Fiction
An American marriage
Tayari Jones
FICTION Jones Tayari
Fiction
"Newlyweds Celestial and Roy, the living embodiment of the New South, are settling into the routine of their life together when Roy is sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. An insightful look into the lives of people who are bound and separated by forces beyond their control"--
The Tattooist of Auschwitz : a novel
Heather (Screenwriter) Morris
FICTION Morris Heather
Fiction, Historical Fiction
"In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for more than two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism--but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her"--Dust jacket flap.
Added by Beth
Where the crawdads sing
Delia Owens
FICTION Owens Delia
Fiction
"Fans of Barbara Kingsolver will love this stunning debut novel from a New York Times bestselling nature writer, about an unforgettable young woman determined to make her way in the wilds of North Carolina, and the two men that will break her isolation open. For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. She's barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark. But Kya is not what they say. Abandoned at age ten, she has survived on her own in the marsh that she calls home. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life lessons from the land, learning from the false signals of fireflies the real way of this world. But while she could have lived in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world--until the unthinkable happens. In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a heartbreaking coming of age story and a surprising murder investigation. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens's debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps"--
Added by Beth
Orange world and other stories
Karen Russell
FICTION Russell Karen
Fiction
From the Pulitzer finalist and universally beloved author of the New York Times best sellers Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove, a stunning new collection of short fiction that showcases her extraordinary gifts of language and imagination
Just started this new short story collection, I loved her earlier books! -Jason
The heavens : a novel
Sandra Newman
FICTION Newman Sandra
Fiction
"A young man, Ben, meets a young woman, Kate--and they begin to fall in love. From their first meeting, Ben knows Kate is unworldly and fanciful, so at first he isn't that concerned when she tells him about the recurring dream she's had since childhood. In the dream, she's transported to the past, where she lives a second life as Emilia, the mistress of a nobleman in Elizabethan England. But for Kate, the dream becomes increasingly real and compelling until it threatens to overwhelm her life."--
Can a single person change history? Fundamentally change the world? Sandra Newman explores this in "The Heavens." Living in New York at the beginning of the 21st century, Kate often dreams of another time--Elizabethan England--where she becomes acquainted with Lord Southampton and a relatively unknown Will Shakespeare. When she wakes up from the dream, her knowledge and understanding of the world in 2001 strays from how her circle of friends perceive it. Her dreams become more steady than her reality. This back and forth makes the narrative engaging, yet foggy and unclear. Is Kate a time-traveler? Are the choices she is making in her dreams changing the future? Or is it all in her head? -Anne M
Consumed
Ward, J. R.
I haven't read a ton of J.R. Ward, but I'm now putting this author on my to-watch list. The set-up of a smoldering romance between two firefighters pulled me in, and the heat kept coming. No damsels in distress here! Only strong characters figuring out their messes. I really enjoyed this story, and the audiobook version has multiple narrators to enhance the performance. -Melody
Once upon a river : a novel
Diane Setterfield
FICTION Setterfield, Diane
Fiction, Suspense, Historical Fiction
On a dark midwinter's night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, a wounded stranger carries in the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later the girl stirs, and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Magic? As the days pass the child remains mute and unable to answer questions. Three families are keen to claim her: the wealthy mother of a kidnapped daughter missing for two years; a farming family sure it is their son's secret daughter; a parson's housekeeper, reminded of her younger sister. Each family has secrets, must be revealed before the girl's identity can be known. -- adapted from jacket
I loved this book! It has everything I want in a good read: great writing, a crescendo of narrative, interesting characters with intertwined lives, a sense of place, and an absorbing mystery--all wrapped up in historical fiction. This is a story about storytelling--the characters tell stories, the narrator tells stories, so if you like feeling very much the reader--feeling like you are listening to someone tell you a story, this is a good pick for you. It will get you through the last few weeks of winter. -Anne M
The haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson
FICTION Jackson, Shirley
Fiction
With the new Netflix rendition of this chilling classic, now is the perfect time to pick up this quick read. -Shawna
Rebecca
Daphne Du Maurier
FICTION DuMaurier, Daphne
Fiction
A young girl becomes the second Mrs. Max de Winter, only to find that she is not the mistress of Manderley. Instead the house and its occupants are dominated by the memory of Rebecca, her predecessor.
With several of Author Daphne du Maurier's books and short stories turned into films, it is likely that you are already familiar with some of her work. Alfred Hitchcock in particular loved her work, creating three films based on her ideas, including The Birds in 1960. -Shawna
The dreamers : a novel
Karen Thompson Walker
FICTION Walker Karen
Fiction, Science Fiction
One night in an isolated college town in the hills of Southern California, a first-year student stumbles into her dorm room, falls asleep, and doesn't wake up. She sleeps through the morning, into the evening. Her roommate, Mei, cannot rouse her. Neither can the paramedics, nor the perplexed doctors at the hospital. When a second girl falls asleep, and then a third, Mei finds herself thrust together with an eccentric classmate as panic takes hold of the college and spreads to the town. A young couple tries to protect their newborn baby as the once-quiet streets descend into chaos. Two sisters turn to each other for comfort as their survivalist father prepares for disaster. Those affected by the illness, doctors discover, are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, higher than has ever been recorded before. They are dreaming heightened dreams, but of what? Written in luminous prose, The Dreamers is a breathtaking and beautiful novel, startling and provocative, about the possibilities contained within a human life, if only we are awakened to them.
Every page of this book made me uncomfortable and anxious. What book on a contagion wouldn't? The loss of individual control, the breakdown of society, the baffled experts...this is not for pleasure-reading. But I've been thinking about the book a lot after finishing it, particularly the ethics and beliefs the characters subscribe to that are tested when the virus hits. It was worth the quickening pace of my heart. -Anne M
Added by Beth