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Ella A Novel [electronic resource] : by Richards, Diane.aut; cloudLibrary;
In the vein of The Paris Wife and The Personal Librarian comes this debut novel, a magnificent work of “biographical fiction” that reimagines the turbulent and triumphant early years of Ella Fitzgerald, arguably the greatest singer of the twentieth century. When fifteen-year-old Ella Fitzgerald’s mother dies at the height of the Depression in 1932, the teenager goes to work for the mob to support herself and her family. When the law finally catches up, the “ungovernable” adolescent is incarcerated in the New York Training School for Girls in upstate New York—a wicked prison infamous for its harsh treatment of inmates, especially Black ones. Determined to be free, Ella escapes and makes her way back to Harlem, where she is forced to dance for pennies on the street. Looking for a break into show business, Ella draws straws to appear at the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night on November 21, 1934. Rather than perform a dance routine directly after “The World Famous Edwards Sisters” number, the homeless Ella, wearing men’s galoshes a size too big, risks everything when she decides to sing Judy instead. Four years later, at barely twenty-one, Ella Fitzgerald has become the bestselling female vocalist in America. Diane Richards’ Ella Fitzgerald is inspiring and intriguing—an emotionally rich, psychologically complex character, a flawed mother and wife who struggles with deep emotional scars and trauma and battles racism, sexism, and colorism as she learns to find her voice on the stage. Ella takes us from the brothels, speakeasys, and streets of Depression-era New York City to the grand hotel suites where Ella, now older and wiser, looks back on her life and finally confronts the demons from childhood that torment her. Compelling and rich in historical detail, Ella is a remarkable debut novel about an extraordinary woman.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Contemporary Women; Biographical; Historical; Contemporary Women;
© 2024., HarperCollins,

Free fire [videorecording] / by Bergin, Patrick,actor.; Cilenti, Enzo,1974-actor.; Copley, Sharlto,1973-actor.; Hammer, Armie,1986-actor.; Jump, Amy,screenwriter.; Larson, Brie,1989-actor.; Murphy, Cillian,1976-actor.; Reynor, Jack,1992-actor.; Riley, Sam,1980-actor.; Smiley, Michael,1963-actor.; Starke, Andy,film producer.; Taylor, Noah,actor.; Wheatley, Ben,1972-film director,screenwriter.; Elevation Pictures,publisher.; Rook Films,production company.;
Music, Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow ; director of photography, Laurie Rose ; editors, Amy Jump, Ben Wheatley.Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Jack Reynor, Noah Taylor, Patrick Bergin, Enzo Cilenti, Michael Smiley.In a colorful yet gritty 1970s Boston, Justine, a mysterious American businesswoman, and her wise-cracking associate Ord arrange a black-market weapons deal in a deserted warehouse between IRA arms buyer Chris and shifty South African gun runner Vernon. What starts as a polite if uneasy exchange soon goes south when tensions escalate and shots are fired, quickly leading to a full-on Battle Royale where it's every man (and woman) for themselves.Canadian Home Video Rating: 18A.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1.
Subjects: Feature films.; Action and adventure films.; Black market; Illegal arms transfers;
For private home use only.

Free fire [videorecording] / by Bergin, Patrick,actor.; Cilenti, Enzo,1974-actor.; Copley, Sharlto,1973-actor.; Hammer, Armie,1986-actor.; Jump, Amy,screenwriter.; Larson, Brie,1989-actor.; Murphy, Cillian,1976-actor.; Reynor, Jack,1992-actor.; Riley, Sam,1980-actor.; Smiley, Michael,1963-actor.; Starke, Andy,film producer.; Taylor, Noah,actor.; Wheatley, Ben,1972-film director,screenwriter.; Elevation Pictures,publisher.; Rook Films,production company.;
Music, Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow ; director of photography, Laurie Rose ; editors, Amy Jump, Ben Wheatley.Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Jack Reynor, Noah Taylor, Patrick Bergin, Enzo Cilenti, Michael Smiley.In a colorful yet gritty 1970s Boston, Justine, a mysterious American businesswoman, and her wise-cracking associate Ord arrange a black-market weapons deal in a deserted warehouse between IRA arms buyer Chris and shifty South African gun runner Vernon. What starts as a polite if uneasy exchange soon goes south when tensions escalate and shots are fired, quickly leading to a full-on Battle Royale where it's every man (and woman) for themselves.Canadian Home Video Rating: 18A.Blu-ray disc (requires Blu-ray player for playback) ; anamorphic widescreen format (2.35:1 aspect ratio) ; DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.
Subjects: Feature films.; Action and adventure films.; Black market; Illegal arms transfers;
For private home use only.

The edge of yesterday / by Woods, Rita,author.;
"Greer Coffey is a principal dancer with a renowned Harlem company. Sebastian Coffey is an architect with a prestigious Midtown firm. The Coffey's are the ultimate dream couple -- until their world completely unravels. After Greer develops a career ending neurologic disorder, she finds herself back in her hometown of Detroit. Angry, lonely, her marriage buckling under the strain, she takes to aimlessly wandering the city streets. One night, she stumbles through a vortex, a portal through time that transports her back into 1925 Detroit, where she meets a handsome, charming doctor. Dr. Montgomery Gray is a member of Detroit's Black Aristocracy, wealthy and connected to some of the most powerful Black families in the country. Detroit in 1925 is the beating heart of an industrial nation, but it is also a tinderbox of poor immigrants, Prohibition driven gang wars, and the Klan. As a member of the Talented Tenth, Monty is expected to be the tip of the spear in the fight for the Race, no matter the cost. Exhausted, frustrated, and longing to break free of expectations, he is stunned to find a woman from the future roaming Detroit's Black Bottom. Initially cautious, Monty and Greer slowly grow increasingly exhilarated with the visits. For Greer, 1925 offers an escape from the sorrow of her "real life," and for Monty, the future that Greer lays before him is irresistible. But 2025 becomes gradually less and less recognizable, as each visit back through time causes increasing rips in the timeline. Ultimately, Greer finds herself trapped in 1925 and Monty is forced into a deadly confrontation that changes the trajectory of his life"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Time-travel fiction.; Novels.; African Americans; Man-woman relationships; Time travel;

Time's undoing : a novel / by Head, Cheryl A.,author.;
"A searing and tender novel about a young Black journalist's search for answers in the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, decades ago-inspired by the author's own family history. Birmingham, 1929: Robert Lee Harrington, a master carpenter, has just moved to Alabama to pursue a job opportunity, bringing along his pregnant wife and young daughter. Birmingham is in its heyday, known as the "Magic City" for its booming steel industry, and while Robert and his family find much to enjoy in the city's busy markets and vibrant nightlife, it's also a stronghold for the Klan. And with his beautiful, light-skinned wife and snazzy car, Robert begins to worry that he might be drawing the wrong kind of attention. 2019: Meghan McKenzie, the youngest reporter at the Detroit Free Press, has grown up hearing family lore about her great-grandfather's murder-but no one knows the full story of what really happened back then, and his body was never found. Determined to find answers to her family's long-buried tragedy and spurred by the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Meghan travels to Birmingham. But as her investigation begins to uncover dark secrets that spider across both the city and time, her life may be in danger. Inspired by true events, Time's Undoing is both a passionate tale of one woman's quest for the truth behind the racially motivated trauma that has haunted her family for generations and, as newfound friends and supporters in Birmingham rally around Meghan's search, the uplifting story of a community coming together to fight for change"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Ku Klux Klan (1915- ); African American journalists; Cold cases (Criminal investigation); Murder; Race discrimination; Secrecy;

Flee north : a forgotten hero and the fight for freedom in slavery's borderland / by Shane, Scott,1954-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A riveting account of the extraordinary abolitionist, liberator, and writer Thomas Smallwood, who bought his own freedom, led hundreds out of slavery, and popularized the term "underground railroad," from Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, Scott Shane. Flee North tells the story for the first time of an American hero all but lost to history. Born into slavery, Thomas Smallwood was free, self-educated, and working as a shoemaker a short walk from the U.S. Capitol by the 1840s. He recruited a young white activist, Charles Torrey, and together they began to organize mass escapes from Washington, Baltimore, and surrounding counties to freedom in the north. They were racing against an implacable enemy: men like Hope Slatter, the region's leading slave trader, part of a lucrative industry that would tear one million enslaved people from their families and sell them to the brutal cotton and sugar plantations of the deep south. Men, women, and children in imminent danger of being sold south turned to Smallwood, who risked his own freedom to battle what he called "the most inhuman system that ever blackened the pages of history." And he documented the escapes in satirical newspaper columns, mocking the slaveholders, the slave traders and the police who worked for them. At a time when Americans are rediscovering a tragic and cruel history and struggling anew with the legacy of white supremacy, this book--the first to tell the extraordinary story of Smallwood--will offer complicated heroes, genuine villains, and a powerful narrative set in cities still plagued by shocking racial inequity today"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Smallwood, Thomas, 1801-1883.; Slatter, Hope H. (Hope Hull), 1790-1853.; Torrey, Charles T. (Charles Turner), 1813-1846.; Abolitionists; African American abolitionists; Fugitive slaves; Slave trade; Underground Railroad.;

Nobody's magic / by Birdsong, Destiny O.,1981-author.;
"In this glittering triptych novel, Suzette, Maple and Agnes, three Black women with albinism, call Shreveport, Louisiana, home. At the bustling intersection of the American South and Southwest, these three women find themselves at the crossroads of their own lives. Suzette, a pampered twenty-year-old, has been sheltered from the outside world since a dangerous childhood encounter. Now, a budding romance with a sweet mechanic allows Suzette to seek independence, which unleashes dark reactions in those closest to her. In discovering her autonomy, Suzette is forced to decide what she is willing to sacrifice in order to make her own way in the world. Maple is reeling from the unsolved murder of her free-spirited mother. She flees the media circus and her judgmental grandmother by shutting herself off from the world in a spare room of the motel where she works. One night, Maple connects with Chad, someone who may understand her pain more than she realizes, and discovers that the key to her mother's death may be within her reach. Agnes is far from home, working yet another mind-numbing job. She attracts the interest of a lonely security guard and army veteran who's looking for a traditional life for himself and his young son. He's convinced that she wields a certain "magic," but Agnes soon unleashes a power within herself that will shock them both and send her on a trip to confront not only her family and her past, but also herself. This novel, told in three parts, is a searing meditation on grief, female strength, and self-discovery set against a backdrop of complicated social and racial histories. Nobody's Magic is a testament to the power of family-the ones you're born in and the ones you choose. And in these three narratives, among the yearning and loss, each of these women may find a seed of hope for the future"--
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Psychological fiction.; African American women; Albinos and albinism; Man-woman relationships; Self-actualization (Psychology) in women;

Junie: A GMA Book Club Pick A Novel [electronic resource] : by Eckstine, Erin Crosby.aut; cloudLibrary;
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • A young girl must face a life-altering decision after awakening her sister’s ghost, navigating truths about love, friendship, and power as the Civil War looms. “An enrapturing tale of survival . . . Eckstine has poured a ton of heart into her characters.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “The richly textured prose quickly pulled me into [Junie’s] treacherous yet magical world.”—Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake Sixteen years old and enslaved since she was born, Junie has spent her life on Bellereine Plantation in Alabama, cooking and cleaning alongside her family, and tending to the white master’s daughter, Violet. Her daydreams are filled with poetry and faraway worlds, while she spends her nights secretly roaming through the forest, consumed with grief over the sudden death of her older sister, Minnie. When wealthy guests arrive from New Orleans, hinting at marriage for Violet and upending Junie’s life, she commits a desperate act—one that rouses Minnie’s spirit from the grave, tethered to this world unless Junie can free her. She enlists the aid of Caleb, the guests’ coachman, and their friendship soon becomes something more. Yet as long-held truths begin to crumble, she realizes Bellereine is harboring dark and horrifying secrets that can no longer be ignored. With time ticking down, Junie begins to push against the harsh current that has controlled her entire life. As she grapples with an increasingly unfamiliar world in which she has little control, she is forced to ask herself: When we choose love and liberation, what must we leave behind?
Subjects: Electronic books.; Literary; Historical; Ghost;
© 2025., Random House Publishing Group,

Drop the ball : achieving more by doing less / by Dufu, Tiffany,author.; Steinem, Gloria,writer of foreword.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A bold and inspiring memoir and manifesto from a renowned voice in the women's leadership movement who shows women how to cultivate the single skill they really need in order to thrive: the ability to let go. Once the poster girl for doing it all, after she had her first child, Tiffany Dufu struggled to accomplish everything she thought she needed to in order to succeed. Like so many driven and talented women who have been brought up to believe that to have it all, they must do it all, Dufu began to feel that achieving her career and personal goals was an impossibility. Eventually, she discovered the solution: letting go. In Drop the Ball, Dufu recounts how she learned to reevaluate expectations, shrink her to-do list, and meaningfully engage the assistance of others--freeing the space she needed to flourish at work and to develop deeper, more meaningful relationships at home. Even though women are half the workforce, they still represent only eighteen per cent of the highest level leaders. The reasons are obvious: just as women reach middle management they are also starting families. Mounting responsibilities at work and home leave them with no bandwidth to do what will most lead to their success. Offering new perspective on why the women's leadership movement has stalled, and packed with actionable advice, Tiffany Dufu's Drop the Ball urges women to embrace imperfection, to expect less of themselves and more from others--only then can they focus on what they truly care about, devote the necessary energy to achieving their real goals, and create the type of rich, rewarding life we all desire"--
Subjects: Dufu, Tiffany; Women professional employees; African American women; Mothers; Leadership in women; Women in the professions; Work-life balance; Sex role; Self-actualization (Psychology);

Once Upon a Time in Dollywood: Reese's Book Club [electronic resource] : by Jordan, Ashley.aut; CloudLibrary;
AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER ∙ A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ AN AMAZON BEST ROMANCE BOOK OF THE MONTH! “A moving, captivating, beautiful debut! I can’t wait for the whole world to read it."—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of Flirting Lessons A playwright must grapple with her difficult year and writer's block while falling for the single dad living next door in this emotional debut novel from Ashley Jordan. Eve Ambroise may be a rising star playwright, but her personal life is falling part. Desperate for a fresh start, she breaks up with her fiancé, cuts off her parents, and heads to the Tennessee mountains. But keeping up the lie that she’s just on a writing retreat becomes near impossible when faced with the well-meaning townspeople and a neighbor who has just as much baggage as she has. Coming off a contentious custody battle, Jamie Gallagher is restructuring what his life looks like as a single dad, and spending more days at his cabin makes his new “free time” a little less empty. Especially when he meets the beautiful—and prickly—woman next door. The last thing he needs is a new romance to shake up his family dynamics even more, but there’s something about Eve. What starts out as a fling quickly becomes more serious, and it’s not long before Eve is running scared once again. She’s loved and lost in every possible way, and risking it one more time could finally break her. But like the fireflies that fill the mountains around them, Jamie's and Eve’s lives keep falling into sync. A fairy-tale ending could be in the cards, but only if the new couple can get out of their heads and put their hearts first. “An entertaining, sexy novel that boldly explores trauma and healing yet still manages to be laugh-out-loud funny”—Library Journal STARRED review
Subjects: Electronic books.; Contemporary; Contemporary Women; Contemporary Women;
© 2025., Penguin Publishing Group,

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