New Fiction

 

All Good Children by Catherine Austen

“Quick-witted, prank-pulling graffiti artist Maxwell Connors is more observant than the average New Middletown teenager. And he doesn’t like what he sees. New Middletown’s children are becoming frighteningly obedient, and their parents and teachers couldn’t be happier. As Max and his friend Dallas watch their classmates transform into model citizens, Max wonders if their only hope of freedom lies in the unknown world beyond New Middletown’s walls, where creativity might be a gift instead of a liability.”–Jacket.

Angry Management by Chris Crutcher

“Welcome to Angry Management. It’s a place for misfits. For stories that will rip out your heart and give you back one better than what you started with. Stories about prejudice, rage, and hope. About surviving it all and showing the world that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” –Cover

Chai Tea Sunday by Heather Clark

“Thirtysomething Nicky Fowler has it all – a rewarding career, a loving husband and the perfect home. But when she and her husband suffer a complicated tragedy, the strain of two people dealing with an impossible situation in different ways breaks up their marriage. Emotionally lost, Nicky travels to Kenya to volunteer at an orphanage. Amidst the violence and abject poverty, Nicky discovers the one thing that keeps Kenyans moving forward: hope. Over steaming mugs of chai, the country’s signature drink, Nicky opens up to her host mother, Mama Bu, and finds understanding, love and strength. And with that strength, Nicky realizes what she needs to do to save the endangered children she’s grown to love. Based on a true story.” –Cover.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

“Meet Oscar Schell, an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, and pacifist. He is nine years old. And he is out on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York. His mission is to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11.” –Jacket.

In the Kingdom of Men by Kim Barnes

Gin Mitchell, raised in a two-room shack by her Oklahoma grandfather, a strict Methodist minister, knows a better life awaits her when she marries hometown hero Mason McPhee. But nothing prepares her for the world she and Mason step into when he takes a job with the Arabian American Oil company in Saudi Arabia. Gin now lives in a home with marble floors, a houseboy, and a gardener. Even among the veiled women, Gin’s life has become the stuff of fairy tales. But when a young Bedouin woman is found washed up on the shores of the Persian Gulf, Gin’s world changes, and the one person she trusts is nowhere to be found. –Summary.

Lone Wolf by Jody Picoult

“On an icy winter night, a terrible accident forces a family divided to come together and make a fateful decision. Cara, once protected by her father, Luke, is tormented by a secret that nobody knows. Her brother, Edward, has secrets of his own. He has kept them hidden, but now they may come to light, and if they do, Cara will be devastated. Their mother, Georgie, was never able to compete with her ex-husband’s obsessions, and now, his fate hangs in the balance and in the hands of her children. With conflicting motivations and emotions, what will this family decide? And will they be able to live with that decision, after the truth has been revealed? What happens when the hope that should sustain a family is the very thing tearing it apart?” –Publisher.

Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen

Will Scarlet shadows Robin Hood, with an unerring eye for finding treasures to steal and throwing daggers with deadly accuracy, but when Gisbourne, a ruthless bounty hunter, is hired by the sheriff to capture Robin and his band of thieves, Robin must become Will's protector risking his own life in the process. –Summary.

Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

“1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn's company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June's world is turned upside down. But Finn's death brings a surprise acquaintance into June's life – someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.” –Jacket.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

“After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he’s still in good health, and one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn’t interested (and he’d like a bit more control over his alcohol consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey.”–Cover.

The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam

Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English school in Saigon. He is also a compulsive gambler and an incorrigible womanizer who is accustomed to bribing government officials in order to maintain the elite status of his Academy. But, when his only son gets in trouble, Percival must face the limits of his connections and wealth and send Dai Jai away. In the loneliness that follows Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, and Laing Jai, a son born on the eve of the Tet offensive. But peace in a time of war is precarious at best and Percival is soon forced to confront the tragedy he has refused to see. –Summary.

Under the Moon by Deborah Kerbel

“Fifteen-year-old Lily MacArthur has trouble sleeping. In fact, she doesn’t sleep at all –at least, not since the death of her aunt. As the days turn into weeks, Lily becomes convinced that death-by-exhaustion is around the corner and searches the moonlit nights for a way to save herself from the long, dark hours of solitude. Can her new friend, Ben, help her find her sleep? Or do secrets from Ben’s past mean that he also needs saving?”–Cover.

When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

"This is a book about a brother and a sister. It's a book about childhood and growing up, friendships and families, triumph and tragedy and everything in between. More than anything, it's a book about love in all its forms." –Jacket.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

“August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school – until now. He’s about to enter fifth at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?” –Jacket.