Karen Valby

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Connecticut

Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History

THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE • The forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas and their fifty-year sisterhood, a legacy erased from history—until now. “This is the kind of history I wish I learned as a child dreaming of the stage!” —Misty Copeland, author of Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy “Utterly absorbing, flawlessly-researched…Vibrant, propulsive, and inspiring, The Swans of Harlem is a richly drawn portrait of five courageous women whose contributions have been silenced for too long!” —Tia Williams, author of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Lydia Abarca was a Black prima ballerina with a major international dance company—the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a troupe of women and men who became each other’s chosen family. She was the first Black company ballerina on the cover of Dance magazine, an Essence cover star; she was cast in The Wiz and in a Bob Fosse production on Broadway. She performed in some of ballet’s most iconic works with other trailblazing ballerinas, including the young women who became her closest friends—founding Dance Theatre of Harlem members Gayle McKinney-Griffith and Sheila Rohan, as well as first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells. These Swans of Harlem performed for the Queen of England, Mick Jagger, and Stevie Wonder, on the same bill as Josephine Baker, at the White House, and beyond. But decades later there was almost no record of their groundbreaking history to be found. Out of a sisterhood that had grown even deeper with the years, these Swans joined forces again—to share their story with the world. Captivating, rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamour and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of both their historic careers and the sustaining, grounding power of female friendship, and a window into the robust history of Black ballet, hidden for too long.

The Swans of Harlem

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Scott W. Berg

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City's Soul

WINNER OF THE MIDLAND AUTHORS AWARD FOR HISTORY • LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE • A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • The "illuminating" (New Yorker) story of the Great Chicago Fire: a raging inferno, a harrowing fight for survival, and the struggle for the soul of a city—told with the "the clarity—and tension—of a well-wrought military narrative" (Wall Street Journal) In the fall of 1871, Chicagoans knew they were due for the “big one”—a massive, uncontrollable fire that would decimate the city. It had been bone-dry for months, and a recent string of blazes had nearly outstripped the fire department’s already scant resources. Then, on October 8, a minor fire broke out in the barn of Irishwoman Kate Leary. A series of unfortunate mishaps and misunderstandings along with insufficient preparation and a high south-westerly wind combined to set the stage for an unmitigated catastrophe. The conflagration that spread from the Learys' property quickly overtook the neighborhood, and before long the floating embers had been cast to the far reaches of the city. Nothing to the northeast was safe. Families took to the streets with every possession they could carry. Powerful gusts whipped the flames into a terrifying firestorm. The Chicago River boiled. Over the next forty-eight hours, Chicago fell victim to the largest and most destructive natural disaster the United States had yet endured. The effects of the Great Fire were devastating. But they were also transforming. Out of the ashes, faster than seemed possible, rose new homes, tenements, hotels, and civic buildings, as well as a new political order. The elite seized the reconstruction to crack down on vice, control the disbursement of vast charitable funds, and rebuild the city in their image. But the city’s working class recognized only a naked power grab that would challenge their traditions, hurt their chances to keep their hard-earned property, and move power out of the hands of elected officials and into private interests. As soon as the battle against the fire ended, another battle for the future of the city erupted between its entrenched business establishment and its poor and immigrant laborers and shopkeepers. An enrapturing account of the fire’s inexorable march and an eye-opening look at its aftermath, The Burning of the World tells the story of one of the most infamous calamities in history and the new Chicago it precipitated—a disaster that still shapes American cities to this day.

The Burning of the World

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Tommy Orange

A Novel

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize-finalist and author of the breakout bestseller There There ("Pure soaring beauty."The New York Times Book Review) delivers a masterful follow-up to his already classic first novel. Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Tommy Orange traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family in a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous. "For the sake of knowing, of understanding, Wandering Stars blew my heart into a thousand pieces and put it all back together again. This is a masterwork that will not be forgotten, a masterwork that will forever be part of you.” —Morgan Talty, bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle,where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines. In a novel that is by turns shattering and wondrous, Tommy Orange has conjured the ancestors of the family readers first fell in love with in There There—warriors, drunks, outlaws, addicts—asking what it means to bethe children and grandchildren of massacre. Wandering Stars is a novel about epigenetic and generational trauma that has the force and vision of a modern epic, an exceptionally powerful new book from one of the most exciting writers at work today and soaring confirmation of Tommy Orange’s monumental gifts.

Wandering Stars

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Megan Miranda

Ten years ago, Nicolette Farrell left Cooley Ridge, North Carolina under difficult circumstances. She'd just broken up with Tyler, the man she thought she'd marry, and her best friend, Corrine, had disappeared, never to be heard from again. When the call comes that her father is ailing, Nic is living in Philadelphia, light years away from her younger self. She drops everything to care for her dad, but within days of her return another girl goes missing. As Nic works to unravel what happened to the missing girl, shocking truths emerge about her neighbors, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.

All the Missing Girls

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Tod Lending

A Novel of WWII

"For readers of Heather Morris and Lisa Barr, a novel following the odyssey of a 17-year-old at the outset of WWII from the occupied Krakow ghetto to the Polish countryside and finally to the arms of the young woman he's loved since childhood; a story of survival against all odds, guided by the transformative power of love. Born to a middle class Polish Jewish family, Reuven grows up admiring his father, the respected businessman who owns the local shop that produces beautiful handmade umbrellas. The family's peaceful life begins to unravel as the Nazis infiltrate the town, take over the business, and eventually persecute Reuven and all other Jews. One night, Zelda, the girl who seven-year-old Reuven loves, disappears with her family; soon thereafter, Reuven and his father are conscripted by the Nazis into backbreaking physical labor that almost kills them. Clearly, they must escape-and some of them will die trying. What ensues is a fast paced, but heartfelt and lovely, story of survival and hope. Reuven is saved by a local farmer who has never met a Jew before-mostly because he wants him to help work the farm. Meanwhile, the farmer's wife has other ideas about Reuven-which lead to his desperate escape further into the countryside, and eventually to a local town where he hopes to reconnect with Zelda, herself forever changed by her experiences of war. A love story and a story of family, The Umbrella Maker's Son joins The Tattooist of Auschwitz as a tale of triumph in the face of unfathomable horror"--

The Umbrella Maker's Son

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Jo Nesbo

Robert Ferguson

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

From the modern master of Nordic suspense comes an explosive novel about a community in crisis and two brothers on the verge of losing everything they’ve worked so hard to achieve. By all accounts, Carl and Roy Opgard are doing quite well for themselves. Or at least they’re doing as well as can be expected in a small town like Os. Carl manages the area’s swanky and successful spa and hotel, while Roy runs a nearby gas station and harbors grand plans to build it out into an entire amusement park, complete with a roller coaster. But when news breaks about a new highway to be built nearby, bypassing Os and leaving the town cutoff and isolated, it’s clear that something has to be done . . . even if the methods are bound to be dirty. Fortunately, Carl and Roy have experience with just that kind of work. Meanwhile, the town sheriff has gotten his hands on new technology that will enable him to take a deeper look at a slate of unsolved murders from years past—including that of his own father. And just as the sheriff reopens his investigation, the death toll begins to climb. It’s like Roy says about his roller coaster: “Once it’s rolling, it’s too late to get off.” Blood Ties is a tense, compulsively readable tour de force about loyalty, family ties, and love that is as destructive as it is powerful.

Blood Ties

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Rebecca Yarros

Variation

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Bonnie Kistler

Shell Games

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Tracey Garvis Graves

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

New York Times bestselling author Tracey Garvis Graves takes readers on a life affirming journey, where two lost souls find the unexpected courage to love again.

The Trail of Lost Hearts

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Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes

Mary Higgins Clark

As prosecutor Kerry McGrath immerses herself in a fresh investigation, she is catapulted into the strange and ominous territory of those so obsessed with beauty they'll kill for it. Each new piece of evidence reveals a disturbing cache if questions. Not only does everyone involved want to keep the case closed, it's clear somebody will stop at nothing to keep in sealed forever. (Pyschological/Suspense)

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

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Creya

Creya

@cc.shelflove

Books Listed

Following

Followers

Karen Valby

The Swans of Harlem

Scott W. Berg

The Burning of the World

Tommy Orange

Wandering Stars

Megan Miranda

All the Missing Girls

Tod Lending

The Umbrella Maker's Son

Jo Nesbo; Robert Ferguson

Blood Ties

Rebecca Yarros

Variation

Bonnie Kistler

Shell Games

Tracey Garvis Graves

The Trail of Lost Hearts

Elissa R. Sloan

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes

Mary Higgins Clark

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

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Karen Valby

The Swans of Harlem

Scott W. Berg

The Burning of the World

Tommy Orange

Wandering Stars

Megan Miranda

All the Missing Girls

Tod Lending

The Umbrella Maker's Son

Jo Nesbo; Robert Ferguson

Blood Ties

Rebecca Yarros

Variation

Bonnie Kistler

Shell Games

Tracey Garvis Graves

The Trail of Lost Hearts

Elissa R. Sloan

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes

Mary Higgins Clark

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

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