 Supporting COMMUNITY. Inspiring DISCOVERY. Promoting LITERACY. |
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Bookstore Girls
by Kei Aono
Riko Nishioka is assistant manager of the flagship Pegasus bookstore in Kichijoji. After working her way up from a part-time position, she is now, aged forty, a respected figure in the Japanese publishing industry. But she has a nemesis. Aki Kitamura, twenty-seven, has waltzed in as a full-time employee thanks to her family connections. A free spirit with a rebellious streak and a silver spoon in her mouth, she's anything but a team player. The two are always clashing—both at work and over their personal lives. But when Riko is given notice that the store will be closing in six months' time, they face a stark choice. Can they put their petty enmities aside to boost sales and save their livelihoods or will they go down fighting...each other?
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| Homebound by Portia ElanWhat do two genius programmers in 1980s Ohio, a Berkeley scientist in 2086, a sentient robot she creates, and a sea captain in the 2500s all have in common? Homebound, a video game created after a teenager finished the coding started by her beloved late uncle, which goes on to influence humanity for epochs. This buzzy, intricately plotted debut explores grief, love, and loneliness. For fans of: Anthony Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land; Jennifer Egan's The Candy House. |
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| Villa Coco by Andrew Sean GreerA 21-year-old American college grad snags a job cataloging the papers and artifacts of Coco, a vibrant 92-year-old Baronessa, at her rural Italian villa. But it's soon clear that he's really an all-purpose assistant and part of an eccentric, chaotic community, including boar hunters, nuns, a princess, and a handsome guest. Full of warmth and humor, this latest from Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer is a charming summer read. Try this next: Paul Rudnick's What Is Wrong with You? |
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Country People
by Daniel Mason
A year in the life of a family as they strike out into the unknown (aka Vermont), leaving all the comforts of home behind--a rollicking, lyrical novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason, the bestselling author of North Woods and one of America's greatest living writers.
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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. For fans of: Apple TV's Severance. |
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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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The Daffodil Days
by Helen Bain
A stunningly inventive and poignant historical novel that follows Sylvia Plath through the final year of her life, told through the eyes of the people who knew her during her time in the English countryside. The Daffodil Days offers a poignant glimpse of a life reimagined. The lasting impression is not of what breaks us but what binds us: resilience, creativity, and love.
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| Palaces of the Crow by Ray NaylerNeriya, a Lithuanian Jewish girl, befriends local crows, and one leads her to safety in the forest when Germans arrive in 1941. She meets Czeslaw, an underage Polish soldier and Red Army deserter; Kezia, an orphaned Romani girl; and a mute boy. Hiding from soldiers as well as others who might harm them, the four young teens survive a brutal winter thanks to the crows and each other. For fans of: thought-provoking historical novels with a bit of magical realism; acclaimed tales of found family and war. |
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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. Carol, fascinated with the discovery, finds like-minded people, while her husband raises their kids alone. This slow-burn novel covers decades, later following Carol's daughter Ro, who becomes an interstellar communication expert. Read-alikes: Meg Charlton's Voyagers; Eliana Ramage's To the Moon and Back. |
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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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Mary Riley Styles Public Library
120 N. Virginia Ave, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 703-248-5030 (TTY 711) mrspl.org
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