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Desperation reef / by Parker, T. Jefferson,author.;
"Jen Stonebreaker hasn't entered into a big-wave surfing competition since witnessing her husband's tragic death twenty-five years ago at the Monsters of the Mavericks. Now, Jen is ready to tackle those same Monsters with her twin sons Casey and Brock, who have become competitive surfers in a perilous sport. When he's not riding waves, modeling for surfing magazines, or posting viral content for his many fans, Casey Stonebreaker spends his days helping with the family restaurant - catching fish in the morning and bartending at night. Casey's love for the ocean and his willingness to expose illegal poachers on his platforms puts him on a collision course with a crime syndicate eager to destroy anyone threatening their business. Outspoken Brock Stonebreaker couldn't be more different from his twin. The founder of Breath of Life, a church and rescue mission that assists with natural disasters that no one else will touch, Brock has lived an adventurous and sometimes violent life. Not everyone appreciates the work that Brock's Breath of Life mission accomplishes, and threats to destroy his mission--and his family-swirl around him. As the big-wave contest draws closer, a huge, late fall swell is headed toward the Pacific coastline. Jen's fears gnaw at her - fear for herself, for her sons, for what this competition will mean for the rest of her life"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Novels.; Mothers and sons; Surfing; Twins;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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Hello, summer / by Andrews, Mary Kay,1954-author.;
"New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads Mary Kay Andrews delivers her next blockbuster, Hello Summer. Conley Hawkins left her family's small town newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, in the rear view mirror years ago. Now, after ten years of blood, sweat, and tears, Conley is exactly where she wants to be and is about to take a fancy new position at a New York City newspaper. That is, until she discovers at her own going away party that her new job is suddenly gone, disappearing overnight along with her hopes and dreams of a bright future in a big city. Dread in her heart and a sinking feeling in her gut, Conley ends up in the last place she ever wanted to be: The Beacon, now reluctantly run by her sister. Covering a sleepy beach town with church news and the local funeral home director dictating the day's obituaries to her over the phone isn't exactly every reporter's dream, and to make matters worse, she and her sister see eye to eye on almost nothing. Matters come to a head after Conley witnesses a car accident that ends in the death of a local politician - a beloved war hero with a secret shady history whose death may not be exactly what it seems"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Women journalists; Reporters and reporting; Small cities; Veterans; Homecoming; Brothers and sisters; Politicians; Families;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Black star / by Alexander, Kwame.;
12-year old Charley Cuffey is many things: a granddaughter, a best friend, and probably the best pitcher in all of Lee's Mill. Set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball, Charley doesn't need reminders from her best friend Cool Willie Green to know that she has lofty dreams for a Black girl in the American South. Even so, Nana Kofi's thrilling stories about courageous ancestors and epic journeys make it impossible not to dream big. She knows he has so many more to tell, but according to her parents, she isn't old enough to know about certain things like what happened to Booker Preston that one night in Great Bridge and why she can never play on the brand-new real deal baseball field on the other side of town. When Charley challenges a neighborhood bully to a game at the church picnic, she knows she can win, even with her ragtag team. But when the picnic spills over onto their ball field, she makes a fateful decision. A child cannot protect herself if she does not know her history, and Charley's choice brings consequences she never could have imagined.
Subjects: Novels in verse.; Historical fiction.; Baseball; African Americans; Race relations;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . . A LOVE Story [electronic resource] : by Reynolds, Jason.aut; cloudLibrary;
“Jason Reynolds has done it again!...Fresh from start to finish…This is what it could be, should be, if only we were all as lucky as Aria. Girls (and everyone) wait for your Neon!” —Judy Blume, New York Times bestselling author of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. and Forever... #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds tackles it—you know…it—from the guy’s perspective in this unfiltered and undeniably sweet stream of consciousness story of a teen boy about to experience a huge first. Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s owner: Aria. Dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail. Aria. Way more than fine. Twenty-four weeks ago: Neon’s dad insists on talking to him about tenderness and intimacy. Neon and Aria are definitely in love, and while they haven’t taken that next big step…yet, they’ve starting talking about…that. Twenty-four days ago: Neon’s mom finds her—gulp—bra in his room. Hey! No judging! Those hook thingies are complicated! So he’d figured he’d better practice, what with the big day only a month away. Twenty-four minutes ago: Neon leaves his shift at work at his dad’s bingo hall, making sure to bring some chicken tenders for Aria. They’re not candlelight and they definitely aren’t caviar, but they are her favorite. And right this second? Neon is locked in Aria’s bathroom, completely freaking out because twenty-four seconds from now he and Aria are about to…about to… Well, they won’t do anything if he can’t get out of his own head (all the advice, insecurities, and what ifs) and out of this bathroom!
Subjects: Electronic books.; Dating & Sex; Boys & Men; Emotions & Feelings;
© 2024., Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books,
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Outrage machine : how tech amplifies discontent, disrupts democracy--and what we can do about it / by Rose-Stockwell, Tobias,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Over the last two decades, there has been an inescapable rise of anger and aggression across our planet. Hate speech has become increasingly prevalent online, Western governments are turning towards authoritarianism and populism, and extremist groups are rising across both the left and the right ends of the political spectrum. Every day, it seems, we're hearing more angry voices and fearful opinions, we're seeing more threats and frightening news, and we're reacting faster and less rationally. The cause is hidden in plain sight: for the first time, almost all of the information we consume as a species is being controlled and curated by algorithms designed to capture our emotional attention. This, media researcher and strategic advisor Tobias Rose-Stockwell argues, is the outrage machine. It is the wide-cast net of social media that is propelled by tech, has been exploited by all of us, and which has been allowed to steadily replace our newspapers, emergency communication systems, town halls, churches, and more. In the vein of The Righteous Mind and Factfulness, Outrage Machine is a big-think book that explores the unintended consequences of this alarming shift in today's smartphone era--and shows us how to navigate the world we now live in. First, he explains how and why we've become addicted to not just technology, but outrage itself. Since social media algorithms now favor the most inflammatory content because it gets the highest engagement, the levels of righteousness, certainty, and extreme judgment in our daily interactions have increased as well. Next, he shows us why we're more prone to panic, and how the immediate dispersion of our panic can be more dangerous than the threat itself-and can bypass necessary confirmation of the accuracy and potential harm of this information. Rose-Stockwell also explores how the original intent of many of our social tools has been compromised, from improving click-through rates for charitable causes to catalyzing our current culture of click-baiting and sensationalism on an unparalleled scale. Fortunately, Outrage Machine is not just a warning--it's also a critical guide that clearly explains the underlying machinery that has come to control us, and a compass to help guide people toward reflection rather than reaction. The culmination of 15 years of research and inquiry, this book gives readers a language with which to comprehend what is happening to society, and offers new mental models for how to manage our time, our technology, and our attention. It also offers big-picture recommendations for how to redesign these platforms, as well as methods for fixing this broken system before it "fixes" us"--
Subjects: Democracy.; Information society.; Social media; Social media.; Hate;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Phoenix Ballroom : a novel / by Hogan, Ruth,1961-author.;
For fifty years, Venetia Hargreaves's world revolved around her husband. She built their life around his big career, with dinner on the table at six, a lovely home, and a dutiful son just as business-minded as his father. Now Venetia's a wealthy widow left with a beautiful but empty home, an enviable bank balance, and a distinct feeling that she missed the boat. Once upon a time, she was a dance instructor who dreamed of opening her own ballroom school with a fellow teacher who won her heart. Instead, Venetia chose the safer path. So, at seventy-four years of age, Venetia declares her independence, first with a makeover, and then by adopting a new dog. But something is still missing ... until on one of her dog walks by the river she passes by a building she remembers all too well. In her youth it was the spectacular Phoenix Ballroom, where she used to teach waltzes and tangos. These days it's a community center and spiritualist church, funded by a mysterious benefactor who only pays for the upkeep. Eager to revive at least one meaningful thing from her past, Venetia buys the Phoenix Ballroom, and finds a supportive and loving community of lost souls who become a delightful multigenerational family-by-choice. As the ballroom regains its former glory, the community and Venetia's humdrum life are revived as well ... proving wonderful things can come from the darkest of places.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Ballrooms; Communities; Families; Older women; Widows;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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A Newfoundlander in Canada / by Doyle, Alan,1969-author.;
"Following the fantastic success of his bestselling memoir, Where I belong, Great Big Sea front man Alan Doyle returns with a hilarious, heartwarming account of leaving Newfoundland and discovering Canada for the first time. Armed with the same personable, candid style found in his first book, Alan Doyle turns his perspective outward from Petty Harbour toward mainland Canada, reflecting on what it was like to venture away from the comforts of home and the familiarity of the island. Often in a van, sometimes in a bus, occasionally in a car with broken wipers "using Bob's belt and a rope found by Paddy's Pond" to pull them back and forth, Alan and his bandmates charted new territory, and he constantly measured what he saw of the vast country against what his forefathers once called the Daemon Canada. In a period punctuated by triumphant leaps forward for the band, deflating steps backward and everything in between--opening for Barney the Dinosaur at an outdoor music festival, being propositioned at a gas station mail-order bride service in Alberta, drinking moonshine with an elderly church-goer on a Sunday morning in PEI--Alan's few established notions about Canada were often debunked and his own identity as a Newfoundlander was constantly challenged. Touring the country, he also discovered how others view Newfoundlanders and how skewed these images can sometimes be. Asked to play in front of the Queen at a massive Canada Day festival on Parliament Hill, the concert organizers assured Alan and his bandmates that the best way to showcase Newfoundland culture was for them to be towed onto stage in a dory and introduced not as Newfoundlanders but as "Newfies." The boys were not amused. Heartfelt, funny and always insightful, these stories tap into the complexities of community and Canadianness, forming the portrait of a young man from a tiny fishing village trying to define and hold on to his sense of home while navigating a vast and diverse and wonder-filled country."--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Doyle, Alan, 1969-; Great Big Sea (Musical group); Musicians;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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One Perfect Couple [electronic resource] : by Ware, Ruth.aut; Church, Imogen.nrt; cloudLibrary;
Ruth Ware, the powerhouse New York Times bestselling author with over six million books sold to date, returns with her ninth novel, which promises to be the summer’s most gripping beach read. Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctorate research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure her contract will not be extended, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, The Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. This is the big break she needs! A whirlwind preproduction process later, Lyla finds herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joe and Romi, and Connor and Zana—in order to win a cash prize. Alas, not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start going wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to reach the boat and crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. Tensions run high and fresh water runs low. Then, one by one, contestants start to die. Lyla suddenly realizes she and Nico are trapped on the island with a murderer on the loose…and nowhere to hide. A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Contemporary Women; Psychological; Suspense;
© 2024., Simon & Schuster,
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A fever in the heartland : the Ku Klux Klan's plot to take over America, and the woman who stopped them / by Egan, Timothy,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A historical thriller by the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author that tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, the cunning con man who drove that rise, and the woman who stopped them. The Roaring Twenties -the Jazz Age -has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson. Stephenson was a magnetic presence whose life story changed with every telling. Within two years of his arrival in Indiana, he'd become the Grand Dragon of the state and and the architect of the strategy that brought the group out of the shadows-their message endorsed from the pulpits of local churches, spread at family picnics and town celebrations. Judges, prosecutors, ministers, governors and senators across the country all proudly proclaimed their membership. But at the peak of his influence, it was a seemingly powerless woman-Madge Oberholtzer-who would reveal his secret cruelties, and whose deathbed testimony finally brought the Klan to their knees"--
Subjects: Oberholtzer, Madge, 1896-1925.; Stephenson, David Curtis, 1891-1966.; Ku Klux Klan (1915- ); Ku Klux Klan (1915- ); White supremacy movements;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Love of My Life, The Another OMG love story from the million copy bestselling author of The Man Who Didn't Call [electronic resource] : by Walsh, Rosie.aut; Church, Imogen.nrt; Solomon, Theo.nrt; cloudLibrary;
A compelling OMG love story, The Love of My Life is a bold, mysterious romance from Rosie Walsh, author of The Man Who Didn't Call. 'Dazzling' - Lisa Jewell, author of The Family Upstairs I have held you every night for ten years and I didn’t even know your name. We have a child together. A dog, a house. Who are you? Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she’d do anything for them. But almost everything she's told them about herself is a lie. And she might just have got away with it, if it weren’t for her husband’s job. Leo is an obituary writer and Emma is a well-known marine biologist. So, when she suffers a serious illness, Leo copes by doing what he knows best: reading and writing about her life. But as he starts to unravel her past, he discovers the woman he loves doesn’t really exist. Even her name is made-up. When the very darkest moments of Emma’s past life finally emerge, she must somehow prove to Leo that she really is the woman he always thought she was. But first, she must tell him about the love of her other life . . . 'Stunning' – Daily Mail 'A winning combination of big emotions and didn't-see-that-coming twist' – Good Housekeeping 'I couldn't put it down' - Jane Fallon, author of Worst Idea Ever 'An absolute triumph' - Jill Mansell, author of Should I Tell You? 'It made me cry, smile and hug my own loved ones a little tighter' - Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Contemporary; Suspense; Suspense;
© 2022., Pan Macmillan,
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