Thursday, February 16, 2012

New Fiction




Delirium by Lauren Oliver
“Love. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't. In Lauren Oliver's stunning second novel, love has been declared a dangerous disease, and the government forces everyone who reaches eighteen to have a procedure called the cure. Lena Haloway is very much looking forward to being cured and living a safe, predictable life. But then she meets enigmatic Alex, who lives under the government's radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?" - Publisher.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
“Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. She fears for her future until she is spared by the all-powerful Council of Guardians. Kira is a gifted weaver and is assigned a task that no other community member can carry out. While her talent keeps her alive and brings certain privileges, Kira soon realizes that she is surrounded by mysteries and secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world - and to find out what exists beyond it.” – Publisher’s description.

Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
"Paris, 1940. A brilliant jazz musician, Hiero, is arrested by the Nazis and never heard from again. He is twenty years old. He is a German citizen. And he is black. Fifty years later, his friend and fellow musician, Sid, must relive that unforgettable time, revealing the friendships, love affairs and treacheries that sealed Hiero's fate. From the smoky bars of pre-war Berlin to the salons of Paris - where the legendary Louis Armstrong makes an appearance - Sid, with his distinctive and rhythmic German-American slang, leads the reader through a fascinating world alive with passion, music and the spirit of resistance.” – Publisher.

Hotel Vendome by Danielle Steel
After his wife leaves him for another man, Hugues Martin's life revolves solely around two things: the five-star New York hotel he owns and manages and his daughter Heloise. But their world is transformed forever when Heloise moves to France to attend school and Hugues meets his match in Natalie Peterson, a woman who understands him and his love for the Vendome. – Summary.

Run Mummy, Run by Cathy Glass
Aisha wished for a perfect marriage. But you should be careful what you wish for! Mark is sorry the first time he hits Aisha. His tears make her all the more determined to be a better wife; not to let herself down again. But however hard Aisha tries; she can't live up to Mark's impossible expectations or escape his violent temper. Soon she is trapped in an abusive marriage. And with two young children to protect, she must draw on her remaining strength in order to escape. What follows is totally devastating. Is the price she must pay for freedom too high? – Summary.

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
“Music has set the tone for most of Zoe Baxter’s life. There’s the melody that reminds her of the summer she spent rubbing baby oil on her stomach in pursuit of the perfect tan. A dance beat that makes her think of using a fake ID to slip into a night club. A dirge that marked the years she spent trying to get pregnant. In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people – even those she loves and trusts most – don’t want that to happen.” – Publisher.

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks
This is the story of two small-town former high school sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks. Now middle-aged, they have taken wildly divergent paths, but neither has lived the life they imagined, and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever altered their world. When they are both called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter, they will be forced to confront the choices each has made, and ask whether love can truly rewrite the past. – Summary.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
It all starts with a long lost letter that eventually leads Edie Burchill on a journey to Milderhurst Castle, a great but crumbling old structure. This is where the eccentric Blythe spinsters reside, and she discovers, where her mother was billeted during World War II. The elder Blythe sisters are twins and have spent a great portion of their lives caring for their younger sister, Juniper, who has been unstable since jilted by her fiancé in 1941. Inside the decaying castle, while trying to find learn about her mother’s past, Edie discovers various secrets regarding Milderhurst and its inhabitants. Secrets, as Edie finds out, that reveal the truth of what happened in 'the distant hours.' – Summary.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
“Elizabeth has just started working as a page at the New-York Circulating Material Repository, a lending library of objects – contemporary and historical, common and obscure. And secret, too – for in the repository’s basement lies the Grimm Collection, a room of magical items straight from the Grimm Brothers fairy tales. But the magic mirrors and seven-league boots and other items are starting to disappear. And before she knows it, she and her fellow pages – handsome Marc, perfect Anjali, and brooding Aaron – are suddenly caught up in an exciting but dangerous adventure!” – Publisher.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
“Summer 1924: On the night of a glittering Society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again. Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, onetime housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet’s suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long-consigned to the dark reaches of Grace’s mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge; something history has forgotten but Grace never could. Set as the war-shattered Edwardian summer surrenders to the decadent twenties, The House at Riverton is a thrilling mystery and a compelling love story.” – Kate Morton’s website.

The Salt Road by Jane Johnson
When her estranged archeologist father suddenly dies, the last thing Issy expects to be left with is a cryptic note from him and a mysterious jeweled amulet. Determined to learn how it came into her father's possession, she journey's to the deserts of Morocco, where the amulet is damaged and Isabelle almost killed. But Taib, her rescuer, knows the dunes and their peoples, and offers to help uncover the amulet's extraordinary history. What they discover is a tale of souls wounded by history and of love blossoming on barren ground. – Summary.

The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay
“Set in Victorian New York in the year 1871, as a crowded, sweltering summer of riots and poverty comes to a close; 12-year-old Moth's journey is just beginning. Sold away by her mother, Moth becomes a pickpocket on the streets of the Lower East Side and becomes involved in a world of danger and violence. The Virgin Cure is a tale of secrets and truths, of dark myths and magic of the heart - of one woman's fight to be heard, and one girl's desire to be loved.” – Publisher’s description.