Author: Stradal, J. Ryan, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: LP F STRADAL
Format: Books
Summary: "This novel is the story of Mariel and Ned, a couple from two very different restaurant families in rustic Minnesota, and the legacy of love and tragedy, of hardship and hope, that unites and divides them"-- Mariel Prager needs a break. Her husband Ned is having an identity crisis, her spunky, beloved restaurant is bleeding money by the day, and her mother Florence is stubbornly refusing to leave the church where she's been holed up for more than a week. The Lakeside Supper Club has been in her family for decades, and while Mariel's grandmother embraced the business, seeing it as a saving grace, Florence never took to it. When Mariel inherited the restaurant, skipping Florence, it created a rift between mother and daughter that never quite healed. Ned is also an heir--to a chain of home-style diners--and while he doesn't have a head for business, he knows his family's chain could provide a better future than his wife's fading restaurant. In the aftermath of a devastating tragedy, Ned and Mariel lose almost everything they hold dear, and the hard-won victories of each family hang in the balance. With their dreams dashed, can one fractured family find a way to rebuild despite their losses, and will the Lakeside Supper Club be their salvation? In this colorful, vanishing world of relish trays and brandy Old Fashioneds, J. Ryan Stradal has once again given us a story full of his signature honest, lovable yet fallible Midwestern characters as they grapple with love, loss, and marriage; what we hold onto and what we leave behind; and what our legacy will be when we are gone.
Author: Gross, Neil, 1971- author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: 363.2
Format: Books
Summary: Taking readers deep inside three unusual police departments in California, Colorado, and Georgia, this book, informed by research and by turns gripping, tragic, and inspirational, follows the chiefs--and their officers and detectives--as they worked to replace aggressive culture with something better. "Walk the Walk brings readers deep inside three unusual departments--in Stockton, California; Longmont, Colorado; and LaGrange, Georgia--whose chiefs signed on to replace that aggressive culture with something better: with models focused on equity before the law, social responsibility, racial reconciliation, and the preservation of life. Informed by research, unflinching and by turns gripping, tragic, and inspirational, this book follows the chiefs--and their officers and detectives--as they conjured a new spirit of policing. While every community faces unique challenges with police reform, Walk the Walk opens a window onto what the police could be, if we took seriously the charge of creating a more just America." -- inside front jacket flap.
Author: Lee, Kristen R., author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: Y LEE
Format: Books
Summary: At risk of losing her home, teen mom B'onca forges a risky plan to help pay the bills that, if she makes one wrong move, could cost her and her family everything. A story about a teen mom navigating income disparity and racial inequality, and defying challenges to protect those she loves. When rent increases put a teen mom at risk of losing her home, she resorts to a dangerous game to keep her family afloat. But all games have consequences, and this isn't one she can afford to lose. A gripping story about race, income instability, and the strength it takes to survive. B'onca always knew how to get by. And then her daughter is born. She wouldn't trade Mia for anything, but there is never enough cash to go around. When their gentrifying Memphis neighborhood results in higher prices and then an eviction notice, B'onca's already fragile world spirals. Desperate to make things right, B'onca forges a risky plan to help pay the bills. But one wrong move could cost B'onca--and her family--everything.
Author: Dean, Janice, 1970- author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: 331.4133 DEAN
Format: Books
Summary: "A collection of David vs. Goliath stories"-- "After her acclaimed memoir, Always Sunny, Janice Dean figured she was done trying to survive or bring down awful men. Then she found herself taking on Governor Andrew Cuomo on social media and then at rallies. What at first seemed like a futile fight ended with Cuomo's historic resignation. But it caused Janice to wonder: What fuels someone's resolve to go up against a powerful opponent? And how can ordinary people make the world a better place? In I Am the Storm, Janice shares the stories of others who stood like David against Goliath, choosing to fight for what was right rather than take the easy path." -- Amazon.com. After losing her beloved in-laws in the spring of 2020, Janice faced a storm of grief and confusion. And once she learned that thousands of Covid-infected patients were deliberately sent to nursing homes, she took on the man she believed was responsible: Governor Andrew Cuomo. What at first seemed like a futile fight ended with Cuomo's historic resignation. But it caused Janice to wonder: What fuels someone's resolve to go up against a powerful opponent? And how can ordinary people make the world a better place?
Author: Baldacci, David, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: LP F BALDACCI
Format: Books
Summary: Two women--a former detective and a dangerous con artist--go head-to-head in a twisting game of cat and mouse. Mickey Gibson, single mother and former detective, leads a hectic life similar to that of many moms: juggling the demands of her two small children with the tasks of her job working remotely for ProEye, a global investigation company that hunts down wealthy tax and credit cheats. When Mickey gets a call from a colleague named Arlene Robinson, she thinks nothing of Arlene's unusual request for her to go inventory the vacant home of an arms dealer who cheated ProEye's clients and fled. That is, until she arrives at the mansion to discover a dead body in a secret room--and that nothing is as it seems. Not only does the arms dealer not exist but the murder victim turns out to be Harry Langhorne, a man with mob ties who used to be in Witness Protection. What's more, no one named Arlene Robinson works at ProEye. In the blink of an eye, Gibson has become a prime suspect in a murder investigation--and now her job is also on the line until she proves that she was set up. Before long, Gibson is locked in a battle of wits with a brilliant woman with no name, a hidden past, and unknown motives--whose end game is as mysterious as it is deadly.
Author: Dalton, Julie Carrick, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: LP F DALTON
Format: Large print
Summary: "It's been more than a decade since the world has come undone, and Sasha Severn has returned to her childhood home with one goal in mind-find the mythic research her father, the infamous Last Beekeeper, hid before he was incarcerated. There, Sasha is confronted with a group of squatters. The friends soon become her newfound family, offering security and hope. But just as she settles into her new life, Sasha witnesses the impossible. She sees a honeybee, presumed extinct, and can't shake the feeling that it is connected to her father's missing research. Fighting to uncover the truth could shatter Sasha's security and threaten the lives of her newfound family--or it could save them all."--back cover.
Author: Benton-Walker, Terry J., author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: Y BENTONWA
Format: Books
Summary: Sixteen-year-old twins Clement and Cristina feel lost after their father's death, but find a new sense of purpose as they work to quell the rising tensions between New Orleans's magic and non-magic communities and find out who cursed their mother. "Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and New Orleans saw the greatest magical massacre in its history. In the days that followed, a throne was stolen from a queen. On the anniversary of these brutal events, Clement and Cristina Trudeau--the sixteen-year-old twin heirs to the powerful, magical, dethroned family--are mourning their father and caring for their sick mother. Until, by chance, they discover their mother isn't sick--she's cursed. Cursed by someone on the very magic council their family used to rule. Someone who will come for them next." --Front jacket flap
Author: Ausubel, Ramona, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: F AUSUBEL
Format: Books
Summary: "A playful, witty, and resonant novel in which a single mother and her two teen daughters engage in a wild scientific experiment and discover themselves in the process, from the award-winning writer of Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty. Jane is a serious scientist on the cutting-edge team of a bold project looking to "de-extinct" the Woolly mammoth. She's privileged to have been sent to Siberia to hunt for ancient DNA, but there's a catch: Jane's two "tagalong" teen daughters are there with her in the Arctic, and they're bored enough to cause trouble. Brilliant, fiery, sharp-tongued Eve is fifteen and willing to talk back to the male scientists in a way her mother is not. And sweet, thirteen-year-old Vera, who seems to absorb all the emotional burdens of her small family, just wants to be home in Berkeley, baking cakes and watching bad TV. When Eve and Vera stumble upon a 4,000-year-old baby mammoth that has been perfectly preserved, their discovery sets off a chain of events that pit Jane against her colleagues, and soon her status at the lab is tenuous at best. So what does a female scientist do when she's a passionate devotee of her field but her gender and life history hold her back? She goes rogue. As Jane and her daughters ping-pong from the slopes of Siberia to a university in California, from the shores of Iceland to an exotic animal farm in Italy, The Last Animal takes readers on an expansive, big-hearted journey that explores the possibility and peril of the human imagination on a changing planet, what it's like to be a woman and a mother in a field dominated by men, and how a wondrous discovery can best be enjoyed with family. Even teenagers"--
Author: Kelly, Martha Hall, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: F KELLY
Format: Books
Summary: "Two former female spies, bound by their past, risk everything to hunt down an infamous Nazi doctor in the aftermath of World War II-an extraordinary, propulsive historical novel inspired by true events from the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls The year is 1952. It's been over a decade since American Sofie Anderson and Frechwoman Arlette LaRue were imprisoned at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. As a pair of spies known as the Golden Doves, the two were arrested for working with the Resistance and were bound forever when they lost everything-including Arlette's son, Willie. It was here, in the darkest of places, that they created a makeshift family to endure: Sofie, Arlette, and a little orphan they took in as their own, Fleur. Now thirty and supposedly working for the U.S. Army to bring Nazi scientists to America in a quest to outpace the Russians, Sofie nurtures an undying ember of anger in her heart. She is searching for Dr. Snow: The infamous, enigmatic doctor who did unspeakable things to her mother. Arlette is trying to make ends meet in Paris. She's exhausted all of her finances to find her stolen son and works tirelessly to care for shellshocked Fleur. Then, the charming Luc Bouchard arrives in her cafe. The son of a famous philanthropic family, he invites her to their compound in French Guiana with the promised hope she might find Willie at the orphanage. And yet . . . rumor is that it's also filled with absconding Nazis. When Arlette arrives at the secluded Cove House, she finds herself barred from the outside. Soon, she has to rely on her old techniques as a spy to uncover a deep deception that hits close to home. In the meantime, Sofie's quest for Dr. Snow leads her from Strasbourg to the Vatican to Brazil, and finally back to Arlette in French Guiana, where the two discover that their lives, and the ones they love, are in grave danger. Martha Hall Kelly has garnered acclaim for her stunning combination of empathy and research into terrors of Ravensbrück. With The Golden Doves, she has once again crafted an unforgettable story about the fates of the Nazi doctors in the wake of WWII, and the unsung females spies who risked it all to fight for justice"--
Author: Halperin, Hanna, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: F HALPERIN
Format: Books
Summary: "By the author of Something Wild, a gripping portrait of a tumultuous, consuming relationship between a young woman and a recovering addict When Leah Kempler meets Charlie Nelson in line at the grocery store, their connection is immediate and intense. Charlie, with his big feelings and grand proclamations of love, captivates her completely. But there are peculiarities of his life--he's older than her but lives with his parents; he meets up with a friend at odd hours of the night; he sleeps a lot and always seems to be coming down with something. He confesses that he's a recovering heroin addict, but he promises Leah that he's never going to use again. Leah's friends and family are concerned. As she finds herself getting deeper into an isolated relationship, one of manipulation and denial, the truth about Charlie feels as blurry as their time together. Even when Charlie's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, when he starts to make Leah feel unsafe, she can't help but feel that what exists between them is destined..."--
Author: Sharma, Nisha, 1985- author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: Y SHARMA
Format: Books
Summary: A youth group's temple road trip through India is a liberating escape for former mean girl Tara Bajaj and aspiring photojournalist Silas D'Souza-Gupta to explore their past and their feelings for each other. Born and raised in the US, Tara Bajaj hides her family secrets. With beautiful clothes, a popular social media presence, and a spot on the Rutgers High Bollywood dance team, she does it well--until her carefully cultivated image shatters. Shut out by friends and with her future in flux, Tara accepts a guide position for a youth group's temple tour through North India. Rediscovering the heart of her ancestry is as good a place as any to start over. Silas D'Souza-Gupta is an aspiring photojournalist retracing the journey his two mothers took when they fell in love. The last thing he expects on this road trip through his roots is a girl with a history of her own. As Tara and Silas embark on remote pilgrimage sites from Punjab through the Himalayas, they discover what it means to be a child in the Indian diaspora, the significance of karma, and the healing power of love.
Author: Argy, Julia, author. G.P. Putnam's Sons, publisher.
Published: 2023
Call Number: F ARGY
Format: Books
Summary: "A razor-sharp and seductively hypnotic debut novel about the very fantasy of falling in love"-- "Emily didn't join the cast of The One for fame or for a relationship. She simply didn't have anything better to do. Newly fired from her dead-end job, she doesn't need much convincing when she's recruited as a last-minute contestant for the popular reality dating show. Emily has been performing for her entire life--for her family and friends, former boyfriends, and coworkers. How different could it be playing herself in front of cameras?
Author: Healey, Jonathan, 1982- author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: 941.06
Format: Books
Summary: "A fresh, exciting history of seventeenth-century England, a time of revolution when society was on fire and simultaneously forging the modern world. The seventeenth century was a revolutionary age for the English. It started as they suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and it ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, England suffered terrorism and witch panics. Under his son Charles, state and society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup and regicide. For a short time--for the only time in history--England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith and Parliament asserted itself like never before. There were no boundaries to politics. In fiery, plague-ridden London, in coffee shops and alehouses, new ideas were forged that were angry, populist, and almost impossible for monarchs to control. But the story of this century is less well known than it should be. Myths have grown around key figures. People may know about the Gunpowder Plot and the Great Fire of London, but the Civil War is a half-remembered mystery to many. And yet the seventeenth century has never seemed more relevant. The British constitution is once again being bent and contorted, and there is a clash of ideologies reminiscent of when Roundhead fought Cavalier"--
Author: Wibberley, Emily, author. Siegemund-Broka, Austin, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: Y WIBBERLE
Format: Books
Summary: Three months after she breaks up with her now ex, Dean, seventeen-year-old Kaylee and her family go on their annual vacation with Dean's family, and so to avoid an awkward trip, Kaylee tries to set some ground rules with him but finds herself falling for him all over again. Seventeen-year-old volleyball star Kaylee Jordan lives a life of player rankings, constant training, and a carefully curated social media full of followers watching to see if she'll go pro out of high school like her famous mom. Her one refuge, and the thing she looks forward to every summer? The vacation her family spends in Malibu with the Freeman-Yus. This year, there's only one problem: Kaylee and their son, Dean, dated for the past three months, and Kaylee just unceremoniously dumped him. Hoping to spare them the worst summer ever, Kaylee comes to Dean with her unconventional solution: she's going to walk him through her rules for getting over an ex. When Dean grudgingly cooperates, Kaylee's got her work cut out for her. But helping Dean follow her own rules starts becoming difficult when the pressures of Kaylee's family legacy and perfect life start to feel less like a plan and more like a prison...and amid warm California nights and stolen laughs, Kaylee feels herself falling for Dean for the same reasons and some new ones. With their trip coming to an end, Kaylee has to make the complicated choice between doing what's expected and taking a (second) chance on love.
Author: Chao, Gloria, 1986- author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: Y CHAO
Format: Books
Summary: "A romance about teens who devote themselves to granting other people's wishes, but are too afraid to let them selves have their own hearts' desires--each other"-- "Liya and Kai had been best friends since they were little kids--but they haven't spoken since a humiliating incident sparked The Biggest Misunderstanding Of All Time. When Liya discovers her family's wishing lantern store is struggling, she decides to resume a tradition she had with her beloved late grandmother: secretly fulfilling the wishes people write on the lanterns they send into the sky. It may save the store, but she can't do it alone--and Kai is the only one who cares enough to help. Their feuding families and their changing futures threaten to tear them apart again. Can they find a way to make their own wishes come true?"--
Author: Pelletier, Cathie, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: 974.043
Format: Books
Summary: Tells the story of the winter storm that significantly impacted the New England region in 1952. The February 1952 snowstorm that blanketed New England offers a valuable reminder about nature's capacity for destruction as well as insight into the human instinct for preservation. Housewives and lobstermen, loggers and soldiers were all trapped as snow piled in drifts twenty feet high. The storm smothered hundreds of travelers in their cars, covered entire towns, and broke ships in half. In the midst of the blizzard's chaos, there were remarkable acts of heroism and courageous generosities. It is likely that none of us know how we would handle a confrontation with a blizzard or other natural disaster. Pelletier shows that we have it inside to fight for survival in some of the harshest conditions that nature has to offer. - adapted from jacket
Author: Kelly, Mary Louise, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: 306.874
Format: Books
Summary: "The time for do-overs is over. Ever since she became a parent, Mary Louise Kelly has said "next year." Next year will be the year she makes it to her son James's soccer games (which are on weekdays at 4 p.m., right when she is on the air on NPR's All Things Considered, talking to millions of listeners). Drive carpool for her son Alexander? Not if she wants to do that story about Ukraine and interview the secretary of state. Like millions of parents who wrestle with raising children while pursuing a career, she has never been cavalier about these decisions. The bargain she has always made with herself is this: this time I'll get on the plane, and next year I'll find a way to be there for the mom stuff. Well, James and Alexander are now seventeen and fifteen, and a realization has overtaken Mary Louise: her older son will be leaving soon for college. There used to be years to make good on her promises; now, there are months, weeks, minutes. And with the devastating death of her beloved father as well as a surprising turn in her marriage, Mary Louise is facing act three of her life head-on. Mary Louise is coming to grips with the reality every parent faces. Childhood has a definite expiration date. You have only so many years with your kids before they leave your house to build their own lives. It's what every parent is supposed to want, what they raise their children to do. But it is bittersweet. Mary Louise is also dealing with the realities of having aging parents, and that marriages change. This pivotal time brings with it the enormous questions of what you did right and what you did wrong. This chronicle of her eldest child's final year at home, of losing her father, as well as other curve balls thrown at her, is not a definitive answer--not for herself and certainly not for any other parent. But her questions, her issues, will resonate with every parent. And, yes, especially with mothers, who are judged more harshly by society and, more important, judge themselves more harshly. What would she do if she had to decide all over again? Mary Louise's thoughts as she faces the coming year will speak to anyone who has ever cared about a child, a parent, or a spouse. It. Goes. So. Fast. is honest, funny, poignant, revelatory, and immensely relatable"--
Author: Talty, Stephan, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: B KORESH
Format: Books
Summary: "The first comprehensive account of David Koresh, the tragedy at Waco, and the rise of government mistrust in America"-- The first comprehensive account of David Koresh's life, his road to Waco, and the rise of government mistrust in America, from a master of narrative nonfiction. No other event in the last fifty years is shrouded in myth like the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. Today, we remember this moment for the 76 people, including 20 children, who died in the fire; for its inspiration of the Oklahoma City bombing; and for the wave of anti-government militarism that followed. What we understand far less is what motivated the Davidians' enigmatic leader, David Koresh. Drawing on first-time, exclusive interviews with Koresh's family and survivors of the siege, bestselling author Stephan Talty paints a psychological portrait of this infamous icon of the 1990s. Born Vernon Howell into the hyper-masculine world of central Texas in the 1960s, Koresh experienced a childhood riven with abuse and isolation. He found a new version of himself in the halls of his local church, and love in the fundamentalist sect of the Branch Davidians. Later, with a new name and professed prophetic powers, Koresh ushered in a new era for the Davidians that prized his own sexual conquest as much as his followers' faith. As one survivor has said, "What better way for a worthless child to feel worth than to become God?" In his signature immersive storytelling, Talty reveals how Koresh's fixation on holy war, which would deliver the Davidians to their reward and confirm himself as Christ, collided with his paranoid obsession with firearms to destructive effect. Their deadly, 51-day standoff with the embattled FBI and ATF, he shows, embodied an anti-government ethic that continues to resonate today. Now, thirty years after that unforgettable moment, Koresh presents the tragedy at Waco -- and the government mistrust it inspired -- in its fullest context yet. - Publisher.
Author: Benedict, Jeff, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: B JAMES
Format: Books
Summary: Presents a definitive biography of one of the greatest athletes of all time that chronicles not only LeBron James' meteoric rise to fame but also his solid family, political activism, and business empire. The reigning king of the game and the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, LeBron James's ascent has been anything but effortless and predetermined. He won his destiny despite overwhelmingly long odds; his mother placed him with a family that gave him stability and put a basketball in his hands. Benedict shows the gradual rise of a star who, surrounded by a tight-knit group of teenage friends and adult mentors, accelerated into a speeding comet during high school. He went from a lost boy in Akron to a hero who uses his fortune to educate underprivileged children and lift up needy families-- and brought home Cleveland's first NBA championship. Benedict delves into LeBron's relationship with fame and power: how he has cultivated it, harnessed it, suffered from it, and leveraged it. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Rubin, Gretchen, author.
Published: 2023
Call Number: 152.1
Format: Books
Summary: "The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project discovers a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. For more than a decade, Gretchen Rubin had been studying happiness and human nature. Then, one day, a visit to her eye doctor made her realize that she'd been overlooking a key element of happiness: her five senses. She'd spent so much time stuck in her head that she'd allowed the vital sensations of life to slip away, unnoticed. This epiphany lifted her from a state of foggy preoccupation into a world rediscovered by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. In this revelatory journey of self-experimentation, she explores the mysteries and joys of the five senses as a path to a happier, more mindful life. Drawing on cutting-edge science, philosophy, literature, and her own efforts to practice what she learns, she investigates the profound power of tuning in to the physical world. From the simple pleasures of appreciating the magic of ketchup and adding favorite songs to a playlist, to more adventurous efforts like creating a daily ritual of visiting the Met and attending Flavor University, Rubin show us how to experience each day with depth, delight, and connection. In the rush of daily life, she finds, our five senses offer us an immediate, sustainable way to cheer up, calm down, and engage the world around us-as well as a way to glimpse the soul and touch the transcendent. A Life in Five Senses is an absorbing, layered story of discovery filled with profound insights and practical suggestions about how to heighten our senses and use our powers of perception to live fuller, richer lives-and, ultimately, how to move through the world with more vitality and love"--
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