Former library book. #hardcover #novel #sliceoflife #summerread #brendabowen #romance #bookclubbook 

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Ohio

A sparkling summer debut of love and reawakening that transports the classicThe Enchanted April to a picture-perfect island in Maine It's a rainy summer in Park Slope, Brooklyn, when two unhappily married women, Lottie Wilkinson and Rose Arbuthnot, spot a tattered ad on their children's preschool bulletin board: Hopewell Cottage Little Lost Island, Maine. Old pretty cottage to rent Spring water, blueberries, sea glass. August. Neither can afford it, but they are smitten. To share expenses, they find two companions: Caroline Dester, the exquisite darling of the independent movie scene, and elderly Beverly Fisher, who is recovering from heartbreaking loss. Transformed by the refreshing summer breezes, steamed lobsters, and cocktail hours on the wrap-around porch, the unlikely quartet gradually begin to open up to one another, and ultimately rediscover their capacity to love and be loved. With a cast of quirky and endearing characters set against the beauty of an idyllic New England summer,Enchanted August brilliantly updates a beloved classic and offers readers a universal fantasy: one glorious summer month away from it all.

Enchanted August

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Library discard #hardcover #eternallife #liveforever  #psychological #women #womensfiction #suspense #pageturner #bookclubbook 

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

New Jersey

A Novel

Ever since she made a deal to save her son's life in Roman-occupied Jerusalem, Rachel has been doomed to live eternally, but as her descendants develop new technologies for immortality, she realizes that, for them to live fully, she must die.

Eternal Life

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#paperback #fiction #unexpected #lifechangeevents #bookclub #threedollarsteal #bookclubbook #photography #love 

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A superb love story from Anna Quindlen, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rise and Shine, Blessings, and A Short Guide to a Happy Life Still Life with Bread Crumbs begins with an imagined gunshot and ends with a new tin roof. Between the two is a wry and knowing portrait of Rebecca Winter, a photographer whose work made her an unlikely heroine for many women. Her career is now descendent, her bank balance shaky, and she has fled the city for the middle of nowhere. There she discovers, in a tree stand with a roofer named Jim Bates, that what she sees through a camera lens is not all there is to life. Brilliantly written, powerfully observed, Still Life with Bread Crumbs is a deeply moving and often very funny story of unexpected love, and a stunningly crafted journey into the life of a woman, her heart, her mind, her days, as she discovers that life is a story with many levels, a story that is longer and more exciting than she ever imagined. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. “There comes a moment in every novelist’s career when she . . . ventures into new territory, breaking free into a marriage of tone and style, of plot and characterization, that’s utterly her own. Anna Quindlen’s marvelous romantic comedy of manners is just such a book. . . . Taken as a whole, Quindlen’s writings represent a generous and moving interrogation of women’s experience across the lines of class and race. [Still Life with Bread Crumbs] proves all the more moving because of its light, sophisticated humor. Quindlen’s least overtly political novel, it packs perhaps the most serious punch. . . . Quindlen has delivered a novel that will have staying power all its own.”—The New York Times Book Review “[A] wise tale about second chances, starting over, and going after what is most important in life.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune “Quindlen’s astute observations . . . are the sorts of details every writer and reader lives for.”—Chicago Tribune “[Anna] Quindlen’s seventh novel offers the literary equivalent of comfort food. . . . She still has her finger firmly planted on the pulse of her generation.”—NPR “Enchanting . . . [The protagonist’s] photographs are celebrated for turning the ‘minutiae of women’s lives into unforgettable images,’ and Quindlen does the same here with her enveloping, sure-handed storytelling.”—People “Charming . . . a hot cup of tea of a story, smooth and comforting about the vulnerabilities of growing older . . . a pleasure.”—USA Today “With spare, elegant prose, [Quindlen] crafts a poignant glimpse into the inner life of an aging woman who discovers that reality contains much more color than her own celebrated black-and-white images.”—Library Journal “Quindlen has always excelled at capturing telling details in a story, and she does so again in this quiet, powerful novel, showing the charged emotions that teem beneath the surface of daily life.”—Publishers Weekly “Quindlen presents instantly recognizable characters who may be appealingly warm and nonthreatening, but that only serves to drive home her potent message that it’s never too late to embrace life’s second chances.”—Booklist “Profound . . . engaging.”—Kirkus Reviews

Still Life with Bread Crumbs

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#paperback #Ireland #memoir #pulitzerprizewinner #poverty  #nationalbookcriticscircleaward #bookclub #bookclubbook #bestseller 

Stunning reissue of the phenomenal worldwide bestseller: Frank McCourt's sad, funny, bittersweet memoir of growing up in New York in the 30s and in Ireland in the 40s.

It is a story of extreme hardship and suffering, in Brooklyn tenements and Limerick slums - too many children, too little money, his mother Angela barely coping as his father Malachy's drinking bouts constantly brings the family to the brink of disaster. It is a story of courage and survival against apparently overwhelming odds.



Written with the vitality and resonance of a work of fiction, and with a remarkable absence of sentimentality, 'Angela's Ashes' is imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's distinctive humour and compassion. Out of terrible circumstances, he has created a glorious book in the tradition of Ireland's literary masters, which bears all the marks of a great classic.

Angela's Ashes

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#paperback #fiction #crime #people #zoewhittall #bookclub #bookclubbook #familydynamics 

New York

A local schoolteacher is arrested, leaving his family to wrestle with the possibility of his guilt, in this exquisite novel about loyalty, truth, and happiness. The Woodburys cherish life in the affluent, bucolic suburb of Avalon Hills, Connecticut. George is a beloved science teacher at the local prep school, a hero who once thwarted a gunman, and his wife, Joan, is a hardworking ER nurse. They have brought up their children in this thriving town of wooded yards and sprawling lakes. Then one night a police car pulls up to the Woodbury home and George is charged with sexual misconduct with students from his daughter's school. As he sits in prison awaiting trial and claiming innocence, Joan vaults between denial and rage as friends and neighbors turn cold. Their daughter, seventeen-year-old Sadie, is a popular high school senior who becomes a social outcast--and finds refuge in an unexpected place. Her brother, Andrew, a lawyer in New York, returns home to support the family, only to confront unhappy memories from his past. A writer tries to exploit their story, while an unlikely men's rights activist group attempts to recruit Sadie for their cause. Provocative and unforgettable, The Best Kind of People reveals the cracks along the seams of even the most perfect lives and the unraveling of an American family. GILLER PRIZE FINALIST * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK POST "A compelling exploration of the ways a crime implicates all of us."--Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman "I am obsessed with this book."--Samantha Irby, author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life "In our post-Harvey Weinstein world [this book] feels more timely and urgent than ever. . . . It draws an elegant line between rape culture, patriarchy, and privilege."--Claire Cameron, The Millions "Every character is fully rounded, flawed, and achingly human. It puts me in mind of a twenty-first-century Ordinary People."--Kate Harding, author of Asking for It "Sure to provoke debate and send book discussion groups into overtime."--Library Journal (starred review) "A powerful page-turner."--Cosmopolitan

The Best Kind of People

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#paperback #Frankfurt #warcrimes #internationalbestseller #postwar #germany #bookclub #bookclubbook 

WHAT IF EVERYTHING YOUR FAMILY EVER TOLD YOU WAS A LIE?

Frankfurt, 1963

At the war's end, Frankfurt was a smoldering ruin, severely damaged by the Allied bombings. But that was two decades ago. Now it is 1963, and the city's streets, once cratered are smooth and paved. Shiny new stores replace scorched rubble. For twenty-four-year-old Eva Bruhn, World War II is a foggy childhood memory. Eager for her wealthy suitor, Jürgen Schoorman, to propose, Eva dreams of starting a new life away from her parents and sister. But Eva's plans are turned upside down when an American investigator, David Miller, hires her as a translator for a war crimes trial.

As she becomes more and more involved in the Frankfurt Trials, Eva begins to question her family's silence on the war and her future. Why do her parents refuse to talk about what happened? What are they hiding? Does she really love Jürgen and will she be happy as a housewife? Though it means going against the wishes of her family and her lover, Eva, propelled by her own conscience, joins a team of fiery prosecutors determined to bring the Nazis to justice--a decision that will help change her country forever.

The German House

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#paperback #fiction #wwii #historical #bookclubbook #historicalfiction #romance 

Delaware

"In 1946, two European women, having married American soldiers, board the Queen Mary to reunite with their husbands. But as they journey to the United States, secrets are revealed that will alter their lives forever"--

A Bridge Across the Ocean

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#hardcover #fiction #historicalfiction #historical #historicalromance #romance #vanderbilts #bookclubbook 

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Nevada

A Novel of the Vanderbilts

A Well-Behaved Woman

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#paperback #fiction #mystery #suspensethrillers #suspense #thriller #bookclub #bookclubbook #pageturner 

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Public Library Best Book of 2019 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Lying Game comes Ruth Ware’s fourth novel, “her best yet” (Library Journal, starred review). On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money. Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it. Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware’s signature suspenseful style, this is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

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#paperback #historicalfiction #spies #napoleonbonaparte #France #historic #threedollarsteal #bookclub #bookclubbook





In the tradition of Jennifer Robson, comes this compelling debut that weaves the fascinating story of a young woman who must risk her life as a spy to help stop Napoleon's invasion of Great Britain in the winter of 1803.

Though the daughter of an English baronet, Lisbeth has defied convention by eloping to France with her new husband. But when he breaks her heart by abandoning her, she has nowhere to turn and must work in a local tavern. Her only hope for the future is to be reunited with her young son who is being raised by her mother-in law.

A seasoned spy known by his operatives as Tidewatcher, Duncan apprenticed under Lisbeth's father and pledged to watch over his mentor's only daughter while he searches the Channel region for evidence that Bonaparte has built a fleet to invade Britain. But unpredictable Lisbeth challenges his lifelong habit of distance.

Eccentric, brilliant American inventor Robert Fulton is working on David Bushnell's "turtle"--the first fully submersible ship--when he creates brand-new torpedo technology, which he plans to sell to the French Navy. But when his relationship with Bonaparte sours, he accepts Tidewatcher's help to relocate to the French side of the Channel, but he refuses to share his invention. With an entire army encamped in the region, blocking off all access, Tidewatcher must get that submersible, along with someone who knows how to use it, to uncover Bonaparte's great secret.

When Lisbeth is asked to pose as a housekeeper and charm Fulton so she can learn to use the submersible before the invasion fleet sails, she will be forced to sacrifice herself for her country--but is she willing to sacrifice her heart when she's already lost it to another...

A fast-paced, deeply-researched, and richly imagined novel, The Tide Watchers explores a long-hidden, chapter of Bonaparte's history.

The Tide Watchers

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#paperback #fiction #historicalfiction #drama #historical #murder #iceland #bookclub #bookclubbook #threedollarsteal

A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829. Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard. Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question: How can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

Burial Rites

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#paperback #fiction #readwithjenna #bookclub #family #bookclubbook #threedollarsteal #bestseller #nytimesbestseller 

"A richly observed novel, both ambitious and welcoming." -- Meg Wolitzer A READ WITH JENNA X TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK An Instant New York Times Bestseller NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH BY: Goodreads * Lithub * Refinery29 * InStyle * HelloGiggles * Real Simple * Parade * PureWow * Apple Books * Bustle "It is the strength and fragility of the siblings' bond, the evolving nature of love that is at the core of Conklin's novel....Gracefully rendered, The Last Romantics focuses on the familiar theme of family with great originality." -- Washington Post When the renowned poet Fiona Skinner is asked about the inspiration behind her iconic work, The Love Poem, she tells her audience a story about her family and a betrayal that reverberates through time. It begins in a big yellow house with a funeral, an iron poker, and a brief variation forever known as the Pause: a free and feral summer in a middle-class Connecticut town. Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future that stretches before them, the Skinner siblings--fierce Renee, sensitive Caroline, golden boy Joe and watchful Fiona--emerge from the Pause staunchly loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the siblings find themselves once again confronted with a family crisis that tests the strength of these bonds and forces them to question the life choices they've made and ask what, exactly, they will do for love. A sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family, The Last Romantics is an unforgettable exploration of the ties that bind us together, the responsibilities we embrace and the duties we resent, and how we can lose--and sometimes rescue--the ones we love. A novel that pierces the heart and lingers in the mind, it is also a beautiful meditation on the power of stories--how they navigate us through difficult times, help us understand the past, and point the way toward our future.

The Last Romantics

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#paperback #historicalfiction #queenelizabeth #royals #uk #queenelizabeth #windsors #buckinghampalace #bookclub #bookclubbook 

A Novel of Queen Elizabeth II's Childhood

"This captivating page-turner whisks readers back in time to Buckingham Palace in 1933...A majestic story that delves into the incredible life of Queen Elizabeth II before she took her place on the throne."--Woman's World
 
Sunday Times bestselling author Wendy Holden brings to life the unknown childhood years of one of the world's most famous figures, Queen Elizabeth II, and reveals the spirited young governess who made her the icon we love today.
 
In 1933, twenty-two-year-old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring the little Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose.  Her one stipulation to their parents the Duke and Duchess of York is that she bring some doses of normalcy into their sheltered and privileged lives.
 
At Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral, Marion defies stuffy protocol to take the princesses on tube trains, swimming at public baths, and on joyful Christmas shopping trips at Woolworth's. From her ringside seat at the heart of the British monarchy she witnesses twentieth-century history's most seismic events. The trauma of the Abdication, the glamour of the Coronation, the onset of World War II. She steers the little girls through it all, as close as a mother.
 
During Britain's darkest hour, as Hitler's planes fly over Windsor, she shelters her charges in the castle dungeons (not far from where the Crown Jewels are hidden in a biscuit tin). Afterwards, she is present when Elizabeth first sets eyes on Philip.
 
But being beloved confidante to the Windsors comes at huge personal cost. Marriage, children, her own views: all are compromised by proximity to royal glory. In this majestic story of love, sacrifice and allegiance, bestselling novelist Holden shines a captivating light into the years before Queen Elizabeth II took the throne.

The Royal Governess

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#paperback #fiction #sons #mexicans #undocumented #singlemothers #threedollarsteals #bookclubbook 

A gripping tale of adventure and searing reality, Lucky Boy gives voice to two mothers bound together by their love for one lucky boy. “Sekaran has written a page-turner that’s touching and all too real.”—People “Heart-rending and heartwarming….There’s something for everyone in this wonderful novel.”—Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, AND LIBRARY JOURNAL In this astonishing novel, Shanthi Sekaran gives voice to the devotion and anguish of motherhood through two women bound together by their love for one boy. Soli, a young undocumented Mexican woman in Berkeley, CA, finds that motherhood offers her an identity in a world where she's otherwise invisible. When she is placed in immigrant detention, her son comes under the care of Kavya, an Indian-American wife overwhelmed by her own impossible desire to have a child. As Soli fights for her son, Kavya builds her love on a fault line, her heart wrapped around someone else's child. Exploring the ways in which dreams and determination can reshape a family, Sekaran transforms real life into a thing of beauty. From rural Oaxaca to Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto to the dreamscapes of Silicon Valley, Lucky Boy offers a moving and revelatory look at the evolving landscape of the American dream and the ever-changing borders of love.

Lucky Boy

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#paperback #relationships #bookclub #bookclubbook #family #fiction #threedollarsteal #tearjerker 

West Virginia

The heartbreaking, yet hopeful, story of a mother and daughter struggling to be a family without the one person who holds them together--a perfect summer read for fans of JoJo Moyes and Marisa de los Santos. Alexis Gold knows how to put the "work" in working mom. It's the "mom" part that she's been struggling with lately. Since opening her own advertising agency three years ago, Alexis has all but given up on finding a good work/life balance. Instead, she's handed over the household reins to her supportive, loving partner, Tommy. While he's quick to say they divide and conquer, Alexis knows that Tommy does most of the heavy lifting--especially when it comes to their teenage daughter, CeCe. Their world changes in an instant when Tommy receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, and Alexis realizes everything she's worked relentlessly for doesn't matter without him. So Alexis does what Tommy has done for her almost every day since they were twelve-year-old kids in Destin, Florida--she puts him first. And when the only thing Tommy wants is to spend one last summer together at "their" beach, she puts her career on hold to make it happen...even if it means putting her family within striking distance of Tommy's ex, an actress CeCe idolizes. But Alexis and Tommy aren't the only ones whose lives have been turned inside out. In addition to dealing with the normal ups and downs that come with being a teenager, CeCe is also forced to confront her feelings about Tommy's illness--and what will happen when the one person who's always been there for her is gone. When the magic of first love brings a bright spot to her summer, CeCe is determined not to let her mother ruin that for her, too. As CeCe's behavior becomes more rebellious, Alexis realizes the only thing harder for her than losing Tommy will be convincing CeCe to give her one more chance. You and Me and Us is a beautifully written novel that examines the unexpected ways loss teaches us how to love.

You and Me and Us

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#paperback #historicalfiction #fiction #historical #wwii #bestseller #bookclub #bookclubbook 

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A powerful story that proves how love itself requires courage." --Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Spanning World War II and the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself. A woman. A war. The child who changed everything. December 1940. As German bombs fall on Southampton, England during World War II, the city's residents flee to the surrounding villages. In Upton village, amid the chaos, newly married Ellen Parr finds a girl asleep, unclaimed at the back of an empty bus. Little Pamela, it seems, is entirely alone. Ellen has always believed she does not want children, but when she takes Pamela into her home, the child cracks open the past Ellen thought she had escaped and the future she and her husband Selwyn had dreamed for themselves. As the war rages on, love grows where it was least expected, surprising them all. But with the end of the fighting comes the realization that Pamela was never theirs to keep. Spanning the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself.

We Must Be Brave

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#paperback #fiction #relationships #friendships #thoughtprovoking #unlikelypair #uplifting #wholesome #bookclub #bookclubbook

The Story of Arthur Truluv

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#paperback #fiction #romance #adventure #nytimesbestseller #bestseller #bookclubbook #notablebook #novel 

From the moment it opens—on a rocky patch of Italian coastline, circa 1962, when a daydreaming young innkeeper looks out over the water and spies a mysterious woman approaching him on a boat—Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to the back lots of contemporary Hollywood, Beautiful Ruins is gloriously inventive and constantly surprising—a story of flawed yet fascinating people navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.

Beautiful Ruins

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#paperback #fiction #family #bookclub #bookclubbook #internationalbestsellingauthor #christmasletter #Australia 

THE PERFECT READ FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON
It's time for the annual holiday letter from the Gillespie family.... 
New from the author of The House of Memories
For the past thirty-three years, Angela Gillespie has sent to friends and family around the world an end-of-the-year letter titled "Hello from the Gillespies." It's always been cheery and full of good news. This year, Angela surprises herself--she tells the truth....
The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela has made them out to be. Her husband is coping badly with retirement. Her thirty-two-year-old twins are having career meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can't stop crying. And her ten-year-old son spends more time talking to his imaginary friend than to real ones.
Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when Angela is taken away from them in a most unexpected manner, the Gillespies pull together--and pull themselves together--in wonderfully surprising ways...
READERS GUIDE INCLUDED 
 

Hello from the Gillespies

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#paperback #historicalfiction #Hollywood #silentmoviestars #bookclub #bookclubbook #bargain 

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator's Wife, a "rich exploration of two Hollywood friends who shaped the movies" (USA Today)--screenwriter Frances Marion and superstar Mary Pickford "Full of Old Hollywood glamour and true details about the pair's historic careers . . . a captivating ode to a legendary bond."--Real Simple NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE It is 1914, and twenty-five-year-old Frances Marion has left her (second) husband and her Northern California home for the lure of Los Angeles, where she is determined to live independently as an artist. But the word on everyone's lips these days is "flickers"--the silent moving pictures enthralling theatergoers. Turn any corner in this burgeoning town and you'll find made-up actors running around, as a movie camera captures it all. In this fledgling industry, Frances finds her true calling: writing stories for this wondrous new medium. She also makes the acquaintance of actress Mary Pickford, whose signature golden curls and lively spirit have earned her the title "America's Sweetheart." The two ambitious young women hit it off instantly, their kinship fomented by their mutual fever to create, to move audiences to a frenzy, to start a revolution. But their ambitions are challenged by both the men around them and the limitations imposed on their gender--and their astronomical success could come at a price. As Mary, the world's highest paid and most beloved actress, struggles to live her life under the spotlight, she also wonders if it is possible to find love, even with the dashing actor Douglas Fairbanks. Frances, too, longs to share her life with someone. As in any good Hollywood story, dramas will play out, personalities will clash, and even the deepest friendships might be shattered. With cameos from such notables as Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Rudolph Valentino, and Lillian Gish, The Girls in the Picture is, at its heart, a story of friendship and forgiveness. Melanie Benjamin brilliantly captures the dawn of a glittering new era--its myths and icons, its possibilities and potential, and its seduction and heartbreak. "A boffo production . . . Inspiration is a rare and unexpected gift in a book filled with the fluff of Hollywood, but Benjamin provides it with The Girls in the Picture."--NPR "Profoundly resonant, The Girls in the Picture is at its core, an empowering and fascinating tale of sisterhood."--Bryce Dallas Howard

The Girls in the Picture

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#paperback #historicalfiction #fiction #WWII #Women #friendship  #bookclubbook #bookclub 

For fans of historical novels by Kristin Harmel and Martha Hall Kelly comes a “gripping tale by a writer at the top of her game” (Fiona Davis, author of The Chelsea Girls) following three friends who struggle to remain loyal as one of them is threatened with internment by the British government at the start of World War II. In August of 1939, as Britain watches the headlines in fear of another devastating war with Germany, three childhood companions must choose between friendship and country. Erstwhile socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office’s Air Raid Precautions Department, matchmaker Hazel tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German expat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. When Germany invades Poland and tensions on the home front rise, Marie is labeled an enemy alien, and the three friends find themselves fighting together to keep her free at any cost. Featuring Julia Kelly’s signature “intricate, tender, and convincing” (Publishers Weekly) prose, The Whispers of War is a moving and unforgettable tale of the power of friendship and womanhood in the midst of conflict.

The Whispers of War

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#paperback #fiction #historicalfiction #pageturner #heartfelt #children #greatdepression #bestseller #bookclubbook 

From New York Timesbestselling author Kristina McMorris comes another unforgettable novel inspired by a stunning piece of history. 2 CHILDREN FOR SALE The scrawled sign, peddling young siblings on a farmhouse porch, captures the desperation sweeping the country in 1931. It's an era of breadlines, bank runs, and impossible choices. For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family's dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when the image leads to his big break, the consequences are devastating in ways he never imagined. Haunted by secrets of her own, secretary Lillian Palmer sees more in the picture than a good story and is soon drawn into the fray. Together, the two set out to right a wrongdoing and mend a fractured family, at the risk of everything they value. Inspired by an actual newspaper photo that stunned readers across the nation, this touching novel explores the tale within the frame and behind the lens -- a journey of ambition, love and the far-reaching effects of our actions.

Sold on a Monday

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#paperback #historicalfiction #nationalbestseller #romance #eleanorroosevelt #lorenahickok #lgbtq #bookclubbook 

For readers of The Paris Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue comes a “sensuous, captivating account of a forbidden affair between two women” (People)—Eleanor Roosevelt and “first friend” Lorena Hickok. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Financial Times • San Francisco Chronicle • New York Public Library • Refinery29 • Real Simple Lorena Hickok meets Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932 while reporting on Franklin Roosevelt’s first presidential campaign. Having grown up worse than poor in South Dakota and reinvented herself as the most prominent woman reporter in America, “Hick,” as she’s known to her friends and admirers, is not quite instantly charmed by the idealistic, patrician Eleanor. But then, as her connection with the future first lady deepens into intimacy, what begins as a powerful passion matures into a lasting love, and a life that Hick never expected to have. She moves into the White House, where her status as “first friend” is an open secret, as are FDR’s own lovers. After she takes a job in the Roosevelt administration, promoting and protecting both Roosevelts, she comes to know Franklin not only as a great president but as a complicated rival and an irresistible friend, capable of changing lives even after his death. Through it all, even as Hick’s bond with Eleanor is tested by forces both extraordinary and common, and as she grows as a woman and a writer, she never loses sight of the love of her life. From Washington, D.C. to Hyde Park, from a little white house on Long Island to an apartment on Manhattan’s Washington Square, Amy Bloom’s new novel moves elegantly through fascinating places and times, written in compelling prose and with emotional depth, wit, and acuity. Praise for White Houses “Amy Bloom brings an untold slice of history so dazzlingly and devastatingly to life, it took my breath away.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife “Vivid and tender . . . Bloom—interweaving fact and fancy—lavishes attention on [Hickok], bringing Hick, the novel’s narrator and true subject, to radiant life.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “Radiant . . . an indelible love story, one propelled not by unlined youth and beauty but by the kind of soul-mate connection even distance, age, and impossible circumstances couldn’t dim . . . Bloom’s goal is less to relitigate history than to portray the blandly sexless figurehead of First Lady as something the job rarely allows those women to be—a loving, breathing human being. And she does it brilliantly.”—Entertainment Weekly

White Houses

cf0f6982-fe13-4391-a3df-13182e028025-1

#paperback #fiction #magicalrealism #enchanting #family #magic #mystery #bestsellingauthor #bookclub #bookclubbook 

A New York Times bestseller! "Tender and enchanting" —Southern Seasons "An endearing tale of surprising second chances." – Booklist (starred review) The first time Eby Pim saw Lost Lake, it was on a picture postcard. Just an old photo and a few words on a small square of heavy stock, but when she saw it, she knew she was seeing her future. That was half a life ago. Now Lost Lake is about to slip into Eby's past. Her husband, George, is long passed. Most of her demanding extended family are gone. All that's left is a once-charming collection of lakeside cabins succumbing to the Southern Georgia heat and damp, and an assortment of faithful misfits drawn back to Lost Lake year after year by their own unspoken dreams and desires. It's not quite enough to keep Eby from calling this her final summer at the lake, and relinquishing Lost Lake to a developer with cash in hand. Until one last chance at family knocks on her door. Lost Lake is where Kate Pheris spent her last best summer at the age of twelve, before she learned of loneliness and heartbreak and loss. Now she's all too familiar with those things, but she knows about hope, too, thanks to her resilient daughter, Devin, and her own willingness to start moving forward. Perhaps at Lost Lake her little girl can cling to her own childhood for just a little longer... and maybe Kate herself can rediscover something that slipped through her fingers so long ago. One after another, people find their way to Lost Lake, looking for something that they weren't sure they needed in the first place: love, closure, a second chance, peace, a mystery solved, a heart mended. Can they find what they need before it's too late? At once atmospheric and enchanting, Lost Lake shows Sarah Addison Allen at her finest, illuminating the secret longings and the everyday magic that wait to be discovered in the unlikeliest of places. "Lost Lake is a love note to second chances, hopeful and entrancing, and I couldn't put it down." —Joshilyn Jackson

Brenda Bowen

Enchanted August

Dara Horn

Eternal Life

Anna Quindlen

Still Life with Bread Crumbs

Frank McCourt

Angela's Ashes

Zoe Whittall

The Best Kind of People

Annette Hess; Elisabeth Lauffer

The German House

Susan Meissner

A Bridge Across the Ocean

Therese Anne Fowler

A Well-Behaved Woman

Ruth Ware

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

Lisa Chaplin

The Tide Watchers

Hannah Kent

Burial Rites

Tara Conklin

The Last Romantics

Wendy Holden

The Royal Governess

Shanthi Sekaran

Lucky Boy

Alison Hammer

You and Me and Us

Frances Liardet

We Must Be Brave

Elizabeth Berg

The Story of Arthur Truluv

Jess Walter

Beautiful Ruins

Monica McInerney

Hello from the Gillespies

Melanie Benjamin

The Girls in the Picture

Julia Kelly

The Whispers of War

Kristina McMorris

Sold on a Monday

Amy Bloom

White Houses

Sarah Addison Allen

Lost Lake