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Fiction A to Z October 2017
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| The Salt Lineby Holly Goddard JonesDystopian fiction continues to bring readers a wealth of dark futures to contemplate, and this one is no different. Most of humanity lives in carefully protected, rigidly regulated enclaves, surrounded by scorched earth (known as salt lines) that separate them from deadly, disease-carrying ticks. But the wealthy are still thrill-seekers, and what's more thrilling than venturing beyond safety to the wilderness beyond the salt lines? Need a comparison? It's "The Hunger Games meets The Godfather meets Robin Cook," says Kirkus Reviews. |
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| Little Fires Everywhereby Celeste NgUgliness seethes under a placid suburban surface in this multilayered novel, which features two families that grow too close for comfort. It begins when itinerant artist Mia and her teenage daughter Pearl rent a Shaker Heights, Ohio, house from the Richardsons, who have four kids around Pearl's age. Three of the four become Pearl's constant companions; the fourth becomes Mia's. But it's a custody suit elsewhere in the community that threatens everything -- and calls into being the "little fires everywhere." Told backwards through time through multiple narrators, this insightful book will appeal to fans of complex family dramas like Ann Patchett's Commonwealth or Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies. |
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| Sing, Unburied, Singby Jesmyn WardThis new novel from National Book Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward started getting attention long before it was published, and is already being considered for prizes of its own. A story of how the past affects the present, and of deeply entrenched racism, it is also the tale of a biracial boy and his addicted, grieving black mother and incarcerated white father. A road trip to Dad's prison kick-starts the novel, which offers deeply affecting characters, a strong sense of place (rural Mississippi), and a touch of magical realism in appearances by the dead. |
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Meddling Kids by Edgar CanteroThe surviving members of a forgotten teen detective club and their dog reunite as broken adults to embark on a wacky effort to solve a terrifying cold case that ruined them all and sent the wrong man to prison. The time has come to get the team back together, face their fears, and find out what actually happened all those years ago at Sleepy Lake. It’s their only chance to end the nightmares and, perhaps, save the world. A nostalgic and subversive trip rife with sly nods to H. P. Lovecraft and pop culture, Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids is a strikingly original and dazzling reminder of the fun and adventure we can discover at the heart of our favorite stories, no matter how old we get.
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The Wildling Sisters by Eve ChaseWhen fifteen-year-old Margot and her three sisters arrive at Applecote Manor in June 1959, they expect a quiet English country summer. Instead, they find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their daughter, Audrey, five years before. Margot finds herself drawn into the life Audrey left behind. When the summer takes a deadly turn, the girls must unite behind an unthinkable choice or find themselves torn apart forever. Fifty years later, Jesse is desperate to move her family out of their London home, where signs of her widower husband’s previous wife are around every corner. Gorgeous Applecote Manor seems the perfect solution. But Jesse finds herself increasingly isolated in their new sprawling home, at odds with her fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, and haunted by the strange rumors that surround the manor.
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The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories by Penelope LivelyIn her first story collection in decades, Lively takes up themes of history, family, and relationships across varied and vividly rendered settings. In the title story, a Mediterranean purple swamp hen chronicles the secrets and scandals of Quintus Pompeius’s villa, culminating with his narrow escape from the lava and ash of Vesuvius. “Abroad” captures the low point of an artist couple’s tumultuous European road trip, trapped in a remote Spanish farmhouse and forced to paint a family mural and pitch in with chores to pay for repairs to their broken-down car. Other stories reveal friends and lovers in fateful moments of indiscretion, discovery, and even retribution. Each of these delightful stories is elevated by Lively’s signature graceful prose and eye for the subtle yet powerfully evocative detail. Wry, charming, and keenly insightful, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories is a masterful achievement.
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| If I Could Turn Back Time by Beth HarbisonTomorrow is Ramie Phillips' 38th birthday, and she's celebrating on a luxury boat funded by her successful career. But a friend's pregnancy announcement reawakens doubts about her life's priorities, so when Ramie wakes up the next morning as her 18-year-old self, she decides to give life with her first love a second chance. Will that make her any happier? Only time will tell... |
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| The Returned by Jason MottLong-deceased persons have been showing up, hale and hearty, all over the globe, causing consternation among folks who worry who's going to feed and clothe them. Among these worriers are Harold and Lucille Hargrave. Though they're now in their eighties, their 8-year-old son, who died decades earlier, is now very much alive. This strange new reality must be dealt with, even as the world around them struggles with questions that range from the spiritual to the political. A great "what-if" novel, The Returned is "startling and disturbing" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Landline by Rainbow RowellDeftly balancing a successful career and a wonderful family, Georgie McCool's life reaches the next level when she sells a television pilot to a network -- but it comes with a deadline that conflicts with the family's annual Christmas vacation. When she opts out in favor of working, her frustrated husband Neal takes the kids and heads to Nebraska without her. And when Georgie calls on the landline, Neal picks up. However, it's not present-day Neal she's speaking to -- it's Neal from the past, shortly before they got engaged. Handed an improbable opportunity to reexamine (and possibly alter) her past, Georgie must evaluate her life and decide what to do about her own future. |
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| The Booksellerby Cynthia SwansonIn 1962, Kitty Miller leads a somewhat unconventional life as a single woman and the co-owner of a bookstore. But whenever she falls asleep, she somehow starts living the life of Katharyn Anderson, married and the mother of three in 1963. As Kitty figures out the moment that resulted in two such different paths, she also identifies the trade-offs and sacrifices each course required -- and begins to wonder which version is the real one. With a retro-urban feel and a compelling set-up, the mystery of Kitty/Katharyn lasts until the final pages. |
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Thursday, October 19 History RepEATs Itself 12:00-2:00 p.m. Sample of a variety of different foods from the Cranbury Women's Club and Historical Society's cookbooks of yore. Library staff and volunteers will be dusting off jello molds and chafing dishes to present foods your grandparents (parents?) loved to eat! Then stick around to make a kitchy craft Lucy Ricardo or Mary Richards would have been proud of. Enroll online or at the library (enrollment for craft portion only). Wednesday, October 25 The Protestant Reformation 6:30-8:00 p.m. At the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Dr. Lou Mitchell will present the second of a two-part series on the events leading to this 16th-century religious, political, intellectual, and cultural upheaval. Wednesday, November 1 New Jersey Construction Bond Act Q & A 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m Learn about the Bond Referendum on the November 7 General Election ballot. Drop into the library to have your questions answered. Tuesday, November 7 Every VOTE Counts! All Day Go to Town Hall to vote, then stop by the library for coffee, tea, and cookies - our treat!
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Wednesday, November 8 LinkedIn for Job Seekers 1:00 p.m. Learn the basics of using LinkedIn for your job search. This class is a demonstration, feel free to bring your own device to use as you learn. Please enroll online or at the library. Wednesday, November 8 Aiding Syrian Refugees in Greece 7:00 p.m. Local resident Richard Moody will recount his visit to Greece and a Syrian refugee camp earlier this year. A timely and relevant discussion from someone who has experienced the situation first hand. Enroll online or at the library.
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Cranbury Public Library
23 North Main Street ~
Cranbury, NJ 08512 ~ Phone: 609-655-0555 ~ Contact Us
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