The Charlotte & William Bloomberg Medford Public Library
June, 16 2024 18:39:51
Black Cake
By Wilkerson, Charmaine
In present-day California, following her death, Eleanor Bennett leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking journey unfolds, revealing the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenging everything the siblings thought they knew about their family, and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor's true history, and fulfill her final request to "share the black cake when the time is right?" Will their mother's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever? Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593358337
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Book
The Nickel Boys
By Whitehead, Colson
Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes a strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grandmother, Elwood Curtis is about to enroll in the local black college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, whose mission statement says it provides "physical, intellectual and moral training" so the delinquent boys in their charge can become "honorable and honest men". In reality, the Nickel Academy is a grotesque chamber of horrors where the sadistic staff beat and sexually abuse the students, corrupt officials and locals steal food and supplies, and any boy who resists is likely to disappear "out back". Stunned to find himself in such a vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold onto Dr. King's ringing assertion "Throw us in jail and we will still love you". His friend Turner thinks Elwood is worse than naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. The tension between Elwood's ideals and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades. Based on the real story of a reform school in Florida that operated for one hundred and eleven years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers.
Publisher: n/a
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9780385537070
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Book
The Intangible
By Washington, C. J.
Amanda Jackson and longs for motherhood. The early weeks of her first pregnancy are filled with happiness and excited anticipation as she and her husband prepare for the journey of parenthood. Then comes a devastating loss. Even though the doctors tell her otherwise, Amanda believes that she is still pregnant. Betrayed by her mind and body she turns to neuroscientist Patrick Davis for answers. As Patrick spirals deeper into Amanda's illness, his own homelife crumbles, as his wife, Marissa, struggles to cope with her own loss. A riveting novel focusing on two couples caught in the intersection between science and human emotion.
Publisher: n/a
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1542032180
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Book
A Dash of Salt and Pepper
By Jackson, Kosoko
Xavier Reynolds is doing less than stellar. He just got dumped, was passed over for a prestigious fellowship, and to top it all off he's right back home in Harper's Cove, Maine. The last thing he wants to do is to work as a prep chef in the kitchen of the hip new restaurant in town, The Wharf. Especially since the hot, single-father chef who owns it can't delegate to save his life. Logan O'Hare doesn't understand Xavier or why every word out of his mouth is dipped in sarcasm. Unfortunately, he has no choice but to hire him - he needs more help in the kitchen and his tween daughter, Anne, can only mince so many onions. It might be a recipe for disaster, but Logan doesn't have many options besides Xavier. Stuck between a stove and a hot place, Logan and Xavier discover an unexpected connection. A swoony romantic comedy that asks the question: are two cooks in the kitchen better than one?
Publisher: n/a
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9780593334461
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Paperback
Wahala
By May, Nikki
An incisive and exhilarating debut novel following three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and the lethally glamorous fourth woman who infiltrates their group. Ronke wants happily ever after and 2.2. kids. She's dating Kayode and wants him to be "the one" (perfect, like her dead father). Her friends think he's just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends. Boo has everything Ronke wants--a kind husband, gorgeous child--but she's frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be. Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she's crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her "urban vibe". Her husband thinks they're trying for a baby. She's not. When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she's bringing out the best in each woman. But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi, and Boo's close friendship begins to crack. Wahala is an unforgettable modern take on friendship, ambition, and culture.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063084247
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Book
Deacon King Kong
By Mcbride, James
In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project's drug dealer at point-blank range.The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong. McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood's Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself. As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters--caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York--overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.
Publisher: n/a
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9780735216723
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Book
The City We Became
By Jemisin, N. K.
Five New Yorkers must come together to defend their city from an ancient evil in this stunning new novel by Hugo Award-winner and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin. Every great city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got six. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.
Black Cake
By Wilkerson, Charmaine
In present-day California, following her death, Eleanor Bennett leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking journey unfolds, revealing the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenging everything the siblings thought they knew about their family, and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor's true history, and fulfill her final request to "share the black cake when the time is right?" Will their mother's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever? Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history.
The Nickel Boys
By Whitehead, Colson
Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes a strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grandmother, Elwood Curtis is about to enroll in the local black college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, whose mission statement says it provides "physical, intellectual and moral training" so the delinquent boys in their charge can become "honorable and honest men". In reality, the Nickel Academy is a grotesque chamber of horrors where the sadistic staff beat and sexually abuse the students, corrupt officials and locals steal food and supplies, and any boy who resists is likely to disappear "out back". Stunned to find himself in such a vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold onto Dr. King's ringing assertion "Throw us in jail and we will still love you". His friend Turner thinks Elwood is worse than naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. The tension between Elwood's ideals and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades. Based on the real story of a reform school in Florida that operated for one hundred and eleven years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers.
The Intangible
By Washington, C. J.
Amanda Jackson and longs for motherhood. The early weeks of her first pregnancy are filled with happiness and excited anticipation as she and her husband prepare for the journey of parenthood. Then comes a devastating loss. Even though the doctors tell her otherwise, Amanda believes that she is still pregnant. Betrayed by her mind and body she turns to neuroscientist Patrick Davis for answers. As Patrick spirals deeper into Amanda's illness, his own homelife crumbles, as his wife, Marissa, struggles to cope with her own loss. A riveting novel focusing on two couples caught in the intersection between science and human emotion.
A Dash of Salt and Pepper
By Jackson, Kosoko
Xavier Reynolds is doing less than stellar. He just got dumped, was passed over for a prestigious fellowship, and to top it all off he's right back home in Harper's Cove, Maine. The last thing he wants to do is to work as a prep chef in the kitchen of the hip new restaurant in town, The Wharf. Especially since the hot, single-father chef who owns it can't delegate to save his life. Logan O'Hare doesn't understand Xavier or why every word out of his mouth is dipped in sarcasm. Unfortunately, he has no choice but to hire him - he needs more help in the kitchen and his tween daughter, Anne, can only mince so many onions. It might be a recipe for disaster, but Logan doesn't have many options besides Xavier. Stuck between a stove and a hot place, Logan and Xavier discover an unexpected connection. A swoony romantic comedy that asks the question: are two cooks in the kitchen better than one?
Wahala
By May, Nikki
An incisive and exhilarating debut novel following three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and the lethally glamorous fourth woman who infiltrates their group. Ronke wants happily ever after and 2.2. kids. She's dating Kayode and wants him to be "the one" (perfect, like her dead father). Her friends think he's just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends. Boo has everything Ronke wants--a kind husband, gorgeous child--but she's frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be. Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she's crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her "urban vibe". Her husband thinks they're trying for a baby. She's not. When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she's bringing out the best in each woman. But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi, and Boo's close friendship begins to crack. Wahala is an unforgettable modern take on friendship, ambition, and culture.
Deacon King Kong
By Mcbride, James
In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project's drug dealer at point-blank range.The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong. McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood's Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself. As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters--caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York--overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.
The City We Became
By Jemisin, N. K.
Five New Yorkers must come together to defend their city from an ancient evil in this stunning new novel by Hugo Award-winner and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin. Every great city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got six. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.