DISCUSSION GUIDES

Summary: We Came Here to Shine is a story of ambition, friendship, and persistence with a fascinating and informative behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary New York World's Fair.

Summary: A richly imagined novel based on the life of artist Agnes Pelton, The Pelton Papers covers everything from her shrouded Brooklyn childhood to her early success in the Armory Show of 1913, subsequent retreat to a contemplative life, and, ultimately, the flowering of her deeply spiritual art.

Summary: With the novel’s opening line, "My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist," author Tayari Jones unveils a breathtaking story about a man's deception, a family's complicity, and the two teenage girls caught in the middle.

Summary: When fifteen-year-old Cuban American Mariana Ruiz’s father runs for president, Mari starts to see him with new eyes. A novel about waking up and standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your dad as your hero—while the whole country is watching.

Summary: A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

Summary: Over the course of one summer that begins with a shocking tragedy, three generations of the Adler family grapple with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets in this stunning debut novel.

Summary: The story of one tough-as-nails girl whose choices are few but whose imagination is boundless, and whose coping becomes a battle cry for everyone around her.

Summary: Propulsively readable, teeming with unforgettable characters, The Death of Vivek Oji is a novel of family and friendship that challenges expectations—a dramatic story of loss and transcendence that will move every reader.

Summary: Meet Dovey Johnson Roundtree—the trailblazing civil rights attorney who “proved . . . a single individual can turn the tides of history,” as Michelle Obama said—and discover the remarkable true story of a visionary woman we should all know more about.

Summary: On a hot July night on Cape Cod when Adrienne was fourteen, her mother, Malabar, woke her at midnight with five simple words that would set the course of both of their lives for years to come. A daughter's tale of living in the thrall of her magnetic, complicated mother, and the chilling consequences of her complicity.