Author: Willis, Raquel, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: 306.768 Format: Books Summary: "A passionate, powerful memoir by a trailblazing Black transgender activist, tracing her life of transformation and her work towards collective liberation. In 2017, Raquel Willis took to the National Women's March podium just after the presidential election of Donald Trump, primed to tell her story as a young Black transgender woman from the South. Despite having her speaking time cut short, the appearance only deepened her commitment to speaking up for communities on the margins. Born in Augusta, Georgia, to Black Catholic parents, Raquel spent years feeling isolated, even within a loving, close-knit family. There was little access to understanding what it meant to be queer and transgender. It wasn't until she went to the University of Georgia that she found the LGBTQ+ community, fell in love, and explored her gender for the first time. But the unexpected death of her father forced her to examine her relationship with herself and those she loved. These years of grief, misunderstanding, and hard-won epiphanies seeped into the soil of her life, serving as fertilizer for growth and allowing her to bloom within. Upon graduation, Raquel entered a career in journalism against the backdrop of the burgeoning Movement for Black Lives, intersectional feminism going mainstream, and unprecedented visibility of the trans community. After hiding her identity as a newspaper reporter, her increasing awareness of the epidemic of violence plaguing trans women of color and the heightened suicide of trans teens inspired her to come out publicly. Within just a few short years of community organizing in Atlanta, Oakland, and New York, Raquel emerged as one of the most formidable Black trans activists in history. In The Risk It Takes to Bloom, Raquel Willis recounts with passion and candor her experiences straddling the Obama and Trump eras, the possibility of transformation after tragedy, and how complex moments can push us all to take necessary risks and bloom toward collective liberation"--
Author: Judis, John B., author. Teixeira, Ruy A., author. Published: 2023 Call Number: 324.2736 Format: Books Summary: "For decades, American politics has been plagued by a breakdown between the Democratic and Republican parties, in which victory has inevitably led to defeat, and vice versa. Both parties have lost sight of the political center of the American electorate, leading to polarization and paralysis. In Where Have All the Democrats Gone?, John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira reveal the tectonic changes shaping the country's current political landscape that both pundits and political scientists have missed. The Democratic party, once the preserve of small towns as well as big cities and of the industrial working class and the newly immigrated, has abandoned and even actively alienated many of these voters. In this clarion and essential argument for common sense and common ground, Judis and Teixeira reveal the transformation of American politics and provide a much-needed wakeup call for Democrats and Republicans alike"--
Author: Hogan, William R., author. Published: 2023 Call Number: 940.5412 Format: Books Summary: "A fourth-generation soldier tells the story of his father's tank battalion, the "Spearhead," that selflessly led the charge on the front lines from Normandy into Germany-against impossible odds, technologically superior weaponry, and a fanatical enemy on its home turf-and the heroes whose sacrifice won World War II"-- At twenty-eight, Sam Hogan is one of the youngest lieutenant colonels in the US Army. The West Point graduate from Texas stands in the commander's hatch of his Sherman tank, behind him a steel wedge of seventeen other Shermans of his tank battalion. Two weeks after the now-infamous D-Day landings, Sam is preparing to give the order to advance into the German defenses that enclose the Normandy beachheads. Ahead of Sam lies seemingly impossible odds for survival: technologically superior Nazi tanks, camouflaged anti-tank guns, and infantry armed with new anti-tank rockets. But Sam has prepared for this moment for the past seven years. With a guttural call to move out accompanied by diesel fumes and the squeak of tank treads, Sam and his men begin their long journey to liberate Europe--a journey from which many of them would not return. So begins the story of Sam Hogan and his colorful band of tanker heroes of the Third Armored Division--the "Spearhead"--as they battle on the front lines of some of the war's toughest fights, from Normandy to the Elbe to the Battle of the Bulge. The soldiers of Task Force Hogan come from all walks of life. There are cooks, tankers, infantrymen, salty old sergeants, and wet-behind-the-ears lieutenants. In common, they have a sense of duty to each other and their country, and the struggle against the most sinister enemy modern history has ever produced. In Task Force Hogan, the story of Sam and his band of heroes comes to life through the writing of his son, Will Hogan--aided by never-before-seen letters, military dispatches, journal entries, and interviews with surviving family of the Task Force. These were the soldiers at the tip of the spear, brave enough to lead the charge and fight against insurmountable odds, and often paying the ultimate price, while liberating French villages and concentration camps as they rolled towards Germany to ultimately win the war. In the pages of this book, Will Hogan finally gives these unsung soldiers the voice and memorial that they all deserve.
Author: Cordani, Andreina, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F CORDANI Format: Books Summary: Twelve years ago, eight friends ran an exclusive group at university: The Masquerade Murder Society. The mysteries they solved may have been grisly, and brilliantly staged, but they were always fictional -- until their final Christmas Masquerade, when one of the group disappeared, never to be seen again. Now our young, privileged cast of old university friends are summoned to the depths of Scotland for a Christmas-themed masquerade party. But all are hiding something deep below the surface that could make or break their careers. Charley is a struggling actress who has always been on the periphery of this high-flying group, but has decided to reunite with her frenemies on the promise of career help if she joins the old cast for one last weekend. When they arrive each is assigned a new identity themed around the "Twelve Days of Christmas" -- they become Lady Partridge or Mr. Gold; Lord Leapworth or Doctor Swan. The game begins, and it feels just like old times. Until the next morning, when Lady Partridge is found hanging -- dead -- from a pear tree. It quickly becomes clear that in this game the murder will be all too real, and the story is bringing long-hidden secrets to the surface. Will Charley's discerning eye and outsider status allow her to uncover the truth, or will she, too, fall prey to the murderer among them? If the group hopes to win the game and survive until Christmas morning, they will need to face the truth about their history together and who they have become -- and what really happened on that fateful night twelve years before.
Author: Paige, Danielle (Novelist), author. Published: 2023 Call Number: Y PAIGE Format: Books Summary: Sixteen-year-old Farrow hatches a dangerous plan to seek revenge on Queen Magrit and regain her magic, but when Farrow finds herself falling for the one person who could ruin everything, she must decide whether it is more important to live in the past or forge a new future. "Everyone knows a fairy godmother helped Cinderella get to the ball. But no one knows why. For centuries, Farrow's family-the Entente-have been magical advisors to the Queen. Their wisdom and foresight kept the Thirteen Queendoms in harmony. Until a new queen, Magrit, takes power, outlaws magic, and executes the Entente. Only Farrow survives, with her magic warped beyond repair. She can now use it only to fulfill the feeble wishes of commoners..." --Amazon.com
Author: DiRico, Maria, 1956- author. Published: 2023 Call Number: LP F DIRICO Format: Large print Summary: The June events schedule at Belle View is busting out all over--proms, graduations, and of course, weddings. There are unexpected bookings too, including a casting call for the pilot of Dons of Ditmars Boulevard. But soon, Mia's fears about the cheesy reality show are confirmed. Belle View quickly becomes the site of a sea of wanna-be goombahs and phony girlfriends, and some of Mia's friends insist on getting in on the action. The production company owner and his executive producer ex-wife--who's also very minor British royalty--have assembled a motley crew that does as much infighting and backstabbing as the on-screen "talent." Even so, it's a shock when a dead body is found in the pool house of a local mansion rented by the show. Murder might boost the ratings. But Mia intends to make sure the killer gets jail time, not airtime . . .
Author: Smith, Karen Rose, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: LP F SMITH Format: Large print Summary: "At Daisy's Tea Garden in Pennsylvania's Amish country, the tea of the month is Earl Grey to warm those late February days--but cold-blooded murder casts a deadly chill . . . Even though spring in Lancaster County is still a bit far off, Daisy Swanson has much to look forward to: setting a date with her fiancé Jonas, a whimsical Alice in Wonderland tea event, and an anniversary celebration for her parents at a farm-to-table restaurant in Willow Creek. But a grim discovery turns her thoughts to the troubled present. Meeting up for a hike with her friend, Daisy and her fiancé's dog Felix find the woman dead on a trail, a victim of an apparent hit and run. The tire tracks clearly indicate this was no accident, and now Daisy must follow a twisted trail of clues to uncover what drove someone to murder."--
Author: Stevens, Court author. Published: 2023 Call Number: Y STEVENS Format: Books Summary: When the answers to a present-day murder lie in the past, seventeen-year-old Lucy must examine a tragic event to prevent more lives from being lost. "No one expected it to rain that much. But the rain kept coming, the dam broke, and lives were lost. Including five-year-old Clay Michaels, who was swept away in the floodwaters. Clay's sister, Lucy, has never forgiven herself for her little brother's death. She was supposed to hold on to him, to keep him from harm during that terrible night. She was supposed to protect him. Now eight years later, seventeen-year-old Lucy is focused on two things: making the US Olympic air rifle team and protect­ing everyone in her life from any type of trauma. However, with graduation and the Olympics on the horizon, her world is once again shaken when tragedy strikes Grand Junction, and Lucy is right back in the middle of it." --Amazon.com
Author: Santiago, Elizabeth, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: Y SANTIAGO Format: Books Summary: Told with interstitial historical chapters, fourteen-year-old Taína (Ty) must draw from the strength of her Taíno ancestors to bring her family and community hope and healing after a devastating incident. Despite her name, Taína Perez doesn't know anything about her Taíno heritage, nor has she ever tried to learn. How would ancient Puerto Rican history help with anything? There's constant trouble at school and in her neighborhood, her older brother was kicked out of the house, and with her mom at work, she's left alone to care for her little brother and aging grandmother. Then her abuela tells Taína she is a direct descendant of Anacaona, a leader, warrior, and poet who was murdered by the Spanish in 1503. She gives her an amulet and a zemi and says that it is time for her to step into her power like the women who came before her. --adapted from jacket
Author: Evanovich, Janet, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: LP F EVANOVIC Format: Large print Summary: Stephanie Plum, Trenton's hardest working, most underappreciated bounty hunter, is offered a freelance assignment that seems simple enough. Local jeweler Martin Rabner wants her to locate his former security guard, Andy Manley (a.k.a. Nutsy), who he is convinced stole a fortune in diamonds out of his safe. Stephanie is also looking for another troubled man, Duncan Dugan, a fugitive from justice arrested for robbing the same jewelry store on the same day. With her boyfriend Morelli away in Miami on police business, Stephanie is taking care of Bob, Morelli's giant orange dog who will devour anything, from Stephanie's stray donuts to the upholstery in her car. Morelli's absence also means the inscrutable, irresistible security expert Ranger is front and center in Stephanie's life when things inevitably go sideways. And he seems determined to stay there. To complicate matters, her best friend Lula is convinced she is being stalked by a mythological demon hell-bent on relieving her of her wardrobe. An overnight stakeout with Stephanie's mother and Grandma Mazur reveals three generations of women with nerves of steel and driving skills worthy of NASCAR champions. As the body count rises and witnesses start to disappear, it won't be easy for Stephanie to keep herself clean when everyone else is playing dirty. It's a good thing Stephanie isn't afraid of getting a little dirty, too.
Author: Coble, Colleen, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: LP F COBLE Format: Large print Summary: "Law enforcement officer Annie Pederson's life has been rocked by tragedy, but things finally seem to be heading in the right direction. Her relationship with the love of her life--who's also the biological father of her precious daughter--has never been better, and it looks like an engagement ring is in Annie's future. She's also slowly building back trust with her sister, Sarah, after a separation that lasted for decades. When a man escapes law enforcement custody and Sarah's safety is suddenly in question, Annie's personal and professional lives once again merge. Meanwhile, her investigation of hikers who have gone missing in the remote woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula puts her in the crosshairs of a deadly game. Now, Annie is the one being hunted. When she discovers the terrible truth about the men who are stalking her, she realizes that she's in for the fight of her life if she's going to redeem the sister she once lost, build the family she dreams of, and keep all those she loves safe" --
Author: Graydon, Samuel (Science journalist), author. Published: 2023 Call Number: B EINSTEIN Format: Books Summary: This inventive new biography of the legendary physicist examines his complex and contradictory nature-from brilliant scientist to charming lothario and life of the party-in 99 vignettes based on intriguingly different particles. "Most of us would agree that Albert Einstein's name is synonymous with "genius" and that his likeness is often used as a shorthand for all scientists, appearing everywhere from cartoons to textbooks. He has become more myth than man. That being the case, how best to capture his essence? In Einstein in Time and Space, talented young science journalist Samuel Graydon answers that question with an illuminating mosaic--99 intriguingly different particles that cumulatively reveal Einstein's contradictory and multitudinous nature. Glimpsed among these shards: a slacker who failed every subject but math, a job seeker who couldn't get hired, a lothario who courted many women, and a charmer who was the life of the party. As brilliant as he was inconsistent, Einstein was simultaneously an avid supporter of the NAACP and the fight for civil rights and someone capable of great prejudice. He was loved by many, known by few, and inspirational to a generation of young physicists. Graydon reveals every corner of Einstein's world: the false reporting that rocketed Einstein to fame nearly overnight, his effect on people he met merely in passing, even the remarkable posthumous journey of the famed physicist's brain. Entertaining, comforting, bolstering, and shocking, Einstein in Time and Space is the unique story of a man who redefined how we view our universe and our place within it" --
Author: Pitoniak, Anna, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F PITONIAK Format: Books Summary: Amanda Cole is a brilliant young CIA agent, following in the footsteps of her father, Charlie. But Amanda's posting in Rome is a sleepy one. She's listless and looking for action when, on a hot summer day, it walks right through the door of her office. A lowly Russian operative is desperate, begging to speak to her. He tells her that a US Senator is about to be assassinated on an overseas trip to Cairo. Amanda believes he's telling the truth, but her superiors do not, and they determine that the best course of action is no action at all. But then the assassination occurs, and Amanda is suddenly thrust into an international conspiracy as she tries to find out why the Senator was killed. What did he know that made him a target of the KGB and the Kremlin? Amanda pairs up with the fast-talking Kath, a brash older woman and legendary spy, to get to the bottom of the case. The investigation takes them from Rome to London to Moscow to Helsinki. As Amanda and Kath get closer to solving the case, one question keeps coming back to haunt Amanda: why was her father's name written down in the Senator's notes that he seemed to be putting together right before he died? Was her father not the loyal CIA agent she always assumed he was? In order to get to the bottom of this international plot of blackmail, murder, and lies, Amanda must decide where her loyalty lies: with her country or with her family.
Author: Unger, Lisa, 1970- author. Published: 2023 Call Number: LP F UNGER Format: Large print Summary: "Madeline Martin has built a life for herself as the owner of The Next Chapter Bookshop. When Harley Granger, a true crime podcaster, drifts into her shop in days before Christmas, he seems intent on digging up events Madeline would much rather forget. She's the only surviving victim of Evan Handy, the man who was convicted of murdering her best friend Steph and is suspected in the disappearance of two sisters who have been missing for nearly a decade. As Christmas approaches and a blizzard bears down, Madeline and her childhood friend Badger return to a past they both hoped was dead discovering that the truth is more terrible and much closer to home than they think." --Back cover
Author: Gilbert, Victoria, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F GILBERT Format: Books Summary: When the chair of Taylorsford's first Winterfest is murdered and her brother-in-law is the prime suspect, library director Amy Muir must race against time to prove his innocence before another life is claimed by a killer who's on Santa's naughty list.
Author: Rothfuss, Patrick, 1973- author. Adaptation of (work): Rothfuss, Patrick, 1973- Lightning tree. Taylor, Nate, illustrator. Published: 2023 Call Number: F ROTHFUSS Format: Books Summary: "Patrick Rothfuss returns to the Kingkiller Chronicle universe with a stunning reimagining of "The Lightning Tree," expanded to twice its previous length and lavishly illustrated by Nate Taylor. Follow the Kingkiller Chronicle's most charming fae as he schemes his way through the small town of Newarre. While Bast cares nothing for the laws of man, he is beholden to older, deeper laws. And despite his cleverness and care, Bast finds himself forced to choose between betraying his master and helping a hated enemy. Playful, sweet, and sly as Bast himself, The Narrow Road Between Desires explores a previously unseen part of Temerant, and shows a side of Bast we've only glimpsed before. Learn more about Bast as he goes against his better judgement and follows his heart's desire. For after all, what good is wisdom if it keeps you from finding your way to danger and delight?"--
Author: Wells, Martha, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F WELLS Format: Books Summary: "Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells's New York Times bestselling Murderbot Diaries series. Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse. Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there's an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can't have the planet, they're sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize. But there's something wrong with Murderbot; it isn't running within normal operational parameters. ART's crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza's SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they're going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what's wrong with itself, and fast! Yeah, this plan is... not going to work. The Murderbot Diaries All Systems Red Artificial Condition Rogue Protocol Exit Strategy Network Effect Fugitive Telemetry System Collapse"--
Author: Nossett, Lauren, 1986- author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F NOSSETT Format: Books Summary: "On a spring afternoon in Athens, Georgia, Ethan Haddock is discovered in his apartment, dead, apparently by his own hand. His fatality immediately garners media attention: not because his death reflects the troubling increase of depression and mental health issues among college students, but because the media has caught the whiff of a scandal. His professor, Dr. Verena Sobek, has been taken in for questioning, and there are rumors his death is the result of a bad romance. A Title IX investigation is opened, the professor is suspended, and social media crusaders and trolls alike are out for blood. Marlitt Kaplan never investigated love affairs. A former detective turned research assistant, she misses the excitement of her old job, but most of all the friendship of her partner, Teddy. When her mother, a professor at the university and colleague of the accused professor, asks for her help, she finds herself in the impossible position of proving something didn't happen. Without the credentials to interview suspects or access phone records, she will have to get closer to a victim's life than ever before. And she quickly finds herself in his apartment, having dinner with his roommates, even sleeping in his bed. But is she too close to see the truth? In her relentless pursuit to uncover the mystery behind Ethan's death, Marlitt will be forced to confront the power structures ingrained in the classroom against the backdrop of a historic campus and an institution that sometimes fails its most vulnerable members"--
Author: Golden, Christopher, author. Published: 2023 2022 Call Number: LP F GOLDEN Format: Large print Summary: "It's Halloween night, 1984, in Coventry, Massachusetts, and two families are unraveling. Up and down the street, secrets are being revealed, and all the while, mixed in with the trick-or-treaters of all ages, four children who do not belong are walking door to door, merging with the kids of Parmenter Road. Children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup. They seem terrified, and beg the neighborhood kids to hide them away, to keep them safe from The Cunning Man. There's a small clearing in the woods now that was never there before, and a blackthorn tree that doesn't belong at all. These odd children claim that The Cunning Man is coming for them...and they want the local kids to protect them. But with families falling apart and the neighborhood splintered by bitterness, who will save the children of Parmenter Road? All Hallows. The one night when everything is a mask."--
Author: Gohlke, Cathy, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: LP F GOHLKE Format: Large print Summary: "When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits. The "Ladies of the Lake," as the four girls call themselves, quickly bond like sisters, vowing that wherever life takes them, they will always be there for each other. But that is before: Before love and jealousy come between Adelaide and Dorothy, the closest of the friends. Before the dawn of World War I upends their world and casts baseless suspicion onto the German American man they both love. Before a terrible explosion in Halifax Harbor rips the sisterhood irrevocably apart. Seventeen years later, Rosaline Murray receives an unsuspecting telephone call from Dorothy, now headmistress of Lakeside, inviting her to attend the graduation of a new generation of girls, including Rosaline's beloved daughter. With that call, Rosaline is drawn into a past she'd determined to put behind her. To memories of a man she once loved . . . of a sisterhood she abandoned . . . and of the day she stopped being Adelaide MacNeill" --
