Winterkill by Craig Lesley (1996, Picador; 336 pages) Winterkill (and its excellent sequel, River Song) is a deeply moving, profoundly lyrical, at times darkly humorous and evocative novel of fathers and sons. Danny Kachiah is a Native American in contemporary Eastern Oregon, fighting not to become a casualty. His father, Red Shirt, is dead; his wife, Loxie, has left him, and his career as a rodeo cowboy is flagging. But when Loxie dies in a car wreck, leaving him with his son, Jack, whom he hardly knows, Danny uses the magnificent stories of Red Shirt to guide him toward true fatherhood. Together, Danny and Jack begin to make a life from the dreams of yesterday and the ruins of today's northwestern reservations. Winterkill was a winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award, and it -- and its sequel, River Song -- are two of the best books I've read about the Native American experience in contemporary American society. I can't recommend them highly enough. Find this title in our catalog: Winterkill Recommended by: Greg
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Silver Linings: A Rose Harbor Novel by Debbie Macomber (2015, Ballantine Books; 345 pages) This is the author's latest novel in the "Rose Harbor Inn" series that follows the innkeeper Jo Marie and her guests of the Inn. Jo has grown close to her "local" handyman Mark Taylor and hopes for something more to their relationship than just "friends," but he suddenly lets her know that he is leaving town and she has no idea why. As she finds out the reason for Mark leaving, Jo thinks she is losing the man she cares about again. Fans of the series will know what this means. As Mark is leaving, Jo welcomes two new guests to the Inn who are high school friends coming home for their 10-year reunion. They have come home looking to find closure from things that happened in high school. Both of them discover that second chances do happen, and people can change for the better. Anyone who has ever gone to their own reunion of any kind will enjoy reading about these two friends. Fans of Debbie Macomber will not be disappointed in this story, with its hidden twists and turns, which is why I am recommending it to readers. Readers can't help but be transported to their own relationships with good friends who talk, share joys and are there for each other in hard times. Enjoy! Find this title in our catalog: Silver Linings Recommended by: Angie The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (2014, Algonquin Books; 288 pages) A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over--and see everything anew. From Booklist: "In this sweet, uplifting homage to bookstores, Zevin perfectly captures the joy of connecting people and books. A. J. Fikry, the cantankerous owner of Island Books, is despondent after losing his beloved wife and witnessing the ever-declining number of sales at his small, quirky bookstore. In short order, he loses all patience with the new Knightly Press sales rep, his prized rare edition of Tamerlane is stolen, and someone leaves a baby at his store. That baby immediately steals A. J.’s heart and unleashes a dramatic transformation. Suddenly, the picture-book section is overflowing with new titles, and the bookstore becomes home to a burgeoning number of book clubs. With business on the uptick and love in his heart, A. J. finds himself becoming an essential new part of his longtime community, going so far as to woo the aforementioned sales rep (who loves drinking Queequeg cocktails at the Pequod Restaurant). Filled with interesting characters, a deep knowledge of bookselling, wonderful critiques of classic titles, and very funny depictions of book clubs and author events, this will prove irresistible to book lovers everywhere." What can I say? I just liked this book, about books and the people who read them. Find this title in our catalog: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry Recommended by: Ann The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009, Berkley; 545 pages) This popular New York Times bestseller sets the story of many women's lives in the civil rights movement of Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who's always taken orders quietly, but lately she's unable to hold her bitterness back. Her friend Minny has never held her tongue but now must somehow keep secrets about her employer that leave her speechless. White socialite Skeeter just graduated college. She's full of ambition, but without a husband, she's considered a failure. Together, these seemingly different women join together to write a tell-all book about work as a black maid in the South, that could forever alter their destinies and the life of a small town. Like The Invention of Wings and The Kitchen House (see below for summaries for both of those titles), The Help explores the delicate lines between race, religious belief, and family connections. The interesting dynamic between individuals, family, and community make all three of these reads exceptional. Find this title in our catalog: The Help Recommended by: Joanna The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom (2010, Touchstone; 384 pages) Set in the 1790s, this gripping New York Times bestseller brings to life a thriving plantation in Virginia in the decades before the Civil War, where a dark secret threatens to expose the best and worst in everyone tied to the estate. Orphaned during her passage from Ireland, young, white Lavinia arrives on the steps of the kitchen house and is placed, as an indentured servant, under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate slave daughter. Lavinia learns to cook, clean, and serve food, while guided by the quiet strength and love of her new family. She teeters between both worlds, the slaves who work the plantation and the white family who owns it. In time, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, caring for the master’s opium-addicted wife and befriending his dangerous yet protective son. She attempts to straddle the worlds of the kitchen and big house, but her skin color will forever set her apart from Belle and the other slaves. Find this title in our catalog: The Kitchen House Recommended by: Joanna The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (2014, Viking; 383 pages) Based on the real-life Grimke sisters' lives, this sweeping historical novel combines elements of women's rights, abolition, religious life, and slavery in 1820's South Carolina. Hetty “Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women. Kidd’s novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty-five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love. As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements. Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better. This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved. Find this title in our catalog: The Invention of Wings Recommended by: Joanna The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea (2006, Little, Brown and Company; 528 pages) Teresita is not an ordinary girl. Born of an illiterate, poor Indian mother, she knows little about her past or her future. She has no idea that her father is Don Tomas Urrea, the wild and rich owner of a vast ranch in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. She has no idea that Huila, the elderly healer who takes Teresita under her wing, knows secrets about her destiny. And she has no idea that soon all of Mexico will rise in revolution, crying out her name. When Teresita is but a teenager, learning from Huila the way plants can cure the sick and prayer can move the earth, she discovers an even greater gift: she has the power to heal. Her touch, like warm honey, melts pain and suffering. But such a gift can be a burden, too. Before long, the Urrea ranch is crowded with pilgrims and with agents of a Mexican government wary of anything that might threaten its power. The Hummingbird's Daughter is the story of a girl coming to terms with her destiny, with the miraculous, and with the power of faith. It is the tale of a father discovering what true love is and a daughter recognizing that sometimes true love requires true sacrifice. Find this title in our collection: The Hummingbird's Daughter Recommended by: Maite |