Writers & Lovers by Lily King

 

Title: Writers & Lovers 

Author: Lily King 

Published: 2020 

Call #: FIC King 

http://pclib.polarislibrary.com/view.aspx?author=King&title=writers

 

One by one, all of Casey Peabody’s grad school friends caved – taking on careers that had nothing to do with their craft. All of them vowed to have creative careers, hopefully writing the next great American novel. She knows they hope to have time to write again but won’t. While it might be the responsible move, she can’t allow herself to give up on her dream, it’s all she has left.  

 

After unexpectedly losing her mother and breaking apart from the love of her life in quick succession, Casey finds herself in a dismal state. She is left with only her brother and father; the latter is still resentful that Casey didn’t follow his dream for her to become a professional golfer. The only consistent thing in her life has been the novel she has been writing for the past 6 years. It is what drives her to bike three miles to her job hustling tables at an overpriced brunch restaurant in Harvard Square serving coddled ivy league students. It is what keeps her motivated and disciplined. It connects her to other people. It is what makes living in a semi-remodeled garden shed attached to a friend’s garage acceptable, as it is somewhere that is just hers. It is what allows her to wake up especially early, even after barely sleeping for worry of the debt collectors hunting her down for heaps of student loan debt. Writing is also what leads her to meet two very different love interests and opens doors to worlds she never imagined.  

 

Described in several reviews not only as one of the best of 2020, but also as a “portrait of an artist as a young woman,” Writers & Lovers is exactly that. While at heart, it is a coming-of-age story, it is full of brave insight on being a young woman – those observations which are universally true now and in 1997 when the book takes place. Lily King invites us into the depths of the struggling artist’s brain, all while keeping it airy and sprinkling it with intelligent humor. We see the agony and triumph writers go through, whether life cooperates or not.   

Erin I.

Popular Materials Assistant.

All Adults Here by Emma Straub

Title: All Adults Here 

Author: Emma Straub 

Published: 2020 

Call #: FIC STRAUB            

 

After Astrid Strict witnesses an acquaintance get struck by a school bus in the middle of town, memories are stirred, and she begins questioning her black or white approach to life. Astrid’s three children are all on a quest for impossible dreams. Her youngest is perpetually soul searching, trying to make his late father proud. Her oldest holds himself up to impossible standards in a career he has never enjoyed, both of which are a mystery to the entire family. Her middle child can’t grow out of her adolescent days, including her high school boyfriend. Until this day, Astrid considered herself a pretty good mom. Though, when she really starts to think back, perhaps she wasn’t entirely blameless for her children’s mishaps.  

 

In All Adults Here, author Emma Straub utilizes insight and wit to show how family dynamics play into all our decisions in life in some way. Straub explores many social issues, including the complexity of sexuality, gender identity and infidelity. She wisely envelopes those issues into parent / child, sibling, or friend relationships. As consequences bubble up, more truth is revealed and the reader slowly sees more layers of these characters, and how they came to be the way they are.  

 

Have you ever felt like you missed the mark? How about messed up as a parent, child or sibling? Then you will fit right in with the Strict family. Find out if family can overpower in the end or if the truth weighs them all down.  

Erin I.

Popular Materials Librarian

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

Title: The Henna Artist

Author: Alka Joshi 

Published: 2020 

Call #: Fic/Joshi 

http://pclib.polarislibrary.com/view.aspx?author=joshi&title=henna

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi is a debut historical fiction novel published in May 2020.  The book begins in the year 1955 when India has recently gotten its independence from the British.  The main character, Lakshmi is a woman who has forged her own path by moving to the large city of Jaipur and becoming a much sought after henna design artist.  The reader learns that Lakshmi was forced into an abusive arranged marriage at a young age because her parents could no longer care for her.  How did Lakshmi get from an arranged marriage at 17 to an independent woman 13 years late?  As the story goes along we find out how Lakshmi made her own way despite many struggles. 

One day Lakshmi finds her estranged husband waiting for her along with a 13-year-old sister she never knew she had.  She is heartbroken when she learns that both her parents have died. Lakshmi takes in her sister while also juggling her business, ex-husband and forging an independent life.  When Radha, Lakshmi’s sister, becomes pregnant Lakshmi must make choose between her family and her business. 

If you like to read about female resilience, the choices women have and how they overcome life’s obstacles this book is for you.  It also gives the reader a peek at Indian life from the caste system, dress, food to family life.  If you are a fan of historical fiction, women’s fiction or just like to read about strong women overcoming struggles this is the book for you. 

This book was one of Reese Witherspoon’s book club picks.  If you are interested in learning more about the author, Alka Joshi, go to the website, thehennaartist.com for more information, interviews and a wonderful blog.   

This book is available at Poplar Creek in regular print and as an eBook or eaudiobook.  

Lynn D.

Popular Materials Asst. Manager

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Title: Things You Save in a Fire
Author: Katherine Center
Published: 2019
Call #: FIC/Center


Cassie Hanwell is a firefighter in Austin, Texas, and is extremely independent woman.  Relationships of any kind are merely a distraction to her, and for good reason.  Cassie's past has taught her that love, even in its varying forms, is nothing but trouble.  

The story begins with Cassie about to receive the Austin Fire Department's Valor Award, the first female to ever with this award.  When the Mayor announces a surprise guest will be giving Cassie the award, Cassie is shocked when she not only recognizes the surprise guest, but that it's the last person in the world she ever expected to see again.  Thankfully, the shock wears off quickly and Cassie takes matters into her own hands.

As if the situation at the awards banquet isn't enough, Cassie also has to deal with her estranged mother.  She's been calling Cassie non-stop, but Cassie has been ignoring the calls.  Finally, Cassie contacts her mother and is shocked when her mother tells her she's got some health issues asks her to move to Massachusetts to live with her for a year. Cassie quickly answers no, until the fallout from the awards banquet stalls her career in Austin and she's forced to find work elsewhere.  Suddenly Massachusetts doesn't seem so bad after all.

Cassie's reputation as a stellar firefighter helps her get a job a the Lillian Fire Department.  What she finds is that the LFD doesn't exactly want her so much as they need her.  Women are not welcome at the firehouse.  Cassie sets out to change that and prove that she can hang with the boys, even if it means following some self-imposed strict rules.

 Cassie has survived her past by burying it deep and closing herself off to people. What Cassie doesn't count on is the feelings that begin to surface as she gets to know her new firehouse and her mother again.  

Katherine Center writes about the messy parts of life with honesty and great character development.  I loved everything about this book--from the humorous moments to the heartbreaking ones.  Highly recommended for readers of women's fiction.  

Jill B
Popular Materials Manager

White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht

Title: White Chrysanthemum 

Author: Mary Lynn Bracht 

Published: 2018 

Call #: FIC BRACHT 

Either taken under disguise or snatched from their villages, as many as 200,000 women and girls were kidnapped and labeled “comfort women” to service brothels of the Japanese Imperial Army during the Japanese occupation of Korea.  Deemed less than human, these women suffered abuse day after day.  Survivors often could not even speak of the horrors they endured due to the Confucian society’s high value of purity. For many years, the women suffered in silence.  

      This eye-opening book tells the story of two sisters and the world they grew up in--one of both love and sacrifice, yet incomprehensible pain.  From the day Hana’s baby sister, Emiko is born, she swears to protect her, always.  The sisters are part of a “Haenyeo” family -- women taught generation after generation to fish in their oceans and provide for their families.  At sixteen-years-old, Hana free dives while her younger sister stays on the sandy shore guarding their catch. When a Japanese soldier comes to the secluded beach, then the worst nightmare begins. 

     Compassionate, raw, and hopeful, this novel tells the moving story of the Haenyeo women and the horrors they endured, as well as the strength and comfort they found in each other.  A beautiful testimony of both friendship and loss, it will leave you teary eyed and inspired.   

Blanca S.

Popular Materials Assistant 

The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani

 

Title: The Storyteller’s Secret 

Author: Sejal Badani 

Published: 2018 

Call #: FIC Badani 

Filled with both the exotic and touchingly human, The Storyteller’s Secret is a captivating tale.  The story begins when Lena, an Indian immigrant, receives a letter from her hometown stating that her father is very ill and asking her to come home. Her daughter Jaya, a New York journalist, decides that she’s the one that will be going since her mom doesn’t want to do it. 

 Jaya sets out on a journey to a world much different from her own.  Here she discovers things that are intriguing and unfamiliar--new sights, sounds, and tastes.  Having been desperate for a child and deep in depression for months, Jaya searches for answers and meaning with the help of Ravi--an untouchable and ex-servant of her grandmother, Amisha. 

  

      A story of love, loss, and friendship, this novel is ultimately a story of life. The descriptions of British India are so vivid that you feel you are right there with Ravi and Amisha, experiencing the culture alongside them and exploring the themes of forbidden love, inequality of women, arranged marriages, and more.  

 Jaya, once heartbroken due to the trials she faced throughout her own life, discovers the many struggles her grandparents faced and finds a comfort through their strength.  Through the heartwarming stories of Ravi, Jaya realizes that only by understanding her past can she truly move forward.  

Blanca Stephens 

Reference Assistant