Virginia Hartman

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

North Carolina

For fans of Where the Crawdads Sing, this "marvelous debut" (Alice McDermott, National Book Award-winning author of The Ninth Hour) follows a Washington, DC, artist as she faces her past and the secrets held in the waters of Florida's lush swamps and wetlands.

Loni Murrow is an accomplished bird artist at the Smithsonian who loves her job. But when she receives a call from her younger brother summoning her back home to help their obstinate mother recover after an accident, Loni's neat, contained life in Washington, DC, is thrown into chaos, and she finds herself exactly where she does not want to be.

Going through her mother's things, Loni uncovers scraps and snippets of a time in her life she would prefer to forget--a childhood marked by her father Boyd's death by drowning and her mother Ruth's persistent bad mood. When Loni comes across a single, cryptic note from a stranger--"There are some things I have to tell you about Boyd's death"-- she begins a dangerous quest to discover the truth, all the while struggling to reconnect with her mother and reconcile with her brother and his wife, who seem to thwart her at every turn. To make matters worse, she meets a man in Florida whose attractive simple charm threatens everything she's worked toward.

Pulled between worlds--her professional accomplishments in Washington, and the small town of her childhood--Loni must decide whether to delve beneath the surface into murky half-truths and either avenge the past or bury it, once and for all.

The Marsh Queen explores what it means to be a daughter and how we protect the ones we love. Suzanne Feldman, author of Sisters of the Great War, writes that "fans of Delia Owens and Lauren Groff will find this a wonderful and absorbing read."

The Marsh Queen

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#paperback #puertorico #puertoricans #familyfiction #mentalhealth #Hispanic #bipoc

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

New Jersey

One boy's search for his father leads him to Puerto Rico in this moving middle-grade novel, for fans of Ghost and See You in the Cosmos. Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target. After a fight at school leaves Marcus facing suspension, Marcus's mom decides it's time for a change of environment. She takes Marcus and his younger brother to Puerto Rico to spend a week with relatives they don't remember or have never met. But Marcus can't focus knowing that his father--who walked out of their lives ten years ago--is somewhere on the island. So begins Marcus's incredible journey, a series of misadventures that take him all over Puerto Rico in search of his elusive namesake. Marcus doesn't know if he'll ever find his father, but what he ultimately discovers changes his life. And he even learns a bit of Spanish along the way.

Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish

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#paperback #fiction #lifelessons #love #family #hearttouching #contemporaryfiction #familyfiction 

Mississippi

A Novel

For fans of Maria Semple and Rainbow Rowell, a comedy-drama for the digital age: an epistolary debut novel about the ties that bind and break our hearts. Iris Massey is gone. But she's left something behind. For four years, Iris Massey worked side by side with PR maven Smith Simonyi, helping clients perfect their brands. But Iris has died, taken by terminal illness at only thirty-three. Adrift without his friend and colleague, Smith is surprised to discover that in her last six months, Iris created a blog filled with sharp and often funny musings on the end of a life not quite fulfilled. She also made one final request: for Smith to get her posts published as a book. With the help of his charmingly eager, if overbearingly forthright, new intern Carl, Smith tackles the task of fulfilling Iris's last wish. Before he can do so, though, he must get the approval of Iris' big sister Jade, an haute cuisine chef who's been knocked sideways by her loss. Each carrying their own baggage, Smith and Jade end up on a collision course with their own unresolved pasts and with each other. Told in a series of e-mails, blog posts, online therapy submissions, text messages, legal correspondence, home-rental bookings, and other snippets of our virtual lives, When You Read This is a deft, captivating romantic comedy--funny, tragic, surprising, and bittersweet--that candidly reveals how we find new beginnings after loss.

When You Read This

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Jennifer Banash

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Massachusetts



Alys's whole world was comprised of the history project that was due, her upcoming violin audition, being held tightly in the arms of her boyfriend, Ben, and laughing with her best friend, Delilah. At least it was-until she found herself on the wrong end of a shotgun in the school library. Her suburban high school had become one of those places you hear about on the news-a place where some disaffected youth decided to end it all and take as many of his teachers and classmates with him as he could. Except, in this story, that youth was Alys's own brother, Luke. He killed fifteen others and himself, but spared her-though she'll never know why.

Alys's downward spiral begins instantly, and there seems to be no bottom. A heartbreaking and beautifully told story.

Silent Alarm

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Bobbie Jean Huff

Michigan

"An idyllic lakeside resort seems like the perfect family vacation for Olivia and Harry Somerville and their three young boys. That is, until, returning from a solo hike one morning, Olivia hears that one of her sons has drowned. Before she can discover which son she's lost, she makes a decision that affects her and her family for the rest of their lives: She runs. Olivia begins a new life in a quiet town, hiding in a lie she tells herself every day: "I have three children." If she never learns which son drowned, can she convince herself that none of them did? A deep meditation on the nature of loss and the gift of recovery, The Ones We Keep follows the next three decades as a fragmented family picks up the pieces and fights for a future free of grief and full of hope"--

The Ones We Keep

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Alabama

V. S. Alexander

Spine mildly cracked, see photos, otherwise like new. 

A WW2 Novel of Sisterhood and Survival

Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn, Kristin Harmel, and Pam Jenoff, this new historical fiction novel from an acclaimed author is based on true WWII stories of life in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Occupation and the women who served the Allies as agents and spies. Casting light into one of the darkest periods of World War II, this powerful book tells of two Jewish sisters- one imprisoned in Poland and the other who joins the Special Operations Executive in a daring attempt to free her family from the Nazis.

It's not just a thousand miles that separates Hanna Majewski from her younger sister, Stefa. There is another gulf--between the traditional Jewish ways that Hanna chose to leave behind in Warsaw, and her new, independent life in London. But as autumn of 1940 draws near, Germany begins a savage aerial bombing campaign in England, killing and displacing tens of thousands. Hanna, who narrowly escapes death, is recruited as a spy in an undercover operation that sends her back to her war-torn homeland.

In Hanna's absence, her parents, sister, and brother have been driven from their comfortable apartment into the Warsaw Ghetto. Sealed off from the rest of the city, the Ghetto becomes a prison for nearly half a million Jews, struggling to survive amid starvation, disease, and the constant threat of deportation to Treblinka. Once a pretty and level-headed teenager, Stefa is now committed to the Jewish resistance. Together, she, Hanna, and Janka, a family friend living on the Aryan side of the city, form a trio called The War Girls. Against overwhelming odds and through heartbreak they will fight to rescue their loved ones, finding courage through sisterhood to keep hope alive . . .

Praise for V.S. Alexander and The Sculptress

"Fans of Alena Dillon, Lucinda Riley, and Alexander's previous work will appreciate the historical accuracy saturating every page of this moving, compassionate novel." --Booklist

The War Girls

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Viola Shipman

Significant crease on front cover. A few pages dented along top edge. See photos. Otherwise excellent. 

Bestselling author Viola Shipman delights with this captivating summertime escape set along the sparkling shores of Lake Michigan, where a woman searches for clues to her secretive mother's past

Devastated by the sudden death of her mother--a quiet, loving and intensely private Southern seamstress called Miss Mabel, who overflowed with pearls of Ozarks wisdom but never spoke of her own family--Sutton Douglas makes the impulsive decision to pack up and head north to the Michigan resort town where she believes she'll find answers to the lifelong questions she's had about not only her mother's past but also her own place in the world.

Recalling Miss Mabel's sewing notions that were her childhood toys, Sutton buys a collection of buttons at an estate sale from Bonnie Lyons, the imposing matriarch of the lakeside community. Propelled by a handful of trinkets left behind by her mother and glimpses into the history of the magical lakeshore town, Sutton becomes tantalized by the possibility that Bonnie is the grandmother she never knew. But is she? As Sutton cautiously befriends Bonnie and is taken into her confidence, she begins to uncover the secrets about her family that Miss Mabel so carefully hid, and about the role that Sutton herself unwittingly played in it all.

"The minute I finished The Clover Girls, I ordered copies for all my friends. It's that good." --Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author



The Edge of Summer

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Josie Angelini

Arizona

In 1985 Massachusetts, fifth-grader Annie wants to shape her own future but as the youngest of nine, she is held back by her hand-me-down clothing, a crippling case of dyslexia, and a dark family secret.

Snow Lane

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#womensfiction #friendshipfiction #bookreviewer #bookinfluencer #read #reading
 #domesticlifefiction #domesticfiction #lifefiction #familyfiction 

Illinois

In this thrilling novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel, a small community is tested when their children go missing while exploring a dangerous local peak, forcing them to band together during the crisis.

Fishtail, Montana, is home to Anne and Pitt Pollock, local royalty, high school sweethearts, and owners of the successful Pollock ranch. The sprawling foothills of the Beartooth Mountains surround the town, overlooking the Pollocks' property and the nearby ranch belonging to Bill and Pattie Brown. The two couples have known each other since childhood.

Their sons Peter Pollock and Matt Brown are also the best of friends. When they and two other local kids meet Juliet Marshall, new to town after her parents' bitter divorce, the five of them are soon inseparable, spending their summer days swimming, horseback riding, hiking, and fishing.

But one August afternoon, their latest adventure takes a dangerous turn--and quickly escalates into a battle for survival--when they find themselves trapped on Granite Peak. Fear reverberates through the town as their parents grow ever more desperate to hear word that their children have been found. They must place their own trials aside amid a massive search-and-rescue operation. As they come to lean on one another for support, a media frenzy ensues, heightening tensions and testing some already fragile relationships.

In the aftermath of this one fateful event, devastating secrets are revealed, new love appears on the horizon, and families are forced to reconsider what they once held dear. In The Challenge, Danielle Steel deftly weaves a story that is a portrait of courage and a striking tale of the bonds of love and family.

The Challenge

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Esau McCaulley

From the bestselling author of Reading While Black comes a sweet and inspiring picture book that weaves together history and faith to help families talk about how everyone—including children—can be a voice for justice. Andy Johnson loves fighting battles. Especially when he has his favorite sword, the Destroyer, by his side. So when Dad announces that the Johnson family is heading to the city to join a march, Andy’s ready to don his battle gear and be the best soldier! Except this isn’t a march to war . . . it’s a march for justice. Join Andy and the rest of the Johnson kids as they learn how we can answer God’s call for justice and how marching is one way people can fight for a world that reflects God’s love and compassion—from the civil rights era up to today. Building on the first Johnson family book, Josey Johnson’s Hair and the Holy Spirit, and inspired by a conversation with his own children after taking them to a protest march, Esau McCaulley provides an accessible resource for parents and educators looking to engage kids on the topics of racism, discrimination, and social justice through a biblical and historical perspective.

Andy Johnson and the March for Justice

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#fiction #hardcover #familyfiction #instagramfave #tragedy #culture #Gowda    From the international bestselling author of Secret Daughter and The Golden Son comes a poignant, unforgettable novel about a family's growing apart and coming back together in the wake of tragedy.

“The Shape of Family is a novel about race and culture, parents and siblings, marriage and love, but most of all, it's about finding hope after darkness. Shilpi Somaya Gowda is a compassionate and wise storyteller who keeps us riveted from beginning to end.” -- Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation

The Olander family embodies the modern American Dream in a globalized world. Jaya, the cultured daughter of an Indian diplomat and Keith, an ambitious banker from middle-class Philadelphia, meet in a London pub in 1988 and make a life together in suburban California. Their strong marriage is built on shared beliefs and love for their two children: headstrong teenager Karina and young son Prem, the light of their home.

But love and prosperity cannot protect them from sudden, unspeakable tragedy, and the family’s foundation cracks as each member struggles to seek a way forward. Jaya finds solace in spirituality. Keith wagers on his high-powered career. Karina focuses relentlessly on her future and independence. And Prem watches helplessly as his once close-knit family drifts apart.

When Karina heads off to college for a fresh start, her search for identity and belonging leads her down a dark path, forcing her and her family to reckon with the past, the secrets they’ve held and the weight of their choices.

The Shape of Family is an intimate portrayal of four individuals as they grapple with what it means to be a family and how to move from a painful past into a hopeful future. It is a profoundly moving exploration of the ways we all seek belonging—in our families, our communities and ultimately, within ourselves.

a novel

The shape of family 

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Susan Wiggs

Beloved New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs returns with a compulsively readable tale of an idyllic California beach town forced to reckon with scandal when a high school valedictorian's speech reveals secrets that shake the town to its core.

"Readers will savor sunny skies and perfect surf in this stunning new novel, but one thing is for sure: In this Beach Town, there is always more happening than meets the eye. Don't miss this expansive beauty of a summer book!" --Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Summer of Songbirds

Every town has its secrets...

In idyllic Alara Cove, a California beach town known for its sunny charm and chill surfer vibe, it's graduation day at the elite Thornton Academy. At Thornton, the students are the worldly and overindulged children who live in gated enclaves with spectacular views. But the class valedictorian is Nikki Graziola, a surfer's daughter who is there on scholarship. To the shock of everyone in the audience, Nikki veers off script while giving her commencement address and reveals a secret that breaks open the whole community. As her truth explodes into the light, Alara Cove will face a reckoning.

Nikki Graziola's accusation shakes the foundation of Alara Cove, pitting her against the wealthy family whose money runs the town. Her new notoriety sends Nikki into exile for years, where she finds fame--but not fortune--overseas as a competition surfer...until a personal tragedy compels her to return to Alara Cove.

 As Nikki struggles to rebuild her future, she finds that the people of the town have not forgotten her. But time has changed Alara Cove, and old friendships, rivalries, and an unexpected romance draw her back into the life of the beach town she's never quite forgotten, and where joy and redemption may be possible after all.

Welcome to Beach Town

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#hardcover #fiction #crimejunkie #debut #debutnovel #familylifefiction #familyfiction #lifefiction 

California

Abdi Nazemian

Library withdrawn. First edition, first printing. Otherwise excellent condition.

Washington

The Authentics is a fresh, funny, and insightful novel about culture, love, and family--the kind we are born into and the ones we create.

Daria Esfandyar is Iranian-American and proud of her heritage, unlike some of the "Nose Jobs" in the clique led by her former best friend, Heidi Javadi. Daria and her friends call themselves the Authentics, because they pride themselves on always keeping it real.

But in the course of researching a school project, Daria learns something shocking about her past, which launches her on a journey of self-discovery. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. And it's getting harder to know who she even is any longer.

With infighting among the Authentics, her mother planning an over-the-top sweet sixteen party, and a romance that should be totally off limits, Daria doesn't have time for this identity crisis. As everything in her life is spinning out of control--can she figure out how to stay true to herself?

The Authentics (FIRST EDITION)

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#familyfiction #nancythayer #familysaga #womensfiction #friendshipfiction

One life-changing summer on Nantucket brings about exhilarating revelations for a single mother and her two grown children in this sensational novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer.

"Wholesome and hopelessly romantic."-Kirkus Reviews

Lisa Hawley is perfectly satisfied living on her own. Having fully recovered from a brutal divorce nearly two decades earlier, she has successfully raised her kids, Juliet and Theo, seeing them off to college and beyond. As the owner of a popular boutique on Nantucket, she's built a fulfilling life for herself on the island where she grew up. With her beloved house in desperate need of repair, Lisa calls on Mack Whitney, a friendly-and very handsome-local contractor and fellow single parent, to do the work. The two begin to grow close, and Lisa is stunned to realize that she might be willing to open up again after all . . . despite the fact that Mack is ten years her junior.

Juliet and Theo worry that Mack will only break their mother's heart-and they can't bear to see her hurt again. Both stuck in ruts of their own, they each hope that a summer on Nantucket will provide them with the clarity they've been searching for. When handsome entrepreneur Ryder Hastings moves to the island to expand his environmental nonprofit, Juliet, an MIT-educated web designer, feels an immediate attraction, one her rocky love life history pushes her to deny at first. Meanwhile, free spirit Theo finds his California bliss comes to a brutal halt when a surfing injury forces him back to the East Coast. Upon his return, he has eyes only for Mack's daughter, Beth, to whom he is bound by an unspeakable tragedy from high school. Can they overcome their past?

As the season unfolds, a storm threatens to shatter the peace of the golden island, forcing Lisa, Juliet, and Theo to decide whether their summer romances are destined for something more profound. Nancy Thayer dazzles again in this delightful tale of family, a reminder that sometimes, finding our way back home can bring us unexpected gifts.

Girls of Summer

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Katherine Lin

Florida

Named a must-read book of summer by: Good Morning America, People, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, and the Philadelphia Inquirer Desperate to obliterate her past, a young widow flees California for the French Riviera in this compelling debut, a tale of loss, rebirth, modern friendship, and romance that blends Sally Rooney's wryness and psychological insight with Emma Straub's gorgeous scene-setting and rich relationships. Just days after her young, handsome husband dies in a car accident, Ellie Huang discovers that he had a mistress--one of her own colleagues at a prestigious San Francisco law firm. Acting on impulse--or is it grief? rage? Probably all three--Ellie cashes in Ian's life insurance policy for an extended stay at the luxurious Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France. Accompanying her is her free-spirited best friend, Mable Chou. Ellie hopes that the five-star resort on the French Riviera, with its stunning clientele and floral-scented cocktails, will be a heady escape from the real world. And at first it is. She and Mable meet an intriguing couple, Fauna and Robbie, and as their poolside chats roll into wine-soaked dinners, the four become increasingly intimate. But the sunlit getaway soon turns into a reckoning for Ellie, as long-simmering tensions and uncomfortable truths swirl to the surface. Taking the reader from San Francisco to the gilded luxury of the south of France, You Can't Stay Here Forever is a sharply funny and exciting debut that explores the slippery nature of marriage, the push and pull between friends, and the interplay of race and privilege, seen through the eyes of a young Asian American woman.

You Can't Stay Here Forever

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South Carolina

Pennsylvania

Texas

✨ Use my code JPREADS6 to save $5 on 1st Pango purchase (at any shops) ✨

New Hampshire

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Tennessee

The Ones We Keep (New)

Bette Lee Crosby

#fiction #paperback #southernfiction #familyfiction

A Magnolia Grove Novel

One family learns that love is the greatest miracle of all--from USA Today bestselling author Bette Lee Crosby. Aspiring journalist Meghan Briggs has always been the responsible one in the family. So when her father passes away unexpectedly, leaving behind his at-risk business, she steps up to save his legacy--even if that means putting her own dreams on hold. Tracy couldn't be more different from her sister. She's always been the rebellious type, without much direction in life. But in the wake of her latest romantic disaster, she finds herself moving back home as a single mother. As Tracy experiences the difficulties of new motherhood, Meghan faces her own struggle: trying not to fall for the stray puppy she rescued. This is no time for attachments--not to the adorable "Sox," whose owner is bound to turn up any day, and certainly not to the handsome new vet in town. But as the summer unfolds, she discovers that, like Sox, she may need rescuing, too. As both sisters navigate unexpected challenges and exciting new relationships, they'll find that putting the past to rest can make way for beautiful new beginnings.

The Summer of New Beginnings

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Book comes from a smoke free home. Aardvark Book Club edition. 

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Virginia Hartman

The Marsh Queen

Pablo Cartaya

Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish

Mary Adkins

When You Read This

Jennifer Banash

Silent Alarm

Bobbie Jean Huff

The Ones We Keep

Virginia Hartman

The Marsh Queen

V. S. Alexander

The War Girls

Viola Shipman

The Edge of Summer

Josie Angelini

Snow Lane

Danielle Steel

The Challenge

Esau McCaulley

Andy Johnson and the March for Justice

Shilpi Somaya Gowda

The shape of family

Susan Wiggs

Welcome to Beach Town

Virginia Hartman

The Marsh Queen

Abdi Nazemian

The Authentics (FIRST EDITION)

Nancy Thayer

Girls of Summer

Katherine Lin

You Can't Stay Here Forever

Viola Shipman

The Edge of Summer

Virginia Hartman

The Marsh Queen

V. S. Alexander

The War Girls

Virginia Hartman

The Marsh Queen

Bobbie Jean Huff

The Ones We Keep (New)

Bette Lee Crosby

The Summer of New Beginnings

Virginia Hartman

The Marsh Queen