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| The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall KellyInspired by real events, this compelling novel follows Mari Starwood in 2016 as she visits reclusive Martha's Vineyard painter Elizabeth, who has ties to Mari's recently deceased mother. Elizabeth tells Mari about the island during World War II, focusing on two teenage sisters who form a book club, run the family farm, and look for German U-boats and spies. For fans of: Madeline Martin's The Last Bookshop in London; Amy Lynne Green's The Blackout Book Club. |
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| My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel AllendeRaised by her Irish former nun mother and a loving stepdad in San Francisco, Emilia del Valle never knew her Chilean aristocrat father. But as a young journalist covering the Chilean Civil War of 1891, she begins a romance and also meets the father who abandoned her. Isabel Allende fans will relish reading about the del Valles, whose various members often appear in her work. Try this next: Kaitlyn Greenidge's Libertie. |
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33 Place Brugmann
by Alice Austen
Set just prior to and during the Nazi occupation of Brussels, Belgium, this thought-provoking debut examines the challenges and choices of an apartment building's residents, who take turns narrating. They include an architect, his art student daughter, an art dealer, his 18-year-old son, a seamstress, a maid, a widowed colonel, and others. Try this next: The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli.
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| Austen at Sea by Natalie JennerSisters Henrietta and Charlotte, who adore Jane Austen's books, sail to England in 1865 to visit Jane's last surviving sibling, Frank. On board are two brothers who deal in rare books (also going to see Frank) and Henrietta's secret beau. Dramatic events on ship and in England see all their lives transformed in this evocative tale. Try this next: Gill Hornby's Godmersham Park. |
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The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen
by Shokoofeh Azar
"Spanning fifty years in the history of modern Iran, this lush, layered story embraces politics and family, revolution and reconstruction, loss and love as it recounts the colorful destinies of twelve children who get lost one long-ago night inside a mysterious palace."
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| The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie BostwickIn 1963 suburban Virginia, four married women form a book club: arty newcomer Charlotte; former Army nurse Vivian, now pregnant with her seventh child; Ohio transplant and mom-to-three Margaret; and newlywed Bitsy, who'd dreamed of being a veterinarian. Starting with Betty Friedan's controversial The Feminine Mystique, the women read, change, and draw closer over the course of a year. For fans of: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. |
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| Six Days in Bombay by Alka JoshiWhispers of independence swirl in 1930s Bombay, India, as young Anglo-Indian nurse Sona bonds with her latest charge—famous painter Mira Novak, who's also mixed race. After Mira dies, Sona is determined to honor her friend's request: hand-delivering paintings to people in Prague, Florence, and Paris. Read-alike: Three Words for Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. |
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| The Lilac People by Milo ToddMoving back and forth in time, this poignant debut follows trans man Bertie and his girlfriend Sofie living happily in 1930s Berlin before Nazi persecution forces them to hide on a farm. In 1945, they risk everything to protect a young trans Holocaust survivor since even the Allies are arresting some LGBTQIA+ people. This "well-written, engrossing story full of suspense" (Library Journal) details a lesser-known aspect of World War II. |
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The London Séance Society
by Sarah Penner
In 1873, Lenna Wickes accompanies acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D'Allaire to England where they team up with London's exclusive Seance Society to solve a high-profile murder and soon suspect they are not merely out to solve a crime, but are perhaps entangled in one themselves.
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The Safekeep
by Yael van der Wouden
In 1961, in Dutch countryside, Isabel lives by routine and discipline until her brother leaves his graceless new girlfriend Eva on her doorstep, and as Eva disrespects her house, Isabel develops a fury-fueled obsession that gives way to infatuation, leading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever known.
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Outlawed
by Anna North
"The Crucible meets True Grit in this riveting adventure story of a fugitive girl, a mysterious gang of robbers, and their dangerous mission to transform the Wild West."
In 1894, 17-year-old Ada becomes an outlaw after a year of marriage without pregnancy in a town where barren women face execution as witches. To survive, she joins the Hole in the Wall Gang. The gang is led by Kid—both charismatic and volatile— who aims to create a safe haven for outcast women. Together, they devise a dangerous plan that could endanger them all, forcing Ada to choose between risking her life for a hopeful future or staying in her past.
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Let Us Descend
by Jesmyn Ward
In the years before the Civil War, Annis is sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her. Through the miles-long march, she seeks comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother, and opens herself to a world beyond this world.
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River Sing Me Home
by Eleanor Shearer
"The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices... so Rachel runs. Away from Providence, she begins a desperate search to find her children—the five who survived birth and were sold."
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Yonder
by Jabari Asim
Cato and Willian meet at Placid Hall, a plantation in an unspecified part of the American South. Subjected to the whims of their tyrannical and eccentric captor, they find their friendship fraying when a visiting pastor fills their heads with ideas about independence and love.
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The Prophets
by Robert Jones
"Isaiah was Samuel’s and Samuel was Isaiah’s. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man—a fellow slave—seeks to gain favor by preaching the master’s gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel’s love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation’s harmony."
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The Water Dancer
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Years after his mother was sold away, Hiam—a Virginia slave—narrowly escapes a drowning death through the intervention of a mysterious force. The experience compels him to escape. Beyond the plantation, he encounters the very different worlds of the North and South, eventually joining the underground war against slavery in an effort to rescue the loved ones he left behind. By the National Book Award-winning author of Between the World and Me.
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Our next discussion:
Tuesday, July 8, 6:30 pm
Library Conference Room on the Lower Level
Library Conference Room on the Lower Level If you're a fan of poetry, consider joining our Poetry Readers Discussion Group! The club usually meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30, but we do recommend confirming details on our events calendar in case of changes. We hope to see you there!
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Choose your own book to share!
For this meeting, come prepared to share a recommendation of a book that has been published in the last year. |
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