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| Waiting on a Friend by Natalie AdlerRenata has always seen ghosts, though the recent ones have died from a new disease, AIDS. But the one spirit she desperately wants to appear -- her best friend Mark -- doesn't. Touching on love, loss, and community, this surprisingly funny debut is a powerful portrait of friendship and 1984 New York.
Try this next: Muriel Leung's How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster. |
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Contrapposto
by Dave Eggers
Cricket Dib has no particular ambitions until he realizes he can draw. He soon meets a girl, Olympia Argyros, who is captivating, brilliant and far more worldly. Recognizing his talent, she convinces him to deface a popular playground. Under her direction, he does it willingly, already in love, and thus begins a sixty-five-year entwining between Cricket and Olympia, encompassing friendship, working partnership and love affair.
Try this next: The Violet Hour by James Cahill.
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| Elegy in Blue by Mark HelprinAn unnamed 82-year-old narrator revisits his life, from his childhood and his Wall Street career, to his happy marriage and life as a father. Over the years, violence takes loved ones, leaving him alone in an apartment in his beloved Brooklyn, where he contemplates helping others and his own death.
For fans of Whistler by Ann Patchett. |
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| Sublimation by Isabel J. KimIn this debut novel, emigration creates two copies of a person. The iterations can be reintegrated, or both can exist, one in the home country, one in the new. They can keep in touch, or not. Rose Kang left Korea for the United States at ten, cutting off her other self, Soyoung. Now Rose is back in Korea, and Soyoung wants to meet. Meanwhile, a tech company tries to monetize reintegration.
Try this next: The Liberators by E.J. Koh. |
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Country People
by Daniel Mason
Miles Krzelewski is a devoted husband and a doting father. He is also a bit lost, twelve years late with his PhD on Russian folktales and senses that he's become a disappointment to his family. So when his wife, Kate, accepts a visiting professorship at a prestigious college, he decides that this will be the year to finally move forward with his life. But no sooner does he arrive than he finds himself entangled with a cast of characters as colorful as those of any of his folktales.
For fans of Wreck by Catherine Newman.
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| Alan Opts Out by Courtney MaumAdvertising exec Alan Anderson lives the good life in suburban Connecticut with his wife and two girls. But after he messes up a big presentation, he has an epiphany and decides to opt out of capitalism. His wife wants a pool and isn't happy when Alan moves into their backyard playhouse to live off the land. But instead of shocking the neighbors, Alan's lifestyle might catch on.
Try this next: Gabriel Bump's The New Naturals. |
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| Ghalen by Walter MosleyIn 1999, when Jamilah, an advanced medical genetics student, meets Robert, a neurodivergent chef at a vegan restaurant, they fall for each other, marry, and have son Ghalen. But Jamilah gets cancer, leaving the two on their own. Ghalen grows up, becoming a high school valedictorian at 15, but faces hurdles, including racism.
For fans of: Jacqueline Woodson's Red at the Bone and Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead. |
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| The Radiant Dark by Alexandra OlivaIn 1980, young new mom Carol Girard struggles in her Adirondacks hometown. But when a flickering light in the sky is believed to be intelligent life communicating from star Ross 128, humanity adapts, and the Girards change too. This slow-burn novel covers decades, later following Carol's daughter Ro, who becomes an interstellar communication expert.
Read-alike: Eliana Ramage's To the Moon and Back. |
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The Tuxedo Society
by Paul Rudnick
They are fierce patriots. They are licensed to kill. And they are really, really gay. Welcome to democracy's secret weapon, the Tuxedo Society. When Andrew Birnbaum gets invited to have dinner with the exclusive Tuxedo Society, his life takes an unexpected turn. What seems like a group of wealthy socialites gathering for gossip and cocktails quickly spirals into a world of espionage, danger, and hilarity.
Try this next: Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen.
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| Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Rae WhitakerWith four young kids and a successful retail store in 1979 Lexington, Kentucky, Fred and Fran have worked hard to achieve the American Dream. But as the years go by, the love that united them diminishes as insecure Fred looks to high-society groups for approval and business-minded Fran develops feelings for store manager Wendy. Meanwhile, their kids have their own dreams and problems.
Read-alikes: Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney; The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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