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Tag Archives: life changing events

Beneficence by Meredith Hall

17 Saturday Jul 2021

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

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dairy farms, families, forgiveness, grief, life changing events, Maine farm

“A quiet gem of a first novel. The author’s lyrical prose and stark portrayal of grief and guilt…is conveyed so movingly this story is hard to put down. With language poetic in its cadence and capable of seamlessly transporting our minds and emotions to another place and time, this accomplished debut will be welcomed by readers of authors such as Willa Cather, Alice Munro, Amy Tan, or Lisa See.”―Library Journal

“Beneficence is amazing in its vision. Luminous. With wisdom and compassion, Meredith Hall writes about the capacity for atonement. Beneficence, then. Goodness. Generosity to see deeply, to live through fear and pain on your journey toward the awareness of splendor.”―Ursula Hegi

“These voices from the past speak so clearly to our time, at a moment when many of us wonder whether we’ll lose the things that we consider blessings….Beneficence is a quiet but steady book, one that echoes ancient and important rhythms.”―Washington Post

“Spare but decked with moments of crystalline beauty…. A family flounders in grief, but finds their way home through forgiveness and acceptance, in Beneficence, Meredith Hall’s gorgeous and moving new novel.”―Foreword, starred review

Readers of Kent Haruf would like this book.

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The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

07 Friday May 2021

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Historical Fiction

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19th century, Australia, exile, female friendship, governesses, life changing events, midwives, penal colonies, punishment, women

Best-selling historical fiction author of The Orphan Train and A Piece of the World transports the reader to 1840’s Australia where England sent away her prisoners – for some punishment, for others opportunity and redemption.

“Celebrating the bonds between women, the novel explores how lives that seem destined for pain might persevere.” — Real Simple

“Both uplifting and heartbreaking, this beautifully written novel doesn’t flinch from the ugliness of the penal system but celebrates the courage and resilience of both the first peoples and the settlers who came after, voluntarily or not, to create a new home for themselves and their children.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“Monumental…This episode in history gets a top-notch treatment by Kline, one of our foremost historical novelists. This fascinating 19th-century take on Orange Is the New Black is subtle, intelligent, and thrillingly melodramatic.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

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The Last Flight by Julie Clark

25 Friday Sep 2020

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in 20th century, Fiction, thriller, Travel

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abused women, abusive men, female friendship, identity theft, life changing events, Secrecy

A woman decides to leave her abusive husband by disappearing to start a new life. At the airport, she meets another woman, also in dire straits running from her past. On a whim and to cover their tracks even further, they swap airline tickets. Then, one of the planes crashes….. I thought it was very well done.

“The moral dilemmas that the multifaceted, realistic characters face in their quest for survival lend weight to this pulse-pounding tale of suspense. Clark is definitely a writer to watch.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

 “The Last Flight sweeps you into a thrilling story of two desperate women who will do anything to escape their lives. Both poignant and addictive, you’ll race through the pages to the novel’s chilling end. A must read of the summer!” – Kaira Rouda, internationally bestselling author of Best Day Ever and The Favorite Daughter

“A tense and engaging womancentric thriller.” – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

28 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Comedy, Fiction, romance

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life changing events, man-women relationships, Manhattan (New York, N.Y.), romance, self-realization in women, time travel, women lawyers

The same night that Dannie gets engaged, she has a dream that it’s five years in the future and she’s living with a different man. She tries to forget about it, until a few years later when she meets that same man from her dream. While this is partly a romance, it is also about Dannie’s life and career in New York City, and her relationship with her childhood best friend. Once you start, this is hard to put down.

“When smart, thoughtful writing pairs with a compelling, ingenious plot I am hooked and so very happy. It’s been a long time since I read a novel in two sittings, but as soon as I started In Five Years, I was a goner. Loved it! Brava, Rebecca Serle.” —ELINOR LIPMAN, author of Good Riddance

 “A heartwarming portrait of a broken heart finding a little healing magic.” —Kirkus Reviews

 “Heartbreaking, redemptive, and authentic in all the ways that make a book impossible to put down, I fell in love with this story. In five years, I will still be thinking about this beautiful novel.” —JAMIE FORD, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

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Writers & Lovers by Lily King

27 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, romance

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authors, life changing events, Massachusetts, romance, triangles (interpersonal relationships), waitresses

A 31-year old woman lives in a tiny apartment and works a stressful waitressing job as she grieves the unexpected death of her mother. Along with her financial struggles and tumultuous romantic relationships, she also yearns to be an author. I loved the characters in this story, the beautiful writing, and the Massachusetts setting (most of it takes place in Cambridge).

“[I]ntimate and vulnerable… Lily King’s novel follows a deeply relatable protagonist navigating a whole menu of crises surrounded by a cast of genuine, vivid characters… the book occupies a small space, but packs it to the brim with humanity.” ―Entertainment Weekly

“[F]unny and romantic and hard to put down, full of well-observed details of restaurant culture and writer’s workshops. It’s hard to imagine a reader who wouldn’t root for Casey.”―Library Journal, starred review

“King leaves no barrier between readers and smart, genuine, cynical, and funny Casey. A closely observed tale of finding oneself, and one’s voice, while working through grief.”―Booklist (starred review)

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The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

02 Monday Dec 2019

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, United States

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escapes, life changing events, slavery, Southern states

Number one New York Times best seller

Oprah’s Book Club Pick

From the National Book Award-winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom.

“The most surprising thing about The Water Dancer may be its unambiguous narrative ambition. This isn’t a typical first novel. . . . The Water Dancer is a jeroboam of a book, a crowd-pleasing exercise in breakneck and often occult storytelling that tonally resembles the work of Stephen King as much as it does the work of Toni Morrison, Colson Whitehead and the touchstone African-American science-fiction writer Octavia Butler. . . . It is flecked with forms of wonder-working that push at the boundaries of what we still seem to be calling magical realism.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“An experience in taking [Toni] Morrison’s ‘chances for liberation’ literally: What if memory had the power to transport enslaved people to freedom?’ . . . The most moving part of The Water Dancer [is] the possibility it offers of an alternate history. . . The book’s most poignant and painful gift is the temporary fantasy that all the people who leaped off slave ships and into the Atlantic were not drowning themselves in terror and anguish, but going home.”—NPR

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The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

28 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Historical Fiction

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brothers and sisters, dysfunctional families, families, inheritance and succession, life changing events, Philadelphia (PA), poverty, stepmothers

Can a house/a childhood home dominate the grown-up lives of a brother and sister who grew up with a father and caring staff in a fairy-tale huge house in Pennsylvania? A quiet read, a re-examining of childhood loss and forgiveness, but two indelible characters you won’t forget long after the book is finished.

“Patchett’s splendid novel is a thoughtful, compassionate exploration of obsession and forgiveness, what people acquire, keep, lose or give away, and what they leave behind.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“…you won’t want to put down this engrossing, warmhearted book even after you’ve read the last page.” (NPR)

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The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abby Waxman

16 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Humor

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families, humorous fiction, introverts, life changing events, love stories, romance, single women

This novel keeps up a fun, friendly patter while still dealing realistically and respectfully with mental health issues in the form of anxiety.  A good “cozy read,” a good “beach read,” a good choice for a wide range of readers.

“Waxman has created a thoroughly engaging character in this bookish, contemplative, set-in-her ways woman. Be prepared to chuckle.”—Kirkus Review (starred review)

“Book nerds will feel strong kinship with the engaging, introverted Nina Hill, who works in a bookstore, plays pub trivia, and loves office supplies… Readers will be captivated by Nina’s droll sense of humor.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Move over on the settee, Jane Austen. You’ve met your modern-day match in Abbi Waxman. Bitingly funny, relatable and intelligent, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is a must for anyone who loves to read.”—Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author of Good Luck With That

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Ask Again, Yes: A Novel by Mary Beth Keane

29 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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forgiveness, life changing events, man-woman relationships

“Mary Beth Keane takes on one of the most difficult problems in fiction—how to write about human decency. In Ask Again, Yes, Keane creates a layered emotional truth that makes a compelling case for compassion over blame, understanding over grudge, and the resilience of hearts that can accept the contradictions of love.”— Louise Erdrich, author of The Round House

“Keane’s story embraces family lives in all their muted, ordinary, yet seismic shades… offers empathy and the long view… Tender and patient, the novel avoids excessive sweetness while planting itself deep in the soil of commitment and attachment. Graceful and mature. A solidly satisfying, immersive read.”—Kirkus (starred review) 

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The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve

13 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Historical Fiction

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forest fires, Great Fire, life changing events, Maine 1947, single mothers, wild fires

Along with storytelling mojo and stylistic verve, this novel has an excellent, suspenseful premise: Grace’s life is upended and ultimately transformed by a real-life historical catastrophe, the wildfires that spread through coastal Maine in October of 1947, following months of severe drought. With all the terror of fire on our West coast these days, it is scary to realize it happened not far from us not that long ago.  As good as her first book, The Weight of Water.

“This is sure to be a best seller. Shreve’s prose mirrors the action of the fire, with popping embers of action, licks of blazing rage, and the slow burn of lyrical character development. Absolutely stunning.”—Library Journal  (starred review, Editors’ Spring Picks)

“It is a book of small moments, a collection of seemingly simple themes that build to surprising and moving crescendoes. Shreve’s spare, economic prose suits her character’s practicality and initial hesitance to determine the course of her own life… Shreve’s crisp writing becomes more expansive in the moments when her protagonist consciously stretches beyond the boundaries of her previously narrow life.—BookPage

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