| Mostly dead things by Kristen ArnettStarring: Jessa-Lynn Morton, who, after her father's suicide, runs her family's (failing) taxidermy business and helps raise her niece and nephew (she's in love with their mother, who's abandoned them all).
Why you might like it: Mostly Dead Things balances the Morton family's suffering with "only in Florida" weirdness; sharp dialogue and descriptive language make for a vivid read.
Why you might not like it: If you're squeamish, the visceral descriptions may be too much for you. |
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| Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean KwokWhat happens: Though they're sisters, Sylvie Lee was raised in the Netherlands, while Amy Lee was raised in the U.S. When Sylvie goes missing, Amy begins to question everything she knows about her family.
For fans of: Celeste Ng's tragic family mystery Everything I Never Told You. |
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The magnificent Mrs. Mayhew
by Milly Johnson
Sophie Mayhew looks like she has the perfect life. Wife of rising political star John F Mayhew, a man who is one step away from the top job in the government, her glamour matches his looks, power, breeding and money. But John has made some stupid mistakes along the way, some of which are threatening to emerge. Still, all this can still be swept under the carpet as long as Sophie 'the trophy' plays her part in front of the cameras. But the words that come out of Sophie's mouth one morning on the doorstep of their country house are not the words the spin doctors put in there. Bursting out of the restrictive mould she has been in since birth, Sophie flees to a place that was special to her as a child, a small village on the coast where she intends to be alone. But once there, she finds she becomes part of a community that warms her soul and makes her feel as if she is breathing properly for the first time. Sophie knows she won't be left in peace for long. Now she must decide: where does her real future lie?
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The snakes : a novel
by Sadie Jones
A family visit at a snake-infested hotel in Burgundy is complicated by a new husband's insecurities about his psychologist wife's wealthy parents, difficult personal secrets and a brutal tragedy. By the award-winning author of The Outcast.
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The library of lost and found: Library edition
by Phaedra Patrick
A shy librarian whose kind heart is often exploited receives a mysterious book of fairy tales from the beloved grandmother she believed dead and embarks on a perspective-changing journey of astonishing family secrets.
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| The Flatshare by Beth O'LearyThe problem: Newly single Tiffy is looking for an affordable living situation, while hard-working Leon has a place but needs to save some cash.
The solution: Leon works nights, and Tiffy works days. As roommates they'd never see each other, so why not share a one-bedroom (and its bed) and communicate solely through Post-It notes?
Why you might like it: Utterly charming and with delightful, realistic characters to root for, this romantic comedy delivers on all counts. |
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| The Travelers by Regina PorterWhat it's about: the experiences of two interconnected families (one black, one white) from the 1950s through the first year of Barack Obama's presidency.
Read it for: the multiple narrators, whose overlapping stories are told non-linearly, and who each stand out in their own way.
For fans of: The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray, There There by Tommy Orange, or sweeping sagas like Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing. |
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Cheer up, Mr. Widdicombe
by Evan James
The inimitable; some might say incorrigible, Frank Widdicombe is suffering from a deep depression. Or so his wife, Carol, believes. But Carol is convinced that their new island home; Willowbrook Manor on the Puget Sound, is just the thing to cheer her husband up. And so begins a whirlwind summer as their house becomes the epicentre of multiple social dramas involving the family, their friends, and a host of new acquaintances. The Widdicombes’ son, Christopher, is mourning a heartbreak after a year abroad in Italy. Their personal assistant, Michelle, begins a romance with preppy screenwriter Bradford, who also happens to be Frank’s tennis partner. Meanwhile, a local named Marvelous Matthews is hired to create a garden at the manor and is elated to find Gracie Sloane, bewitching self-help author, in residence as well. When this alternately bumbling and clever cast of characters comes together, Willowbrook transforms into a circus of uncovered secrets, preposterous misunderstandings, and irrepressible passions.
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| The travelling cat chronicles by Hiro ArikawaFeaturing: Satoru, who becomes the owner of a stray cat he names Nana, and Nana himself, who narrates this sweet, touching story.
Why the road trip? Five years on, Nana needs a new home (we won't say why), and so Satoru takes Nana on the road, visiting three of his old friends along the way.
Want a taste? "I yawned back. Sorry. Zero interest. Noriko just didn't get it. A wide box spoils all the fun; it offers none of the charms of being inside a box." |
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| Hippie by Paulo CoelhoWhat it's about: a Brazilian man and a Dutch woman's journey of self-discovery as they travel by bus from Amsterdam to Kathmandu.
Why you might like it: This semi-autobiographical novel by bestselling author Paulo Coelho bursts with experiences; the bus is filled with like-minded individuals fully participating in the hippie lifestyle.
Reviewers say: "a nostalgic immersion in the mind-blowing 1960s" (Kirkus Reviews).
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| America for beginners by Leah FranquiIntroducing: Pival Sengupta, a widow from India who has booked a tour from New York to California; her inexperienced guide, Satya; and Rebecca, the unemployed actress hired to chaperone them.
What happens: Despite very disparate backgrounds, the three become something like friends.
Author alert: Though author Leah Franqui currently lives in India, she is not herself Indian; for an Indian author's perspective on newcomers to the U.S., try Amitava Kumar's Immigrant, Montana. |
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Attraction
by Ruby Porter
The present reckons with the past in Attraction. Porter's unnamed narrator is on a road trip between Auckland, Whangara and Levin with her friends Ashi and Ilana, haunted by the spectre of her emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend, her complicated family background and New Zealand's colonial history. Jealousies intensify as the young women work out who they are and who they might become.
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| Lake Success by Gary ShteyngartFeaturing: self-made millionaire Barry Cohen, who is baffled by the implosion of his seemingly perfect life (hint: it's his own fault).
What happens: Barry flees his problems by embarking on a poorly thought-out cross-country bus trip (his carry-on is stuffed with expensive watches rather than clothes); meanwhile, his unfulfilled wife starts an affair with a neighbour when not working with her autistic son.
For fans of: Jess Walter's The Financial Lives of the Poets; Patrick DeWitt's French Exit. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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