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Popular FictionAugust 2020
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The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis A New York Public Library superintendent’s wife reevaluates her priorities upon joining a woman’s suffrage group in 1913, decades before her granddaughter’s efforts to save an exhibit expose tragic family secrets.
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Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland Renting out their 1934 Atlantic City home and crowding into the apartment above their bakery with their daughters and a mysterious emigrée, a family constructs an elaborate web of lies to cover up a devastating tragedy.
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The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline Sent to a Tasmanian penal colony after conceiving her employer’s grandchild, a young governess befriends a talented midwife and an orphaned Aboriginal chief’s daughter while confronting the harsh realities of British colonialism and oppression in 19th-century Australia.
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A Star is Bored by Byron Lane A debut novel by Carrie Fisher's former personal assistant follows the experiences of an assistant to an award-winning celebrity who becomes a close friend and possibly more as she conducts him through the wonders of Hollywood life.
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Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi A follow-up to the best-selling Homegoing finds a sixth-year PhD candidate grappling with the childhood faith of the evangelical church in which she was raised while researching the science behind the suffering that has devastated her Ghanaian immigrant family.
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Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman Hiding her fateful past with a German officer during World War II, a Parisian bookstore clerk builds a new life for herself in the clubby, eccentric world of Manhattan publishing, before her daughter begins asking dangerous questions.
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An immersive historical tale with chilling twists and turns. Set during the Spanish Flu epidemic in Philadelphia, this atmospheric novel explores the depravity to which some will sink in adversity, but it also illuminates the strength of family bonds and the resilience of the human heart.
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In the Valleyby Ron Rash A collection of 10 modern allegorical tales includes such acclaimed entries as "Baptism" and "Neighbors" as well as a novella starring fan-favorite villainess Serena Pemberton, who returns to North Carolina to finish the murderous job she started.
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Good Dogs Don't Make it to the South Poleby Hans Olav Thyvold A heartwarming tale of aging, friendship and death is told from the perspective of a grumpy mutt who bonds with his late master's widow during walks to the library, before their home is threatened by impatient relatives.
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The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna Bonding with a charismatic student during a summer trip to Sweden, a writing teacher at a Washington, D.C. college discovers the student's dark nature during a Midsommar's Eve seaside camping trip that takes an ominous turn.
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Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey by Kathleen Rooney A tale based on true events follows the experiences of an army officer who answers the call to service during World War II before his life is astonishingly reshaped by his battlefield encounters with a messenger pigeon.
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A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom by John Boyne From the award-winning, best-selling author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies comes an epic tale of humanity, a novel that aims to tell the story of all of us.
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Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson Forced to give up her identity and the man she loves after a decade in the glittering underworld of Manhattan, a Harlem assassin fights the ghosts of her past at the dawn of World War II.
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Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall A celebrated columnist, nightclub emcee and fine arts philanthropist draws inspiration from the Catholic Saints Day books while reflecting on his encounters with legendary black artists from the Great Depression through the post-World War II years.
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The Brother Years by Shannon Burke A man entering his senior years reflects on how his childhood was shaped by poverty and sibling dynamics in late-1970s Chicago, where his survival was subject to violently enforced achievement standards and class disparities at their upscale high school.
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Zo : a novel by Xander Miller An impoverished orphan coming of age in a 1990s Haitian fishing village runs away with a beautiful nursing student whose father does not approve of their relationship, before the couple is separated by the 2010 earthquake.
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The Standardization of Demoralization Procedures by Jennifer Hofmann Developing a mysterious illness at the twilight of his career, a Cold War Stasi officer obsessively investigates the disappearance of a Berlin waitress before he is forced to reckon with his past transgressions involving an unconventional physicist.
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The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church's double standards and their own needs and passions.
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The Dazzling Truth by Helen Cullen In the courtyards of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1978, aspiring actress Maeve meets pottery student Murtagh Moone. As their relationship progresses, marriage and motherhood come in quick succession, but for Maeve, with the joy of children also comes the struggle to hold on to the truest parts of herself.
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The Woman in Red by Diana Giovinazzo Forced into early marriage in 19th-century Brazil, Anita is swept into an affair with mercenary resistance leader Giuseppe Garibaldi before joining the violent decade-long effort to liberate Southern Brazil from Portugal.
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The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante The best-selling author of My Brilliant Friend presents the story of an Italian teen who searches for a sense of identity and clear perspectives when she finds herself torn between the refinements and excesses of a divided Naples.
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The Butterfly Lampshade by Aimee Bender Unable to explain bizarre phenomena that accompanied the most formative events of her youth, Francie reflects on how the perceptions of childhood can take on near-magical qualities that sometimes carry over into an adult world that fluctuates between realities.
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The Lightness : a novel by Emily Temple One year after her father leaves home for a meditation retreat and never returns, Olivia, yearning to make sense of his departure and to escape her overbearing mother, runs away and retraces his path to a place known as the Levitation Center.
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The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls by a Ursula Hegi When an 1878 tidal wave claims three children from Germany’s island of Nordstrand, three women — including a grieving mother, a seamstress and a young girl on the brink of giving birth — help each other in unanticipated ways.
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The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey Saving the life of a young boy, three siblings find their bond challenged by their parents' troubled marriage and their respective efforts to identify the boy's attacker, manage a new relationship and search for a birth parent.
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Luster by Raven Leilani A young black artist falls into an affair with a man in an open marriage before gradually befriending his wife and adopted daughter against a backdrop of dynamic racial politics.
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Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy A woman who has dedicated her life to protecting the environment convinces a fishing captain and his salty crew to follow the world's last flock of Arctic terns on a migration of dark revelations.
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The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi In the wake of a southeastern Nigerian mother's discovery of her son's body on her doorstep, a family struggles to understand the enigmatic nature of a youth shaped by disorienting blackouts, diverse friendships and a cousin's worldly influence.
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Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan From the author of The Baker’s Secret comes a novel of conscience, love, and redemption—a fascinating fictionalized account of the life of Charlie Fisk, a gifted mathematician who was drafted into Manhattan Project and ordered against his morals to build the detonator for the atomic bomb.
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Summer : a novel by Ali Smith A highly anticipated concluding entry in the best-selling series features a stand-alone story that is lightly connected to the events in Winter, Spring and the award-winning Autumn.
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Sisters by Daisy Johnson Moving in the aftermath of a school bullying incident to an abandoned family home near the shore, two fiercely loyal siblings find the nature of their bond changing in the wake of a series of revelatory encounters.
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Bronte's Mistress by Finola Austin A meticulously researched debut by the award-winning "Secret Victorianist" blogger follows the scandalous 1843 love affair between a grieving Lydia Robinson of Thorp Green Hall and her son's erratically unconventional tutor, Branwell Bront.
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Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals by Becky Mandelbaum The award-winning author of Bad Kansas traces an emotionally charged weekend at an animal sanctuary in Western Kansas, where personal and community bonds are tested in the wake of an estranged daughter's homecoming.
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Jackie and Maria : A Novel of Jackie Kennedy & Maria Callas by Gill Paul From the #1 bestselling author of The Secret Wife comes a story of love, passion, and tragedy as the lives of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas are intertwined—and they become the ultimate rivals, in love with the same man.
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The Queen of Tuesday : a Lucille Ball Story by Darin Strauss This indelible romance begins with a daring conceit--that the author's grandfather may have had an affair with Lucille Ball. Strauss offers a fresh view of a celebrity America loved more than any other.
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The Comeback by Ella Berman Returning mostly sober to Los Angeles after a year of self-imposed exile, a teen star decides she can no longer stay silent when she is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to the man responsible for her trauma.
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The Lost Jewels by Kirsty Manning An American jewelry historian discovers her unexpected ties to a fortune in jewels discovered under the floor of a London tenement house where an impoverished Irish immigrant once attempted to change her family's fortunes.
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A Girl is a Body of Water by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi Coming of age with the support of the women in her Ugandan village, a girl struggling with abandonment seeks answers at the side of a local witch who shares stories about their culture’s heritage of female strength.
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An epistolary novel of historical fiction that imagines the life of Katharine Wright and her relationship with her famous brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright.
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Every Bone a Prayer by Ashley Blooms In her rural Appalachian holler, ten-year-old Misty's closest friends are the crawdads. Misty can speak to them, to the birds, to the creek, to everything outside, and she understands how they think. Written by a survivor of sexual abuse, this is a beautifully honest story of healing and hope.
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Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim "From the critically acclaimed author of Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune comes a delightful new novel about exploring all the magical possibilities of life in the most extraordinary city of all: Paris.
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Wantby Lynn Steger Strong Reaching out to a friend after years of building a family and earning a PhD culminate in bankruptcy, Elizabeth discovers that her friend is enduring violent retaliation for wanting a life on her own terms.
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Iredell County Public Library 201 North Tradd Street Statesville, North Carolina 28677 704-878-3090www.iredell.lib.nc.us/ |
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