| The Opium Prince by Jasmine AimaqStarring: Afghan-born American Daniel Abdullah Sajadi, posted to Kabul in 1970 to help eradicate the opium trade; Taj Maleki, local drug kingpin.
What happens: the accidental death of a young girl forces Daniel to compromise his mission; both men must contend with rising Soviet influence and increasing political chaos within their chosen realms.
Why you might like it: This debut -- by an author who grew up in Afghanistan and who has a background in foreign affairs -- effectively captures the dynamics of a complex nation. |
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| Nights When Nothing Happened by Simon HanWhat it is: the sobering story of a hardworking Chinese family in Texas, whose fragile, happy-enough façade falls apart in the wake of a misunderstanding.
Read it for: themes of belonging and loyalty; fully realized characters suffering through discontent and disillusion; a leisurely paced unfolding of an immigrant experience in the United States.
What to read next: Akhil Sharma's Family Life, about an Indian family whose immigration to the U.S. is similarly challenged by tragedy. |
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| Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi; translated by Geoffrey TrousselotIs time travel possible? It is in a tiny Tokyo café, where one particular chair allows its occupants to visit past experiences (though several rules apply).
Is it for you? The physics of time travel is not addressed here; instead, four characters simply get a second chance to revisit lost loved ones.
Book buzz: This English-language debut by Japanese playwright Toshikazu Kawaguchi was a bestseller in Japan. |
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The Chanel sisters : a novel
by Judithe Little
Starring: Antoinette, the younger sister of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel,.Raised by pious nuns, she escapes to Paris, where her shared effort to launch a fashion brand is challenged by discriminating conventions and the horrors of World War I.
According to reviewers...the author mixes fact with ample speculation, and fails to mention Coco's later role as a Nazi collaborator, but the sisters' relationship still makes good reading for fans interested in history AND fame.
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| The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi DaréStarring: Adunni, a 14-year-old rural Nigerian girl who longs for an education in a place where girls are meant to marry young and serve their husbands.
What happens: When Adunni flees her marriage and escapes to Lagos, she finds more degradation and abuse, but is just as determined to find her way.
For fans of: compelling, hopeful stories about fearless young women, like Shobha Rao's Girls Burn Brighter. |
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Fifty words for rain : a novel
by Asha Lemmie
What it's about: Abandoned by a mother who instructs her never to fight or ask questions, an illegitimate child of mixed heritage in 1948 Kyoto forges a powerful bond with her older half-brother against the wishes of their formidable grandparents.
Read it for: a sweeping historical tale that keeps the reader guessing and packs and emotional wallop.
For fans of: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, or Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
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Boys of Alabama
by Genevieve Hudson
What it's about: Thriving in his new Alabama home, a sensitive German teen pursues a relationship with a pangender classmate before the realities of the postwar South challenge their perspectives on identity.
Why you might like it: Boys of Alabama is an evocative and urgent novel of young love, identity, faith, and the dangers of each.
Like short stories? She writes them: A first novel by the author of the story collection, Pretend We Live Here.
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| All My Mother's Lovers by Ilana MasadWhat happens: Maggie's mother, Iris, dies unexpectedly, putting an abrupt end to their complicated relationship, which was strained by Iris' discomfort with Maggie's sexuality.
And then: Maggie delivers five sealed letters to men from her mother's past, learning more than she ever thought possible about her mother, her parents' marriage, and herself.
For fans of: road-trip novels and stories of self-discovery. |
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The shame : a novel
by Makenna Goodman
What happens: Alma and her family live close to the land: they raise chickens and sheep, they make maple syrup. Every day Alma’s husband leaves for his job at a nearby college while she stays home with their young children, cleans, and reads books.
Then: One night, she abruptly leaves it all behind—speeding through the darkness, away from their Vermont homestead, bound for New York.
You might like it because: it is a novel about technology, capitalism, motherhood, and the search for meaningful art.
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| Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong WashburnThen: As a child, Nainoa fell overboard and was retrieved and returned by a pack of sharks, entering local Hawaiian lore.
Now: Nainoa is a paramedic in Oregon, his sister and brother similarly scattered. After he fails to save a young mother and her child, Nainoa returns to Hawaii and disappears.
Why you might like it: Covering 14 years and narrated in alternating sections by four of the five members of Nainoa's Filipino Hawaiian family, this lush debut tinged with magical realism explores the difficulties of modern Hawaiian life. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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