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DISCUSSION GUIDES
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The River Is Waiting (Oprah's Book Club): A NovelSummary: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two Oprah Book Club Picks—She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True—Wally Lamb comes the propulsive story of a young father who, after an unbearable tragedy, reckons with the possibility of atonement for the unforgivable.
Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that’s before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart. Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model. Buoyed by them and by his mother’s enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves? - 2.
In Pursuit of Beauty: A NovelSummary:From the mind of acclaimed reporter Gary Baum comes In Pursuit of Beauty, a striking debut novel that examines the nature of truth and allure in our modern world.
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Isola: Reese's Book Club: A NovelSummary:REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • NATIONAL BESTSELLER •
A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in this “lushly painted” (People) historical epic of love, faith, and defiance from the bestselling author of Sam.
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Blood Over Bright Haven: A NovelSummary: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever in this “provocative stand-alone novel [that] deftly incorporates elements of science and philosophy into dark academia” (The Washington Post), from the author of The Sword of Kaigen.
“Bears comparison to groundbreaking works by Ursula K Le Guin . . . the best fantasy novel of the year”—The Guardian
Features gold and red foil on the jacket, a full-color endpaper map, and an interior illustration of an in-world magical item!
AN ELLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
For twenty years, Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry.
When Sciona finally passes the qualifying exam and becomes a highmage, she finds her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues are determined to make her feel unwelcome—and, instead of a qualified lab assistant, they give her a janitor.
What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was not always a janitor. Ten years ago, he was a nomadic hunter who lost his family on their perilous journey from the wild plains to the city. But now he sees the opportunity to understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the privileged in power.
At first, mage and outsider have a fractious relationship. But working together, they uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. - 5.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children)Summary:The #1 New York Times best-selling series
An abandoned orphanage on a mysterious island holds the key to supernatural secrets in this unusual and original first book in the one-of-a-kind Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series
A captivating blend of horror, dark fantasy, paranormal mystery, and time travel brought to life with more than 50 haunting vintage photographs
When a devastating family tragedy propels sixteen-year-old Jacob on a journey to a remote island off the coast of Wales, he stumbles upon the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As he explores the abandoned rooms, he uncovers a chilling truth—these children were not just peculiar, they were potentially dangerous, and they may have been quarantined for a reason. Trapped on this desolate island, their supernatural abilities and the mysteries surrounding them deepen. Impossibly, they may still be alive, their existence defying the laws of time and nature.
A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with a strange collection of historical photographs, this unforgettable novel will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
“A tense, moving, and wondrously strange first novel. The photographs and text work together brilliantly to create an unforgettable story.”—John Green, New York Times best-selling author of The Fault in Our Stars
“Riggs deftly moves between fantasy and reality, prose and photography to create an enchanting and at times positively terrifying story.”—Associated Press
“You’ll love it if you want a good thriller for the summer. It’s a mystery, and you’ll race to solve it before Jacob figures it out for himself.”—Seventeen
“One of the coolest, creepiest YA books.”—PopSugar - 6.
The OutsidersSummary: Inspiration for the 2024 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical!
Over 50 years of an iconic classic! The international bestseller-- a heroic story of friendship and belonging.
No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.
The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of fiction that laid the groundwork for the YA genre. S. E. Hinton's classic story of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published. "The Outsiders transformed young-adult fiction from a genre mostly about prom queens, football players and high school crushes to one that portrayed a darker, truer world." —The New York Times
"Taut with tension, filled with drama." —The Chicago Tribune
"[A] classic coming-of-age book." —Philadelphia Daily News
A New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Book
A Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Winner of the Massachusetts Children's Book Award - 7.
The Talented Mr. RipleySummary:It's here, in the first volume of Patricia Highsmith's five-book Ripley series, that we are introduced to the suave Tom Ripley, a young striver seeking to leave behind his past as an orphan bullied for being a "sissy." Newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan, Ripley meets a wealthy industrialist who hires him to bring his playboy son, Dickie Greenleaf, back from gallivanting in Italy. Soon Ripley's fascination with Dickie's debonair lifestyle turns obsessive as he finds himself enraged by Dickie's ambivalent affections for Marge, a charming American dilettante, and Ripley begins a deadly game. "Sinister and strangely alluring" (Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly) The Talented Mr. Ripley serves as an unforgettable introduction to this smooth confidence man, whose talent for self-invention is as unnerving--and unnervingly revealing of the American psyche--as ever.
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First-Time Caller (Paperback or Softback)Summary:INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle–inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.
Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.
Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life—or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she believed. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending…even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final decision between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her. - 9.
Human Acts: A NovelSummary: FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
“[Han Kang’s] intense poetic prose . . . confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”—The Nobel Committee for Literature, in the citation for the Nobel Prize
The internationally bestselling author of The Vegetarian presents a “rare and astonishing” (The Observer) portrait of political unrest and the universal struggle for justice.
“Compulsively readable, universally relevant, and deeply resonant . . . in equal parts beautiful and urgent.”—The New York Times Book Review
Shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award • One of the Best Books of the Year: The Atlantic, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, HuffPost, Medium, Library Journal
Amid a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is shockingly killed.
The story of this tragic episode unfolds in a sequence of interconnected chapters as the victims and the bereaved encounter suppression, denial, and the echoing agony of the massacre. From Dong-ho’s best friend who meets his own fateful end; to an editor struggling against censorship; to a prisoner and a factory worker, each suffering from traumatic memories; and to Dong-ho's own grief-stricken mother; and through their collective heartbreak and acts of hope is the tale of a brutalized people in search of a voice.
An award-winning, controversial bestseller, Human Acts is a timeless, pointillist portrait of an historic event with reverberations still being felt today, by turns tracing the harsh reality of oppression and the resounding, extraordinary poetry of humanity. - 10.
The Plot Against AmericaSummary: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The chilling bestselling alternate history novel of what happens to one family when America elects a charismatic, isolationist president whose government embraces anti-Semitism—from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Pastoral.
“A terrific political novel.... Sinister, vivid, dreamlike...You turn the pages, astonished and frightened.” —The New York Times Book Review
One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
In an extraordinary feat of narrative invention, Philip Roth imagines an alternate history where Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the 1940 presidential election to heroic aviator and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh. Shortly thereafter, Lindbergh negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism.