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Everything I Never Told You By Celeste Ng
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY:
NPR · San Francisco Chronicle · Entertainment Weekly · The Huffington Post · Buzzfeed · Amazon · Grantland · Booklist · St. Louis Post Dispatch · Shelf Awareness · Book Riot · School Library Journal · Bustle · Time Out New York · Mashable · Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.
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Little Fires Everywhere
“To say I love this book is an understatement. It’s a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection. It moved me to tears.” – Reese Witherspoon
“Extraordinary…Books like Little Fires Everywhere don’t come along often.” —John Green
“Witty, wise, and tender. It’s a marvel.” – Paula Hawkins
From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town–and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.
Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
Perfect for book clubs! Visit celesteng.com for discussion guides and more.
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Before the Rains
A romantic, heart-wrenching tale of love against the odds from the Number One Sunday Timesbestselling author
1930, Rajputana, India. Since her husband’s death, 28-year-old photojournalist Eliza’s only companion has been her camera. When the British Government send her to an Indian princely state to photograph the royal family, she’s determined to make a name for herself.
But when Eliza arrives at the palace she meets Jay, the Prince’s handsome, brooding brother. While Eliza awakens Jay to the poverty of his people, he awakens her to the injustices of British rule. Soon Jay and Eliza find they have more in common than they think. But their families – and society – think otherwise. Eventually they will have to make a choice between doing what’s expected, or following their hearts. . .
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The Seperation By Dinah Jefferies (Hardcover)
The Separation By Dinah Jefferies (Author)
The Separation, Dinah Jefferies’ stunning debut novel, is the heartbreaking tale of a family fractured by lies and one mother’s love reaching across the distance of years and continents.
A country at war with itself,
a family divided and betrayed,
a bond that can never be broken… -
The Sapphire Widow By Dinah Jefferies
A sweeping, breath-taking story of love and betrayal from the Number One Sunday Times bestselling author of The Tea Planter’s Wife
Ceylon, 1935. Louisa Reeve, the daughter of a successful British gem trader, and her husband Elliot, a charming, thrill-seeking businessman, seem like the couple who have it all. Except what they long for more than anything: a child.
While Louisa struggles with miscarriages, Elliot is increasingly absent, spending much of his time at a nearby cinnamon plantation, overlooking the Indian ocean. After his sudden death, Louisa is left alone to solve the mystery he left behind. Revisiting the plantation at Cinnamon Hills, she finds herself unexpectedly drawn towards the owner Leo, a rugged outdoors man with a chequered past. The plantation casts a spell, but all is not as it seems. And when Elliot’s shocking betrayal is revealed, Louisa has only Leo to turn to…
‘A sweeping tale, beautifully written in a wonderful setting, heartrending yet ultimately uplifting. Gorgeous.’ Katie Fforde
‘The sights, smells and atmosphere of Ceylon are beautifully depicted. This is Dinah Jefferies at her best’ Lucinda Riley
‘Dinah Jefferies has a remarkable gift for conjuring up another time and place with lush descriptions, full of power and intensity’ Kate Furnivall -
The Friendship Promise by Umm Zakiyyah
Maryam is the daughter of strict Pakistani-American parents who do not want her around American Muslims. However, they decide to bend their rules to help a divorced American convert to Islam, whose free-spirited daughter Samira is in need of Muslim friends. But when Samira convinces Maryam to disobey their parents, Maryam is worried they may have gone too far. Originally published as A Friendship Promise by Ruby Moore (Umm Zakiyyah):
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Prejudice Bones in My Body By Umm Zakiyyah
Speaking frankly about her experiences with Muslim racism, victim culture, self-hate, and spiritual abuse, in these essays, Prejudice Bones in My Body By Umm Zakiyyah encourages the honesty and personal accountability necessary for healing.
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Muslim Girl by Umm Zakiyyah
Faith turns to shame, confidence to doubt, and conviction to rebellion. Inaya was only nine when her mother converted to Islam and moved the family to Saudi Arabia. Now, at sixteen years old, Inaya returns to America and decides to remove her Muslim clothes and hide her religion at school.
…And she hopes to get the attention of a boy she likes. But she has no idea how to hide this double life from her mother, and from everyone who admires her strong faith.
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A Sackful Of Wishes by Azizah Idris
A Sackful of Wishes by Azizah Idris is a story about Hadiza Musa, 25-years old, has been through hell. As a bubbly, fun-loving teenager, she marries the impulsive Abdurrazaq Zanna, known as AR, and for eight years suffers, starvation, rape and mental abuse from an increasingly obsessive husband.
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Written in the Stars By Aisha Saeed
Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: You may choose what you want to be when you grow up, but we will choose your husband. Dating, even a friendship with a boy, is forbidden. So when Naila falls in love with Saif, a Pakistani-American classmate, and tries to date him on the sly, her parents are livid.
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Every Day Is for the Thief By Teju Cole
NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY DWIGHT GARNER, THE NEW YORK TIMES – NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY San Francisco Chronicle – NPR – The Root – The Telegraph – The Globe and Mail
NATIONAL BESTSELLER – FINALIST, PHILLIS WHEATLEY BOOK AWARD – TEJU COLE WAS NAMED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL AFRICANS OF THE YEAR BY NEW AFRICAN MAGAZINEFor readers of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Michael Ondaatje, Every Day Is for the Thief is a wholly original work of fiction by Teju Cole, whose critically acclaimed debut, Open City, was the winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was named one of the best books of the year by more than twenty publications.
Fifteen years is a long time to be away from home. It feels longer still because I left under a cloud.
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Mad About You By Sinéad Moriarty
Emma and James Hamilton have weathered lots of storms in their ten-year marriage. From the heartbreak of infertility, to the craziness of then becoming parents to two babies in one year, to coping with James losing his job, somehow they have always worked as a team.