Shark Heart: A love story by Emily Habeck 

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This is bizarre and clever – a romance unlike any other. Habeck’s language is descriptive and beautiful. 

“Habeck’s debut explores the nature of grief through deft and beautiful writing… Poetic interludes and play-like vignettes punctuate the lyrical prose”—Booklist (Starred Review)

“A bit Shakespeare, a bit Kafka, and a bit Disney… [this] debut stands out from the pack.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Raw, powerful, and delightfully unusual… [Shark Heart] is structurally and lyrically daring, so much so that its pages quickly envelop readers in its emotional challenges and magic… While it begs readers to contemplate what it means to be human, it also challenges them to look at their circumstances carefully and reminds them to be grateful for what they have at hand rather than dwelling on what they may have lost. Shark Heart is an unforgettable and much needed love story for a new, uncertain, and rapidly changing era.”–Southern Review of Books

“Beguiling… Habeck’s setup allows her to grapple with big questions… [and] imbues the smallest interactions and moments with poetic weight… Surprising and pleasurably uncategorizable. Shark Heart is wild, in every sense of the word.”—New York Times Book Review

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Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash 

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As World War II begins, a young English girl is sent to live in Boston for her own safety. She forms close bonds with her adoptive family, but knows she’ll return to London and her parents eventually. Following these characters over several years and countries, this is a beautifully written story with a New England connection.

“What a wonderful novel! I loved Beatrix as a girl, discovering America, and perhaps even more as a young woman, back in post-war London. Spence-Ash writes with such insight about her characters on both sides of the Atlantic and she is a mistress of suspense. I was deeply sorry to reach the last page.”―Margot Livesey, author of The Boy in the Field

“A young’s woman’s family loyalties are divided as she leaves her London home for Boston during WWII in Spence-Ash’s magnetic debut… Readers will be riveted.”―Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review

“This gorgeous novel, about the profound impact on children and families of even the most benign forms of displacement, marks the debut of a very gifted writer. I adored Laura Spence-Ash’s characters and deeply admired her precise, resonant prose. Beyond That, the Sea is a marvel.”―Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier and The Children’s Crusade

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Happy Place by Emily Henry 

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A group of college friends gathers for one last summer trip to Maine, including Harriet and Wyn, who are keeping their recent breakup a secret from everyone else. This is a great romantic summer read with a little more depth than the typical beach book.

“As always, Henry’s dialogue is sparkling and the banter between characters is snappy and hilarious. Wyn and Harriet’s relationship, shown both in the past and the present, feels achingly real. Their breakup, as well as their complicated relationships with their own families, adds a twinge of melancholy, as do the relatable growing pains of a group of friends whose lives are taking them in different directions. A wistfully nostalgic look at endings, beginnings, and loving the people who will always have your back.” —Kirkus

“This sexy and profoundly romantic novel will satisfy fans of best-selling Henry’s thrilling trademark mix of witty banter and intensely emotional storylines.” —Library Journal(starred review)

“Blur[s] the lines between women’s and literary-leaning commercial fiction, departing from the fantasy spaces of bodice rippers and misty moors to depict a world that looks a lot more like, well, our own…Henry operates at the top of her—and her readers’—intelligence, telling sophisticated, heartfelt stories that are conscious of the romantic comedy conventions without being overly meta about them…Henry’s dedicated readers know what to expect: wit, charm and heart, satisfying to the last page.”—The Washington Post

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All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles

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This is a story of legacy. One rough cotton bag, called “Ashley’s Sack,” is embroidered with just a handful of words that evoke a sweeping family story of loss and of love. In 1850s South Carolina, just before nine-year-old Ashley was sold, her mother, Rose, gave her this sack filled with just a few things as a token of her love.  It was passed down through generations. 

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

WINNER: PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize, Lawrence W. Levine Award, Darlene Clark Hine Award, Cundill History Prize, John Kelly Memorial Prize, Massachusetts Book Award

“[A] brilliant and compassionate account.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Through [Miles’s] interpretation, the humble things in the sack take on ever-greater meaning, its very survival seems magical, and Rose’s gift starts to feel momentous in scale.”—Rebecca Onion, Slate 

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Strip Tees by Kate Flannery

This memoir tells the story of the millennial feminist meeting toxic patriarchal culture at American Apparel. Hilariously funny – I was cheering for Kate the whole way! 

“A racy, thoughtful memoir of [Flannery’s] tenure during the rise and fall of the controversial company…Flannery’s conversion from credulous retail recruit to company woman doesn’t trade in hyper-intellectual #MeToo-era analysis or retrospective scolding. Instead, its currency is the prickly panic of realizing your life doesn’t match your principles, spiked with salacious specifics that evoke the highly sexed environment of American Apparel’s cultural and commercial peak.”
―New York Times Book Review

“[A] bold debut memoir…Flannery succeeds in illustrating the fashion industry’s blurred lines in the decade prior to #MeToo, and the tough choices women faced between professional success and personal safety. This is an authentic portrait of the battle to remain true to oneself.―Publishers Weekly

“Begins like a classic Hollywood noir…Strip Tees goes down as easy as a rum and Diet Coke, breezily written and punctuated at its intermission by a few pages of glossy photos…[it’s] as if Flannery were recounting the saga of her ill-fated years at American Apparel directly to you ― not in a suburban basement, but perhaps over frozen rosé outside a hotel bar, where we can smell the pool water and swimsuit Lycra.”―Washington Post

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Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

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While they are all home working on the family’s cherry orchard, a mother tells her daughters the story of an important summer in her past. I always love Ann Patchett’s writing, and her new novel does not disappoint, with interesting characters and beautiful descriptions of Northern Michigan.

“Patchett’s intricate and subtle thematic web…enfolds the nature of storytelling, the evolving dynamics of a family, and the complex interaction between destiny and choice….These braided strands culminate in a denouement at once deeply sad and tenderly life-affirming. Poignant and reflective, cementing Patchett’s stature as one of our finest novelists.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“As this spellbinding and incisive novel unspools, Patchett brings every turn of mind and every setting to glorious, vibrant life, gracefully contrasting the dazzle of the ephemeral with the gravitas of the timeless, perceiving in cherries sweet and tart reflections of love and loss.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Meryl Streep…is ideal for narrating Tom Lake…. Streep delivers with her signature whimsy, her cadence lilting from wide-eyed innocence to winking wisdom, blurring the nostalgia for small-town Americana with dashes of big-city dreams.” — New York Times Book Review

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Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

I read this in one weekend unable to put this down –  a brainy thriller both a page-turner and a meditation on a loving, close Korean American family in crisis. It is fiction with footnotes!  – and each one offers fascinating tangents as entertaining as the main story. Excellent read.

“Brilliant . . . amazing . . . the claim that a book will change your life often seems like exaggeration. Here the potential is real.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Kim uses the parallel investigations of police and family to explore the complex dynamics of interracial marriage, Asian and biracial identity in America, and the nuances of raising a child with special needs. You’ll want to savor every word as Kim plunges the depths of human action and finds love at the center.”—CrimeReads

“Happiness Falls is on the one hand a profound meditation on the meaning of life and the nature of happiness, while on the other hand a riveting mystery replete with suspense.”—Chris Pavone, author of Two Nights in Lisbon

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The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

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National Jewish Book Award – Biography, 2022

Best selling novelist Jonathan Freedland tells the astonishing true story of Rudolf Vrba, the man who broke out of Auschwitz to warn the world of a truth too few were willing to hear.  Should his name be as famous as Anne Frank, Oskar Schindler, and Primo Levi?

 “Concentration camp stories make for painful reading, but British journalist and broadcaster Freedland relates a riveting tale with a fascinating protagonist . . . Freedland delivers a gripping description of Vrba and a companion’s planning, breakout, and grueling walk to Slovakia . . . A powerful story of a true hero who deserves more recognition.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“It’s an astonishing account, both of human brutality and resilience, and although it’s non-fiction, it reads like a thriller.” — C.J. Carey, author of Widowland

“A brilliant and heart-wrenching book, with universal and timely lessons about the power of information—and misinformation. Is it possible to stop mass murder by telling the truth?” — Yuval Noah Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

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Yellowface by R.F. Kuang 

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June and Athena have known each other since college. Both aspiring writers, Athena has found great success, while June has not. When Athena dies unexpectedly, June takes one of her manuscripts and publishes the book as her own. Chaos ensues! This is a darkly funny, cynical take on race, the publishing world, and cancel culture.

“Her magnificent novel uses satire to shine a light on systemic racial discrimination and the truth that often hides behind the twisted narratives constructed by those in power.” — Booklist (starred review)

“At once a brilliant satire that mixes horror and humor; a nuanced exploration of race, heritage, identity, and diversity in publishing; and an honest look at the hell that is social media, this might just be Kuang’s best.” — Boston Globe

“This is a great read. Crime, satire, horror, paranoia, questions of cultural appropriation. Plenty of nasty social media pile-ons, too. But, basically, just a great story. Hard to put down, harder to forget.” — Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton 

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This is a disturbing look at slavery through the lens of forced conception and birth as a means to increase wealth for slave owners. Peyton’s use of language is beautiful and powerful

“Engaging, arresting…. Peyton positions Night Wherever We Go in conversation with contemporary novels that reimagine the expansion of possibilities for Black enslaved people in the American South…. [Night Wherever We Go] asks us to remember that our personal history—acting with whatever power, big or small, we have in our reach—transforms our communities, too.” — Boston Globe

“A powerful and inspired achievement. Tracey Rose Peyton gives voice to the enslaved women of this nation’s past who have, for far too long, had their voices gone unheard in the annals of history. She does them justice and then some. This one is not to be missed.” — Nathan Harris, author of The Sweetness of Water

“Night Wherever We Go is extraordinary: a beautiful book about harrowing things, beautiful because of its understanding of humanity, its astonishing language, and the plain brilliance of its author. I’m not sure I’ve recovered from the experience of reading it, or ever will, or ever should.” — Elizabeth McCracken, author of The Souvenir Museum

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