| Dances by Nicole CuffyThe dream: Cece, a gifted 22-year-old Black ballerina is on the verge of becoming the New York City Ballet's first Black principal dancer. Mainstream media is wild about her success as a trailblazer in an art form dominated by white performers.
The twist: Her affair with a member of the troupe results in an unexpected pregnancy and her older brother (who always cheered her on despite his own struggle with drugs) goes missing.
The choices: a child, a search for her brother, or her ballet dreams? |
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| Such Kindness by Andre Dubus IIIWhat happens: A skilled 50-ish laborer takes a bad fall, gains an addiction to painkillers, and loses most everything else (including his marriage and financial security). Living alone in subsidized housing, his dubious efforts to get back on top result in more soul-searching than success.
Reviewers call it: "a sure bet" for the author's existing fans and "a sensitive, timely tale [for] readers new to his powers" (Booklist). |
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| The Memory of Animals by Claire FullerDuring a near-future pandemic...Neffy, a failed marine biologist, volunteers to test a new vaccine. Her immunity is promising, but her fellow volunteers seem to know more than she does. Unsure whom to trust, Neffy becomes lost in reverie about one of her own former test subjects -- an octopus that she loved caring for.
The burning question: Is she willing to pay the price for survival?
Read it for: "a riveting, don't-miss account of what some see as the reality to come" (Library Journal). |
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| Paper Names by Susie Luo1990s, Manhattan: In an upscale apartment building, the lives of an immigrant father, his Chinese American daughter, and a wealthy white attorney collide in ways that change each of them forever.
Read it for: a moving story of identity, family drama, and the American experience as it changes over thirty years.
For fans of...Rootless by Krystal Zara Appiah. |
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| The God of Good Looks by Breanne McIvorStarring: Bianca Bridge, the new assistant to a top-level makeup artist in Trinidad's beauty community.
What happens: Bianca's powerful (and married) ex threatens to destroy her hard-won happiness. This time Bianca finds her voice and fights back, with help from unexpected allies.
For fans of...The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger or Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn. |
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| I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie MooreWhat it is: part love story, part ghost story, this novel takes readers on a metaphysical road trip with subversive high school teacher Finn and his recently deceased ex, Lily. A second storyline starring a Civil War-era inn keeper surprisingly intersects with Finn's journey.
Read it for...an "audacious, mind-bending plunge into the mysteries of illness, aberration, death, grief, memory, and love" (Booklist).
Try this next: Hiromi Ito's The Thorn Puller or David Hoon Kim's Paris is a Party, Paris is a Ghost. |
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| Notes on Her Color by Jennifer NealMeet: Gabrielle, a musically talented young Black and Indigenous woman, who is gifted (like her mother) with the ability to change her skin color.
What happens: Inspired by her self-assured, queer, Black piano teacher, Gabrielle gains independence from her dysfunctional family and begins to discover her most authentic self.
For fans of...own voices coming-of-age stories infused with magical realism in the vein of Helen Oyeyemi's Boy, Snow, Bird. |
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| You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride and Jo PiazzaWhat happens: Settled career counselor Cinnamon befriends a vulnerable younger woman, Lucy, over lunches in the park. Suddenly Lucy vanishes, abandoning her infant for Cinnamon to find. Instead of alerting the authorities, Cinnamon takes the baby home while hoping for Lucy's quick return.
The twist: Cinnamon is Black. Daisy and her baby are white. The longer Lucy is gone, the more complicated Cinnamon's position becomes.
Read it for: a thoughtful story of motherhood, identity, and race that also subtly critiques societal flaws that put women and children in need. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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