#hardcover #bookclub #Africa #love #compassion #autobiography #stories #colonialism #struggle #courage

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Washington

A Daughter's Quest

"Praised as ""a shining example of what autobiography can be: harrowing, illuminating and thoughtful"" (USA Today), Aminatta Forna's intensely personal history is a passionate and vivid account of an idyllic childhood that became the stuff of nightmare. As a child she witnessed the upheavals of postcolonial Africa, danger, flight, the bitterness of exile in Britain, and the terrible consequences of her dissident father's stand against tyranny. Mohamed Forna was a man of unimpeachable integrity and enchanting charisma. As Sierra Leone faced its future as a fledgling democracy, he was a new star in the political firmament, a man who had been one of the first black students to come to Britain after the war. He stole the heart of Aminatta's mother, to the dismay of her Presbyterian parents, and returned with her to Sierra Leone. But as Aminatta Forna shows with compelling clarity, the old Africa was torn apart by new ways of Western parliamentary democracy, which gave birth only to dictatorships and corruption of hitherto undreamed-of magnitude. It was not long before Mohamed Forna languished in jail as a prisoner of conscience, and worse was to follow. Aminatta's search for the truth that shaped both her childhood and the nation's destiny began among the country's elite and took her into the heart of rebel territory. Determined to break the silence surrounding her father's fate, she ultimately uncovered a conspiracy that penetrated the highest reaches of government and forced the nation's politicians and judiciary to confront their guilt. The Devil That Danced on the Water is a book of pain and anger and sorrow, written with tremendous dignity and beautiful precision: a remarkable, and important story of Africa."

The Devil That Danced on the Water

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Kathy Osborn

Jacqueline Carey

Published in 1997 by beloved San Francisco’s Chronicle Books. Cute tale of love told in conversations. 

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Colorado

The diary of a romance between two yuppies. They are serious, they intend to marry, but Bonnie lives in Washington and Kip in New York. So who is going to sacrifice their job in order to be together? That leads to the first fight, one of many conducted with messages on their answering machines.

Wedding Pictures

c335dbf7-ad64-4548-b5ae-1b8a70e849d0-0

Nicholas Sparks

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Utah

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with an emotionally powerful story of unconditional love, its challenges, its risks and most of all, its rewards. At 32, Russell Green has it all: a stunning wife, a lovable six year-old daughter, a successful career as an advertising executive and an expansive home in Charlotte. He is living the dream, and his marriage to the bewitching Vivian is the center of that. But underneath the shiny surface of this perfect existence, fault lines are beginning to appear...and no one is more surprised than Russ when he finds every aspect of the life he took for granted turned upside down. In a matter of months, Russ finds himself without a job or wife, caring for his young daughter while struggling to adapt to a new and baffling reality. Throwing himself into the wilderness of single parenting, Russ embarks on a journey at once terrifying and rewarding-one that will test his abilities and his emotional resources beyond anything he ever imagined.

Two by Two

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Donna VanLiere

Texas

Donna VanLiere, New York Times bestselling author of the timeless The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Hope, is back with this moving and uplifting story about finding love, hope, and family in unexpected places. Lauren Gabriel spent many years of her childhood in foster homes, wishing her mother would come back for her and be the family she needs. Now twenty-years-old, she still longs for a place that she can truly call home. Her work as a cashier is unfulfilling, and at Christmas it’s unbearable with the songs and carols and chatter of Christmas that she hears throughout the day. When Lauren ends her shift one night, she finds herself driving aimlessly in order to avoid returning to her lonely apartment. And when she witnesses a car accident she is suddenly pulled into the small town of Grandon, first as a witness but then as a volunteer for the annual fundraiser for Glory’s Place, a center for single mothers and families who need assistance. Could this town and its people be the home she has always longed for?

The Christmas Town

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Iowa

Emma's secret

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#hardcover  #secrets #love #honor #betrayal

Virginia

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes an epic saga of intrigue and mystique set in Edwardian England. Cavendon Hall is home to two families, the aristocratic Inghams and the Swanns who serve them. Charles Ingham, the sixth Earl of Mowbray, lives there with his wife Felicity and their six children. Walter Swann, the premier male of the Swann family, is valet to the earl. His wife Alice, a clever seamstress who is in charge of the countess's wardrobe, also makes clothes for the four daughters. For centuries, these two families have lived side-by-side, beneath the backdrop of the imposing Yorkshire manor. Lady Daphne, the most beautiful of the Earl's daughters, is about to be presented at court when a devastating event changes her life and threatens the Ingham name. With World War I looming, both families will find themselves tested in ways they never thought possible. Loyalties will be challenged and betrayals will be set into motion. In this time of uncertainty, one thing is sure: these two families will never be the same again.
Cavendon Hall is Barbara Taylor Bradford at her very best, and its sweeping story of secrets, love, honor, and betrayal will have readers riveted up to the very last page.

Cavendon Hall

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Amy Tan

Florida

The author reflects on her family's Chinese American legacy, her experiences as a writer, her survival of natural disasters, and her struggle to manage three family members afflicted with brain disease.

The Opposite of Fate

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#fiction #love #romance #hardcover #beach #teen #daughter #father #nicholassparks #northcarolina 

Her teenage life turned upside-down by her parents' divorce and her father's relocation out of state, Ronnie Miller remains bitter three years later when her mother urges her to spend a summer with her father, a concert pianist who is quietly immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. By the best-selling author of The Lucky One. Movie tie-in.

The Last Song

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Debbie Rigaud

Perfect for fans of Netflix's Never Have I Ever and You Should See Me in a Crown, this hilarious and heartfelt #ownvoices rom-com from rising star Debbie Rigaud is pure Black girl joy. It's senior year, and Simone Thibodeaux is ready to shake things up. Until now, her life has been sealed in a boy-proof container, thanks to her strict Haitian immigrant parents, who enforce no-dating rules and send Simone to an all-girls high school. As for prom? Simone is allowed to go on one condition: Her parents will select her date (a boy from a nice Haitian immigrant family, obviously). Simone is desperate to avoid the humiliation of the setup -- especially since she's crushing on a boy she knows her parents wouldn't approve of. It's time to take action. So Simone and her fellow late-bloomer friends make a Senior Year Bucket List of all the things they haven't had a chance to do. Like: sneaking out of the house, skipping class (gasp!), and oh yeah -- choosing their own prom dates. But as the list takes on a life of its own, things get much more complicated than Simone expected. She'll have to discover which rules are worth breaking, and which might save her from heartbreak.

Simone Breaks All the Rules

33864fe4-a01b-40b7-86e1-d2f8786d6865-1

Mikki Daughtry

Rachael Lippincott

From the team behind #1 New York Times bestseller Five Feet Apart comes a gripping new romance that asks: Can you find true love after losing everything? Kyle and Kimberly have been the perfect couple all through high school, but when Kimberly breaks up with him on the night of their graduation party, Kyle’s entire world upends—literally. Their car crashes and when he awakes, he has a brain injury. Kimberly is dead. And no one in his life could possibly understand. Until Marley. Marley is suffering from her own loss, a loss she thinks was her fault. And when their paths cross, Kyle sees in her all the unspoken things he’s feeling. As Kyle and Marley work to heal each other’s wounds, their feelings for each other grow stronger. But Kyle can’t shake the sense that he’s headed for another crashing moment that will blow up his life as soon as he’s started to put it back together. And he’s right.

All This Time

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Richard Paul Evans

This book looks new and could be gifted.  The pages have a beautiful feckless edge.

Indiana

From “The King of Christmas,” Richard Paul Evans, comes the next exciting holiday novel perfect for “fans of Debbie Macomber” (Booklist) in his New York Times bestselling Noel Collection. Maggie Walther feels like her world is imploding. Publicly humiliated after her husband, a local councilman, is arrested for bigamy, and her subsequent divorce, she has isolated herself from the world. When her only friend insists that Maggie climb out of her hole, and embrace the season to get her out of her funk, Maggie decides to put up a Christmas tree and heads off to buy one—albeit reluctantly. She is immediately taken by Andrew, the kind, handsome man who owns the Christmas tree lot and delivers her tree. She soon learns that Andrew is single and new to her city and, like her, is also starting his life anew. As their friendship develops, Maggie slowly begins to trust again—something she never thought possible. Then, just when she thinks she has finally found happiness, she discovers a dark secret from Andrew’s past. Is there more to this stranger’s truth than meets the eye? This powerful new holiday novel from Richard Paul Evans, the “King of Christmas fiction” (The New York Times), explores the true power of the season, redemption, and the freedom that comes from forgiveness.

The Noel Stranger

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#romance #debbiemacomber #love#heartwarming 

Jenna Boltz's life is at a crossroads. After a messy divorce nearly twenty years ago, she raised her two children on her own, juggling motherhood with her beloved job as a Seattle intensive care nurse. Now that Paul and Allie have gone to college and moved out, Jenna can't help but wonder what her future holds. Her best friend, Maureen, is excited for Jenna's newfound independence. Now is the perfect time to finally book the trip to Paris they've been dreaming of since their college days. But when it comes to life's other great adventure--dating--Jenna still isn't sure she's ready to let love in.

Window on the Bay

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California

A Remarkable Story of True Love Conquering All

It Doesn't Take a Perfect Person to Find a Perfect Love
 
 Even though he was born without arms or legs, Nick Vujicic created a "ridiculously good life." But after dating disappointments and a failed relationship, he reached his mid-twenties worried that he would never find a woman to love him and share his life. 
 
Then Nick met Kanae and everything changed.  But even with undeniable chemistry, they would have to navigate twists and turns worthy of a romantic comedy before becoming "one" in marriage. 
 
 In Love Without Limits Nick and Kanae tell how they improbably found each other, fell in love, and then fought to overcome skepticism from others about their relationship. Filled with practical insights that will benefit any couple, this inspiring book describes a godly courtship and the early years of the Vujicics' marriage and parenting journey.
 
Above all, Love Without Limits is an inspiring reminder that when Christ is at the center of a relationship--even with serious challenges--true love will triumph.
 
***

"Despite my optimism about other parts of life, I decided that love in this world had limits after all. I'd become convinced that no woman would want to marry such an obviously imperfect man as me...."
 
As a boy growing up in Australia, Nick Vujicic could not understand why God had allowed him to be born without limbs and if He would ever bring a woman into Nick's life. 
 
On the other side of the world, Kanae Miyahara--a girl growing up in Mexico--saw dysfunction sadly separate her family.  She wondered if a loving, lasting marriage was even possible.  
 
Later, when Nick realized that God had a purpose for him, his life took on new meaning.  But after a long-term relationship ended in heartache, would he ever find someone to marry?
 
Kanae experienced relationships based on superficial attraction, but she longed to find a mate with strong character and faith--a man who would be a godly husband and father.  
 
When Nick and Kanae met in the most amazing way, they realized that God--the ultimate Matchmaker-- had used even their discouraging and painful experiences to prepare them for each other...for the love of their life.

Love Without Limits

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#hardcover #graphicnovel #fiction #comics #graphicnovels #romancegraphicnovels #yagraphicnovels #yaromance #love #illustration

Two people search for connection in a big city.

Crushing

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Mattie J. T. Stepanek

Retired school library book. Previous owner’s information has been blackened out on the inside of the front and back covers. Interior pages are in excellent condition.

Missouri

Heartsongs

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Patti Callahan Henry

A Holiday Story

Jimmy Sullivan has been living on the road with his brother, Jack, and his band The Unknown Souls. Without a place to call home, Jimmy and Jack lead a nomadic life filled with music and anonymous cities. When they return to a place Jimmy never wants to see again--their old hometown of Seaboro, South Carolina--he falls in love with Charlotte Carrington.

With his soul now filled with hope, Jimmy writes his first love song. When he performs it at a holiday concert to a standing ovation, the lyrics are dubbed the "Perfect Love Song," so much so that Jimmy finds himself going on tour with famous country music stars, catapulted into a world where the trappings of fame and fortune reign supreme.

All too soon, the hope that had once inspired Jimmy to write such beautiful, genuine lyrics is overshadowed by what the song can do for him and his career. In his thirst for recognition, he agrees to miss Jack's wedding in Ireland to sing at a Christmas Eve concert. And his ties to Charlotte seem to be ever so quickly slipping away.

Alone in New York City on Christmas Eve, Jimmy finally sees--with the help of a Christmas miracle or two--that his material gains are nothing compared to love, that he is losing all that really matters in his life. Is it too late to find his way to Ireland, to his brother, and to love?

The Perfect Love Song

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1st edition/ 1st printing! Perfect for collectors! Excellent condition. Smoke-free home.

Tennessee

The Best of Me

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Amelia Hepworth

Show a child just how strong your love is every minute of the day! Features a "To" and "From" personalization page, making this sweet offering an ideal gift for baby showers, birthdays, and new parents. 

The sun rises, and a bear and cub begin their day together. They splash in the water, climb mountains, watch the colorful lights in the shimmering sky, and play with friends. They show their love for each other by touching noses, chasing each other, and, of course, hugging and snuggling before bed. A sweet, gentle rhyme, perfect for sharing with a special little one that also includes a “To” and "From” personalization page in the front of the book, making this heartwarming book an ideal gift

Show a child just how strong your love is every minute of the day! Features a "To" and "From" personalization page, making this sweet offering an ideal gift for baby showers, birthdays, and new parents. The sun rises, and a bear and cub begin their day together. They splash in the water, climb mountains, watch the colorful lights in the shimmering sky, and play with friends. They show their love for each other by touching noses, chasing each other, and, of course, hugging and snuggling before bed. A sweet, gentle rhyme, perfect for sharing with a special little one that also includes a “To” and "From” personalization page in the front of the book, making this heartwarming book an ideal gift.

I Love You to the Moon and Back

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Serena Kent

A Novel

The first entry in a clever, lighthearted mystery series set in modern Provence—a delightful blend of Agatha Christie and Peter Mayle—featuring the irrepressible Penelope Kite, a young-at-heart divorcee with a knack for stumbling across dead bodies. It’s love at first sight when Penelope Kite sees Le Chant d’Eau—The Song of Water—the stone farmhouse tucked high in the hills above the Luberon valley, complete with a garden, swimming pool, and sweeping mountain vistas. For years, Penelope put her unfaithful ex-husband and her ungrateful stepchildren first. Since taking early retirement from her job in forensics at the Home Office in England, she’s been an unpaid babysitter and chauffeur for her grandchildren. Now, she’s going to start living for herself. Though her dream house needs major renovations, Penelope impulsively buys the property and moves to St. Merlot. But Penelope’s daydreams of an adventurous life in Provence didn’t include finding a corpse floating face down in her swimming pool. The discovery of the dead man plunges her headlong into a Provençal stew of intrigue and lingering resentments simmering beneath the deceptively sunny village. Having worked in the forensics office, Penelope knows a thing or two about murder investigations. To find answers, she must carefully navigate between her seemingly ubiquitous, supercilious (and enviously chic) estate agent, the disdainful chief of police, and the devilishly handsome mayor—even as she finds herself tempted by all the delicacies the region has to offer. Thank goodness her old friend Frankie is just a flight away . . . and that Penelope is not quite as naïve as her new neighbors in St. Merlot believe. Set against the exquisite backdrop of Provence, steeped in history, atmosphere, and secrets, Death in Provence introduces an irresistible heroine and a delightful new mystery series.

Death in Provence

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#hardcover #fiction #youngadult #romance #love #booktok 

Pennsylvania

In his debut novel, YouTube personality and author of We Should Hang Out Sometime Josh Sundquist explores the nature of love, trust, and romantic attraction. On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right? As Will starts to find his footing, he develops a crush on a charming, quiet girl named Cecily. Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets. It turns out Cecily doesn't meet traditional definitions of beauty--in fact, everything he'd heard about her appearance was a lie engineered by their so-called friends to get the two of them together. Does it matter what Cecily looks like? No, not really. But then why does Will feel so betrayed? Told with humor and breathtaking poignancy, Love and First Sight is a story about how we related to each other and the world around us.

Love and First Sight

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In 2135 Ohio, Davis Morrow, a fiercely ambitious ballerina, has been primed to be smarter, stronger, and more graceful than the lowly Imperfects but when a deadly virus, the Narxis, begins killing Davis's friends she turns to Cole, a mysterious boy with his own agenda, and their love may be the only thing that can save her world.

Feuds

450a874a-e23f-4f47-9077-0b5f71ca1472-1

Nevada

Kwan, a seventeen-year-old half-sister from China, turns young Olivia's world upside-down with her stories of ghosts of another time, tales that have a profound impact on Olivia's life and imagination, until she discovers a way to reconcile the ghosts ofthe past with her dreams of the future

The Hundred Secret Senses

d9cb3117-ce59-4dbf-b1a3-0963e2896b1e-1

Randy Pausch

Jeffrey Zaslow

Georgia

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

The Last Lecture

654d1be9-4983-46e6-813b-cc0a565843e4-1

#hardcover #youngadult #fiction #love #book #fantasy #magic #mystery 

Nebraska

From the world of Beautiful Creatures--the instant New York Times bestselling tale of love and magic. Ridley Duchannes is nobody's heroine. She's a Dark Caster, a Siren. She can make you do things. Anything. You can't trust her, or yourself when she's around. And she'll be the first to tell you to stay away--especially if you're going to do something as stupid as fall in love with her. Lucky for Ridley, her wannabe rocker boyfriend, Wesley "Link" Lincoln, never listens to anyone. Link doesn't care if Rid's no good for him, and he takes her along when he leaves small-town Gatlin to follow his rock-star dream. He teams up with a ragtag group of Dark Casters, and when the band scores a gig at a hot Underground club, it looks like all of Link's dreams are about to come true. But New York City is a dangerous place for both Casters and Mortals, and soon Ridley realizes that Link's bandmates are keeping secrets. With bad-boy club owner Lennox Gates on her heels, Rid is determined to find out the truth. What she discovers is worse than she could have imagined: Link has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay. With their lives on the line, what's a Siren to do? Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of the Beautiful Creatures novels, are back to cast another magical spell. Their signature blend of mystery, suspense, and romance, with a healthy dose of wit and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.

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Aminatta Forna

The Devil That Danced on the Water

Kathy Osborn; Jacqueline Carey

Wedding Pictures

Nicholas Sparks

Two by Two

Donna VanLiere

The Christmas Town

Barbara Taylor Bradford

Emma's secret

Barbara Taylor Bradford

Cavendon Hall

Amy Tan

The Opposite of Fate

Nicholas Sparks

The Last Song

Debbie Rigaud

Simone Breaks All the Rules

Mikki Daughtry; Rachael Lippincott

All This Time

Richard Paul Evans

The Noel Stranger

Debbie Macomber

Window on the Bay

Nick Vujicic; Kanae Vujicic

Love Without Limits

Sophie Burrows

Crushing

Mattie J. T. Stepanek

Heartsongs

Patti Callahan Henry

The Perfect Love Song

Nicholas Sparks

The Best of Me

Amelia Hepworth

I Love You to the Moon and Back

Serena Kent

Death in Provence

Josh Sundquist

Love and First Sight

Avery Hastings

Feuds

Amy Tan

The Hundred Secret Senses

Randy Pausch; Jeffrey Zaslow

The Last Lecture

Kami Garcia; Margaret Stohl

Dangerous Creatures