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| The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila HarrisWhat happens: As the sole Black employee at a small publishing company, 26-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is relieved when she learns that her new co-worker, Hazel, is also Black. Until, that is, a string of events has Nella wondering whether Hazel has her back after all.
Read it for: A slow-burn narrative that defies genre labels; a creeping sense of menace; well-written characters; smart dialogue; an insightful critique of the publishing industry. |
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| Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny HostinWhat it is: The 1st in a trilogy, set in the affluent Black community of Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard.
What happens: As influential Amelia Vaux Tanner nears the end of her life, she's decided to leave her Oak Bluffs home to one of her three goddaughters -- all successful professionals struggling with personal matters. But which one?
About the author: Sunny Hostin is the cohost of ABC's The View and the author of a memoir, I Am These Truths. |
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| The Guncle by Steven RowleyStarring: Former TV star Patrick O'Hara, who reluctantly agrees to care for his young niece and nephew when their mother (Patrick's best friend) dies and their father (Patrick's brother) checks into rehab.
Why you might like it: Replete with likeable characters, witty writing, and a heartwarming story, this tale of "dear 'ol GUP" (Gay Uncle Pat) and his charges is warm and charming despite the heartbreaking setup. |
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| Secrets of Happiness by Joan SilberWhat happens: Ethan, a young lawyer in Manhattan, learns that his father, Gil, has a second, secret family.
The structure: Seven intertwining stories, two of which are narrated by Ethan, explore a web of connections that stretches from Manhattan and Queens to Thailand and Nepal.
For fans of: Multi-layered novels with ensemble casts seeking happiness (with various levels of success). |
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Peaces
by Helen Oyeyemi
What happens: Honeymooning aboard a historic former tea-smuggling train, newlyweds Otto and Xavier enjoy the locomotive’s fantastical accommodations before encountering a secretive fellow passenger, who imparts a surprising message.
What's it like: Offbeat, whimsical, yet suspenseful featuring complex, LGBTQIA-diverse characters.
You may also enjoy: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
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The Girls in the Stilt House
by Kelly Mustian
Starring: Ada, who promised herself she would never go back to the Trace and to her harsh father in Mississippi and Matilda, daughter of a sharecropper, is from the other side of the Trace.
What happens: As the two girls are drawn deeper into a dangerous world of bootleggers and moral corruption, they must come to terms with the complexities of their tenuous bond and a hidden past that links them in ways that could cost them their lives.
For fans of: Southern fiction such as Ruby by Cynthia Bond or Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson.
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Swimming Back to Trout River
by Linda Rui Feng
The setting: The backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution.
What it's about: A father’s determination to reunite his family before his daughter Junie’s 12th birthday, even if it means bringing painful family secrets to light.
Other books about the immigrant experience: The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, or Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.
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Sparks Like Stars
by Nadia Hashimi
Starring: Ten-year old Sitara Zalmani lives a privileged life in Afghanistan's thriving cosmopolitan capital during the 1970s--a time of remarkable promise under the leadership of Afghanistan's progressive president, and Sitara's beloved father, his right-hand man.
What happens: Sitara's world is shattered when communists stage a coup, assassinating the president and Sitara's entire family. Only she survives. Forty years later, Satara embarks on a quest that takes her back to Kabul and through shadowy memories of the world she loved and lost.
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How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
by Cherie Jones
A cautionary tale: Lala's grandmother Wilma tells her a cautionary tale of the one-armed sister, and what happens to girls who disobey their mothers and go into the Baxter's Tunnels.
What happens: Now Lala must deal with a chain of events that have terrible consequences when her petty criminal husband is interrupted in his attempt to rob one of the mansions in their "paradise" home of Baxter Beach, Barbados.
Who will like it: This suspenseful novel with disturbing elements will appeal to fans of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara or Idaho by Emily Ruskovich.
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The Performance
by Claire Thomas
Starring: An unbending professor on the cusp of retirement, a philanthropist with a traumatic past and a theater usher worried for her girlfriend.
What happens: The three women become unexpected companions during a play that is interrupted by a suddenly out-of-control wildfire.
Who will like it: Fans of Innocents and Others by Dana Spiotta or NW by Zadie Smith will enjoy this thought-provoking, yet thought provoking novel.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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