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Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World
by Benjamin Alire SáenzThe highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is an achingly romantic, tender tale sure to captivate fans of Adam Silvera and Mary H.K. Choi.
In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, two boys in a border town fell in love. Now, they must discover what it means to stay in love and build a relationship in a world that seems to challenge their very existence. Ari has spent all of high school burying who he really is, staying silent and invisible. He expected his senior year to be the same. But something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante, and he can’t go back. Suddenly he finds himself reaching out to new friends, standing up to bullies of all kinds, and making his voice heard. And, always, there is Dante, dreamy, witty Dante, who can get on Ari’s nerves and fill him with desire all at once.
The boys are determined to forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss, he’ll have to fight like never before to create a life that is truthfully, joyfully his own.
Briar Girls
by Rebecca Kim WellsThe Cruel Prince meets A Curse So Dark and Lonely in this epic reimagining of &“The Sleeping Beauty&” that follows a teen girl on a quest to wake a sleeping princess in an enchanted forest, while searching for the truth behind her own deadly curse.Lena has a secret: the touch of her skin can kill. Cursed by a witch before she was born, Lena has always lived in fear and isolation. But after a devastating mistake, she and her father are forced to flee to a village near the Silence, a mysterious forest with a reputation for luring people into the trees, never to be seen again… Until the night an enigmatic girl stumbles out of the Silence and into Lena&’s sheltered world. Miranda comes from the Gather, a city in the forest brimming with magic. She is on a quest to wake a sleeping princess believed to hold the key to liberating the Gather from its tyrannical ruler—and she offers Lena a bargain. If Lena assists her on her journey, Miranda will help her break the curse. Mesmerized by Miranda and her promise of a new life, Lena jumps at the chance. But the deeper into the Silence she goes, the more she suspects she&’s been lied to—about her family&’s history, her curse, and her future. As the shadows close in, Lena must choose who to trust and decide whether it&’s more important to have freedom…or power.
Forever Glimmer Creek
by Stacy HackneyGilmore Girls meets A Snicker of Magic in this sweet debut novel about twelve-year-old Rosie Flynn, whose film-making skills may be the answer to uncovering the miracles of her town and bringing her father home.There&’s no accounting for Miracles, at least that&’s what the folks of Glimmer Creek say. Every year, one lucky inhabitant survives danger, and bits of magic cling to them for a lifetime. Rosie Flynn doesn&’t know how to get a Miracle but knows for sure they&’re real. It&’s the same way she&’s certain she&’ll always have her two best friends, Henry and Cam, that she&’ll be a famous film director someday, and that she and her Mama are the perfect team of two. But when someone Rosie loves goes missing, she just might discover that the true Miracle of Glimmer Creek is much different than she&’d always believed and that the relationships she holds dear are the most fortunate gift of all.
For All Time
by Shanna Miles&“An unforgettable and artfully crafted romance right down to the very last page.&” —Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin&’ &“A romance for the ages. Fresh voices and original predicaments make this one perfect little novel.&” —Stacey Lee, award-winning author of The Downstairs Girl The Sun Is Also a Star meets Outlander in this vivid, utterly romantic debut novel about two teens who relive their tragic love story over and over until they uncover what they must do to change their fate.Tamar is a musician, a warrior, a survivor. Fayard? He&’s a pioneer, a hustler, a hopeless romantic. Together, Tamar and Fayard have lived a thousand lives, seen the world build itself up from nothing only to tear itself down again in civil war. They&’ve even watched humanity take to the stars. But in each life one thing remains the same: their love and their fight to be together. One love story after another. Their only concern is they never get to see how their story ends. Until now. When they finally discover what it will take to break the cycle, will they be able to make the sacrifice?
When We Were Infinite
by Kelly Loy GilbertFrom award-winning author Kelly Loy Gilbert comes a powerful, achingly romantic drama about the secrets we keep, from each other and from ourselves, perfect for fans of Permanent Record and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.All Beth wants is for her tight-knit circle of friends—Grace Nakamura, Brandon Lin, Sunny Chen, and Jason Tsou—to stay together. With her family splintered and her future a question mark, these friends are all she has—even if she sometimes wonders if she truly fits in with them. Besides, she&’s certain she&’ll never be able to tell Jason how she really feels about him, so friendship will have to be enough. Then Beth witnesses a private act of violence in Jason&’s home, and the whole group is shaken. Beth and her friends make a pact to do whatever it takes to protect Jason, no matter the sacrifice. But when even their fierce loyalty isn&’t enough to stop Jason from making a life-altering choice, Beth must decide how far she&’s willing to go for him—and how much of herself she&’s willing to give up.
The Thirteenth Hour
by Quinn Sosna-SpearFans of Road Dahl and Neil Gaiman will love this inventive middle grade fantasy about a girl who uses a family heirloom to travel to fantastical worlds that may be more dangerous than they appear.Twelve-year-old Rosemary has been an artist her whole life and especially loves drawing the incredible places from her Aunt Jo&’s stories. But illustrating the stories doesn&’t mean Rose believes them. And when Aunt Jo gives Rose a pocket watch with instructions on how to use it to access magical dream worlds, Rose just thinks Aunt Jo is being peculiar again. While Rose is sleeping, however, she enters a fantastical place where each hour of the pocket watch takes her to a different world. There, Rose befriends a trio of outcasts with special powers and joins their war against the ominous Tall Man. When a bully steals Rose&’s watch, she can only look on in horror as dream and reality collide and he&’s sucked into the Eleventh Hour. Now, Rosemary must gather magic from all twelve dream worlds to rescue the boy who makes her life a living nightmare.
Better Than the Movies
by Lynn PainterA USA TODAY and New York Times bestseller Perfect for fans of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, this &“sweet and funny&” (Kerry Winfrey, author of Waiting for Tom Hanks) teen rom-com follows a hopelessly romantic teen girl and her cute yet obnoxious neighbor as they scheme to get her noticed by her untouchable crush.Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he&’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennet. The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz&’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz&’s in. But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she&’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own ideas of what Happily Ever After should look like.
Roxy
by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod ShustermanFrom the team that brought you the New York Times bestselling Dry comes a &“gritty and unflinching&” (Booklist) thriller that proves when gods play games, even love is a lie.The freeway is coming. It will cut the neighborhood in two. Construction has already started, pushing toward this corridor of condemned houses and cracked concrete with the momentum of the inevitable. Yet there you are, in the fifth house on the left, fighting for your life. Ramey, I. The victim of the bet between two manufactured gods: the seductive and lethal Roxy (Oxycontin), who is at the top of her game, and the smart, high-achieving Addison (Adderall), who is tired of being the helpful one, and longs for a more dangerous, less wholesome image. The wager—a contest to see who can bring their mark to &“the Party&” first—is a race to the bottom of a rave that has raged since the beginning of time. And you are only human, dazzled by the lights and music. Drawn by what the drugs offer—tempted to take that step past helpful to harmful…and the troubled places that lie beyond. But there are two I. Rameys—Isaac, a soccer player thrown into Roxy&’s orbit by a bad fall and a bad doctor and Ivy, his older sister, whose increasing frustration with her untreated ADHD leads her to renew her acquaintance with Addy. Which one are you?
The Sky Blues
by Robbie CouchSky&’s small town turns absolutely claustrophobic when his secret promposal plans get leaked to the entire school in this witty, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful debut novel for fans of What if it&’s Us? and I Wish You All the Best.Sky Baker may be openly gay, but in his small, insular town, making sure he was invisible has always been easier than being himself. Determined not to let anything ruin his senior year, Sky decides to make a splash at his high school&’s annual beach bum party by asking his crush, Ali, to prom—and he has thirty days to do it. What better way to start living loud and proud than by pulling off the gayest promposal Rock Ledge, Michigan, has ever seen? Then, Sky&’s plans are leaked by an anonymous hacker in a deeply homophobic e-blast that quickly goes viral. He&’s fully prepared to drop out and skip town altogether—until his classmates give him a reason to fight back by turning his thirty-day promposal countdown into a school-wide hunt to expose the e-blast perpetrator. But what happens at the end of the thirty days? Will Sky get to keep his hard-won visibility? Or will his small-town blues stop him from being his true self?
Made in Korea
by Sarah SukFrankly in Love meets Shark Tank in this feel-good romantic comedy about two entrepreneurial Korean American teens who butt heads—and maybe fall in love—while running competing Korean beauty businesses at their high school.There&’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school&’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris. Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents&’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to &“make new friends,&” he sees an opportunity—one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won&’t cover… What he doesn&’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY&’s biggest competitor. Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school—all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that&’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for. But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.
The Cost of Knowing
by Brittney MorrisDear Martin meets They Both Die at the End in this gripping, evocative novel about a Black teen who has the power to see into the future, whose life turns upside down when he foresees his younger brother’s imminent death, from the acclaimed author of SLAY.
Sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus is trying his best. He tries to be the best employee he can be at the local ice cream shop; the best boyfriend he can be to his amazing girlfriend, Talia; the best protector he can be over his little brother, Isaiah.
But as much as Alex tries, he often comes up short. It’s hard to for him to be present when every time he touches an object or person, Alex sees into its future. When he touches a scoop, he has a vision of him using it to scoop ice cream. When he touches his car, he sees it years from now, totaled and underwater. When he touches Talia, he sees them at the precipice of breaking up, and that terrifies him. Alex feels these visions are a curse, distracting him, making him anxious and unable to live an ordinary life. And when Alex touches a photo that gives him a vision of his brother’s imminent death, everything changes.
With Alex now in a race against time, death, and circumstances, he and Isaiah must grapple with their past, their future, and what it means to be a young Black man in America in the present.
The Dog in the Freezer
by Harry MazerWhy is Jake carrying around a frozen dog?
Harry Mazer looks at aspects of boys and their dogs in three startlingly original novellas.
In the title story, "The Dog in the Freezer", a dog in Jake's New York City apartment building dies. Jake can't bear to see the body left for the garbagemen, so he embarks on a strange, funny, and frightening odyssey to bury it properly.
When Lucas, in "Puppy Love", has to spend the summer with his Uncle Jerry, a health nut, he finds two new interests, a girl and a dog. The girl is older and unattainable; the dog is wild and untrainable.
"My Life as a Boy" is a magical adventure story told by a brilliant dog who switches places with his master. The boy, Gregory, has a way of getting into impossible situations, and Einstein, his devoted dog, has a way of saving him.
These three novellas, varying in tone and style -- plus an original poem by Gina Mazer -- will speak to anyone who has ever loved a dog.
Carry Me Home
by Janet Fox&“A poignant and powerful reminder that homelessness is not hopelessness.&” —Kirby Larson, author of Newbery Honor book Hattie Big Sky &“A beautiful, haunting story… It carried my heart away with it.&” —Ann Braden, author of The Benefits of Being an Octopus &“A story about falling through the cracks and finding the light inside that darkness…Absorbing, moving, and deeply truthful.&” —Martha Brockenbrough, author of The Game of Love and Death Two sisters struggle to keep their father&’s disappearance a secret in this tender middle grade novel that&’s perfect for fans of Katherine Applegate and Lynda Mullaly Hunt.Twelve-year-old Lulu and her younger sister, Serena, have a secret. As Daddy always says, &“it&’s best if we keep it to ourselves,&” and so they have. But hiding your past is one thing. Hiding where you live—and that your Daddy has gone missing—is harder. At first Lulu isn&’t worried. Daddy has gone away once before and he came back. But as the days add up, with no sign of Daddy, Lulu struggles to take care of all the responsibilities they used to manage as a family. Lulu knows that all it takes is one slip-up for their secret to come spilling out, for Lulu and Serena to be separated, and for all the good things that have been happening in school to be lost. But family is all around us, and Lulu must learn to trust her new friends and community to save those she loves and to finally find her true home.
Attack of the Killer Komodos
by Summer Rachel ShortPerfect for fans of Stranger Things and The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, this exciting second book in the Maggie and Nate Mystery series follows the friends to Yellowstone National Park where they must track down a deadly creature amidst a series of natural disasters.Having rescued her town from zombifying mutant mushrooms, eleven-year-old Magnolia Stone is ready for her next adventure! Maggie and her best friend, Nate, head to Yellowstone National Park to visit Maggie&’s park ranger dad. But when the kids bump into a rogue Komodo dragon, a dangerous predator that shouldn&’t even be in the park, and a major earthquake leaves Maggie and Nate stranded, they set off to figure out what&’s going on and to reunite Maggie&’s family once again. While Maggie comes up with scientific solutions as they battle earthquakes, landslides, wolves, and other unusual creatures, Nate focuses on conspiracy theories and getting stellar footage for his YouTube channel. But only by combining their skills will they have any hope of saving Yellowstone or each other.
The Last Words We Said
by Leah ScheierAll the Bright Places meets If I Stay in this heart-wrenching, romantic novel about a tight-knit group of teen girls coping with a devastating loss and what happens when your best friend is also your first love…and your first heartbreak.Nine months ago, Danny disappeared. His closest friends, Ellie, Rae, and Deenie, are all dealing with the loss differently. Rae&’s pouring herself into rage-baking. Deenie&’s deepening her commitment to Orthodox Judaism. And Ellie—who was Danny&’s girlfriend and closest friend—is the only one who doesn&’t believe he&’s dead. Because she still sees him. In chapters that alternate between past and present, the story of Ellie and Danny unspools—from their serendipitous meeting to Danny&’s effortless absorption into the girls&’ friend group to Danny and Ellie falling for each other. In the past, they were the perfect couple…until it all went wrong. In the present, Ellie&’s looking for answers. She, Rae, and Deenie all have secrets, and they each hold a clue about the night Danny disappeared. Can the friends come together to uncover the truth about Danny? Or will tragedy drive them apart for good?
The Witch Haven
by Sasha Peyton SmithDeluxe edition with special embellishments on first printing only!
The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this thrilling and atmospheric historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards.
In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet—her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there. Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium.
But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother.
Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?
A New York Times Best Seller
When Can We Go Back to America?
by Susan H. KameiIn this dramatic and page-turning narrative history of Japanese Americans before, during, and after their World War II incarceration, Susan H. Kamei weaves the voices of over 130 individuals who lived through this tragic episode, most of them as young adults.It&’s difficult to believe it happened here, in the Land of the Free: After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States government forcibly removed more than 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast and imprisoned them in desolate detention camps until the end of World War II just because of their race. In what Secretary Norman Y. Mineta describes as a &“landmark book,&” he and others who lived through this harrowing experience tell the story of their incarceration and the long-term impact of this dark period in American history. For the first time, why and how these tragic events took place are interwoven with more than 130 individual voices of those who were unconstitutionally incarcerated, many of them children and young adults. Now more than ever, their words will resonate with readers who are confronting questions about racial identity, immigration, and citizenship, and what it means to be an American.
The Enemy Within
by Tim AyliffeLike Michael Connelly&’s Bosch, former war correspondent John Bailey will risk everything to get to the truth – and expose a deadly enemy.He heard a voice, someone calling out in the distance, followed by a loud fluttering of birds. Bailey looked up just in time to see a body falling from the sky ... Investigative journalist John Bailey is doing his best to turn his life around after losing the woman he loved. He has a new job. He&’s given up the drink. He even has a dog. But then Federal Police raid his home with a warrant granting them unprecedented powers to take anything they want, including all his electronic devices and passwords. When Bailey protests, they threaten to put him in a prison cell. Someone wants to stop Bailey doing what he does best – exposing the truth. He has been investigating the rise of a global white supremacist group and suspects that a notorious neo-Nazi in the United States has been directing deadly racist attacks on Sydney&’s streets. When the body of one of his key sources washes up on a nearby beach, it&’s clear Bailey and anyone helping him have become targets. Bailey reaches out to a ruthless old friend – CIA veteran, Ronnie Johnson – to lure the enemy from the shadows. An enemy who thought they were untouchable. Until now … 'A cracking yarn told at breakneck speed. I couldn't put it down.' Chris Hammer &‘Sharp, gritty, sophisticated. Ayliffe&’s criminal world is terrifyingly real.&’ Candice FoxPraise for State of Fear &‘Another brilliantly crafted thriller from Ayliffe that fits perfectly in today&’s worrying world … Verdict: Get this guy on TV.&’ Herald Sun &‘Sharp, incisive and scarily prescient, I was hooked from the first chapter to the final page.&’ Sara Foster, bestselling author of The Hidden Hours &‘Utterly compelling and terrifyingly timely. I could not put it down.&’ Pip Drysdale, bestselling author of The Sunday Girl &‘As a correspondent, I lived this world. Tim Ayliffe has written it.&’ Stan Grant, writer and broadcaster Praise for The Greater Good &‘A brilliantly written character starring in cracking crime thriller.&’ Herald Sun 'Ayliffe delivers a taut, nail-biting page-turner, stamping his mark on the modern day Australian thriller.&’ Better Reading &‘An absolute cracker of a thriller.&’ Chris Uhlmann
The One Percent Doctrine
by Ron SuskindPulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Ron Suskind takes you deep inside America's real battles with violent, unrelenting terrorists -- a game of kill-or-be-killed, from the Oval Office to the streets of Karachi. You may think you know what the "war on terror" is. But to know it truly, you must read this book. Suskind has written a riveting work of narrative nonfiction, filled with exclusive, historically significant disclosures that will echo across America and the world. What is the guiding principle of the world's most powerful nation as it searches for enemies at home and abroad? The One Percent Doctrine is the deeply secretive core of America's real playbook: a default strategy, designed by Dick Cheney, that separates America from its moorings, and has driven everything -- from war in Afghanistan to war in Iraq to the global search for jihadists. The story begins on September 12, 2001, the day America began to gather itself for a response to the unimaginable. Ultimately, that reply would shape the nation's very character. Suskind tells us what actually occurred over the next three years, from the inside out, by tracing the steps of the key actors -- the notables, from the President and Vice President to George Tenet and Condoleezza Rice, who oversee the "war on terror" and report progress to an anxious nation; and the invisibles, the men and women just below the line of sight, left to improvise plans to defeat a new kind of enemy in an hour-by-hour race against disaster. The internal battles between these two teams -- one, under the hot lights; the other, actually fighting the fight -- reveal everything about what America faces, and what it has done, in this age of terror. Who is actually running U. S. foreign policy? Is there an operational cell, armed with WMDs, inside the United States? Have some of the world's most dangerous terrorists -- including leaders of al Qaeda -- been caught and accidentally released? Can America prevail in this struggle against enemies who are patient, ingenious, certain, and have clear tactical advantage?With his unparalleled access to senior officials, past and present, Ron Suskind -- author of The Price of Loyalty, the most revealing book yet written on the Bush administration -- finally answers the questions that keep Americans awake at night. And in this startling book, he reframes the debates that roil the globe.
The Debt Trap
by Josh MitchellAN NPR AND NEW YORK POST BEST BOOK OF 2021 From acclaimed Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Mitchell, the &“devastating account&” (The Wall Street Journal) of student debt in America.In 1981, a new executive at Sallie Mae took home the company&’s financial documents to review. &“You&’ve got to be shitting me,&” he later told the company&’s CEO. &“This place is a gold mine.&” Over the next four decades, the student loan industry that Sallie Mae and Congress created blew up into a crisis that would submerge a generation of Americans into $1.5 trillion in student debt. In The Debt Trap, Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Mitchell tells the &“vivid and compelling&” (Chicago Tribune) untold story of the scandals, scams, predatory actors, and government malpractice that have created the behemoth that one of its original architects called a &“monster.&” As he charts the &“jaw-dropping&” (Jeffrey Selingo, New York Times bestselling author of Who Gets in and Why) seventy-year history of student debt in America, Mitchell never loses sight of the countless student victims ensnared by an exploitative system that depends on their debt. Mitchell also draws alarming parallels to the housing crisis in the late 2000s, showing the catastrophic consequences student debt has had on families and the nation&’s future. Mitchell&’s character-driven narrative is &“necessary reading&” (The New York Times) for anyone wanting to understand the central economic issue of our day.
All's Well
by Mona AwadFrom the author of Bunny, which Margaret Atwood hails as &“genius,&” comes a &“wild, and exhilarating&” (Lauren Groff) novel about a theater professor who is convinced staging Shakespeare&’s most maligned play will remedy all that ails her—but at what cost?Miranda Fitch&’s life is a waking nightmare. The accident that ended her burgeoning acting career left her with excruciating chronic back pain, a failed marriage, and a deepening dependence on painkillers. And now, she&’s on the verge of losing her job as a college theater director. Determined to put on Shakespeare&’s All&’s Well That Ends Well, the play that promised and cost her everything, she faces a mutinous cast hellbent on staging Macbeth instead. Miranda sees her chance at redemption slip through her fingers. That&’s when she meets three strange benefactors who have an eerie knowledge of Miranda&’s past and a tantalizing promise for her future: one where the show goes on, her rebellious students get what&’s coming to them, and the invisible doubted pain that&’s kept her from the spotlight is made known. With prose Margaret Atwood has described as &“no punches pulled, no hilarities dodged…genius,&” Mona Awad has concocted her most potent, subversive novel yet. All&’s Well is a &“fabulous novel&” (Mary Karr) about a woman at her breaking point and a formidable, piercingly funny indictment of our collective refusal to witness and believe female pain.
This Will All Be Over Soon
by Cecily StrongA powerful memoir from the Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong about grieving the death of her cousin—and embracing the life-affirming lessons he taught her—amid the coronavirus pandemic.Cecily Strong had a special bond with her cousin Owen. And so she was devastated when, in early 2020, he passed away at age thirty from the brain cancer glioblastoma. Before Strong could attempt to process her grief, another tragedy struck: the coronavirus pandemic. Following a few harrowing weeks in the virus epicenter of New York City, Strong relocated to an isolated house in the woods upstate. Here, trying to make sense of Owen&’s death and the upended world, she spent much of the ensuing months writing. The result is This Will All Be Over Soon—a raw, unflinching memoir about loss, love, laughter, and hope. Befitting the time-warped year of 2020, the diary-like approach deftly weaves together the present and the past. Strong chronicles the challenges of beginning a relationship during the pandemic and the fear when her new boyfriend contracts COVID. She describes the pain of losing her friend and longtime Saturday Night Live staff member Hal Willner to the virus. She reflects on formative events from her life, including how her high school expulsion led to her pursuing a career in theater and, years later, landing at SNL. Yet the heart of the book is Owen. Strong offers a poignant account of her cousin&’s life, both before and after his diagnosis. Inspired by his unshakable positivity and the valuable lessons he taught her, she has written a book that—as indicated by its title—serves as a moving reminder: whatever challenges life might throw one&’s way, they will be over soon. And so will life. So make sure to appreciate every day and don&’t take a second of it for granted.
How God Works
by David DeStenoDrawing on a wealth of new evidence, pioneering research psychologist David DeSteno shows why religious practices and rituals are so beneficial to those who follow them—and to anyone, regardless of their faith (or lack thereof).Scientists are beginning to discover what believers have known for a long time: the rewards that a religious life can provide. For millennia, people have turned to priests, rabbis, imams, shamans, and others to help them deal with issues of grief and loss, birth and death, morality and meaning. In this absorbing work, DeSteno reveals how numerous religious practices from around the world improve emotional and physical well-being. With empathy and rigor, DeSteno chronicles religious rites and traditions from cradle to grave. He explains how the Japanese rituals surrounding childbirth help strengthen parental bonds with children. He describes how the Apache Sunrise Ceremony makes teenage girls better able to face the rigors of womanhood. He shows how Buddhist meditation reduces hostility and increases compassion. He demonstrates how the Jewish practice of sitting shiva comforts the bereaved. And much more. DeSteno details how belief itself enhances physical and mental health. But you don&’t need to be religious to benefit from the trove of wisdom that religion has to offer. Many items in religion&’s &“toolbox&” can help the body and mind whether or not one believes. How God Works offers advice on how to incorporate many of these practices to help all of us live more meaningful, successful, and satisfying lives.
Crazy Sorrow
by Vince PassaroA lyrical novel, spanning four decades in New York City, about a couple torn apart and the lengths to which they will go to be reunited.Vince Passaro&’s first novel, 2002&’s Violence, Nudity, Adult Content, was a provocative book that explored the darkest human emotions and the traumas of mental illness, sexual assault, and murder. Now, nearly twenty years later, Passaro is back with his follow-up, Crazy Sorrow, a novel that is equally explosive and more grand in scope. The story opens in the shadow of the new World Trade Center, on July 4, 1976, when students George and Anna meet on the weed- and wine-fueled night of the nation&’s Bicentennial celebration. George, haunted by his upbringing, instantly falls for the sensual, magnetic Anna. Soon, they couple up, dropping acid, swapping music, exploring the city and each other. Yet their romance is short-lived, and they go their own ways. Passaro chronicles the next four decades, following George and Anna through their various relationships, their sex lives both youthful and mature, their failed marriages, and the travails of parenthood and their careers. Yet as the years go by one thing remains constant: the former lovers wonder what happened to each other. Finally, miraculously, they reconnect as the new century is beginning, only to discover that history itself will have a say in whether they can stay together. Crazy Sorrow is an ambitious examination of the forces that draw people together and drive them apart—yet it also expands beyond the points of view of its characters to capture the movement of time and to reveal a living, breathing New York that is both constantly changing and always familiar. Crazy Sorrow stands as Passaro&’s powerful love letter to his characters and to the city that has shaped them.
Freedom
by Sebastian JungerA profound rumination on the concept of freedom from the New York Times bestselling author of Tribe.Throughout history, humans have been driven by the quest for two cherished ideals: community and freedom. The two don&’t coexist easily. We value individuality and self-reliance, yet are utterly dependent on community for our most basic needs. In this intricately crafted and thought-provoking book, Sebastian Junger examines the tension that lies at the heart of what it means to be human. For much of a year, Junger and three friends—a conflict photographer and two Afghan War vets—walked the railroad lines of the East Coast. It was an experiment in personal autonomy, but also in interdependence. Dodging railroad cops, sleeping under bridges, cooking over fires, and drinking from creeks and rivers, the four men forged a unique reliance on one another. In Freedom, Junger weaves his account of this journey together with primatology and boxing strategy, the history of labor strikes and Apache raiders, the role of women in resistance movements, and the brutal reality of life on the Pennsylvania frontier. Written in exquisite, razor-sharp prose, the result is a powerful examination of the primary desire that defines us.