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Tag Archives: coming of age

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

07 Tuesday Dec 2021

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in 20th century, action, adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction, United States

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brothers, coming of age, escapes, juvenile work farms, Nebraska, road fiction

“Welcome to the enormous pleasure that is The Lincoln Highway, a big book of camaraderie and adventure in which the miles fly by and the pages turn fast.  Set over the course of ten riveting days, the story of these four boys unfolds, refolds, tears, and is taped back together.  When you aren’t actually reading the book, you’ll be worrying about the characters, so you might as well stay in your chair and keep reading.” —Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House

“[A] real joyride . . . hitch onto this delightful tour de force and you’ll be pulled straight through to the end, helpless against the inventive exuberance of Towles’ storytelling . . . The Lincoln Highway is elegantly constructed and compulsively readable . . . action-packed . . . There’s so much to enjoy in this generous novel packed with fantastic characters […] and filled with digressions, magic tricks, sorry sagas, retributions, and the messy business of balancing accounts.” —NPR.org

“Towles’ third novel is even more entertaining than his much-acclaimed A Gentleman in Moscow . . .A remarkable blend of sweetness and doom, [The Lincoln Highway] is packed with revelations about the American myth, the art of storytelling, and the unrelenting pull of history. An exhilarating ride through Americana.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“[A] playfully thought-provoking novel . . . [Towles] juggles the pieces of his plot deftly, shifting from voice to voice, skirting sentimentality and quirkiness with a touch of wistful regret, and leading up to an ending that is bound to provoke discussion.” —Booklist (starred)

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Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

21 Monday Jun 2021

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in 20th century, Fiction, murder and investigation, United States

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coming of age, detective and mystery, drugs, families, Indians of North America, Michigan, Ojibwa Indians, racially-mixed people, undercover operations

“Boulley, herself an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, writes from a place of love for her community and shares some key teachings from her culture, even mixing languages within the context of the story. She doesn’t shy away from or sugar-coat the very real circumstances that plague reservations across the country, and she tackles these through her biracial hero who gets involved in the criminal investigation into the corruption that led to this pain. An incredible thriller, not to be missed.” ―Booklist, Starred Review

“A suspenseful tale filled with Ojibwe knowledge, hockey, and the politics of status.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Though Firekeeper’s Daughter contains gripping action sequences and gasp-inducing twists, it’s Daunis’ mission of self-discovery, which begins as a low and steady growl and grows to a fierce, proud roar, that has the most impact… Though it both shocks and thrills, in the end, what leaves you breathless is Firekeeper’s Daughter’s blazing heart.” ―BookPage, Starred Review

“Immersive and enthralling, Firekeeper’s Daughter plunges the reader into a community and a landscape enriched by a profound spiritual tradition. Full of huge characters and spellbinding scenes, it gives a fascinating insight into life on and off the reservation, with Daunis as a tough and resourceful heroine through every vicissitude.” ―Financial Times

**While this book may be classified as Young Adult in some libraries, I surely enjoyed reading it as an adult.

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The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

01 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, murder

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coming of age, dreams, Malaysia, mothers and daughters, step children, superstition

Yangsze Choo’s The Night Tiger pulls us into a world of servants and masters, age-old superstition and modern idealism, sibling rivalry and forbidden love. But anchoring this dazzling, propulsive novel is the intimate coming-of-age of a child and a young woman, each searching for their place in a society that would rather they stay invisible. (Amazon)  I dedicated one weekend to this lovely escape and I loved every reading minute.

“A sumptuous garden maze of a novel that immerses readers in a complex, vanished world.” ―Kirkus (starred review)

“Mythical creatures, conversations with the dead, lucky numbers, Confucian virtues, and forbidden love provide the backdrop to Choo’s superb murder mystery. Mining the rich setting of colonial Malaysia, Choo wonderfully combines a Holmes-esque plot with Chinese lore.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed review)

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Blankets: an Illustrated Novel by Craig Thompson

26 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Graphic novel

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brothers, coming of age, families, first loves, sibling rivalry, teenage artists, teenage boys, winter, Wisconsin

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This lengthy but fast-moving graphic novel is a contemporary coming-of-age story set in the rural mid-west. The story centers on Craig, a lonely, sensitive boy growing up with his younger brother Phil in a Christian fundamentalist family. Craig’s childhood centers on home, school and church, and all are austere and forbidding places for him.  Cowed by his father’s harsh discipline, the strict teachings of his church and the bullies at school who target him because of his small frame and family’s modest circumstances, he matures into young adulthood undaunted by circumstance, drawing strength from his artistic talent and a first love.  Loosely based on the author’s life.

In telling his story, which includes beautifully rendered memories of the small brutalities that parents inflict upon their children and siblings upon each other, Thompson describes the ecstasy and ache of obsession (with a lover, with God) and is unafraid to suggest the ways that obsession can consume itself and evaporate. — The New York Times

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The Double Life of Liliane by Lily Tuck

14 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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coming of age, families, Germany, girls, New York City

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Beautiful writing.  Complex at first as the reader swings between past and present, but I fell in love with the book by the end.

“[An}exquisitely crafted narrative collage.”—Jane Ciabattari, BBC.com

“Playful, buoyant prose and poignant scenes…that quicken the heart…In Tuck’s prose—… lively, dizzy, happy—one gets a contagious sense of fun that she has transmuting life into words.”—Publishers Weekly (starred, boxed review)

“Special, provocative, unusual.”—Booklist (starred review)

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