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Fiction A to Z September 2019
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In the Blink of an Eye
by Jesse Blackadder
What it is about: Moving from chilly Tasmania to subtropical Murwillumbah in New South Wales, the Brennan family is placed under suspicion in the wake of a devastating tragedy that shatters their senses of normalcy.
Book buzz: "This is a masterpiece of women's fiction, as the complexities and intricacies of both the characters and the situations are devastatingly and utterly realistic. The story is raw in its intimacy, grabbing hold of the reader’s heart and not letting go." -- Booklist
Author note: Jesse Blackadder is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, freelance journalist and a budding screenwriter. Her novel The Raven's Heart won the Benjamin Franklin award for historical fiction, and she was awarded an Antarctic Arts Fellowship for her novel Chasing the Light.
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Waiting for Bojangles : a novel
by Olivier Bourdeaut
What it is about: Living in a Parisian apartment with his eccentric parents and an exotic bird, a young boy must keep his unpredictable mother safe as she descends deeper into madness, in a darkly humorous novel about dealing with the realities of mental illness in unique ways.
Book buzz: "Told from the perspective of a young boy who idolizes his parents—and from George’s journals, detailing his epic love story with his wife—Waiting for Bojangles is a lighthearted and yet sorrowful tale that will stay with you long after the final page." -- San Francisco Chronicle
Author note: Olivier Bourdeaut is a writer living in France. Waiting for Bojangles is his first novel.
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White Elephant : a novel
by Julie Langsdorf
What happens: When the owner of a gaudy monstrosity of a house compromises suburban aesthetics to sell the property, his fed-up neighbors stumble over private challenges to orchestrate an increasingly hostile, laugh-out-loud turf war.
For fans of: "this ambitious and intriguing work about the American suburbs is perfect for fans of Ann Patchett or Meg Wolitzer." -- Publishers Weekly
Book buzz: "VERDICT Funny, spot-on satire relevant in today's divisive noise-machine of battling egos." -- Library Journal
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The Things We Cannot Say
by Kelly Rimmer
What happens: Told in alternating voices from the present day and Nazi-occupied Poland, a follow-up to Before I Let You Go follows a woman's urgent search for answers to a family mystery involving her grandparents' wartime experiences.
For fans of: "Fans of The Nightingale and Lilac Girls will adore The Things We Cannot Say.” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author
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| Marilou Is Everywhere by Sarah SmithWhat happens: When the daughter of an unstable, alcoholic mother disappears, poverty-stricken teenager Cindy slips into her place.
Why you might like it: Though Cindy's actions may seem malicious, this debut novel explores an abandoned girl's need for maternal love, and a needy mother's inexpressible love for her daughter.
About the author: Sarah Smith is a poet, and it shows in her spare, lyrical prose. |
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| Green by Sam Graham-FelsenWhat it's about: It's 1992, and sixth-grader Green is one of the few white students at Boston's Martin Luther King Middle School. After Marlon, a studious black kid from the housing projects nearby, stands up for him, a friendship is born. It's strong enough to weather the typical middle school problems, but it may not be strong enough to survive their differences -- or the increasingly bigger problems they face.
For fans of: stories about interracial friendships (and the strains they come under) or coming-of-age stories told by imperfect but likable narrators. |
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| The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee JohnsonFeaturing: naive teacher Molly Niccol, who's a mid-year replacement English teacher at a privileged Bay Area high school, and several of her students, all affected by a classmate's suicide.
Read it for: the shifting perspectives; the intensity of adolescence; the dark side of privilege.
Reviewers say: "this bleak, potent picture will scare the pants off readers" (Library Journal). |
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| How to Be Safe by Tom McAllisterWhat happens: Not long after high school teacher Anna Crawford is suspended for a classroom outburst, a shooting at the school leaves dozens dead and wounded. And Anna becomes a person of interest.
Why you might like it: Though the novel's catalyst is a horrific event that is all too common in the U.S., the violence is mainly off the page, Anna is a character who encourages empathy, and the trenchant observations that follow are an indictment of gun violence.
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| John Woman by Walter MosleyWhat it's about: a young man's reinvention of himself as a student and professor after his participation in a violent crime requires a new identity.
What happens: John Woman lands at a liberal college in the Southwest as a professor of deconstructionist history -- that history is found in the details not written down. And he finds that, ultimately, his own hidden history will be discovered.
Read it for: the characters; the exploration of how history shapes us. |
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| Dear Committee Members by Julie SchumacherWhat it is: a sly and satirical novel told entirely through the acidic letters of one overwhelmed college professor, who claims that the demands of academia require more letters of recommendation than published work.
Any other complaints? Budget cuts, staff eliminations, favoritism, and other small indignities find their way into the professor's endless stream of comical, frank, and sometimes passive-aggressive letters.
For fans of: Aaron Thiel's similarly biting, college-set Ghost Apple. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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