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Staff Summer Reading 2014

Atkinson, Kate. Life After Life (F Atkinson) - "On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war. Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can -- will she?"--

Baldacci, David. King and Maxwell (F Baldacci) - The teenage son of a missing soldier in Afghanistan hires Sean King and Michelle Maxwell--former Secret Service agents turned private investigators--to solve the mystery surrounding his father, but their investigation quickly leads to deeper, more troubling questions.

Briggs, Nicholas. The Dalek Generation (F Briggs) - The Doctor arrives on a Dalek planet, and tries to convince them to change their way of life.

Brown, Karen. The Longings of Wayward Girls (F Brown) - The unsolved mysteries precipitated by a harmless prank resurface twenty years later when a boy from Sadie's old neighborhood returns to town

Brunt, Carol. Tell the Wolves I’m Home (F Brunt) - Her world upended by the death of a beloved artist uncle who was the only person that understood her, fourteen-year-old June is mailed a teapot by her uncle's grieving friend, with whom she forges a poignant relationship"

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Chiaverini, Jennifer. Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival (F Chiaverini) - Portrays the rivalry between Mary Todd Lincoln and Kate Chase Sprague although they had much in common—political acumen, love of country, and a determination to help the men they loved achieve greatness.

Clancy, Tom. Command Authority (F Clancy) - "There's a new strong man in Russia but his rise to power is based on a dark secret hidden decades in the past. The solution to that mystery lies with a most unexpected source, President Jack Ryan"--

Coelho, Paulo. Manuscript Found in Accra (F Coelho) - "A novel of philosophical reflection set in Jerusalem during the time of the Crusades. Here a community of Christians, Arabs, and Jews who have long lived together harmoniously have been warned of an imminent attack and certain destruction. Contemplating their demise, the community assembles to seek the wise counsel of a Greek Copt, who imparts comforting and guiding wisdom on the enduring attributes of human character."--

Danticat, Edwidge. Claire of the Sea of Light (F Danticat) - "The interconnected secrets of a coastal Haitian town are revealed when one little girl, the daughter of a fisherman, goes missing"-Provided by publisher.

Dixon, Diane. The Book of Somedays (F Dixon) - After she meets Andrew, Livvi Gray hopes to break free from her past and to escape a recurring

nightmare, but there may be too many secrets to overcome.

Demille, Nelson. The Quest (F Demille) - In Ethiopia, a Catholic priest finally escapes the prison he has been in for forty years, for knowing a secret, when he encounters two Western journalists and a freelance photographer in the jungle hiding from the war that is going on, and as they tend to his wounds he tells them of his incredible story, and they agree to search for the Grail.

Delinsky, Barbara. Sweet Salt Air (F Delinsky) - Two childhood friends reunite at a summer retreat, each harboring a horrible secret that would test the bounds of their longtime relationship if revealed.

DisClafani, Anton. The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls (F DisClafani) - . Thea Atwell is sent to a private girls school called the Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls after her mysterious role in a family tragedy and while there she grapples with her responsibility for the events of the last year.

Dixon, Dianna. The Book of Somedays (F Dixon) - After she meets Andrew, Livvi Gray hopes to break free from her past and to escape a recurring nightmare, but there may be too many secrets to overcome.

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Frank, Dorothea Benton. The Last Original Wife (F Frank) - Leslie Anne Greene Carter is the last original wife among her husbands friends who have all turned in their wives for younger, blonder women, but Leslie decides to take back her life after she falls into a manhole while golfing with her husband and nobody notices that she is gone.

Galbraith, Robert. The Cuckoo’s Calling (F Galbraith) - Detective Cormoran Strike investigates the supposed suicide of supermodel Lula Landry, called The Cuckoo by her friends

Gilbert, Melissa – The Signature of All Things (F Gilbert) - Alma, born into luxury in 1800, becomes a gifted botanist like others in her family, but as she delves into the mysteries of evolution she falls in love with a man who pulls her in the opposite direction, into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical.

Greenway, Alice. The Bird Skinner (F Greenway) - Forced to abandon his ornithology work after being wounded in combat, World War II veteran Jim Carroway secludes himself on a tiny island off the coast of Maine, where an old friend's captivating daughter draws him out of isolation during the month before she starts college

Grisham, John. Sycamore Row (F Grisham) - Ford County lawyer Jake Brigance is thrust into the center of a murder trial and mystery after wealthy Seth Hubbard, who was dying of lung cancer, commits suicide and leaves all of his fortune to his African-American maid, raising questions about the circumstances of his death and a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row.

Harrison, Jim. The River Swimmer (F Harrison) - Two novellas provide insight into the human condition as a sixty-year-old art history academic embarks on an unexpected journey of discovery and a young farm boy is drawn to the water of Lake Michigan as an escape.

Helprin, Mark. Winter’s Tale (F Helprin) - Peter Lake attempts to rob a mansion in New York city, but meets and falls in love with Beverly Penn who is dying of tuberculosis

Henkin, Joshua. The World Without You (F Henkin) - The Frankel family visits their summer home during the Fourth of July holiday to memorialize and grieve over the death of Leo, the youngest of four siblings and a journalist who was killed while on assignment in Iraq.

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Horan,Nancy. Under the Wide and Starry Sky (F Horan) Author of Loving Frank - Tells the story of the unconventional love affair between Fanny Van De Grift and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Keneally, Thomas. The Daughters of Mars (F Keneally) - Sisters Naomi and Sally Durance, having joined the war effort as nurses in 1915, carry a family secret and find their bond strengthened and courage tested as they face danger and hostility and meet men with whom they dream of futures, if they all survive.

Kidd, Sue Monk The Inventions of Wings (F Kidd) - "The story follows Hetty "Handful" Grimke, a Charleston slave, and Sarah, the daughter of the wealthy Grimke family. The novel begins on Sarah's eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership over Handful, who is to be her handmaid and follows the next thirty-five years of their lives"--

King Stephen. Dr. Sleep (F King) - Still haunted by his experiences at the Overlook Hotel, where he spent one year as a child, Dan Torrence has settled in New Hampshire to try to escape those and other ghosts of his past. When he meets Abra Stone, a twelve-year-old girl who shares Dan's gift of "shining," and discovers that a tribe of traveling paranormals called True Knot want to steal

her power by slowly torturing her to death, he becomes determined to save the child. (Sequel to The Shining)

King Stephen. Joyland (F King) - In the summer of 1973 at an amusement park in a small North Carolina town college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

Lamb, Wally. We are Water (F Lamb) - Anna Oh, a middle-age wife, mother and artist, divorces her husband after 27 years of marriage to marry Vivica, the Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her professional success.

Lippman, Laura After I’m Gone (F Lippman) - When Felix Brewer meets Bernadette 'Bambi' Gottschalk at a Valentine's Dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative--if not all legal--businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambi's comfortable world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes .

Lowell, Elizabeth. Dangerous Refuge (F Lowell) - Environmental conservancy advocate Shaye Townsend and big city cop Tanner, who has come home to work on his uncle's historic ranch, join forces to uncover the truth behind Tanner's uncle's death, but when Shaye becomes a killer's target, Tanner realizes he'd give up anything to protect her, including his life.

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Mallery, Susan. Three Sisters (F Mallery) - "After Andi Gordon is jilted at the altar, she makes the most impetuous decision of her life-buying one of the famed Three Sisters Queen Anne houses on Blackberry Island. Now the proud-ish owner of the ugly duckling of the trio, she plans to open her own pediatric office on the first floor, just as soon as her hunky contractor completes the

work. Andi's new future may be coming together, but the truth is she's just as badly in need of a major renovation as her house."--

McCreight, Kim. Reconstructing Amelia (F McCreight) - Kate, a lawyer, investigates her daughter's suicide at a private school after she receives an anonymous text message implying it was murder.

McDermott, Alice. Someone (F McDermott) - "The story of a Brooklyn-born woman's life - her family, her neighborhood, her daily trials and triumphs - from childhood to old age

Picoult, Jodi. The Storyteller (F Picoult) - Sage Singer must decide what to do after she

Scottoline, Lisa.

Keep Quiet (F Scottoline) - Jake Whitmore is enjoying a rare bonding moment with his sixteen-year-old son, Kurt, when disaster strikes. They get in a terrible car accident that threatens to derail not only Kurt's chances at college, but his entire future. Jake makes a split-second decision that saves his son from formal punishment, but plunges them both into a world of guilt, lies, and secrecy. Just when Jake thinks he has everything under control, a malevolent outsider comes forward with the power to expose Jake's secret and taunts him to the breaking point. Keep Quiet is the powerful and gut-wrenching tale of the unraveling--and the ultimate redemption--of a family"—

Accused (F Scottoline) - The Rosato & Associates firm receives a request from a thirteen-year-old prospective client. Allegra Gardner's sister Fiona was murdered six years ago and Allegra believes that the accused, Lonnie Stall, is innocent and has been wrongly imprisoned.

Setterfield, Diane Bellman and Black (F Setterfield) - Killing a bird with his slingshot as a boy, William Bellman grows up a wealthy family man unaware of how his act of childhood cruelty will have terrible consequences until a wrenching tragedy compels him to enter into a macabre bargain with a stranger in black.

Sittenfeld, Curtis The Man of My Dreams (F Sittenfeld) - Between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, Hannah Gavener learns about love, the lies one tells oneself, growing up, and

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taking risks as she struggles through two relationships and an unrequited love for her friend Henry for which she moves halfway across the countr

Tan, Amy. The Valley of Amazement (F Tan) - Violet Minturn, a half-Chinese, half-American courtesan who deals in seduction and illusion in Shanghai, struggles to find her place in the world, while her mother, Lucia, tries to make sense of the choices she has made and the men who have shaped her.

Tartt, Donna. The Goldfinch (F Tartt) - A young boy, Theo Decker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Alone and abandoned, Theo is taken in by family friends and struggles to make sense of his new life

Walker, Karen. The Age of Miracles (F Walker) - Julia struggles as she comes of age when she learns, along with the rest of the world, that the Earth has begun to slow its rotation, drastically changing gravity and the environment.

Weiner, Jennifer. The Next Best Thing (F Weiner) - Ruth Saunders leaves her Massachusetts home and heads west with her seventy-year-old grandmother to pursue her dream of becoming a screenwriter, and when after six years she finally gets the call, for her sitcom, her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on her boss, and her grandmother's impending nuptials

Weisberge, Laura. The Revenge of Prada (F Weisberger) - Andy Sachs and her partner, Emily, are blossoming throughout eight years at the head of a wildly successful high fashion bridal magazine only to be haunted by memories of their former boss on the eve of Andy's wedding.

Wells, Dan. The Hollow City (F Wells) - Michael Shipman, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, has been accused of murder and doubts his own innocence.

Zevin, Gabrielle. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry (F Zevin) - A. J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sale in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly, he is isolating himself. And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It gives him the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew.

Historical Fiction

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Laura Anderson. The Boleyn King (F Anderson) - The son of Henry XIII and Anne Boleyn, Henry IX, known as William is anxious to prove himself but only trusts his sister Elizabeth, his counselor, Dominic, and his mother's ward Minuette. Everyone's life gets more dangerous when Dominic and William both fall for Minuette.

Buckley, William. Elvis in the Morning (F Buckley) - Orson, a young boy in Germany, begins a powerful friendship with a soldier named Elvis Presley, and the friendship influences each of their lives in dramatic ways.

Dumant, Sarah – Blood and Beauty the Borgias (F Dumant) - A tale inspired by the lives of Borgia siblings Lucretia and Cesare traces the family's rise in the aftermath of Rodrigo Borgia's rise to the papacy, during which war, a terrifying sexual plague, and the family's notorious reputation forge an intimate bond between brother and sister.

Iggulden, Conn - The Blood of Gods: A Novel of Rome (F Iggulden) - The assassination of Julius Caesar sets in motion political intrigue, epic battle, and righteous retribution throughout the ancient Roman empire as Marc Antony and Gaius Octavian marshal their forces into an avenging army on a mission to reunite all that Caesar's fall has torn asunder

Mantel, Hillary. Bring up the Bodies (F Mantel) - Henry VIII, finally married to Anne Boleyn, is no longer interested, as she has yet to bear a son, and Henry turns to Thomas Cromwell for help yet again.

Macmanus, James. Black Venue (F Macmanus) - A tale based on the romance between Charles Baudelaire and the Haitian cabaret singer who inspired his most controversial poems is set against the art scene of nineteenth-century Paris and follows their scandalous public trial for obscenity.

McBride, James. The Good Lord Bird (F McBride) - Henry Shackleford, a slave boy from the Kansas Territory, is caught up in John Brown's crusade for freedom of slaves and when he escapes from his master's home, he must disguise himself as a girl in order to stay safe and is nicknamed Onion by John.

McCann, Colum. Transatlantic (F McCann) - A tale spanning 150 years and two continents reimagines the peace efforts of democracy champion Frederick Douglass, Senator George Mitchell and World War I airmen John Alcock and Teddy Brown through the experiences of four generations of women from a matriarchal clan.

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Penman, Sharon Kay. The Devil’s Brood (F Penman) - The three eldest sons of Henry II, with the encouragement of their mother, take part in rebellion and treachery against their father in an attempt to gain power, land, and money

Salter, James. All That Is (F Salter) - In the years after World War Two, ex-naval officer Philip Bowman finds a place for himself in America as a book editor, and an enthralling woman sets him on a course he could never have imagined for himself.

Shaara, Jeff. A Blaze of Glory (F Shaara) - A fictional account of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, told from the perspectives of participants on both sides, recreates the April 1862 surprise attack by Confederate forces on the Union Army at Shiloh.

Read a Fiction Book and Learn About the History of China and Japan

Arthur Golden (F Golden) Memoirs of a Geisha) - Nitta Sayuri, a young Japanese woman who was taken from her home at the age of nine and sold into slavery as a geisha, discovers a rare opportunity for freedom when the outbreak of World War II forces an end to the only life she has ever known.

Lisa See (F See)Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – Friends Snow Flower and Lily find solace in their bond as they face isolation, arranged marriages, loss, and motherhood in nineteenth-century China.

Peony in Love - In post-Ming dynasty China, Peony, a young girl betrothed to someone she has never met, observes a handsome man while hidden from view at a performance of the opera "The Peony Pavilion"--a work that has compelled young Chinese women to starve themselves to death--and, dead at sixteen, begins a transformative journey as a "hungry ghost.".

Gail Tsukiyama (F Tsukiyama) Women of the Silk– Relates the story of two women who struggle for economic independence in silk work in 1926 in a small village in China.

A Hundred Flowers - A tale set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution follows the struggles of Kai Ying to safeguard her family when her teacher husband is arrested and sent to a "reeducation" labor camp for criticizing the Communist Party.

Language Threads- When war and the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong tears Pei's adopted family apart, she is forced to make it on her own while struggling to keep herself and her extended family alive.

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Schwartz, John. The Commoner (F Schwartz) - In 1959, Haruko marries the Crown Prince of Japan and becomes the first nonaristocratic woman to enter the Japanese monarchy, where she is met with cruelty and suspicion by the Empress, who tries to control Haruko at every turn.

Tan, Amy (F Tan) - The Valley of Amazement - Violet Minturn, a half-Chinese, half-American courtesan who deals in seduction and illusion in Shanghai, struggles to find her place in the world, while her mother, Lucia, tries to make sense of the choices she has made and the men who have shaped her.

Biography

Imperfect: An Improbable Life (B Abbott) - The autobiography of major-league baseball player Jim Abbott, the disabled Michigan native who pitched for the Los Angeles Angels and the New York Yankees as well as other teams before retiring from the game in 1999.

The Astronauts Wives Club (B Ast) - Describes the stories of the wives of America's Mercury Seven astronauts who formed the Astronaut Wives Club.

The Good Nurse: A True Story of Death, Medicine, Madness, and Murder (B Cullen) - Tells the story of serial killer Charlie Cullen, who worked as a nurse for sixteen years in nine different hospitals and has been implicated in the deaths of 300 patient.

Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations (B Gardner) - A self-portrait of the Ava Gardner's golden-era Hollywood life traces her impoverished childhood in North Carolina through the heights of her career, sharing details of her relationships with such figures as Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra, and George C. Scott.

On These Courts: A Miracle Season that Changed a City, a Once Future Star, and a Team (B Hardaway) - Recounts the life of former NBA star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, from growing up in a rough neighborhood in Memphis, to playing in the NBA, to returning to that neighborhood to help out a childhood friend and coach disadvantaged youth.

Zealot: the Life and Times of Jesus Christ (B Jesus) - A biography of Jesus that draws on biblical and historical sources to place his achievements and influence against the turbulent backdrop of his time.

Her: a Memoir (B Parravani ) - Christa Parravani's memoir of growing up with her identical twin Cara chronicles being raised in poverty by a single mother, becoming artists, Cara's downward spiral into depression and drugs after being raped, and her struggle to stay alive after her sister's death.

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A Curious Man (B Ripley ) - Chronicles the life and career of Robert Ripley, the creator of "Believe it or Not", focusing on his many trips abroad to bring back strange and unusual items.

Until I Say Goodbye: My Year of Living with Joy (B Spencer- Wendel) - A memoir by celebrated journalist Susan Spencer-Wendel who makes the most of her final days after discovering she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Drama High: the Incredible True Story of a Brillant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater (B Volpe) - A biography of influential drama director Lou Volpe, chronicling his last school years working at Harry S. Truman High School in Levittown, Pennsylvania, and following a group of student actors as they work through dramas both on and off the stage.

Men we Reaped: a Memoir (B Ward) - An autobiography of Jesmyn Ward, an African American author, in which she describes how she grew up in poverty in rural Mississippi, revisiting the losses of young African American men in her life, and describing her community with its history of racism and economic struggle that fosters drug addiction and the dissolution of family.