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Historical Fiction March 2018
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| The Atomic City Girls by Janet BeardWhat it's about: Although the young women employed in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, are told that their work will help the U.S. win World War II, they have no idea that they're involved in building an atomic bomb.
You might also like: Denise Kiernan's The Girls of Atomic City, a nonfiction account of the military installation at Oak Ridge and it's predominantly female workforce; TaraShea Nesbit's The Wives of Los Alamos, a novel about the spouses of Manhattan Project scientists and the close-knit community they form. |
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| The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph CassaraStarring: members of the House of Xtravaganza, outcasts who form a family as they navigate New York City's underground ballroom scene.
Read it for: a heart-wrenching, character-driven story and a lyrical look at Latinx LGBTQ life in the 1980s and '90s.
For fans of: Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary Paris is Burning. |
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| Song of a Captive Bird by Jasmin DarznikIntroducing: Forugh Farrokzhad, 20th-century Iranian feminist poet and filmmaker.
Why you might like it: This lyrical and thought-provoking biographical novel follows Farrokzhad's brief but eventful life from rebellious schoolgirl to teenage bride to iconoclastic artist-turned-activist.
Try this next: Bahiyyih Nakhjavani's The Woman Who Read Too Much, about a 19th-century Iranian woman poet and scholar. |
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| Only Killers and Thieves by Paul HowarthWhat it's about: The pursuit of vengeance makes for strange bedfellows, as teenage siblings Billy and Tommy McBride discover when they seek assistance in tracking down their parents' killers.
Is it for you? Set in 1885 Queensland, this gritty, blood-drenched Western tells a dramatic coming-of-age story while grappling with Australia's complex legacy of colonialism and genocide.
You might also like: Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang or Courtney Collins' The Untold, both suspenseful historical novels about the hardscrabble lives of impoverished young people in rural Australia. |
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| Winter Sisters by Robin OliveiraWhat it's about: When two young girls disappear during a blizzard, physician Mary Stipp continues to search for them long after everyone else gives up.
Read it for: an intriguing mystery, stirring courtroom drama, and a well-researched and richly detailed depiction of 1870s Albany, New York.
Crossover alert: Though not, strictly speaking, a sequel to My Name is Mary Sutter, this novel reunites readers with some familiar characters. |
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| Half-Blood Blues by Esi EdugyanWhat it's about: In 1940, biracial trumpet player Hieronymus Falk is taken by the Gestapo, leaving the remaining members of the Hot-Time Swingers jazz ensemble to wonder about his fate. Decades later, they discover the truth.
Try this next: Nicole Mones' Night in Shanghai, a dramatic novel about an African-American jazz musician who flees racial discrimination at home only to confront the looming threat of WWII. |
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| The Girl from the Savoy by Hazel GaynorWhat it's about: A chance meeting with an actress and her songwriter brother draws Dolly Lane, a hotel chambermaid with dreams of becoming a chorus girl, into a world of glitz and glamour.
Why you might like it: Beneath the glittering facade of this novel's Jazz Age London setting is a poignant, character-driven story of people attempting to reinvent themselves in the wake of tragedy.
You might also like: D.J. Taylor's Ask Alice, about a London socialite with big ambitions and a scandalous past. |
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| The Jazz Palace by Mary MorrisWhat it is: A sweeping saga of two Jewish families linked by tragedy, set in an artfully rendered 1920s Chicago.
Featuring: Benny Lehrmann, who turns his back on the family business to join a jazz band, and Pearl Chimbrova, who becomes the proprietress of a speakeasy known as the Jazz Palace.
Read it for: well-drawn characters, a strong sense of place, and authentic period detail informed by meticulous research. |
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| Dollface: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties by Renée RosenWhat it's about: Enthralled by the vibrant nightlife of 1920s Chicago, flapper Vera Abramowitz soon gets a glimpse of its seamy underbelly through her relationships with two made men: Tony Liollo, one of Al Capone's henchmen, and Shep Green, a bootlegger-turned-nightclub owner.
Why you might like it: Richly detailed and atmospheric, this fast-paced tale of mobsters and gun molls stars a plucky Jewish heroine who reinvents herself during Prohibition. |
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| The Wicked City by Beatriz WilliamsWhat it's about: Flapper girl Geneva "Gin" Kelly teams up with Prohibition agent Oliver Anson to track down her abusive stepfather, a notoriously ruthless bootlegger.
About the author: Beatriz Williams is known for her use of parallel, past-and-present narratives that unravel historical and romantic intrigue.
For fans of: Kate Morton's atmospheric and intricately plotted novels in which modern-day protagonists delve into long-buried family secrets. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Sonoma County Library211 E StreetSanta Rosa, California 95404
(707) 545-0831 |
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