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Fiction A to Z February 2020
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| Followers by Megan AngeloWhat happens: Two storylines unfold, one set in 2016, and one in 2051. Separating the two is a catastrophic data hack.
Why you might like it: Exploring the pitfalls of social media, this debut novel takes contemporary interest in celebrity culture to its logical extreme.
For fans of: Dave Eggers' The Circle; Courtney Maum's Touch, or Connie Willis' Crosstalk -- all of which touch on different aspects of the trouble with technology and social media. |
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| You Were There Too by Colleen OakleyHow's this for weird: For years, Mia Graydon has had a recurring character appear in her dreams; when she meets him in real life, she's shocked to find out she's been appearing in his.
What happens: Mia, whose marriage has faltered under the weight of infertility problems, has to figure out which man is the one for her. Expect to need tissues in this relationship-driven book.
For fans of: Kristin Hannah's The Life Intended; Taylor Jenkins Reid's One True Loves. |
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Heart of junk
by Luke Geddes
What it's about: Eccentric merchants at a Kansas antiques mall fervently prepare for a visit by their favorite television reality stars, only to become implicated in the kidnapping of a toddler beauty-pageant princess.
For fans of: Quirky, character-based fiction.
Why you might like it: "The writing here is hilarious and poignant, inviting belly laughs and thoughtful, genuinely moving introspection on how what we collect comes to define us." (Booklist)
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Twenty
by Debra Landwehr Engle
A decision: At age fifty-five, Meg's life is too filled with loss for her to remember what magic feels like and she's left with a bone-deep feeling that she's through with living. Luckily, she has a bottle of mysterious pills, given to her years ago by an empathetic doctor who promised that they would offer her dying mother a quick, painless end in exactly twenty days. Though her mother never needed them, Meg does.
Or does she? Now that she's decided to leave this world, Meg is rediscovering the joy in it. She sheds everything she no longer needs and reconnects with those she cares for. But is it too late to choose to stay?
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The sweet indifference of the world
by Peter Stamm
What it's about: In this beautiful kaleidoscopic story, a writer is haunted by his double, blurring the line between fiction and reality, in his attempt to outrun the unknown and reconnect with a woman from both his past and present.
Reviewers say: "As Cristoph unspools his theory about Lena being a doppelgänger for his former girlfriend, Magdelena, this amorphous tale folds in on itself, becoming a meditation on how memory can distort reality..." (Publishers Weekly)
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The ten thousand doors of January
by Alix E. Harrow
What it's about: In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
Why you might like it: "January...is a refreshingly fierce female protagonist...Readers seeking a fresh fantasy with an enduring love story need look no further, and they’ll be left wistfully hoping to stumble upon doors of their own" (BookPage)
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The wagers
by Sean Michaels
What it's about: A struggling stand-up comic finds his world turned upside down when his niece wins a fortune at the horse track, forcing him into a mysterious new career and a gang of vigilantes who steal good luck.
For fans of: Imaginative narratives full of whimsy.
Reviewers say: "In this delightfully protean tale that shifts among many styles, Michaels queries and pushes against our obsession with quantifying all experience as analyzable data. A wistful and wondrously inventive novel." (Booklist)
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Buzz Kill
by David Sosnowski
What it's about: After meeting in cyberspace, two young hackers combine their passions to conceive a brainchild named BUZZ. Can this baby AI learn to behave, or will it be like its parents and think outside the box?
Why you might like it: "Along with the almost satirical rendering of the world, the lovely writing, and engaging plot, the characters of George and Pandora are brilliant—fascinating, tough characters who, through their own skills, are able to bend the world to meet their needs." (Booklist)
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Night Theater
by Vikram Paralkar
What it's about: An anti-establishment doctor in a village clinic is approached by the ghosts of a murdered family, who offer him redemption if he can mend their wounds using otherworldly skills over the course of one transformative night.
Reviewers say: "Grotesque, strange, and hopeful in turns, the novel will leave readers marveling at the mysteries of death—and the wonders of life." (Publishers Weekly)
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Winfield, IL 60190
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