.
But: Lucy was a kind and loving mom; Mia finds herself torn, even as she reaches out to her birth mother -- it's not that easy to step into a new role as "Natalie," daughter of Marilyn.
Why you might like it: Multiple perspectives round out a thoughtful story of family, love, and loss. | |
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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