| Little souls by Sandra DallasWhat it is: a descriptive and engaging story of survival and chosen family set during the 1918 Influenza pandemic.
Starring: Lutie, a Denver fashion illustrator; her older sister Helen, a nurse dealing with the pandemic on the front lines; 10-year-old Dorothy, who the sisters take in after the child becomes an orphan under violent, traumatic circumstances.
Why you might like it: though the situation is dire, Helen, Lutie, and Dorothy are a compelling little family whose bonds with each other lend a hopeful air to an otherwise heavy story. |
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| Shadows of Berlin by David R. GillhamThe setup: In her postwar life in 1950s New York, Holocaust survivor Rachel Perlman struggles to carry the weight of her survivor's guilt, which her American-born husband and in-laws -- despite being Jewish themselves -- can't seem to understand.
What happens next: Her estranged uncle Fritz announces that he's found a painting by Rachel's mother, who perished in a concentration camp, and the memories associated with the artwork and its subject force Rachel to contend with everything she did to survive the war.
Read it for: the haunting depiction of Rachel hiding in plain sight in Berlin during the war and the disarmingly poetic turns of phrase that she uses to tell her story. |
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Our kind of people
by Carol Wallace
The setup: Impeccably bred Helen Wilcox (née Maitland) is preparing to launch her daughters Alice and Jemima into New York high society, hoping to salvage their social position through advantageous matches to compensate for her own decision to "marry down" for love in her youth.
The problem: Alice and Jemima's already precarious social standing is put into even more jeopardy as they await the fallout of their father's questionable business gamble, and as they each find themselves drawn toward men their mother is sure to reject.
About the author: Bestselling author Carol Wallace wrote the social history To Marry an English Lord, which partially inspired Downton Abbey, and her Ben-Hur is a retelling of the classic novel of the same name, originally written by her great-great-grandfather General Lew Wallace.
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The last rose of Shanghai
by Weina Dai Randel
1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi's club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz, but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man. As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.
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| Two Storm Wood by Philip GrayWhat it's about: Just after the end of World War I, Amy Vanneck leaves England to look for her fiancé (or his body) in the devastated French countryside. After arriving at the Somme, she discovers a gruesome war crime and evidence that suggests that its perpetrator plans to kill again.
Why you might like it: Despite the darkness of Two Storm Wood's subject matter, readers will be pulled in by the moody tone and the intricate nonlinear plot structure.
Reviewers say: "Immersive and eerily atmospheric" (Booklist); "powerful historical fiction and a testament to war’s insanity" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Mrs. England by Stacey HallsStarring: Ruby May, a recent graduate of the Norland Institute for the Training of Ladies as Children’s Nurses who trades London for rural Yorkshire when she accepts a job as a nanny; Charles and Lilian England, Ruby's new employers.
The problem: Hardcastle House, the stately but isolated manor of the England family, is as full of Edwardian splendour as it is full of secrets. And though Mr. England and the children in Ruby's charge are friendly, Mrs. England and other household servants are aloof and cold to her with no explanation. |
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| Angels of the Pacific by Elise HooperWhat it's about: the group of nurses known as the Angels of Bataan, who were kept as prisoners of war in the Philippines during World War II.
Read it for: the courageous and inspiring characters, who band together to save as many lives as they can under the most dire circumstances.
Reviewers say: "Heroism, strong characters, and period dialogue shine" (Booklist). |
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| Forbidden City by Vanessa HuaWhat it is: the atmospheric depiction of the dramatic change in circumstances that a young girl from the countryside undergoes after her dancing skills thrust her into the heart of power in 1960s China.
Starring: Mei Xiang, who narrates her harrowing story from the safety of San Francisco as she celebrates the 1976 death of party chairman Mao Zedong.
Is it for you? Forbidden City was inspired by the stories of the many teenage girls like Mei who experienced sexual abuse after being drawn into the Chairman's inner circle. |
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Miss Eliza's English kitchen: A novel of Victorian cookery and friendship
by Annabel Abbs
Before Mrs. Beeton and well before Julia Child, there was Eliza Acton, who changed the course of cookery writing forever. England, 1835. London is awash with thrilling new ingredients, from rare spices toexotic fruits. But no one knows how to use them. When Eliza Acton is told by her publisher to write a cookery book instead of the poetry she loves, she refuses - until her bankrupt father is forced to flee the country. As a woman, Eliza has few options. Although she's never set foot in a kitchen, she begins collecting recipes and teaching herself to cook. Much to her surprise she discovers a talent - and a passion - for the culinary arts. Eliza hires young, destitute Ann Kirby to assist her. As they cook together, Ann learns about poetry, love and ambition. The two develop a radical friendship, breaking the boundaries of class while creating new ways of writing recipes. But when Ann discovers a secret in Eliza's past, and finds a voice of her own, their friendship starts to fray. Based on the true story of the first modern cookery writer, Miss Eliza's English Kitchen is a spellbinding novel about female friendship, the struggle for independence, and the transcendent pleasures and solace of food.
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| M: Son of the century by Antonio ScuratiWhat it is: the well-researched first entry in author Antonio Scurati's tetralogy about the life and career of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
Why you should read it: Though few would dispute the role of fascism in 20th century history, more people could stand to learn more about the movement's early origins and influential figures.
Reviewers say: "A masterwork of modern Italian literature that will leave readers eager for more" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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