Search:

People of means : a novel / by Johnson, Nancy(Novelist),author.;
Two women. Two pivotal moments. One dream for justice and equality. In the fall of 1959, Freda Gilroy arrives on the campus of Fisk University full of hope, carrying a suitcase and the voice of her father telling her she's part of a family legacy of greatness. Soon, the ugliness of the Jim Crow South intrudes, and she's thrust into a movement for social change. Freda is reluctant to get involved, torn between a soon-to-be doctor her parents approve of and an audacious young man willing to risk it all in the name of justice. Freda finds herself caught between two worlds, and two loves, and must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice for the advancement of her people. In 1992 Chicago, Freda's daughter Tulip is an ambitious PR professional on track for an exciting career, if workplace politics and racial microaggressions don't get in her way. But with the ruling in the Rodney King trial weighing heavily on her, Tulip feels called to action. When she makes an irreversible professional misstep as she seeks to uplift her community, she must decide, just like her mother had three decades prior, what she's willing to risk in the name of justice and equality. Insightful, evocative, and richly imagined with stories of hidden history, People of Means is an emotional tour de force that offers a glimpse into the quest for racial equality, the pursuit of personal and communal success, and the power of love and family ties.
Subjects: Social problem fiction.; Novels.; African American women; Man-woman relationships; Mothers and daughters; Race relations; Racism; Social justice;

The first date prophecy / by Tamberelli, Kateauthor.; Tamberelli, Danny,1982-author.;
"Aspiring writer Lucy Minninger has no trouble putting the comedy in her rom-coms. It's the romance part of the equation that's the problem. Rudy Riziero made his mark on some of the most popular kids shows of the ՚90s. But ... he's actually ready for a relationship, if he could just find someone uninterested in who he used to be. When Lucy and Rudy match online, they're eager to meet. But after their first date ends in a psychic's prophecy that is equal parts great fortune and certain doom, their flirty quips end and their search for answers to some of life's big questions begins"--
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Novels.; Dating (Social customs); Man-woman relationships; Psychics;

An elegant woman : a novel / by McPhee, Martha,author.;
"For fans of Mary Beth Keane and Jennifer Egan, this powerful, moving multigenerational saga from National Book Award finalist Martha McPhee--ten years in the making--explores one family's story against the sweep of 20th century American history. Drawn from the author's own family history, An Elegant Woman is a story of discovery and reinvention, following four generations of women in one American family. As Isadora, a novelist, and two of her sisters sift through the artifacts of their forebears' lives, trying to decide what to salvage and what to toss, the narrative shifts to a winter day in 1910 at a train station in Ohio. Two girls wait in the winter cold with their mother--the mercurial Glenna Stewart--to depart for a new life in the West. As Glenna campaigns in Montana for women's suffrage and teaches in one-room schoolhouses, Tommy takes care of her little sister, Katherine: trapping animals, begging, keeping house, cooking, while Katherine goes to school. When Katherine graduates, Tommy makes a decision that will change the course of both of their lives. A profound meditation on memory, history, and legacy, An Elegant Woman follows one woman over the course of the 20th century, taking the reader from a drought-stricken farm in Montana to a yellow Victorian in Maine; from the halls of a psychiatric hospital in London to a wedding gown fitting at Bergdorf Goodman; from a house in small town Ohio to a family reunion at a sweltering New Jersey pig roast. Framed by Isadora's efforts to retell her grandmother's journey--and understand her own--the novel is an evocative exploration of the stories we tell ourselves, and what we leave out."--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Social problem fiction.; Families; Sisters; Mothers and daughters; Women;

Born to be Wilde / by James, Eloisa.;
For beautiful, witty Lavinia Gray, there's only one thing worse than having to ask the appalling Parth Sterling to marry her: being turned down by him. Now the richest bachelor in England, Parth is not about to marry a woman as reckless and fashion-obsessed as Lavinia; he's chosen a far more suitable bride. But when he learns of Lavinia's desperate circumstances, he offers to find her a husband. Even better, he'll find her a prince. As usual, there's no problem Parth can't fix. But the more time he spends with the beguiling Lavinia, the more he finds himself wondering... Why does the woman who's completely wrong feel so right in his arms?
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Historical fiction.; Aristocracy (Social class); Man-woman relationships;

Everything is not enough : a novel / by Akinmade-Akerström, Lola,author.;
"Can a career woman truly have it all? Powerful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi has finally found the man she needs, but Tobias Wikström thinks she's the most selfish woman he has ever met for asking him to give up his life in Sweden and move to the US for her own comfort. Will Kemi be forced to stay, chipping away at her hard-earned career, if she wants to keep him? As things begin to sour and Kemi faces challenges in her relationship with Tobias, someone else moves back into the picture. Can having it all be a gilded cage? Looking into divorce in Sweden isn't what former model-turned-flight-attendant Brittany-Rae von Lundin anticipated. Only jointly owned assets are split evenly between couples. Brittany gave up her career and went with nothing into Jonny's kingdom. Having had a child with him, Brittany fears their daughter, Maya, will be cut off from the resources she's become accustomed to. Trying to get away from a man obsessed with a ghost isn't going to be easy. And the deeper she digs into his past, the darker the secrets she unravels. Can you run from your past to have it all? After fleeing her home with the help of a client to seek a new life in Sweden, Yasmiin carves out her own small corner of the world, finding love in the arms of Yagiz Çelik. But when someone from her past forces Yasmiin to become a caretaker before she's ready, she now must confront and move beyond her teenage history, all while pursuing her dreams of becoming a makeup artist. Follow the loosely intertwined and messy lives of Kemi, Brittany, and Yasmiin as they interrogate themes of place, prejudice, and patriarchy in Europe. Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström proves, yet again, that she is the next great voice of nuanced contemporary women's fiction."--Jacket flap.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Social problem fiction.; Novels.; Female friendship; Interpersonal relations; Prejudices; Racism against Black people; Women, Black; Women, Black;

Agony Hill : a mystery / by Taylor, Sarah Stewart,author.;
"Set in rural Vermont in the volatile 1960s, Agony Hill is the first novel in a new historical series full of vivid New England atmosphere and the deeply drawn characters that are Sarah Stewart Taylor's trademark. In the hot summer of 1965, Bostonian Franklin Warren arrives in Bethany, Vermont, to take a position as a detective with the state police. Warren's new home is on the verge of monumental change; the interstates under construction will bring new people, new opportunities, and new problems to Vermont, and the Cold War and protests against the war in Vietnam have finally reached the dirt roads and rolling pastures of Bethany. Warren has barely unpacked when he's called up to a remote farm on Agony Hill. Former New Yorker and Back-to-the-Lander Hugh Weber seems to have set fire to his barn and himself, with the door barred from the inside, but things aren't adding up for Warren. The people of Bethany-from Weber's enigmatic wife to Warren's neighbor, widow and amateur detective Alice Bellows - clearly have secrets they'd like to keep, but Warren can't tell if the truth about Weber's death is one of them. As he gets to know his new home and grapples with the tragedy that brought him there, Warren is drawn to the people and traditions of small town Vermont, even as he finds darkness amidst the beauty"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Novels.; Country life; Detectives; Fires; Murder; Nineteen sixties; Police, State; Secrecy; Small cities;

House of cotton / by Brashears, Monica,author.;
"Nineteen years old, broke, and effectively an orphan, Magnolia doesn't have much to look forward to. She feels stuck and haunted: by her overdrawn bank account, by her predatory landlord, by the ghost of her late grandmother Mama Brown. One night while working at her dead-end gas station job, a mysterious, slick stranger named Cotton walks in and offers to turn Magnolia's luck around. He offers her a lucrative "modeling" job at his family's funeral home. Magnolia accepts. But despite things looking up, Magnolia's problems fatten along with her wallet. When Cotton's requests become increasingly weird, Magnolia discovers there's a lot more at stake than just her rent. Sharp as a belted knife, this sly social commentary cuts straight to the bone, revealing the aftermath of the American plantation and what it means to be poor, Black, and a woman in the God fearing south. Impossible to put down, Brashears's House of Cotton will keep you mesmerized until the very last page"--
Subjects: Novels.; African American women; Bereavement; Poor women; Spirits; Undertakers and undertaking;

The Blanket Cats / by Shigematsu, Kiyoshi,1963-author.; Kirkwood, Jesse,translator.;
Is three days with a cat enough to change your life? The troubled and anxious of Tokyo are desperate to find out. They all have their problems and they all want to believe that a temporary feline companion from a unique pet shop can help them find a solution. Or at least provide a few days relief and distraction. But, like all their kind, the Blanket Cats are mysterious creatures with their own unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking forisn't what they really need. Three days may not be enough to change your life. But it can be enough to change how you see it.
Subjects: Novels.; Blankets; Cats; Human-animal relationships; Pet shops;

Canadian boyfriend / by Holiday, Jenny(Romance author),author.;
"Once upon a time teenage Aurora Evans met a hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. And soon, he was the perfect fake boyfriend, a get-out-of-jail-free card for all kinds of sticky situations. I can't go to prom. I'm going to be visiting my boyfriend in Canada. He was just what she needed to cover her social awkwardness. He never had to know. It wasn't like she was ever going to see him again ... Years later, Aurora is teaching kids' dance classes and battling panic and eating disorders--souvenirs from her failed ballet career--when pro hockey player Mike Martin walks in with his daughter. Mike's honesty about his struggles with widowhood helps Aurora confront some of her own demons, and the two forge an unlikely friendship. There's just one problem: Mike is the boy she spent years pretending was her "Canadian boyfriend." The longer she keeps her secret, the more she knows it will shatter the trust between them. But to have the life she wants, she needs to tackle the most important thing of all--believing in herself"--
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Novels.; Canadians; Dance teachers; Hockey players; Man-woman relationships; Secrecy; Self-esteem; Widowers;

The freedom seeker / by Gupta, Ruchira.;
"In one girl's relentless search for home and safety, The Freedom Seeker takes readers on a daring journey of displacement and immigration. Illuminated by the kindness of strangers across continents and the strength of the human spirit, renowned activist and award-winning documentarian Ruchira Gupta has written a powerful tale of resilience, hope, and the enduring strength of familial love. Twelve-year-old Simi Singh's life in Northern India is filled with love, family traditions, and ordinary worries about hockey competitions, school exams, and avoiding the snide remarks of her class nemesis. But when a single rock carrying a note crash through their window during their Eid celebration, Simi's life will shatter. Her Sikh father and Muslim mother's interfaith marriage is becoming a target of violent vigilantes. Faced with rising threats, they must make an impossible choice: stay and risk their lives, or flee their homeland. Simi's father is the first of them to make the journey to the U.S., but when their petition to be reunited in America is denied, Simi and her mother are left with no choice but to attempt a perilous crossing through the Arizona desert with the help of a smuggler. Throughout her nail-biting journey towards safety and belonging, Simi will face unthinkable danger-- and when Simi and her mother are separated during the crossing, each led to believe the other is dead, she refuses to accept this fate. Alone in an unfamiliar and unforgiving land, she must summon all her courage and resourcefulness to survive, find her mother, and reunite her shattered family.
Subjects: Social problem fiction.; Interfaith marriage; Refugees; Human smuggling; Emigration and immigration; Families; Sikhs; Muslims;