|
This & That January 2020 Fresh Start Fiction
|
|
|
|
America Is Not the Heart by Elaine CastilloThree generations of women in one family struggling to balance the promise of the American dream and the unshakeable grip of history. With exuberance, grit, and sly tenderness, here is a family saga; an origin story; a romance; a narrative of two nations and the people who leave one home to grasp at another.
|
|
|
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieSeparated by respective ambitions after falling in love in occupied Nigeria, beautiful Ifemelu experiences triumph and defeat in America while exploring new concepts of race, while Obinze endures an undocumented status in London until the pair is reunited in their homeland 15 years later, where they face the toughest decisions of their lives.
|
|
|
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina HenrĂquezMoving from Mexico to the United States when their daughter suffers a near-fatal accident, the Riveras confront cultural barriers, their daughter's difficult recovery, and her developing relationship with a Panamanian boy.
|
|
|
Dear Fang, With Love by Rufi ThorpeSpending the weekends with his psychologically ill daughter years after impulsively having a baby with his high school sweetheart, Lucas takes the teen on a trip to Europe in the hopes that an immersion in regional history and culture will help her forget his past mistakes and her uncertain future.
|
|
|
Fallen Land by Patrick FlaneryBuying a foreclosure in a half-finished luxury suburb, a family from Boston hopes for a new start in the Midwest, but are influenced by the violent history of the farmland that was developed for the subdivision.
|
|
|
Falling by Jane GreenWhen Emma Montague left the strict confines of upper-crust British life for New York, she felt sure it would make her happy. This wasn't the life she wanted either. On the move again, Emma settles in the picturesque waterfront town of Westport, Connecticut, a world apart from both England and Manhattan. It is here that she begins to confront what it is she really wants from her life. For the first time, Emma has to stay and fight for what she loves, for the truth she has discovered about herself, or risk losing it all. In a novel of changing seasons, shifting lives, and selfless love, a story unfolds--of one woman's far-reaching journey to discover who she is truly meant to be.
|
|
|
A saga of the prairie by Ole Edvart RolvaagAfter settling in South Dakota, Per Hansa, a Norwegian, tries to change his wife's attitudes about their new life.
|
|
|
Good Me Bad Me by Ali LandFollows the experiences of the 15-year-old daughter of a serial killer who, in spite of a new identity and placement in an affluent foster family, wrestles with the decision not to follow in her mother's violent footsteps in the face of bullies, a teacher's discovery and threats against a vulnerable friend.
|
|
|
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret AtwoodEnrolling in a project that allows them to live in safe homes between alternate service months spent in prison, a homeless couple is threatened by troubling events stemming from the wife's involvement with another project member.
|
|
|
Heroes Of The Frontier by Dave EggersStruggling through a painful separation, the loss of her dental practice and the senseless death of a young man, Josie embarks on an RV road trip to Alaska with her kids that is marked by both national wonders and the shadows of past regrets.
|
|
|
Hope: A Tragedyby Shalom AuslanderDeliberately relocating his family to an unremarkable rural town in New York in the hopes of starting over, Solomon Kugel finds his efforts challenged by his depressive mother, a local arsonist and the discovery of a believed-dead historical specimen hiding his attic.
|
|
|
Jasmine by Bharati MukherjeeJasmine, a young widow in India, moves to the United States to begin a new life.
|
|
|
Ladder Of Years by Anne TylerForty-year-old Celia Grinstead, mother of three almost-grown children, impulsively walks away from her marriage and sets off into the unknown to begin an entirely new life, but suddenly she discovers that she is accumulating fresh responsibilities.
|
|
|
Laura Lamont's Life In Pictures by Emma StraubFleeing her once-idyllic family home in Wisconsin in the wake of a tragedy that compels her to pursue her acting career in golden-age Hollywood, Elsa becomes an Academy Award-winning actress and enjoys the heady extravagances of her fame while struggling to remain true to herself and balance the needs of her family.
|
|
|
Life After Life by Kate AtkinsonFollows the experiences of a woman who after being born on a snowy night in 1910 repeated dies and reincarnates into the same life to correct missteps and ultimately save the world.
|
|
|
Lost & Found by Jacqueline SheehanStarting her life over after the death of her husband, a New England psychologist takes a job as an animal control warden and slowly heals from her grief through friendships with a young anorexic, an archery instructor, and an injured oversized dog.
|
|
|
Mona In the Promised Land by Gish JenAfter moving to Scarsdale, New York, with her newly prosperous Chinese-American family, Mona Chang decides to convert to Judaism, prompting a provocative look at the meaning of cultural diversity and ethnic identity.
|
|
|
A New Hope by Robyn CarrStarting over in a small town after the tragic loss of her child, florist Ginger Dysart begins working on a big family wedding before forging a friendship that evolves into something more.
|
|
|
Nicotine by Nell ZinkInheriting her hippie father's childhood home, a young woman who has rebelled against her family her entire life arrives at the house and meets a group of charming anarchist squatters who share her beliefs and approach to life.
|
|
|
Rainy Day Friends by Jill ShalvisDiscovering that her late husband had been living a double life, Lanie struggles to trust again when she falls for an Air Force veteran and member of the boisterous Capriotti winery family.
|
|
|
Starting Over by Robin PilcherLiving on a small family farm on the east coast of Fife, which is known for its rich soil and lush landscapes, with her son Alex and her father after her divorce, Liz Dewhurst finds her life forever changed when the farm begins losing money and developers offer to purchase it at a reasonable price, forcing them to take on a handsome older man as a boarder.
|
|
|
The Underground Railroad by Colson WhiteheadAfter Cora, a slave in pre-Civil War Georgia, escapes with another slave, Caesar, they seek the help of the Underground Railroad as they flee from state to state and try to evade a slave catcher, Ridgeway, who is determined to return them to the South.
|
|
|
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel JoyceJolted out of emotional numbness by a letter from an old friend who wants to say goodbye before she dies, Harold Fry embarks on a 600-mile hiking journey to his friend's side without supplies, an endeavor that stirs up memories of his unhappy marital and parenting experiences.
|
|
|
Virgil Wander by Leif EngerEmerging from an accident with damaged memories and compromised language skills, a movie house owner from a small Midwestern town pieces together his story against a backdrop of community history, which is shaped by a prodigal son's return.
|
|
|
The Widow of Rose House by Diana BillerIt’s 1875, and Alva Webster is ready for a fresh start. Recently widowed she restores a dilapidated mansion with the assistance of a charming, eccentric genius, only to find the house is full of dangerous secrets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|