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Recommended by Darla M. When you finish 4 3 2 1 you'll be able to say you've finished four novels. Auster's novel follows Archibald Isaac Ferguson through four different lives that alter based on little differences from the first chapters. It's an extremely inventive and compelling piece of work. For readers who have ever looked back at their lives and thought, "I wonder what my life would be like if X hadn't happened," Auster has the answer.
Guinn's biography of one of the most famous mass murderers in history brings you into the details of Charlie Manson's life. The guy was good friends with the Beach Boys' drummer Dennis Wilson and had big aspirations to not only hide out in the desert while American erupted into another civil war, but also get a recording contract to make him big and famous.
Guinn's writing left me looking forward to each chapter and got me up to speed on a story Acevedo's sophomore novel is a delightful concoction of a book, whose voice is as unique as a restaurant's signature dish.
High school senior Emoni Santiago takes care of her young daughter and her aging grandmother. She goes to school, hangs out with her best friend, and tries not to stress about whether or not she can afford to go to college. Emoni is an average American high school student, but her talent in the kitchen is anything but. Erin Morgenstern is the kind of writer who, as she grew up, never lost her childhood sense of wonder. Her sense of joy. Her sense of innocent anticipation. Every page of this book rings with all of that.
And more. The Starless Sea is a puzzle, a quest, a mystery. Not one, not two, but three unrequited love stories are tangled up with this fantastical story of bees, underground libraries, seas of honey, owl kings, keys, swords, An essential guide and poignant call to arms. Emdin's book is a must-have for all educators seeking to both educate themselves and revolutionize urban education.
Recommended by Caroline M. Twelve-year-old Sunny has just had a heart transplant and she's ready to begin her new life! Step one: find a boy to be her first kiss. But Sunny's best friend has betrayed her, her missing mother has reappeared in her life, and Sunny isn't sure who she can trust with a secret: maybe she actually wants to kiss girls!
City of Spades is the first novel in colin macinnes' once-celebrated "London Trilogy", a trio that has at its center Absolute Beginners, which is one of my favorite. City of Spades (London Trilogy, book 1) by Colin MacInnes - book cover, description, publication history.
I wish this book had existed when I was first figuring out crushes and longing for kisses. Sunny's tender and emotionally honest Listen, have you ever seen anything cuter than the planet Earth on the cover of this book?
Me neither, and it only gets cuter from there! Full of good info and smart humor, this board book is a fantastic and welcome addition to the growing body of baby space books. Recommended by Sarah R. Following the central character Will as he navigates New York City at the height of the AIDS crisis in the late '80s and early '90s, readers will experience the devastation the disease wreaked on the gay population.
It is a crushing tale of friendship, love, and A father and son fishing trip brings memories of a different pond. This simple bonding story can foster larger discussions about immigration, sacrifice, and family history. Recommended by Bill L. As for so many, high school was a crucible for Sara and Tegan Quin, during which they discovered their identities and developed their voices.
Alternating chapters, they share stories that are both universal and utterly unique, much like their music. Talk about spinning gold from straw! This picture book from Beth Ferry, with illustrations by master storybook artists the Fan Brothers, is a true gem. It is told in a poetic cadence that reads aloud beautifully, filled with lush and detailed illustrations, and contains a tender tale of a most unlikely friendship.
The towers of Baskerville Hall and the open country of Dartmoor around it cover myriad secrets that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Belsey, Catherine. A relentless roller coaster of heart-pounding suspense and jolting plot twists, Jack and Jill proves that no one can write a more compelling thriller than James Patterson, the master of the nonstop nightmare. Nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. Aciman returns to many of the characters in Call Me By Your Name , now 20 years older, as new relationships are formed and old ones are still honored. Emily F. Rose H.
It definitely managed to provoke some heartfelt "awwws" and maybe a few tears from the picture book team. A delightful book about finding strength in unexpected places and finding your cuddly side. With delightfully inventive botanical alchemy — including combinations such as pumpkin and saffron, spiced parsnip and willow blossom, rock salt and rosemary — McKee's bakes are sure to dazzle the senses and enchant the eye. I came across a question in a book group on social media the other day: If you were stranded on a desert island, which author's work would you wish you had?
The answer bubbled up immediately for me, but I wasn't surprised: Brian Doyle. Has ever a human written such a glorious body of work? His ability to capture the human condition, with the enormous spectrum of emotions we all feel, is almost otherworldly. While you sit in awe of that talent, Jasmine's family prepares to celebrate the New Year with the tradition of making rice into mochi.
Will she figure out a way to pound the rice into mochi instead, along with the men in her family? The first in an ongoing series that features a different Japanese tradition in every volume, Mochi Queen is great for ages 6 and up! Recommended by Kim T. This beautiful debut novel may be my favorite this year! Language lovers, take note! French and Arabic are abundant in the text and layer an already sweeping story with rich imagery. Recommended by Ruth J.
In these essays, Jess Row interrogates and challenges the "universality" of the literary fiction white writers have written for the last 50 years — everyone from Raymond Carver to Anne Tyler to David Foster Wallace — and how the "absence" of race in these works has prevented white writers and readers from knowing "what we mean I'm a firm believer that we all need a little romance in our lives from time to time.
There's been so much hype about Red, White, and Royal Blue at one point, a coworker saw me pull up an image of the book and shouted "Oh my God, I loved that book! It turns out that the fuss is correct. I experienced so many emotions while reading this book. I laughed, I cried, I sighed Elba has a block that she must drag around with her all the time. It's no fun, but she has to do it. Norris is followed everywhere by butterflies. He doesn't quite understand Elba's block, but he wants to help. This story is one of the most helpful depictions of dealing with loss and supporting a friend that I've seen.
Grief doesn't go away, as this book shows, but it changes with time and patient friends can help ease the journey. Elba has lost All of Us With Wings is a remarkable, refreshing, dangerous book filled with beautiful language. Michelle Ruiz Keil brings the supernatural, the world of art and music, themes of abuse and agency, and characters so real, my heart broke for more than one of them. I want more from this author. At a New England college, an elderly classics professor lets slip a comment that is taken for, but not meant as, a racial slur.
What happens next changes his life and reveals the carefully hidden past he's taken great pains to conceal. Exploring themes of racism, family, deceit, and shame, this is an amazing book, and it made me fall in love with Roth! Recommended by Dianah H. A brief but potent look at how the memories and confusions of childhood are intensified by life under dictatorship, when unreality is imposed by the state.
Karen Abbott provides a compelling account of the career of George Remus, a lawyer-turned-bootlegger, who has largely been forgotten despite the outrageous turns of his nearly unbelievable life. The twists in this story — including betrayal, insanity and murder — would be positively melodramatic, except that they are all true. Tom Waits fans, rejoice: here is a visual feast, three decades in the making.