Helen Hoang

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions--like grief. And love. He thinks he's defective. His family knows better--that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride. 
 As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can't turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn't go as planned. Esme's lessons in love seem to be working...but only on herself. She's hopelessly smitten with a man who's convinced he can never return her affection. 

 With Esme's time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he's been wrong all along. And there's more than one way to love.

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Iowa

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, not big, important emotions like grief and love. When he steadfastly refuses to consider a relationship, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

The Bride Test

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Nancy Tucker

Chrissie is eight years old and she has a secret: she has just killed a boy. The feeling of it made her belly fizz like soda pop. Across her neighborhood, Chrissie's playmates and their parents are tearful and terrified. But Chrissie rules the roost - she’s the best at wall-walking, she knows how to get free candy, and now she has a secret, thrilling power she doesn't get to experience much at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer.

Twenty years later, Chrissie has a new identity and a new name. As "Julia," she is working in a cafe to support herself and her six-year-old daughter, Molly. All she wants is a fresh start, but the past hasn't seemed to let her and Molly alone, and when, suddenly, their future together is threatened, Chrissie/Julia must find a new way to take matters into her own hands.

Nancy Tucker leaves the reader breathless as she considers what happens when innocence and survival instincts collide. Tucker writes from professional experience in pediatric mental health, and she inhabits the voices of her young protagonists with a shocking authenticity and precision that moves the reader from sympathy to humor to horror to heartbreak and back again.

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

A Novel

"Tense, addictive and powered by an unforgettable narrative voice." - PAULA HAWKINS

"A stunning debut...Suspenseful? You bet. Heart-rending? From beginning to end."--The Washington Post
 
"Gripping...The voices of Chrissie and Julia reside deep in your skull: visceral and wicked, sad and wonderful, all at the same time." --The New York Times 

"Fans of Lisa Jewell and smart psychological suspense will eagerly await Tucker's next." --Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"So that was all it took," I thought. "That was all it took for me to feel like I had all the power in the world. One morning, one moment, one yellow-haired boy. It wasn't so much after all."


Meet Chrissie...
 
Chrissie is eight and she has a secret: she has just killed a boy. The feeling made her belly fizz like soda pop. Her playmates are tearful and their mothers are terrified, keeping them locked indoors. But Chrissie rules the roost -- she's the best at wall-walking, she knows how to get free candy, and now she has a feeling of power that she never gets at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer.

    Twenty years later, adult Chrissie is living in hiding under a changed name. A single mother, all she wants is for her daughter to have the childhood she herself was denied. That's why the threatening phone calls are so terrifying. People are looking for them, the past is catching up, and Chrissie fears losing the only thing in this world she cares about, her child.

     Nancy Tucker leaves the reader breathless as she inhabits her protagonist with a shocking authenticity that moves the reader from sympathy to humor to horror to heartbreak and back again.



The First Day of Spring

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Penelope Douglas

We were perfect together. Until we met." 

Misha 
I can't help but smile at the lyrics in her letter. She misses me. 
In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed. 

It didn't take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. The best take-out pizza. Android vs. iPhone. Whether or not Eminem is the greatest rapper ever... 

And that was the start. For the next seven years, it was us. Her letters are always on black paper with silver writing. Sometimes there's one a week or three in a day, but I need them. She's the only one who keeps me on track, talks me down, and accepts everything I am. 

We only had three rules. No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. We had a good thing going. Why ruin it? 

Until I run across a photo of a girl online. Name's Ryen, loves Gallo's pizza, and worships her iPhone. What are the chances? 
F*ck it. I need to meet her. 
I just don't expect to hate what I find.
 
Ryen
He hasn't written in three months. Something's wrong. Did he die? Get arrested? Knowing Misha, neither would be a stretch. 

Without him around, I'm going crazy. I need to know someone is listening. 
It's my own fault. I should've gotten his phone number or picture or something. He could be gone forever. 
Or right under my nose, and I wouldn't even know it.

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

From New York Times Bestselling Author, Penelope Douglas, comes the latest standalone love-hate romance... "We were perfect together. Until we met." Misha I can't help but smile at the lyrics in her letter. She misses me. In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed. It didn't take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. The best take-out pizza. Android vs. iPhone. Whether or not Eminem is the greatest rapper ever... And that was the start. For the next seven years, it was us. Her letters are always on black paper with silver writing. Sometimes there's one a week or three in a day, but I need them. She's the only one who keeps me on track, talks me down, and accepts everything I am. We only had three rules. No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. We had a good thing going. Why ruin it? Until I run across a photo of a girl online. Name's Ryen, loves Gallo's pizza, and worships her iPhone. What are the chances? F*ck it. I need to meet her. I just don't expect to hate what I find. Ryen He hasn't written in three months. Something's wrong. Did he die? Get arrested? Knowing Misha, neither would be a stretch. Without him around, I'm going crazy. I need to know someone is listening. It's my own fault. I should've gotten his phone number or picture or something. He could be gone forever. Or right under my nose, and I wouldn't even know it. *Punk 57 is a stand alone New Adult romance. It is suitable for ages 18+.

Punk 57

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Gillian Flynn

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

After witnessing the murder of her mother and sisters, 7-year-old Libby Day testifies against her brother Ben, but 25 years later she tries to profit from her tragic history and admit that her story might not have been accurate. Reprint. A best-selling novel.

Dark Places

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Kandi Steiner

Noah Becker is nothing but trouble. 

That’s what Mama told me when I was a kid, kicking his pew in church and giggling at the games we’d play. It’s what the town said when his father died and the Becker brothers went wild. 

And it’s on repeat in my mind the day I walk into the whiskey distillery where he works to buy a wedding gift for my fiancé. 
He’s trouble.
Dirty, sweaty, rude trouble.
No matter how many times I repeat it, I can’t escape Noah in our small Tennessee town. And the more I run into him, the more he infuriates me. Because he sees what no one else does. 

He sees me—the real me.
The me I’m not sure I’m allowed to be.
I’m Ruby Grace Barnett, the mayor’s daughter. Soon to be a politician’s wife, just like Mama and Daddy always wanted. Soon to fulfill my family’s legacy, just like I always knew I would.
Until the boy everyone warned me about makes me question everything, like whether the wedding I’m planning is one I even want, at all.
Everyone says Noah Becker is nothing but trouble.

If only I had listened.

Noah Becker is nothing but trouble.That's what Mama told me when I was a kid, kicking his pew in church and giggling at the games we'd play. It's what the town said when his father died and the Becker brothers went wild. And it's on repeat in my mind the day I walk into the whiskey distillery where he works to buy a wedding gift for my fiancé.He's trouble. Dirty, sweaty, rude trouble. No matter how many times I repeat it, I can't escape Noah in our small Tennessee town. And the more I run into him, the more he infuriates me. Because he sees what no one else does.He sees me-the real me. The me I'm not sure I'm allowed to be.I'm Ruby Grace Barnett, the mayor's daughter. Soon to be a politician's wife, just like Mama and Daddy always wanted. Soon to fulfill my family's legacy, just like I always knew I would.Until the boy everyone warned me about makes me question everything, like whether the wedding I'm planning is one I even want. Everyone says Noah Becker is nothing but trouble.If only I had listened.

On the Rocks

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Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones is the story of a family devastated by a gruesome murder -- a murder recounted by the teenage victim. Upsetting, you say? Remarkably, first-time novelist Alice Sebold takes this difficult material and delivers a compelling and accomplished exploration of a fractured family's need for peace and closure.

The details of the crime are laid out in the first few pages: from her vantage point in heaven, Susie Salmon describes how she was confronted by the murderer one December afternoon on her way home from school. Lured into an underground hiding place, she was raped and killed. But what the reader knows, her family does not. Anxiously, we keep vigil with Susie, aching for her grieving family, desperate for the killer to be found and punished.

Sebold creates a heaven that's calm and comforting, a place whose residents can have whatever they enjoyed when they were alive -- and then some. But Susie isn't ready to release her hold on life just yet, and she intensely watches her family and friends as they struggle to cope with a reality in which she is no longer a part. To her great credit, Sebold has shaped one of the most loving and sympathetic fathers in contemporary literature.

The spirit of fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon describes her murder, her surprise at her new home in heaven, and her witness to her family's grief, efforts to find the killer, and attempts to come to terms with what has happened. A first novel. Reader's Guide included. Reprint. 750,000 first printing.

The Lovely Bones

f58c9251-626c-4067-b59d-a81a9d9bdaf1-1

Sonia Hartl

Brinkley Saunders has a secret.

To everyone in the academic world she left behind, she lost it all when she dropped out of grad school. Once a rising star following in her mother's footsteps, she's now an administrative assistant at an insurance agency--or so they think.

In reality, Brinkley works at Heartbreak for Hire, a secret service that specializes in revenge for jilted lovers, frenemies, and long-suffering coworkers with a little cash to spare and a man who needs to be taken down a notch. It might not be as prestigious as academia, but it helps Brinkley save for her dream of opening an art gallery and lets her exorcise a few demons, all while helping to empower women.

But when her boss announces she's hiring male heartbreakers for the first time, Brinkley's no longer so sure she's doing the right thing--especially when her new coworker turns out to be a target she was paid to take down. Though Mark spends his days struggling up the academic ladder, he seems to be the opposite of a backstabbing adjunct: a nerd at heart in criminally sexy sweater vests who's attentive both in and out of the bedroom. But as Brinkley finds it increasingly more difficult to focus on anything but Mark, she soon realizes that like herself, people aren't always who they appear to be.

With Sonia Hartl's "bitingly funny" (Publishers Weekly) prose, Heartbreak for Hire is a clever romcom you and your girlfriends won't be able to stop talking about.

"Brinkley Saunders has a secret. To everyone in the academic world she left behind, she lost it all when she dropped out of grad school. Once a rising star following in her mother's footsteps, she's now an administrative assistant at an insurance agency--or so they think. In reality, Brinkley works at Heartbreak for Hire, a secret service that specializes in revenge for jilted lovers, frenemies, and long-suffering coworkers with a little cash to spare and a man who needs to be taken down a notch. It might not be as prestigious as academia, but it helps Brinkley save for her dream of opening an art gallery and lets her exorcise a few demons, all while helping to empower women. But when her boss announces she's hiring male heartbreakers for the first time, Brinkley's no longer so sure she's doing the right thing--especially when her new coworker turns out to be a target she was paid to take down. Though Mark spends his days struggling up the academic ladder, he seems to be the opposite of a backstabbing adjunct: a nerd at heart in criminally sexy sweater vests who's attentive both in and out of the bedroom. But as Brinkley finds it increasingly more difficult to focus on anything but Mark, she soon realizes that like herself, people aren't always who they appear to be"--

Heartbreak for Hire

fa36c469-ef81-4f64-b166-a8a85d97e300-1

Trenton Lee Stewart

"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" Dozens of children respond to this peculiar ad in the newspaper and are then put through a series of mind-bending tests, which readers take along with them. Only four children--two boys and two girls--succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and inventive children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. But what they'll find in the hidden underground tunnels of the school is more than your average school supplies. So, if you're gifted, creative, or happen to know Morse Code, they could probably use your help.

For fans of Lemony Snicket and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, this first book in the bestselling, award-winning Mysterious Benedict Society Series is not to be missed!

"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" Dozens of children respond to this peculiar ad in the newspaper and are then put through a series of mind-bending tests, which readers take along with them. Only four children--two boys and two girls--succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and inventive children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. But what they'll find in the hidden underground tunnels of the school is more than your average school supplies. So, if you're gifted, creative, or happen to know Morse Code, they could probably use your help.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

954dfeaa-9851-4bb2-bc65-931970bbbacd-1

Susanna Sonnenberg

Her Last Death begins as the phone rings early one morning in the Montana house where Susanna Sonnenberg lives with her husband and two young sons. Her aunt is calling to tell Susanna her mother is in a coma after a car accident. She might not live. Any daughter would rush the thousands of miles to her mother's bedside. But Susanna cannot bring herself to go. Her courageous memoir explains why.

Glamorous, charismatic and a compulsive liar, Susanna's mother seduced everyone who entered her orbit. With outrageous behavior and judgment tinged by drug use, she taught her child the art of sex and the benefits of lying. Susanna struggled to break out of this compelling world, determined, as many daughters are, not to become her mother.

Sonnenberg mines tender and startling memories as she writes of her fierce resolve to forge her independence, to become a woman capable of trust and to be a good mother to her own children. Her Last Death is riveting, disarming and searingly beautiful.

A Memoir

Sonnenberg's memoir illuminates her resolve to forge her independence, to become a woman capable of trust and to be a good mother to her own children after being raised by a mother who was a compulsive liar and a drug user.

Her Last Death

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Martha Waters

The widowed Diana, Lady Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham are infamous among English high society as much for their sharp-tongued bickering as their flirtation. One evening, an argument at a ball turns into a serious wager: Jeremy will marry within the year or Diana will forfeit one hundred pounds. So shortly after, just before a fortnight-long house party at Elderwild, Jeremy's country estate, Diana is shocked when Jeremy appears at her home with a very different kind of proposition.
After his latest mistress unfavorably criticized his skills in the bedroom, Jeremy is looking for reassurance, so he has gone to the only woman he trusts to be totally truthful. He suggests that they embark on a brief affair while at the house party--Jeremy can receive an honest critique of his bedroom skills and widowed Diana can use the gossip to signal to other gentlemen that she is interested in taking a lover.

Diana thinks taking him up on his counter-proposal can only help her win her wager. With her in the bedroom and Jeremy's marriage-minded grandmother, the formidable Dowager Marchioness of Willingham, helping to find suitable matches among the eligible ladies at Elderwild, Diana is confident her victory is assured. But while they're focused on winning wagers, they stand to lose their own hearts.

With Martha Waters's signature "cheeky charm and wonderfully wry wit" (Booklist, starred review), To Love and to Loathe is another clever and delightful historical rom-com that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Evie Dunmore.

"The widowed Diana, Lady Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham are infamous among English high society as much for their sharp-tongued bickering as their flirtation. One evening, an argument at a ball turns into a serious wager: Jeremy will marry within the year or Diana will forfeit one hundred pounds. So shortly after, just before a fortnight-long house party at Elderwild, Jeremy's country estate, Diana is shocked when Jeremy appears at her home with a very different kind of proposition. After his latest mistress unfavorably criticized his skills in the bedroom, Jeremy is looking for reassurance, so he has gone to the only woman he trusts to be totally truthful. He suggests that they embark on a brief affair while at the house party-Jeremy can receive an honest critique of his bedroom skills and widowed Diana can use the gossip to signal to other gentlemen that she is interested in taking a lover. Diana thinks taking him up on his counter-proposal can only help her win her wager. With her in the bedroom and Jeremy's marriage-minded grandmother, the formidable Dowager Marchioness of Willingham, helping to find suitable matches among the eligible ladies at Elderwild, Diana is confident her victory is assured. But while they're focused on winning wagers, they stand to lose their own hearts"--

To Love and to Loathe

09587d00-db56-4226-82e7-7fa5996bad14-1

Ruth Ware

What should be a cozy and fun-filled weekend deep in the English countryside takes a sinister turn in Ruth Ware's suspenseful, compulsive, and darkly twisted psychological thriller. 
Sometimes the only thing to fear...is yourself.

When reclusive writer Leonora is invited to the English countryside for a weekend away, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. But as the first night falls, revelations unfold among friends old and new, an unnerving memory shatters Leonora's reserve, and a haunting realization creeps in: the party is not alone in the woods.

"What should be a cozy and fun-filled weekend deep in the English countryside takes a sinister turn in Ruth Ware's suspenseful, compulsive, and darkly twisted psychological thriller. Leonora, known to some as Lee and others as Nora, is a reclusive crime writer, unwilling to leave her "nest" of an apartment unless it is absolutely necessary. When a friend she hasn't seen or spoken to in years unexpectedly invites Nora (Lee?) to a weekend away in an eerie glass house deep in the English countryside, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. Forty-eight hours later, she wakes up in a hospital bed injured but alive, with the knowledge that someone is dead. Wondering not "what happened?" but "what have I done?," Nora (Lee?) tries to piece together the events of the past weekend. Working to uncover secrets, reveal motives, and find answers, Nora (Lee?) must revisit parts of herself that she would much rather leave buried where they belong: in the past. In the tradition of Paula Hawkins's instant New York Times bestseller The Girl On the Train and S. J. Watson's riveting national sensation Before I Go To Sleep, this gripping literary debut from UK novelist Ruth Ware will leave you on the edge of your seat through the very last page"--

In a Dark, Dark Wood

8d1845bb-00fc-47f7-a98b-616a448ad281-1

Talia Hibbert

Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits--someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom. 

When big, brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it's an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and former rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact to him, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Suddenly, half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae--and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse? 

Dani's plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf is secretly a hopeless romantic--and he's determined to corrupt Dani's stone-cold realism. Before long, he's tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his... um, thighs. 

The easy lay Dani dreamed of is now more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint? 

Dani Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relive all that career-driven tension. When brooding security guard Zaf rescues her from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it's an obvious sign: they are destined to sleep together. Dani's plan is simple, fake a relationship in public, and seduce Zaf behind the scenes

Take a Hint, Dani Brown

57f0ec10-7eea-49ec-a31f-33acb0098c77

Kristen Alicia

It’s the Magic 8 Ball’s fault. All of it. One teeny little question, and suddenly Simone Alexander is chucking her whole life out the window. So long, being a chef in California–it’s time for law school. In Michigan. Where there’s actual winter . And law school’s nothing like the romantic comedies said it was.

Simone is tragically underprepared. Hell, she’s already behind before classes have even begun, and her hard-as-nails Contracts professor is giving her no mercy. Then there’s Silas Whitman, her tall and annoyingly cute neighbor. Off campus, Silas is incredible. Kissable, even . In class, he is one thousand percent the obnoxious kiss-ass.

But Simone’s given up everything to be a lawyer. The competition is fierce and she has a hateful professor gunning for her to fail, but she’s not about to let little things like sleep, or love, stop her from kicking law school ass… 

Legally Blonde meets Jasmine Guillory’s The Proposal when a young Black woman leaves her career as a chef and starts law school on the whim of a Magic 8 Ball.

You've Been Served

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C. J. Omololu

IT STARTED AS A JOKE. 
When they were little, Lexi and her identical twin, Ava, made up a third sister, Alicia. If something broke? Alicia did it. Alicia was always to blame for everything. 

NOW THE GAME IS ALL GROWN UP.

The girls are seniors, and they use Alicia as their cover to go out with guys who they'd never, ever be with in real life. But sometimes games just aren't worth playing. A boy has turned up dead, and DNA evidence and surveillance photos point to only one suspect--Alicia. The girl who doesn't exist. 

IDENTICAL TWINS. IDENTICAL DNA. 

IDENTICAL SUSPECTS.

Ava insists that if they keep following the rules for being Alicia, everything will be fine. But Lexi isn't so sure. She must find the truth before another boy is murdered. 

BECAUSE EITHER AVA IS A KILLER . . . 

OR ALICIA IS REAL. 

Ava and Lexi, high school seniors and identical twins, created an imaginary triplet, Alicia, to date and dump boys but now they're being stalked and impersonated by the sister they invented--and their former dates are turning up dead.

The Third Twin

36b30a60-1483-4ede-bd45-67c85bbcc817-1

Sue Monk Kidd

Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black stand-in mother, Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sister, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

The multi-million bestselling novel about a young girl's journey towards healing and the transforming power of love, from the award-winning author of The Invention of Wings and The Book of Longings Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sister, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

The Secret Life of Bees

80b7e115-7a80-452e-84cc-b5a40d2b6af8-1

Kody Keplinger

It's been three years since the Virgil County High School Massacre. Three years since my best friend, Sarah, was killed in a bathroom stall during the mass shooting. Everyone knows Sarah's story--that she died proclaiming her faith.

But it's not true.

I know because I was with her when she died. I didn't say anything then, and people got hurt because of it. Now Sarah's parents are publishing a book about her, so this might be my last chance to set the record straight . . . but I'm not the only survivor with a story to tell about what did--and didn't--happen that day.
Except Sarah's martyrdom is important to a lot of people, people who don't take kindly to what I'm trying to do. And the more I learn, the less certain I am about what's right. I don't know what will be worse: the guilt of staying silent or the consequences of speaking up . . .

From New York Times bestseller Kody Keplinger comes an astonishing and thought-provoking exploration of the aftermath of tragedy, the power of narrative, and how we remember what we've lost. It's been three years since the Virgil County High School Massacre. Three years since my best friend, Sarah, was killed in a bathroom stall during the mass shooting. Everyone knows Sarah's story -- that she died proclaiming her faith. But it's not true. I know because I was with her when she died. I didn't say anything then, and people got hurt because of it. Now Sarah's parents are publishing a book about her, so this might be my last chance to set the record straight... but I'm not the only survivor with a story to tell about what did -- and didn't -- happen that day. Except Sarah's martyrdom is important to a lot of people, people who don't take kindly to what I'm trying to do. And the more I learn, the less certain I am about what's right. I don't know what will be worse: the guilt of staying silent or the consequences of speaking up...

That's Not What Happened

139ee657-9c04-4cee-92fc-623f56109b30-1

Alice Kellen

"Nineteen-year-old Leah Jones is struggling to cope after she and her twenty-nine-year-old brother Oliver lose their parents in a horrific car accident. Leah was in the car and is plagued by nightmares, intense grief and numbness-her life as she knew it is over. Oliver hates leaving Leah at a time like this, but the only way he can support them both is if he transfers to Sydney for work. He implores his best friend Axel Nguyen to let her move in with him in their hometown of Byron Bay and watch over her while he's away. Oliver, Axel and Leah have known each other since childhood. For Axel, seeing Leah so broken and devastated is a punch to the gut. He promises himself he'll do anything to bring the light back into her eyes, no matter what it takes. He would be shocked to learn that Leah is in love with him. Little by little, as he does everything in his power to bring Leah back to the sparkling, energetic beauty he's known, he falls in love with her, too, even though he feels that he's betraying Oliver's trust. Before he can tell him, Oliver finds out about Leah and Axel's relationship and is outraged. He insists Axel prove his love by letting her go so she can fully experience life at college. Axel agrees to break both of their hearts, and stoically breaks up with Leah so she can start a new life, not realizing the repercussions that will affect them both for years to come"--

claire

@claire0723

Books Listed

Following

Followers

Helen Hoang

The Bride Test

Nancy Tucker

The First Day of Spring

Penelope Douglas

Punk 57

Gillian Flynn

Dark Places

Kandi Steiner

On the Rocks

Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones

Sonia Hartl

Heartbreak for Hire

Trenton Lee Stewart

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Susanna Sonnenberg

Her Last Death

Martha Waters

To Love and to Loathe

Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood

Talia Hibbert

Take a Hint, Dani Brown

Kristen Alicia

You've Been Served

C. J. Omololu

The Third Twin

Sue Monk Kidd

The Secret Life of Bees

Kody Keplinger

That's Not What Happened

Alice Kellen

All That We Never Were

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Helen Hoang

The Bride Test

Nancy Tucker

The First Day of Spring

Penelope Douglas

Punk 57

Gillian Flynn

Dark Places

Kandi Steiner

On the Rocks

Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones

Sonia Hartl

Heartbreak for Hire

Trenton Lee Stewart

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Susanna Sonnenberg

Her Last Death

Martha Waters

To Love and to Loathe

Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood

Talia Hibbert

Take a Hint, Dani Brown

Kristen Alicia

You've Been Served

C. J. Omololu

The Third Twin

Sue Monk Kidd

The Secret Life of Bees

Kody Keplinger

That's Not What Happened

Alice Kellen

All That We Never Were

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