Author: Skeslien Charles, Janet, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: LP F SKESLIEN Format: Large print Summary: 1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded by millionaire Anne Morgan, this group of international women help rebuild devastated French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen--children's libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears. 1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate. In her obsessive research, she discovers that she and the elusive librarian have more in common than their work at New York's famed library, but she has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time.
Author: Dolin, Eric Jay, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: 973.52 Format: Books Summary: The true story of five castaways abandoned on the Falkland Islands during the War of 1812--a tale of treachery, shipwreck, isolation, and the desperate struggle for survival. Fraught with misunderstandings and mistrust, the incident left three British sailors and two Americans, including the captain of the sealer, Charles H. Barnard, abandoned in the barren, windswept, and inhospitable Falklands for a year and a half. With deft narrative skill and unequaled knowledge of the very pith of the seafaring life, Dolin describes in vivid and harrowing detail the increasingly desperate existence of the castaways during their eighteen-month ordeal--an all-too-common fate in the Great Age of Sail. A best-selling and award-winning maritime historian presents this true story of five castaways--three British sailors and two Americans--abandoned on the Falkland Islands for a year during the War of 1812, showing individuals in wartime under great duress acting both nobly and atrociously as they struggle to survive.
Author: Hixenbaugh, Mike (Journalist), author. Published: 2024 Call Number: 370.973 Format: Books Summary: "Award-winning journalist Mike Hixenbaugh delivers the immersive and eye-opening story of Southlake, Texas, a district that seemed to offer everything parents would want for their children--small classes, dedicated teachers, financial resources, a track record of academic success, and school spirit in abundance. But after a series of racist incidents became public, a plan to promote inclusiveness was proposed in response--and a coordinated, well-funded conservative backlash erupted, lighting the fire of a national movement on the verge of changing the face of public schools across the country. They Came for the Schools pulls back the curtain on the powerful forces driving this crusade to ban books, rewrite curricula, limit rights for minority and LGBTQ students--and, most importantly, to win what Hixenbaugh's deeply informed reporting convinces is the holy grail among those seeking to impose biblical values on American society: school privatization, one school board and one legal battle at a time. They Came for the Schools delivers an essential take on Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, as they demean public schools and teachers and boost the Christian right's vision. Hixenbaugh brings to light fascinating connections between this political and cultural moment and past fundamentalist campaigns to censor classroom lessons. Finally, They Came for the Schools traces the rise of a new resistance movement led by a diverse coalition of student activists, fed-up educators, and parents who are beginning to win select battles of their own: a blueprint, they hope, for gaining inclusive and civil schools for all"--Dust jacket flap.
Author: Holiday, Jenny (Romance author), author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F HOLIDAY Format: Books Summary: "Even an earl needs his ride-or-dies, and Archibald Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, counts himself lucky to have two. The annual trip that Archie takes with his BFFs Simon and Effie holds a sacred spot in their calendars. This year Archie is especially eager to get away until an urgent letter arrives from an old family friend, begging him to help prevent a ruinous scandal. Suddenly the trip has become earls-plus-girls, as Archie's childhood pals, Clementine and Olive Morgan, are rescued en route to Gretna Green. This...complicates matters. The fully grown Clementine, while as frank and refreshing as he remembers, is also different to the wild, windswept girl he knew. This Clem is complex and surprising--and adamantly opposed to marriage. Which, for reasons Archie dare not examine too closely, he finds increasingly vexing. Then Clem makes him an indecent and quite delightful proposal, asking him to show her the pleasures of the marriage bed before she settles into spinsterhood. And what kind of gentleman would he be to refuse a lady?"--
Author: Robinson, Roxana, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F ROBINSON Format: Books Summary: Former college sweethearts reconnect decades later after each has married, raised a family and forged careers and embark on an intense affair that forces them to confront the moral responsibilities of their love for their families and each other.
Author: Kershaw, Alex, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: B PATTON Format: Books Summary: "From Alex Kershaw, author of the New York Times bestseller Against All Odds, comes an epic story of courage, resilience, and faith during the Second World War General George Patton needed a miracle. In December 1944, the Allies found themselves stuck. Rain had plagued the troops daily since September, turning roads into rivers of muck, slowing trucks and tanks to a crawl. A thick ceiling of clouds had grounded American warplanes, allowing the Germans to reinforce. The sprint to Berlin had become a muddy, bloody stalemate, costing thousands of American lives. Patton seethed, desperate for some change, any change, in the weather. A devout Christian, he telephoned his head chaplain. "Do you have a good prayer for the weather?" he asked. The resulting prayer was soon printed and distributed to the 250,000 men under Patton's command. "Pray when driving," the men were told. "Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle. . . . Pray for victory. . . . Pray for Peace." Then came the Battle of the Bulge. Amid frigid temperatures and heavy snow, 200,000 German troops overwhelmed the meager American lines in Belgium's Ardennes Forest, massacring thousands of soldiers as the attack converged on a vital crossroads town called Bastogne. There, the 101st Airborne was dug in, but the enemy were lurking, hidden in the thick blanket of fog that seemed to never dissipate. A hundred miles of frozen roads to the south, Patton needed an answer to his prayer, fast, before it was too late"--
Author: Kennedy, Patrick J. (Patrick Joseph), 1967- author. Fried, Stephen, 1958- author. Published: 2024 Call Number: 362.2909 Format: Books Summary: "Portrays those who have struggled with their mental health. This book offers deeply compelling stories about the bravery and resilience of those living with a variety of mental illnesses and addictions"--
Author: Ward, Amanda Eyre, 1972- author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F WARD Format: Books Summary: "Once upon a time, the Peacock sisters were little girls who combed each other's tangled hair. But decades of secrets have led them to separate lives--and to telling lies, to themselves and to one another. Sylvie is getting married. Again. A librarian and widow who soothes her grief by escaping into books (and shelving them perfectly), Sylvie has caught the attention of an unlikely match: Simon Rampling, a mysterious, wealthy man from Northern England. Sylvie allows herself to imagine a life beside him--one filled with the written word, kindness, and companionship. She's ready to love again . . . or is she? Cleo is the golden child. A successful criminal defense lawyer with the perfect boyfriend, she is immediately suspicious of Simon. Is he really who he says he is? Cleo heads to Mumberton Castle with a case of investigative files, telling herself she will expose Simon and save her sister from more heartbreak ... but who is she really trying to save?..."--
Author: Sykes, Plum, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: F SYKES Format: Books Summary: In The Bottoms, tiny Cotswold villages on the English countryside, filthy rich Tata Hawkins is in a tizzy when her husband runs off with a bikini designer; her glamorous new neighbor, an American divorcée, refuses her overtures at friendship; and her two best friends are distracted by their own problems.
Author: Donnelly, Jennifer, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: Y DONNELLY Format: Books Summary: When handsome thief Beau enters the castle that appeared out of nowhere he finds himself trapped in Arabella's curse, which can only be broken if she finds a boy who loves her for her true self--a seeming impossibility for a girl who has been told she is impossible to love. "What makes a girl "beastly?" Is it having too much ambition? Being too proud? Taking up too much space? Or is it just wanting something, anything, too badly? That's the problem Arabella faces when she makes her debut in society. Her parents want her to be sweet and compliant so she can marry well, but try as she might, Arabella can't extinguish the fire burning inside her -- the source of her deepest wishes, her wildest dreams. When an attempt to suppress her emotions tragically backfires, a mysterious figure punishes Arabella with a curse, dooming her and everyone she cares about, trapping them in the castle. As the years pass, Arabella abandons hope. The curse is her fault -- after all, there's nothing more "beastly" than a girl who expresses her anger -- and the only way to break it is to find a boy who loves her for her true self: a cruel task for a girl who's been told she's impossible to love..." --Amazon.com
Author: Foster, Craig (Filmmaker), author. Published: 2024 Call Number: 508 Format: Books Summary: "In this thrilling memoir of a life spent exploring the most incredible places on Earth--from the Great African Seaforest to the crocodile lairs of the Okavango Delta--Craig Foster reveals how we can attend to the earthly beauty around us and deepen our love for all living things, whether we make our homes in the country, the city, or anywhere in between. Foster explores his struggles to remain present to life when a disconnection from nature and the demands of his professional life begin to deaden his senses. And his own reliance on nature's rejuvenating spiritual power is put to the test when catastrophe strikes close to home. Foster's lyrical, riveting Amphibious Soul draws on his decades of daily ocean dives, wisdom from Indigenous teachers, and leading-edge science"--
Author: Deveraux, Jude, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: LP F DEVERAUX Format: Books Summary: "Retired romance novelist Sara Medlar has been comfortably sharing her large home with her niece Kate and her "honorary grandson" Jack. It's a convenient arrangement given the Medlar Three, as they've become known, are often working closely together to solve mysteries in their small town of Lachlan, Florida. But when real estate agent Kate announces she's been given the listing for the town's storied Lachlan House, it sets off alarm bells for Sara and Jack. The infamous house has a dark history, one that's certain to haunt them all. With little memory of her childhood, Kate doesn't understand what the fuss is about--until the trio visits the house and makes a grim discovery. Flooded by memories of the past, Kate realizes she spent time there as a child. But stumbling upon a skeleton dressed in a rotting tuxedo--a murder victim with connections to her father--causes Kate to wonder if the childhood she can't remember might be one she'd rather forget. As Sara, Kate and Jack delve deeper into the dead man's history, they learn he was last seen at a party held at Lachlan House in the late nineties--a swanky soiree attended by his many enemies. With more than one motive in play, every partygoer is a suspect, and Sara is determined to find the culprit, even if it means digging up past secrets she's worked hard to keep buried"--
Author: Kwan, Kevin, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: LP F KWAN Format: Large print Summary: "Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel has a problem: the legendary Gresham Trust has been depleted by decades of profligate spending, and behind all the magazine covers and Instagram stories, manors and yachts, lies nothing more than a gargantuan mountain of debt. The only solution, put forth by Rufus's scheming mother, is for Rufus to attend his sister's wedding at a luxury eco-resort, a veritable who's-who of sultans, barons, and oligarchs, and seduce a woman with money. Should he marry Solène de Courcy, a French hotel heiress with honey blond tresses and a royal bloodline? Should he pursue Martha Dung, the tattooed venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or should he follow his heart, betray his family, squander his legacy, and finally confess his love to the literal girl next door, the humble daughter of a doctor, Eden Tong?..."--
Author: Lynch, Becky, 1987- author. Published: 2024 Call Number: B LYNCH Format: Books Summary: "This compelling and deeply personal memoir from WWE superstar Rebecca Quin--a.k.a. The Man, a.k.a. Becky Lynch--delves into her earliest wrestling days, her scrappy beginnings, and her meteoric rise to fame. By age seven, Rebecca Quin, now known in the ring as Becky Lynch, was already defying what the world expected of her. Raised in Dublin, Ireland in a devoutly Catholic family, Rebecca constantly invented new ways to make her mother worry--roughhousing with the neighborhood kids, hosting secret parties while her parents were away, enrolling in a warehouse wrestling school, nearly breaking her neck and almost kneecapping a WWE star before her own wrestling career even began--and she was always in search of a thrilling escape from the ordinary. Rebecca's deep love of wrestling as a child set her on an unlikely path. With few female wrestlers to look to for guidance, Rebecca pursued a wrestling career hoping to change the culture and move away from the antiquated disrespect so often directed at the elite female athletes that grace the ring. Even as a teenager, she knew that she would stop at nothing to earn a space among the greatest wrestlers of our time, and to pave a new path for female fighters. Culled from decades of journal entries, Rebecca's memoir offers a raw, personal, and honest depiction of the complex woman behind the character Rebecca Quin plays on TV"--
Author: Dailey, Janet, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: LP F DAILEY Format: Large print Summary: Determined to save the family farm from foreclosure, Derby-winning horse trainer Jo Beth Ellis reinvents the property as a healing retreat for horses and makes a deal with her handsome neighbor in hopes of winning a trifecta--a champion horse, a happy family and a forever love.
Author: Fortune, Carley, author. Published: 2024 Call Number: LP F FORTUNE Format: Large print Summary: Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn't know he's her best friend's younger brother. Lucy and Felix's chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again. It's easier said than done. Each year, Lucy escapes to PEI for a big breath of coastal air, fresh oysters and crisp vinho verde with her best friend, Bridget. Every visit begins with a long walk on the beach, beneath soaring red cliffs and a golden sun. And every visit, Lucy promises herself she won't wind up in Felix's bed. Again. If Lucy can't help being drawn to Felix, at least she's always kept her heart out of it. When Bridget suddenly flees Toronto a week before her wedding, Lucy drops everything to follow her to the island. Her mission is to help Bridget through her crisis and resist the one man she's never been able to. But Felix's sparkling eyes and flirty quips have been replaced with something new, and Lucy's beginning to wonder just how safe her heart truly is.
Author: Hood, Ann, 1956- author. Published: 2024 Call Number: LP F HOOD Format: Large print Summary: Haunted by a decision he made as a young soldier in World War I, involving a French artist and her baby, Nick Burns, with only months left to live, enlists Jenny, a college dropout, to help him unravel the mystery, forcing them both to reckon with regret, betrayal and the lives they've left behind.
Author: Thorogood, Robert, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F THOROGOO Format: Books Summary: "It's been an enjoyable and murder-free time for Judith, Suzie and Becks--AKA the Marlow Murder Club--since the events of last year. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey, to his nurse, Jenny Page. Sir Peter is having a party at his grand mansion on the river Thames the day before the wedding, and Judith and Co. are looking forward to a bit of free champagne. But during the soiree, there's a crash from inside the house, and when the Marlow Murder Club rush to investigate, they are shocked to find the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study. The study was locked from the inside, so the police don't consider the death suspicious. But Judith disagrees. As far as she's concerned, Peter was murdered! And it's up to the Marlow Murder Club to find the killer before he or she strikes again..."--
Author: Davidson, Mark (Travel writer), author. Published: 2023 Call Number: 918.3046 8TH ED. Format: Books Summary: This practical travel guide to Chile features detailed factual travel tips and points-of-interest structured lists of all iconic must-see sights as well as some off-the-beaten-track treasures. Our itinerary suggestions and expert author picks of things to see and do will make it a perfect companion both, ahead of your trip and on the ground. This Chile guide book is packed full of details on how to get there and around, pre-departure information and top time-saving tips, including a visual list of things not to miss. Our colour-coded maps make Chile easier to navigate while you're there. This guide book to Chile has been fully updated post-COVID-19.
Author: Stephens, Gin, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: 613.25 Format: Books Summary: "Gin Stephens is unstoppable! And she won't even pause until she's introduced every potential reader to Intermittent Fasting. In her 28-Day FAST Start Day-By-Day, she dispenses the "hows" and "whys" of IF day by day for a reader's first month, giving IFers what they need to know, when they need to know it. Supported throughout with inspirational case histories that add up to a troubleshooting primer, as well as tips, truths and tweaks, 28-Day FAST Start Day-By-Day also has an important write-in aspect. Most IFers "fail" because they don't think the practice is working, or think it's only working because they are naturally reducing calories by time-boxing their daily eating. With simple, direct check-ins at the end of each of the first twenty-eight days, readers will stay on track by noticing how their bodies are reacting to IF, acknowledging "non scale victories" and setting a goal for the next day: it's Gin's version of habit formation, and it works! 28-Day FAST Start Day-By-Day is a complete program. Almost everything except the time framework will feel new even to readers of FAST. FEAST. REPEAT., from picking an entry speed ("Easy Does It", "Steady Build" or "Rip Off The Band-Aid") on Day One, to discovering your "Appestat" (Appetite Thermostat) in the middle of the month, to "Master the Delay" on Day Twenty-Eight"--
