Narrative theme: coming of age

Book SynopsisUnable to get around without a wheelchair, the doll-like Josee leads a solitary,housebound existence. But when she meets her new live-in caretaker, a recent collegegraduate named Tsuneo, everything in her life is upended. "Josee, the Tiger and theFish" depicts the fragile, strangely erotic relationship that blossoms between these twoyoung people. In addition to the title story, this collection also includes seven shorttales centering on working women and the myriad loves and partings of their lives.

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Book SynopsisONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S 10 BEST DEBUT NOVELS OF THE YEAR “A charming, well-observed debut,” (NPR) featuring a gay male graduate student who falls for his brilliant female classmate, “you’ll tear through this tale of a thoroughly modern love triangle” (Entertainment Weekly).Exhausted by dead-end forays in the gay dating scene, surrounded constantly by friends but deeply lonely in New York City, and drifting into academic abyss, twenty-something graduate student Richard has plenty of sources of anxiety. But at the forefront is his crippling writer’s block, which threatens daily to derail his graduate funding and leave Richard poor, directionless, and desperately single. Enter Anne: his brilliant classmate who offers to “help” Richard write his papers in exchange for his company, despite Richard’s fairly obvious sexual orientation. Still, he needs her help, and it doesn’t hurt that Anne has folded Richard into her abundant lifestyle. What begins as an initially transactional relationship blooms gradually into something more complex. But then a one-swipe-stand with an attractive, successful lawyer named Blake becomes serious, and Richard suddenly finds himself unable to detach from Anne, entangled in her web of privilege, brilliance, and, oddly, her unabashed acceptance of Richard’s flaws. As the two relationships reach points of serious commitment, Richard soon finds himself on a romantic and existential collision course—one that brings about surprising revelations. “Intelligent, entertaining and elegantly written” (Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.) Going Dutch is an incisive portrait of relationships in an age of digital romantic abundance, but it’s also a heartfelt and humorous exploration of love and sexuality, and a poignant meditation on the things emotionally ravenous people seek from and do to each other. “This marvelously witty take on dating in New York City and the blurry nature of desire announces Gregor as a fresh, electric new voice” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR GOING DUTCH BY JAMES GREGOR "A book of deceptive ambitions, a breezy page-turner that, every few pages, slides in an observation that inspires some combination of laughter, mortification, and admiration. A witty and perceptive examination of contemporary social mores, you’ll tear through this tale of a thoroughly modern love triangle. A comedy of manners for the (very) modern age."—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (Most Anticipated for Summer 2019) "A dizzyingly satirical tapestry of the absurdities of contemporary urban life and love....Going Dutch is also just really, really funny."—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (Best Debut Novels of 2019) "A charming, well-observed debut. While the plot and the characters and the relationships in the novel are deeply engaging, what stuck out to me even more was Gregor's writing itself. [Gregor's] mix of old-fashioned style and contemporary setting makes Going Dutch an incredibly fun read, even in its most tragic moments, when Richard is at his most infuriatingly resistant to change. I can't wait to see what Gregor writes next."—NPR “A sardonic, procrastinating PhD candidate gets close to a classmate and questions his own sexuality in Gregor’s excellent debut. Filled with pithy secondary characters…Gregor’s on-the-nose depiction of New York liberal intelligentsia makes for wonderful satire. This marvelously witty take on dating in New York City and the blurry nature of desire announces Gregor as a fresh, electric new voice.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED REVIEW) "Going Dutch is a sharp, endearing update of the love-triangle rom-com, and Gregor's depiction of millennial New York is masterful. It's an exciting debut, and will leave you eager for more."—BUZZFEED (Most Anticipated for Summer 2019) "When we look back on the canon of modern dating-while-living-in-New-York escapades, Going Dutch will stand out as a vivid portrait of a life and time that — for many — feels almost too familiar. It’s bleak out there. But at least the brunch is good."—BUZZFEED "If you need your main characters to take the moral high road, this one isn’t for you. But if you’re into existential questions, Seinfeld-level awkward-dating scenarios, and a little dark humor: Start reading."—GOOP "Going Dutch is a feast for the senses. I found myself totally enthralled by its rich language and whip-smart observations. But the characters sparking off of one another—that is what kept me furiously turning the pages, hungry for more. [A] glorious debut novel...a smart and sometimes sardonic tale of queer couplings in the era of Grindr, obnoxious foodie culture, and millennial boredom."—CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS "A directionless grad student finds himself at the center of a bisexual love triangle in debut novelist Gregor's charmingly melancholy Brooklyn rom-com. Of course . . . Richard's double life must come crashing down, which it does, spectacularly. A deeply kind novel—all three characters are rich and complicated and human—[brimming with] biting observations of modern urban life."—KIRKUS REVIEWS "Gregor's debut novel is a carefully observed story about desire, love, and dependence in contemporary New York. Readers will be swept up in Richard’s life and love triangle, even as they wonder if he has any idea what he wants."—BOOKLIST "Going Dutch is a hilarious and relatable story that shows great promise for Gregor as a novelist. It plays around with the tropes and clichés of love triangle stories and 20-something arrested development stories in a fresh and engaging way. It’s a perfect snapshot of academic and romantic life in the ’10s that will hopefully resonate as time passes. After all, while some of these dating sites and apps will potentially fall into obscurity or be consigned to the digital mausoleum that all defunct sites and programs fall into, there will always remain that anxiety and allure that comes from branching out and trying to develop oneself as an adult, whether it involves writing about centuries-old literature or just figuring out the best place to get dinner on a Friday night in Brooklyn."—LAMBDA LITERARY "Comedic and captivating...[Gregor] lays bare the protagonist's, and our own, motivations: how we are drawn to another person; how, consciously or not--and often for the wrong reasons--we become bound up with that person; and how we sometimes fail to make honest and authentic choices, due to cultural forces or personal baggage. It also raises the question of whether sexual attraction is destiny, and whether emotional intimacy can sustain a relationship. At the novel's center lies a mystery more complex and elusive than that of desire and identity: what makes two people want to be together?"—THE GAY & LESBIAN REVIEW “In this intelligent, entertaining and elegantly written novel, James Gregor pulls off something many psychological novelists aspire to and few achieve: he convincingly captures the thinking of a character who earnestly sees himself as sympathetic, even as he behaves terribly. Without being intrusive, Gregor makes the reader see what his protagonist Richard can’t—the way unexamined shame and insecurity drive his actions (and non-actions). Never have I read a book where I so badly wanted the smart, well-meaning but benighted hero to get a good therapist, ideally one as insightful as the author himself.”—ADELLE WALDMAN, national bestselling author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P "Be it the horrors of online dating, the absurdity of academia, or the dicey interplay of gender and class, I'm convinced there's nothing that escapes James Gregor's attention. Going Dutch is more than an assured debut—it's a novel packed with so much sly wisdom and charm that it'll leave you reeling. I devoured this book, and you will too."—GRANT GINDER, author of Honestly, We Meant Well and The People We Hate at the Wedding “Every once in a while a novel of simply unremitting goodness lands on your front porch and Going Dutch is one of the best of the best. James Gregor is a generous, funny, easy-going natural and this book sheds much light on how we live and love now.”—GARY SHTEYNGART, New York Times bestselling author of Lake Success and Super Sad True Love Story "Going Dutch is my favorite kind of novel—smart, insightful, and brimming with sly humor. James Gregor explores the complexity of contemporary life with honesty and welcome cynicism, while still allowing for the possibility of love. This novel left me edified, entertained, and eagerly waiting to see what the author comes up with next."—STEPHEN McCAULEY, author of My Ex-Life “In this satisfying, plot-driven, and utterly adult novel about a bisexual love triangle, James Gregor has created a bitter black comedy set in the trenches of dating both on and off-line in 21st century New York City. Going Dutch is trenchant and kind, witty and devastating. As a debut work of fiction it is a knock-out.”—CHARLOTTE SILVER, author of Bennington Girls Are Easy

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Book SynopsisNamed a Best Book of the Year by Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Time, Esquire, BookPage, and more A Most-Anticipated Selection by Vogue * Refinery29 * Vulture * BuzzFeed * Harper’s Bazaar * O, The Oprah Magazine * The Millions * Literary Hub * The Rumpus * Publishers Weekly and more A scathingly funny, wildly erotic, and fiercely imaginative story about food, sex, and god from the acclaimed author of The Pisces and So Sad Today.Rachel is twenty-four, a lapsed Jew who has made calorie restriction her religion. By day, she maintains an illusion of existential control, by way of obsessive food rituals, while working as an underling at a Los Angeles talent management agency. At night, she pedals nowhere on the elliptical machine. Rachel is content to carry on subsisting—until her therapist encourages her to take a ninety-day communication detox from her mother, who raised her in the tradition of calorie counting. Early in the detox, Rachel meets Miriam, a zaftig young Orthodox Jewish woman who works at her favorite frozen yogurt shop and is intent upon feeding her. Rachel is suddenly and powerfully entranced by Miriam—by her sundaes and her body, her faith and her family—and as the two grow closer, Rachel embarks on a journey marked by mirrors, mysticism, mothers, milk, and honey. Pairing superlative emotional insight with unabashed vivid fantasy, Broder tells a tale of appetites: physical hunger, sexual desire, spiritual longing, and the ways that we as humans can compartmentalize these so often interdependent instincts. Milk Fed is a tender and riotously funny meditation on love, certitude, and the question of what we are all being fed, from one of our major writers on the psyche—both sacred and profane.

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Book Synopsis*A whip-smart, funny, and searing look at the wild world of startups. —Good Morning America Book Club Buzz Pick *Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR In this “wise and wickedly funny novel about love, creativity, and the limitations of the tech-verse” (Vogue) newlyweds Asha and Cyrus find themselves running one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.Meet Asha Ray. Brilliant coder and possessor of a Pi tattoo, Asha is poised to make a scientific breakthrough when she is reunited with her high school crush, Cyrus Jones. Before she knows it, Asha has abandoned her lab, exchanged vows with Cyrus, and gone to work at an exclusive tech incubator called Utopia to develop an app called WAI—“We are Infinite.” WAI creates a sensation, with millions of users logging on every day. Will Cyrus and Asha’s marriage survive the pressures of sudden fame, or will she become overshadowed by the man everyone is calling the new messiah? This “scathing—and hilarious—take on startup culture, marriage and workaholism” (Politico) explores whether or not technology—with all its limits and possibilities—can disrupt modern love.

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Book Synopsis“Immersive…awe-inspiring.” —The New York Times “An epic story of love, hope, and perseverance.” — #1 New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline This “stellar read” (Los Angeles Times) is an exhilarating tale of an unforgettable young woman who bravely exposes the corruption that enriched her father’s employers in early 1900s Colorado.In a voice infused with sly humor, Sylvie Pelletier recounts leaving her family’s snowbound mountain cabin to work in a manor house for the Padgetts, owners of the marble-mining company that employs her father and dominates the town. Sharp-eyed Sylvie is awed by the luxury around her; fascinated by her employer, the charming “Countess” Inge, and confused by the erratic affections of Jasper, the bookish heir to the family fortune. Her fairy-tale ideas take a dark turn when she realizes the Padgetts’ lofty philosophical talk is at odds with the unfair labor practices that have enriched them. Their servants, the Gradys, formerly enslaved people, have long known this to be true and are making plans to form a utopian community on the Colorado prairie. Outside the manor walls, the town of Moonstone is roiling with discontent. A handsome union organizer, along with labor leader Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, is stirring up the quarry workers. The editor of the local newspaper—a bold woman who takes Sylvie on as an apprentice—is publishing unflattering accounts of the Padgett Company. Sylvie navigates vastly different worlds and struggles to find her way amid conflicting loyalties. When the harsh winter brings tragedy, Sylvie decides to act. Drawn from true stories of Colorado history, Gilded Mountain is a tale of a bygone American West seized by robber barons and settled by immigrants, and is a story imbued with longing—for self-expression and equality, freedom and adventure.

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Book SynopsisWhen a young DeafBlind man learns the girl he thought was lost forever might still be out there, he embarks on a life-changing journey to find her—and his freedom.Arlo Dilly is young, handsome, and eager to meet the right girl. He also happens to be DeafBlind, a Jehovah’s Witness, and under the strict guardianship of his controlling uncle and unscrupulous Tactile ASL interpreter. His chances of finding someone to love seem slim to none. And yet, it happened once before: many years ago, at a boarding school for the Deaf. Arlo met the love of his life—a mysterious girl with onyx eyes and beautifully expressive hands which told him the most amazing stories. But tragedy struck, and their love was lost forever. Or so Arlo thought. After years spent nursing his broken heart, Arlo attends a writing class where a new unfiltered interpreter is assigned to him. Against the wishes of his guardians, the new interpreter provides Arlo with access to a world he had no idea existed. Memories from his past are unlocked. Soon he wonders if the hearing people he was supposed to trust have been lying to him all along, and if his lost love might be found again. No longer willing to accept what others tell him, Arlo convinces his new best friends (his gay interpreter and a rebellious Belgian barista) to set off on a journey to learn the truth. Despite the many forces working against him, Arlo will stop at nothing to find the girl who got away and experience all of life’s joyful possibilities. “Tender, hilarious and decidedly uplifting,” (BookPage), The Sign for Home is a “poignant…riveting” (Los Angeles Times), fresh and charming romance that you won’t soon forget.Trade Review"As if complex characters, a compelling voice, smart stylistic choices, and the fierce defense of diversity, accessibility, and equality were not enough, THE SIGN FOR HOME also immersed me in an engrossing and important conversation I knew too little about. I closed this book more enlightened, more engaged, and more hopeful than I was when I opened it, and I enjoyed every page along the way." -- Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of ONE TWO THREE*The 2022 Pride Reading List: 72 New Books to Read All Year* * Goodreads *"A hilarious, peculiar and very touching story about a deaf, blind Jehovah’s Witness boy and his gay interpreter." -- James Hannaham, author of the PEN/Faulkner Award winner, DELICIOUS FOODS"Fell writes with a deep compassion and keen attention to the experiences of living with deafness and blindness. This heartfelt romance is hard to resist." * Publishers Weekly *"A unique coming-of-age romance." * Buzzfeed *"Tender, hilarious and decidedly uplifting." * BookPage *“Poignant . . . . Riveting” * Los Angeles Times **April's Most Anticipated* * The Millions *"Reading THE SIGN FOR HOME will cause you to experience many emotions, from indignation to horror to heartbreak. Ultimately, though, this is a novel about the power of love --- not just romantic love but the love that evolves from friendship. It's a beautiful story that’s powerfully told." * BookReporter.com *

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Book SynopsisBased on a true story, an epic historical novel from the award-winning author of Things in Jars that illuminates the lives of two characters: a girl shipwrecked on an island off Western Australia and, three hundred years later, a boy finding a home with his grandfather on the very same island.1629: A newly orphaned young girl named Mayken is bound for the Dutch East Indies on the Batavia, one of the greatest ships of the Dutch Golden Age. Curious and mischievous, Mayken spends the long journey going on misadventures above and below the deck, searching for a mythical monster. But the true monsters might be closer than she thinks. 1989: A lonely boy named Gil is sent to live off the coast of Western Australia among the seasonal fishing community where his late mother once resided. There, on the tiny reef-shrouded island, he discovers the story of an infamous shipwreck… With her trademark “thrilling, mysterious, twisted, but more than anything, beautifully written” (Graham Norton, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling, Jess Kidd weaves “a true work of magic” (V.E. Schwab, author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue) about friendship, sacrifice, brutality, and forgiveness.

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Book SynopsisINSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER CBC Books ?86 Works of Canadian Fiction to Read in the First Half of 2023? CBC Books ?40 Canadian Books to Read This Summer? From the writer and producer of the hit TV shows Republic of Doyle and Son of a Critch, a poignant coming-of-age debut novel about the mysterious disappearance of a young girl and the fragility of childhood bonds, set against the backdrop of a small island community adapting to an ever-changing landscape.In 1991, on a small, isolated island off the coast of Newfoundland, twelve-year-old Pierce Jacobs struggles to come to terms with the death of his father. It?s been three years since his dad, a fisherman, disappeared in the cold, unforgiving Atlantic, his body never recovered. Pierce is determined to save enough money to fix his father?s old boat and take it out to sea. But life on the island is quiet and hard. The local fishing industry is on the brink of collapse, threatening to take an ages-old way of life with it. The community is hit even harder when a young teen named Anna Tessier goes missing. With the help of his three friends, Pierce sets out to find Anna, with whom he shared an unusual but special bond. They soon cross paths with Solomon Vickers, a mysterious, hermetic fisherman who may have something to do with the missing girl. Their search brings them into contact with unrelenting bullies, magnificent sea creatures, fierce storms, and glacial giants. But most of all, it brings them closer to the brutal reality of both the natural and the modern world. Part coming-of-age story, part literary mystery, and part suspense thriller, Closer by Sea is a page-turning, poignant, and powerful novel about family, friendship, and community set at a pivotal time in modern Newfoundland history. It is an homage to a people and a place, and above all it captures that delicate and tender moment when the wonder of childhood innocence gives way to the harsh awakening of adult experience.

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Book SynopsisCBS New York Book Club with Mary Calvi and Belletrist Book Club Pick “Raw, complex, and utterly unforgettable.” —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author The only child of a famous American novelist discovers a shocking family secret that upends everything she thought she knew about her parents, her gilded childhood, and her own stalled writing career in this standout debut, perfect for fans of Pineapple Street and The Plot.Growing up in the nineties in New York City as the only child of famous parents was both a blessing and a curse for Isabelle Manning. Her beautiful society hostess mother, Claire, and New York Times bestselling author father, Ward, were the city’s intellectual It couple. Ward’s glamorous obligations often took him away from Isabelle, but Claire made sure her childhood was always filled with love. Now an adult, all Isabelle wants is to be a successful writer like her father but after many false starts and the unexpected death of her mother, she faces her upcoming thirty-fifth birthday alone and on the verge of a breakdown. Her anxiety only skyrockets when she uncovers some shocking truths about her parents and begins wondering if everything she knew about her family was all based on an elaborate lie. This “literary page-turner” (KJ Dell’Antonia, New York Times bestselling author) is punctuated with fragments of a compulsively readable book-within-a-book about a woman determined to steal back the spotlight from a man who has cheated his way to the top. The characters seem eerily familiar but is the plot based on fact? And more importantly, who is the author?Trade Review"A standout debut about family, secrets, and the costs of protecting a precious legacy. Abramson skillfully captures the idiosyncrasies of the New York artistic elite and then rips the veil away, revealing characters who are raw, complex, and utterly unforgettable." —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace“Abramson’s clever debut… lands as a thought-provoking meditation on family.” —Publishers Weekly“In a novel largely about the creation of novels, McMullan Abramson avoids the pitfalls of jargony writing for the in-crowd and instead crafts a universal story about family, dreams, and the stories that linger long after we are gone. Complex characters weigh the benefits of sacrificing their morals to achieve a lasting legacy in this well-told tale.”—Kirkus "Wry, wise, and propulsive, A Likely Story is punctuated with fragments of a compulsively readable book-within-a-book about a woman determined to steal back the spotlight from a man who has cheated his way to the top."—Belletrist "A Likely Story expertly unpacks the lives of a famous author, his wife, and their daughter, alternating their narratives with a novel of unknown origin. A smart, keenly-observed look at celebrity, sacrifice, and secrets that is absolutely riveting."—Seira Wilson, Senior Editor of Amazon“Told as a novel-within-a-novel, A Likely Story is a subtle unfolding of a life led living with a celebrity and the struggle to shine on one’s own merits.” —Authorlink“A dishy, sophisticated story about an aspiring novelist whose greatest influence (and hindrance) is her own famous father. Moving, enraging, and utterly romantic, A Likely Story is literary gold.” —Courtney Maum, author of The Year of the Horses“Such a rich, clever story about the pitfalls of loving a celebrity.” —Tracey Lange, New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans"A Likely Story is a literary page-turner and a thoroughly modern story of family mistakes and redemption that I couldn’t put down." —KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of The Chicken Sisters"A standout debut about family, secrets, and the costs of protecting a precious legacy. Abramson skillfully captures the idiosyncrasies of the New York artistic elite and then rips the veil away, revealing characters who are raw, complex, and utterly unforgettable." —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace"I loved this sharp, multi-layered tale about the highly combustible relationship between love and ambition. Filled with family secrets, pitch-perfect details, and engagingly complex characters, it kept me hooked from page one." —Alexandra Andrews, author of Who is Maud Dixon"In Abramson's psychologically rich and engrossing debut, the lives of New York literati are rendered in pitch-perfect, delicious detail, as a hidden manuscript exposes a web of family secrets—and inspires an audacious deception. A Likely Story is a testament to the power of fiction not just to imitate life, but to control it. I couldn't stop reading." —Jonathan Vatner, author of Carnegie Hill and The Bridesmaids Union“Abramson’s clever debut… lands as a thought-provoking meditation on family.” —Publishers Weekly“In a novel largely about the creation of novels, McMullan Abramson avoids the pitfalls of jargony writing for the in-crowd and instead crafts a universal story about family, dreams, and the stories that linger long after we are gone. Complex characters weigh the benefits of sacrificing their morals to achieve a lasting legacy in this well-told tale.”—Kirkus "Wry, wise, and propulsive, A Likely Story is punctuated with fragments of a compulsively readable book-within-a-book about a woman determined to steal back the spotlight from a man who has cheated his way to the top."—Belletrist "A Likely Story expertly unpacks the lives of a famous author, his wife, and their daughter, alternating their narratives with a novel of unknown origin. A smart, keenly-observed look at celebrity, sacrifice, and secrets that is absolutely riveting."—Seira Wilson, Senior Editor of Amazon“Told as a novel-within-a-novel, A Likely Story is a subtle unfolding of a life led living with a celebrity and the struggle to shine on one’s own merits.” —Authorlink“A dishy, sophisticated story about an aspiring novelist whose greatest influence (and hindrance) is her own famous father. Moving, enraging, and utterly romantic, A Likely Story is literary gold.” —Courtney Maum, author of The Year of the Horses“Such a rich, clever story about the pitfalls of loving a celebrity.” —Tracey Lange, New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans"A Likely Story is a literary page-turner and a thoroughly modern story of family mistakes and redemption that I couldn’t put down." —KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of The Chicken Sisters"A standout debut about family, secrets, and the costs of protecting a precious legacy. Abramson skillfully captures the idiosyncrasies of the New York artistic elite and then rips the veil away, revealing characters who are raw, complex, and utterly unforgettable." —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace"I loved this sharp, multi-layered tale about the highly combustible relationship between love and ambition. Filled with family secrets, pitch-perfect details, and engagingly complex characters, it kept me hooked from page one." —Alexandra Andrews, author of Who is Maud Dixon"In Abramson's psychologically rich and engrossing debut, the lives of New York literati are rendered in pitch-perfect, delicious detail, as a hidden manuscript exposes a web of family secrets—and inspires an audacious deception. A Likely Story is a testament to the power of fiction not just to imitate life, but to control it. I couldn't stop reading." —Jonathan Vatner, author of Carnegie Hill and The Bridesmaids Union

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Book SynopsisNOW AN EMMY-NOMINATED HULU ORIGINAL SERIES • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A stunning novel about the transformative power of relationships” (People) from the author of Conversations with Friends, “a master of the literary page-turner” (J. Courtney Sullivan). ONE OF THE TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE—Entertainment WeeklyTEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—People, Slate, The New York Public Library, Harvard CrimsonAND BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, O: The Oprah Magazine, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Vogue, Esquire, Glamour, Elle, Marie Claire, Vox, The Paris Review, Good Housekeeping, Town & Country Connell and Marianne grew up in the same small town, but the similarities end there. At school, Connell is popular and well liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation—awkward but electrifying—something life changing begins.A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.Normal People is the story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find that they can’t. Praise for Normal People “[A] novel that demands to be read compulsively, in one sitting.”—The Washington Post “Arguably the buzziest novel of the season, Sally Rooney’s elegant sophomore effort . . . is a worthy successor to Conversations with Friends. Here, again, she unflinchingly explores class dynamics and young love with wit and nuance.”—The Wall Street Journal “[Rooney] has been hailed as the first great millennial novelist for her stories of love and late capitalism. . . . [She writes] some of the best dialogue I’ve read.”—The New YorkerTrade Review“[Rooney] has invented a sensibility entirely of her own: sunny and sharp, free of artifice but overflowing with wisdom and intensity. . . . The novel touches on class, politics, and power dynamics and brims with the sparky, witty conversation that Rooney’s fans will recognize.”—Vogue “A future classic.”—The Guardian“Rooney is a tough girl; her papercut-sharp sensibility is much more akin to writers like Rachel Kushner, Mary Gaitskill, and the pre–Manhattan Beach Jennifer Egan. . . . Normal People is a nuanced and flinty love story about two young people who ‘get’ each other, despite class differences and the interference of their own vigorous personal demons. But honestly, Sally Rooney could write a novel about bath mats and I’d still read it. She’s that good and that singular a writer.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air “[Rooney] has written two fresh and accessible novels. . . . There is so much to say about Rooney’s fiction—in my experience, when people who’ve read her meet they tend to peel off into corners to talk.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times“[Rooney’s] two carefully observed and gentle comedies of manners . . . are tender portraits of Irish college students. . . . Remarkably precise—she captures meticulously the way a generation raised on social data thinks and talks.”—New York Review of Books“Normal People tackles millennial concerns with nineteenth-century wit . . . the millennial generation would no doubt be happy to accept her as its spokesperson were she so inclined.”—Elle“I’m transfixed by the way Rooney works, and I’m hardly the only one . . . like any confident couturier, she’s slicing the free flow of words into the perfect shape. . . . She writes about tricky commonplace things (text messages, sex) with a familiarity no one else has.”—The Paris Review“Funny and intellectually agile . . . [combines] deft social observation—especially of shifts of power between individuals and groups—with acute feeling . . . [Rooney is] a master of the kind of millennial deadpan that appears to skewer a whole life and personality in a sentence or two.”—Harper’s Magazine“Beautifully observed . . . crackles with vivid insight into what it means to be young and in love today.”—Esquire“I went into a tunnel with this book and didn’t want to come out. Absolutely engrossing and surprisingly heart-breaking with more depth, subtlety, and insight than any one novel deserves. Young love is a subject of much scorn, but Rooney understands the cataclysmic effects our youth has on the people we become. She has restored not only love’s dignity, but also its significance.”—Stephanie Danler, author of Sweetbitter“Masterfully done. The quality of Rooney’s writing, particularly in the psychologically wrought sex scenes, cannot be understated as she brilliantly provides a window into her protagonists’ true selves.”—BookPage (starred review)

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Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING PHENOMENON—NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!More than 18 million copies sold worldwideA Reese’s Book Club PickA Business Insider Defining Book of the Decade “I can't even express how much I love this book! I didn't want this story to end!”—Reese Witherspoon“Painfully beautiful.”—The New York Times Book ReviewFor years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens.Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

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Book Synopsisthe half-drowned is a vision of a future at the end of the world where what survives is the shapeshifting love of family both given and chosen. Drawing on the Afro-diasporic ancestral knowledge of water and the urgency of desire, Delaney builds a glittering, speculative world where community holds through grief, where we must choose to fend for ourselves while also caring for others. the half-drowned is a genre-bending novella that crafts a polyphony of voices to speak to and through our lives and dreams in order to reach for the unspoken and unsayable and make it heard. PraiseA forceful, surreal, and poetically muscular read about a resiliently catastrophic future. So so good. What a style and voice. Jeff VanderMeer, author of AREA X (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)Told with searing insight and compassion, Trynne Delaney offers up a feast in the half-drowned. With swiftness, precision, and extraordinary prose Delaney gifts us an astonishing spec-fic tale of ancestors, lineage, aliens, blood, and memory. Francesca Ekwuyasi, author of Butter Honey Pig Bread (Arsenal Pulp Press)

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Book SynopsisAccustomed to being an only child, adoptee Brian Gumbo Guillemot''s teenage hobby was searching for his birth parents. After years without a lead, when he finally finds his birth mother, Kim, he''s unprepared for the boisterous instant family that comes with her.No one, besides Kim, knows anything about Gumbo''s birth father. With Kim refusing to answer any questions, Gumbo must choose whether to continue the search, even if it means alienating his few friends and both his families. And the more he learns, the more he wonders whether some things are better left unknown.Captivating and playful, The Home For Wayward Parrots explores friendship, romance, modern families and geek pop culture with wit, compassion and extremely foul-mouthed birds.

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Book SynopsisIt's the summer of 1979, and Hunter Frank is desperate to escape both his monstrous mother and his small northern town. With the help of three elders, a man named Crow, his two best friends, and a drug dealer, the twelve-year-old may be getting out of Red Rock sooner than he hoped.

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Book SynopsisDos extraños encuentran su antídoto perfecto para el miedo: la amabilidad.Raymond Jaffe siente que no encaja en ninguna parte: ni en casa, ni con la nueva familia de su madre, ni como invitado en el hogar de su padre, ni en el instituto, donde es un absoluto marginado. Cuando su mejor amigo se muda, Raymond piensa que solo le queda la gata callejera que ha domesticado. Hasta que un día una anciana llama a su puerta con una enigmática pregunta: ¿Has visto a Luis Vélez?Mildred Gutermann busca a su cuidador, que ha desaparecido. Ella salió de Alemania escapando de la persecución nazi hace ya muchas décadas, pero hoy se siente desolada en un entorno que cada vez se le hace más hostil. A sus noventa y dos años, lo único que se le ocurre es llamar a la puerta del vecino para pedir ayuda.Raymond responderá con fuerza, decidido a no permitir que se dé por vencida. Mildred, por su parte, querrá demostrar al joven que no se puede perder la esperanza cuando uno tiene a quien aferrarse. Y así, poco a poco, siguiendo la pista de Luis, una profunda e inesperada amistad florecerá entre ambos.

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Book SynopsisSan Francisco in the early 1990s. Cab is on the deep end of a losing streak. After having been dumped yet again, he moves to Haight-Ashbury fresh out of college. It is the middle of a recession, before the dot-com boom, and AIDS is an immediate and untreatable reality. He finds himself working in a housing program for people with HIV/AIDS. The entire city is reeling. His clients are dying. Cab records their every word. He starts drafting a narrative of every person with whom hes slept: those who dropped him, those he adored, and those he let go of without a second thought, to reassess what he has left behind from the South of his childhood of dyslexia and infatuations, football and ecstasy, divorce and sex panics. In between girlfriends, acting up, attempts at romance, and trying to find his place in the greater San Francisco narrative, Cab is looking for something, tracing the interconnecting stories of the people hes meeting, sleeping, and drinking with, as everyone tries to find a space in the city. As treatments emerge and the economy changes, a new story takes shape in Cabs life and the city.

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