Staff Picks
#BroaderBookshelf 2024: Fiction set in Georgia
- Savannah G.
- Monday, January 08
Collection
Check out one of these titles set in Georgia and fulfill the 2024 Broader Bookshelf prompt "Read a book set in Georgia or Alabama"!
A Million Little Choices
Published in 2023
From USA Today bestselling author and Christy Award Hall of Fame inductee Tamera Alexander comes the story of two women from different centuries living in the same house who share strikingly similar journeys. Claire Powell's life is turned upside down when her beloved husband admits to a "near affair." But when Stephen accepts a partnership with an Atlanta law firm without consulting her and buys a historic Southern home sight-unseen--it pushes their already-fractured marriage to the breaking point. Claire's world spirals, and she soon finds herself in a marriage she no longer wants, in a house she never asked for. In 1863, Charlotte Thursmann, pregnant and trapped in a marriage to an abusive husband, struggles to protect her unborn child and the enslaved members of her household. Desperate, she's determined to right the evils her husband and others like him commit. But how can one woman put an end to such injustice? Especially if her husband makes good on his threat to kill her?
The Stars Are Not Yet Bells
Published in 2022
"A story of secrets, loss, and the betrayals of memory: a lyrical novel of an aging woman confronting her romantic past under the mysterious skies of her island home. Off the coast of Georgia, near Savannah, generations have been tempted by strange blue lights in the sky near an island called Lyra. At the height of WWII, impressionable young Elle Ranier comes to the island when her new husband, Simon, is dispatched by his industrialist father to find the source of the mysterious lights. There they will live for decades, raising a family while employing much of the island's population in a quixotic campaign to find and exploit the elusive minerals rumored to lurk offshore. Fifty years later, as Simon's business is shuttered in disarray, Elle looks back at her life on the mysterious island--and at a secret she herself has guarded for decades. As her memory recedes, her life seems a tangle of questions: How did the business survive so long without ever finding the legendary Lyra stones? How did her own life crumble under treatment for depression? And what became of the other man they brought to the island--handsome, raffish Gabriel, who risked everything to follow the light to its source? With echoes of We Are Not Ourselves and even Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea, The Stars Are Not Yet Bells is a darkly romantic story of the tantalizing, faithless relationship between ourselves and the lives and souls we leave behind"-- Provided by publisher.
In Love with My Enemy
Published in 2019
Atlanta. Hood princess Danna Mendoza has a dream life; her temporary bodyguard-turned-undercover lover Don makes it complete. As her father's best friend and longtime drug partner, Don is devoted to keeping her safe, but his underlying vendetta against her father is one danger Danna never saw coming. As the newfound love interest of Ezra Mendoza, basketball superstar on the rise, Cannon Collier has finally found her way in the world. But he doesn't plan on her becoming a casualty of his father's game. When all hell breaks loose loyalties will be torn, and the tension between love, desire, and a thirst for revenge will converge at a fateful crossroads. -- from back cover.
Twelve Days
Published in 2017
Around the world, leaders and notorious criminals alike are mysteriously dying. A terrorist group promises a series of deaths within two months. And against the backdrop of the apocalypse, the lives of a small shattered family and a broken soldier are transformed in the bustling city of Atlanta.
Ring Shout, Or, Hunting Ku Kluxes in the End Times
Published in 2020
"In this dark fantasy historical novella that gives a supernatural twist to the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. Standing in their way is Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters, a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter. Armed with blade, bullet, and bomb, they hunt their hunters and send the Klan's demons straight to Hell. But something awful's brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to heat up. Can Maryse stop the Klan before it ends the world?"-- Publisher's description.
How to Bury Your Brother
Published in 2020
"After Alice's older brother runs away at fifteen, the next she hears of him is that he's dead. Eight years after the funeral, Alice cleans out her childhood home in Georgia only to find her brother's autopsy report showing the many lies behind his death.She also discovers sealed, addressed letters he wrote shortly before he died. In a search for the truth, Alice delivers the letters to his closest friends, lovers, and enemies, each letter daring her to finally open her eyes to her family's dark past andher own role in it. But it's the last letter that takes Alice to her brother's final home in New Orleans, and it will force her to choose if she'll let the secrets break her or finally bring her home. Everything I Never Told You meets The Night Olivia Fell set against a vivid Southern backdrop, How to Bury Your Brother follows a sister coming to terms with the mystery behind her brother's disappearance and death"-- Provided by publisher.
What a Happy Family
Published in 2021
"Nestled in the suburbs of Atlanta, one family learns the funniest punchlines can hide the hardest truths in this evocative women's fiction novel from the author of Well-Behaved Indian Women. From the outside, the Joshi family is the quintessential Indian-American family. Decades ago, Bina and Deepak immigrated to America, where she became a pillar of their local Indian community and he a successful psychiatrist. Their eldest daughter, Suhani, is following the footsteps of her father's career and happily married. Natasha, their middle daughter, is about to become engaged to the son of longtime family friends. And Anuj, their son-well, he's a son and what could be better than that? But a family scandal shows that nothing is as it seems. Bina's oldest friendship starts to unravel and she finds herself an outsider in the community she helped build. Suhani discovers that her perfect marriage isn't as solid as she thought. Natasha faces a series of rejections that send her into a downward spiral. As they encounter public humiliation, gossiping aunties, and self-doubt, the Joshi family must rely on one another like never before. But sometimes, family has to fall apart in order to come back stronger than before"-- Provided by publisher.
The Hollow Kind
Published in 2022
"Andy Davidson's jaw-dropping, epic horror novel about the spectacular decline of the Redfern family, haunted by an ancient evil"-- Provided by publisher.
One of Us
Published in 2018
"They call him Dog. Enoch is a teenage boy growing up in a rundown orphanage in Georgia during the 1980s. Abandoned from the moment they were born, Enoch and his friends are different. People in the nearby town whisper that the children from the orphanage are monsters. The orphanage is not a happy home. Brutal teachers, farm labor, and communal living in a crumbling plantation house are Enoch's standard day to day. But he dreams of growing up to live among the normals as a respected man. He believes in a world less cruel, one where he can be loved. One night, Enoch and his friends share a campfire with a group of normal kids. As mutual fears subside, friendships form, and living together doesn't seem so out of reach. But then a body is found, and it may be the spark that ignites revolution"-- Provided by publisher.
The Parted Earth
Published in 2021
"Spanning more than half a century and cities from New Delhi to Atlanta, Anjali Enjeti's debut is a heartfelt and human portrait of the long shadow of the Partition of the Indian subcontinent on the lives of three generations. The story begins in August 1947. Unrest plagues the streets of New Delhi leading up to the birth of the Muslim majority nation of Pakistan, and the Hindu majority nation of India. Sixteen-year-old Deepa navigates the changing politics of her home, finding solace in messages of intricate origami from her secret boyfriend Amir. Soon Amir flees with his family to Pakistan and a tragedy forces Deepa to leave the subcontinent forever. The story also begins nearly seven decades later and half a world away, in Atlanta. While grieving both a pregnancy loss and the implosion of her marriage, Deepa's granddaughter Shan begins the search for her estranged grandmother, a prickly woman who had no interest in knowing her. When she begins to piece together her family history shattered by the Partition, Shan discovers how little she actually knows about her ancestors and what they endured. For readers of Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins and Min Jin Lee's Pachinko, The Parted Earth follows characters on their search for identity after loss uproots their lives. Above all, it is a novel about families weathering the lasting violence of separation, and how it can often take a lifetime to find unity and peace"-- Provided by publisher.
The Saints of Swallow Hill
Published in 2022
In Georgia’s Swallow Hill turpentine camp in 1932, Rae Lynn Cobb, disguised as a man, hides out from those who would wrongly accuse her for murdering her husband and struggles to survive harsh, brutal conditions with the help of two individuals with their own tragic pasts.
Life on Loan
Published in 2019
"After thirty years, college friends Lena Browder and Olivia Westcoat have met again by chance at an unexpected crossroads: an airport lounge in Atlanta. Lena is running away from home and her demanding family. Olivia is trying to find her way after a painful divorce. With their old selves in the rearview, they toast to a new beginningand it starts with a spontaneous dare. Agreeing to trade houses for a month of rediscovery, Lena will stay in Olivias Charleston condo. Olivias retreat? Lenas isolated river cottage in the Northern Neck of Virginia. Two perfect getaways. Thirty-four days to reset. With fresh new perspectives and the renewal of a heartening friendship, Lena and Olivia find their passions, reinvent themselves, and reclaim what theyve lost. When unexpected romance blooms and careers take new detours, its also a time for courage and risk. Now theyll have to make hard choices to follow through on their promise for a second chance and finally have the lives they dream of." -- Amazon
Willa & Hesper
Published in 2019
A story told from alternating perspectives traces the whirlwind romance of two women who are separated when one returns to her family's home in Tbilisi, Georgia, to uncover her grandfather's story and the other heartbrokenly embarks on a Holocaust tour.
The Kingdoms of Savannah
Published in 2022
"Savannah may appear to be "some town out of a fable," with its vine flowers, turreted mansions, and ghost tours that romanticize the city's history. But look deeper and you'll uncover secrets, past and present, that tell a more sinister tale. It's the story at the heart of George Dawes Green's chilling new novel, The Kingdoms of Savannah. It begins quietly on a balmy Southern night as some locals gather at Bo Peep's, one of the town's favorite watering holes. Within an hour, however, a man will be murdered and his companion will be "disappeared." An unlikely detective, Morgana Musgrove, doyenne of Savannah society, is called upon to unravel the mystery of these crimes. Morgana is an imperious, demanding, and conniving woman, whose four grown children are weary of her schemes. But one by one she inveigles them into helping with her investigation, and soon the family uncovers some terrifying truths-truths that will rock Savannah's power structure to its core. Moving from the homeless encampments that ring the city to the stately homes of Savannah's elite, Green's novel brilliantly depicts the underbelly of a city with a dark history and the strangely mesmerizing dysfunction of a complex family"-- Provided by publisher.
The Vain Conversation
A Novel
Published in 2018
Inspired by true events, The Vain Conversation reflects on the 1946 lynching of two black couples in Georgia from the perspectives of three characters--Bertrand Johnson, one of the victims; Noland Jacks, a presumed perpetrator; and Lonnie Henson, a witness to the murders as a ten-year-old boy. Lonnie's inexplicable feelings of culpability drive him in a search for meaning that takes him around the world, and ultimately back to Georgia, where he must confront Jacks and his own demons, with the hopes that doing so will free him from the grip of the past. In The Vain Conversation, Anthony Grooms seeks to advance the national dialogue on race relations. He explores what it means to redeem, as well as to be redeemed, on the issues of America's race violence and speaks to the broader issues of oppression and violence everywhere.
They Come in All Colors
A Novel
Published in 2018
"The Secret Life of Bees meets Paul Beatty's The White Boy Shuffle in this bold debut novel, set between the deep South and New York City during the 1960s and early 70s, following a biracial teenage boy whose new life in a big city is disrupted by childhood memories of the summer when racial tensions in his hometown reached a tipping point. It's 1969 when fifteen-year-old Huey Fairchild begins his first day at Claremont Prep, one of New York City's most prestigious boys' schools. His mother had uprooted her family from their small hometown of Akersburg, Georgia a few years earlier, leaving behind Huey's white father and the racial unrest that ran deeper than the Chattahoochee River. But forgetting his past is easier said than done. At Claremont, where the only other non-white person is the janitor, Huey quickly realizes that racism can lurk beneath even the nicest school uniform. And after a quick slip of his temper, Huey finds himself on academic probation and facing legal charges. With his promising academic career in limbo, Huey begins examining his current predicament at Claremont through the lens of his childhood memories of growing up in Akersburg during the Civil Rights Movement.
The Sweetness of Water
Published in 2021
"In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry, freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm, hoping through an unexpected friendship to stanch their grief. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother, who was sold away when they were boys. Parallel to their story runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. The young men, recently returned from the war to the town of Old Ox, hold their trysts in the woods. But when their secret is discovered, the resulting chaos, including a murder, unleashes convulsive repercussions on the entire community. In the aftermath of so much turmoil, it is Isabelle who emerges as an unlikely leader, proffering a healing vision for the land and for the newly free citizens of Old Ox"-- Provided by publisher.
Judge's Girls
Published in 2020
"Beloved Georgia judge Joseph Donaldson was known for his unshakable fairness, his hard-won fortune--and a scandalous second marriage to his much-younger white secretary. Now he's left a will with a stunning provision. In order to collect their inheritance, his lawyer daughter Maya, her stepmother Jeanie, and Jeanie's teen daughter, Ryder, must live together at the family lake house. Maya and Jeanie don't exactly get along, but they reluctantly agree to try an uneasy peace for as long as it takes. But fragile ex-beauty queen Jeanie doesn't know who she is beyond being a judge's wife--and drinking away her insecurities has her in a dangerous downward spiral. Fed up with her mother's humiliating behavior, Ryder tries to become popular at school in all the wrong ways. And when Maya attempts to help, she puts her successful career and her shaky love life at risk. Now with trouble they didn't see coming--and secrets they can no longer hide--these women must somehow find the courage to admit their mistakes, see each other for who they really are--and slowly, perhaps even joyfully, discover everything they could be."--Amazon.com
Sweet Tea
Published in 2021
Althea Dailey has succeeded beyond her wildest dreams: she's about to make partner at her prestigious law firm in New York. So why doesn't she feel more excited about it? When she has to travel South for a case, she pays a long-overdue visit back home to Milford, Georgia. To her surprise, a white man she's never met has befriended her grandmother. Jack Darwent wasn't interested in the definition of success dictated by Southern high society. His passion for cooking led him to his current project: a documentary and cookbook about authentic Southern food. Althea's grandmother is famous for her cooking at Milford College, a historically Black institution. But Althea suspects Jack of trying to steal her grandmother's recipes. Despite Althea and Jack's first impressions of one another, they discover they have more in common than they'd guessed ... and even as they learn about one another's pasts, they both see glimmers of a better future.
Burn the Dark
Published in 2020
"Robin is a minor Internet celebrity, a punk traveler known for her horror YouTube channel MalusDomestica, an indie series gone viral about witch-hunting across the United States. Yet she also keeps secrets unbeknownst to her viewers. The first: that her series is based on reality. The second: her goal is to seek revenge against the coven of witches who sentenced her mother to a fate worse than death. Returning home to the rural town of Blackfield, Robin draws attention from a motley crew of locals-a boy with the ability to see beyond our world, her childhood best friend harboring occult knowledge, and a veteran combat medic running from his past. Then, a new, mysterious threat known as the Red Lord suddenly rears its head, and Robin must discover the link between the coven and this demon before evil reigns in Blackfield"-- Provided by publisher.
When Stars Rain Down
A Novel
Published in 2021
"Opal Pruitt is just about to turn 18 in the oppressively hot summer of 1936. She works hard at her job, takes care of her beloved Granny, and dreams about boys with her cousin Lucille. The young black teenager's journey to adulthood will be forged in fire, though, as the Ku Klux Klan attacks her Colored Town neighborhood and she endures a vicious beating at the hands of an unknown white attacker. Although slavery is over, Parsons, Georgia is still starkly divided along unequal racial lines and Opal begins to fear the community's thirst for justice on her behalf could ignite a chain reaction with devastating consequences." -- Library Journal.
Engraved on the Heart
Published in 2018
"Reluctant debutante Keziah Montgomery lives beneath the weighty expectations of her staunch Confederate family, forced to keep her epilepsy secret for fear of a scandal. As the tensions of the Civil War arrive on their doorstep in Savannah, Keziah sees little cause for balls and courting. Despite her discomfort, she cannot imagine an escape from her familial confines--until her old schoolmate Micah shows her a life-changing truth that sets her feet on a new path . . . as a conductor in the Underground Railroad." -- Publisher annotation.
An American Marriage
Published in 2018
"Newlyweds Celestial and Roy, the living embodiment of the New South, are settling into the routine of their life together when Roy is sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. An insightful look into the lives of people who are bound and separated by forces beyond their control"-- Provided by publisher.
Good Karma
Published in 2017
After almost forty years in New Jersey, Catherine, Ralph, and their beloved Boston Terrier Karma are hitting the road, relocating to a gorgeous, serene island off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, where Catherine can work on her backhand and Ralph can hit the links. But upon their arrival in the Seven Oaks gated community, it becomes apparent that Catherine and Ralph's visions of retirement couldn't be more different. While Catherine is intrigued by their quirky neighbors, Ralph's golf-and-poker routine seems to be interrupted only by his flirtations with their zealous real estate agent. As the pair drift further apart, Catherine cannot help but sense her marriage is at risk. Then she meets recent widower Fred at the dog park.
#1544
Published in 2022
"Ty Carter is at the prime of his career, making millions in Atlanta real estate, and his Cuban-Jamaican good looks and charm make him a hit with the ladies. One would think he was on top of the world; however, things are not always what they seem. Recently divorced, he's taking care of his grandfather, who suffers from dementia, and also trying to keep his sexual addiction under wraps. Just when he thinks he's got things under control, Ty is knocked down by a surprise visit from his past. Journey Salazar, his twenty-two-year-old daughter, is eager to learn about her family roots and build a relationship with her father. Ty and Journey realize they have a lot more in common than just looks. They both possess some unique supernatural traits. Their abilities of telepathy and astral projection help deepen a bond between them, but Ty will soon realize that Journey likes to get what she wants, sometimes abusing her gift if necessary. As Journey demands to weave herself into his life, Ty will see things rapidly unravel before his eyes. Journey soon shows him that she is the master of control and manipulation"-- Provided by publisher
The Atlas of Reds and Blues
A Novel
Published in 2019
When a woman--known only as Mother--moves her family from Atlanta to its wealthy suburbs, she discovers that neither the times nor the people have changed since her childhood in a small Southern town. Despite the intervening decades, Mother is met with the same questions: Where are you from? No, where are you really from? The American-born daughter of Bengali immigrants, she finds that her answer-- Here --is never enough. Mother's simmering anger breaks through one morning, when, during a violent and unfounded police raid on her home, she finally refuses to be complacent. As she lies bleeding from a gunshot wound, her thoughts race from childhood games with her sister and visits to cousins in India, to her time in the newsroom before having her three daughters, to the early days of her relationship with a husband who now spends more time flying business class than at home. The Atlas of Reds and Blues grapples with the complexities of the second-generation American experience, what it means to be a woman of color in the workplace, and a sister, a wife, and a mother to daughters in today's America.
The Time Has Come
A Novel
Published in 2023
Certain something very, very bad is happening behind the famous black door of Lindbergh's Pharmacy--an Athens, Georgia, institution--local fourth grade teacher Tina Lamm finds her drastic actions connecting her to a group of six employees and customers inside the pharmacy during one fateful night.
Careful What You Click for
Published in 2020
"For Jordan, Victoria, Kingston, and Chancelor, exciting, fast-paced Atlanta offers everything their hometowns couldn't. But career success is easy compared to the city's dating scene of users, losers, and gold diggers. So they decide online dating might just be the answer - as long as they take precautions, work their perfect odds-beating plan, and have each other's backs. With luck, and prayers, they'll fulfill their fantasies and find real love at the same time ... An accomplished lawyer, Jordan must look hard at potential suitors. But Terrence seems to be the honest man of her dreams, until accusations and her career threaten to come between them. ... Sixty-something real estate pro Victoria thinks young men equal satisfaction that a good Christian woman like her deserves, but anything-goes sex makes her bet more than she can afford to lose. ... Basketball star Kingston has the perfect life and wife, but exploring what he really wants on the downlow is a game he may not win. ... And for marketing guru Chancelor, the net is a paradise of prey, but the consequences could blow more than his schemes apart. Soon enough, thanks to secret agendas, lies, and truths they can't even admit to themselves, all four friends' lives are in danger of being upended. And the results could rack up a price no one can pay"--Publisher.
Home
Published in 2012
"The story of a Korean war veteran on a quest to save his younger sister"-- Provided by publisher.
One Night in Georgia
A Novel
Published in 2019
"Set in the summer of 1968, a provocative and devastating novel of individual lives caught in the grips of violent history--a timely and poignant story that reverberates with the power of Alice Walker's Meridian and Ntozake Shange's Betsey Browne.At the end of a sweltering summer shaped by the tragic assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy, race riots, political protests, and the birth of Black power, three coeds from New York City--Zelda Livingston, Veronica Cook, and Daphne Brooks--pack into Veronica's new Ford Fairlane convertible, bound for Atlanta and their last year at Spelman College. It is the beginning a journey that will change their lives irrevocably. Unlikely friends from vastly different backgrounds, the trio has been inseparable since freshman year. Zelda, serious and unyielding, the heir of rebellious slaves and freedom riders, sees the world in black versus white. Veronica, the privileged daughter of a refined, wealthy family, strongly believes in integration and racial uplift. Daphne lives with a legacy of loss--when she was five years old, her black mother committed suicide and her white father abandoned her. Because they will be going their separate ways after graduation, Zelda, Veronica, and Daphne intend to make lasting memories on this special trip. Though they are young and carefree, they aren't foolish. Joined by Veronica's family friend Daniel, they rely on the Motorist Green Book to find racially friendly locations for gas, rest, and food. Still, with the sun on their cheeks, the wind in their hair, and Motown on the radio, the girls revel in their freedom. Yet as the miles fly by, taking them closer to the Mason-Dixon line, tension begins to rise and the conversation turns serious when Daphne shares a horrifying secret about her life. When they hit Washington, D.C., the joyous trip turns dark. In Virginia they barely escape a desperate situation when prison guards mistake Daniel for an escapee. Further south they barely make it through a sundown town. When the car breaks down in Georgia they are caught up in a racially hostile situation that leaves a white person dead and one of the girls holding the gun"-- Provided by publisher.
One of Us is Dead
Published in 2022
Shannon was once the queen bee of Buckhead. But she's been unceremoniously dumped by Bryce, her politician husband. When Bryce replaces her with a much younger woman, Shannon sets out to take revenge... Crystal has stepped into Shannon's old shoes. A young, innocent Texan girl, she simply has no idea what she's up against... Olivia has waited years to take Shannon's crown as the unofficial queen of Buckhead. Finally her moment has come. But to take her rightful place, she will need to use every backstabbing, manipulative, underhand trick in the book... Jenny owns Glow, the most exclusive salon in town. Jenny knows all her clients' secrets and darkest desires. But will she ever tell? Who amongst these women will be clever enough to survive Buckhead--and who will wind up dead? They say that friendships can be complex, but no one said it could ever be this deadly. -- Book jacket
Before I Let Go
Published in 2022
"Their love was supposed to last forever. But after two devastating tragedies, Yasmen and Josiah Wade realized love alone couldn't solve everything... or keep their marriage together. It's taken a year since their split for Yasmen to finally start feeling like herself again. To finally be able to breathe again. But the more she sees Josiah-whether it's parenting their two children or working together at the restaurant they co-own-the more Yasmen realizes she may not be ready to completely let go of everything they had together. Like magnets, Yasmen and Josiah are always drawn back to each other, and one almost kiss soon leads to more. It's hot. It's illicit. It's all good...until old wounds start resurfacing. This time, will they have what it takes to make forever last? Or is it already too late?"-- Provided by publisher.
If We're Being Honest
Published in 2023
"The Williams family returns to Eulalia, Georgia, for the funeral of their beloved patriarch. When a secret is revealed during the eulogy, the family is left reeling: If their grandparents perfect marriage was anything but, what hope do they have of finding love?"-- Provided by publisher.
Consequences of Passion
Published in 2021
"Psychologist Shantel Wilson surprises herself by attending a bachelor auction as a favor to her friend--and bidding on his older brother! The outcome of her steamy night with Roman Lockett, heir apparent to an Atlanta football dynasty? She's expecting. Now Roman wants to claim her-- and his child--yet Shantel needs more than a marriage of convenience from this man who put passion in her playbook."--Back cover.
The Ex Hex
A Novel
Published in 2021
"Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music ... and a curse on the horrible boyfriend..[She] isn't worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two ... until Rhys Penhallow ... returns to Graves Glen, Georgia ... Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all ... Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it's too late"-- Provided by publisher
We Are Gathered
Published in 2018
"For readers of Maggie Shipstead and Maria Semple, a tender and funny debut that tells the story of an interfaith wedding in Atlanta -- from the perspectives of its (adoring, envious, resentful, hilarious) guests...One afternoon in Atlanta, Georgia. Two people heading to the altar. One hundred fifty guests. The bride, Elizabeth Gottlieb, proud graduate of the University of Virginia and of Emory University School of Law, member of Atlanta's wealthy Jewish elite. The groom, Hank Jackson, not a member. Not a Jew. The couple of the hour, however, is beside the point, because We Are Gathered belongs to the guests. Among them, Carla, Elizabeth's quick-witted, ugly duckling childhood best friend turned Hollywood film scout, whose jaundiced view of the drama that is an American wedding provides a lens of humor and its corollary, deep compassion for the supporting actors who steal the show; Elizabeth's great-aunt Rachel, a Holocaust survivor from Germany who is still navigating a no-man's-land between cultures and identities decades after escaping from the forests of Europe; Elizabeth's wheelchair-bound grandfather Albert, who considers his legacy as a man, both in the boardroom and the bedroom; and Annette, the mother of the bride herself, reminded now of her youthful indiscretions in love and motherhood. Balancing razor-sharp humor with a blunt vision ofthe fragility of ourmortal bonds, Jamie Weisman skillfully constructs a world--and family--that pulls you in and carries you along with its refreshing, jagged beauty"-- Provided by publisher.
Gone Like Yesterday
A Novel
Published in 2023
"A lyrical debut novel that asks what we owe to our families, what we owe to our ancestors, and what we owe to ourselves. Janelle M. Williams's Gone Like Yesterday employs magical realism to explore the majestic and haunting experience of being a Black woman in today's America"-- Provided by publisher.
Before We Were Yours
A Novel
Published in 2017
"Two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice in this poignant novel, inspired by a true story, for readers of Orphan Train and The Nightingale. Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge--until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents--but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility's cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty. Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiance, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis,a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family's long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption. Based on one of America's most notorious real-life scandals--in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country--Lisa Wingate's riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong"-- Provided by publisher.