Are you not sure what to read this coming month? At Bring Your Own Book Club we had some great selections from September's discussion.
Click on the titles to place your request from the library.
Lorriane - A Short History of the World in 50 Places by Dr. Jacob Field
From the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where remains of some of our earliest tool-using ancestors were found, to the CERN laboratory, where revolutionary technologies such as the World Wide Web were developed, each entry shows its influence on not just politics, but on the economy, culture, religion and society, as well as their links to great historical figures such as Alexander the Great, Buddha and Nelson Mandela. The size of the places ranges from small geographical features like a cave in Saudi Arabia where Islam began, to larger areas or regions, like Hollywood. Many entries are cities, such Jerusalem, Amritsar, and Rome, some others are buildings, like Anne Frank’s House in the Netherlands or the Confucius Temple in China, and there are even some that are rooms, such as the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace. No place is too big or too small to be included, as long as it has had a significant impact on history.
Dorothy - Ashes and Wax by Desi Valentine
PART ONE, THE LODGE: Lena and Geri are small town outcasts. In the summer of 1987 they build an underground fort that begins as a safe place for their secrets, but becomes a prison, a pyre and a grave.
PART TWO, THE DIGGER
GARDEN: In the fall of 1995, Hazel Leighton and her daughter Constance
are evicted from their home. They go to live on the only property left
to them, a mausoleum Hazel commissioned to house her late husband's
ashes. In this community of the dead, Hazel and Stannie find lasting
friendship, and Brady Steward finds a terrible outlet for the traumas
that rose from The Lodge.
PART THREE: THE HUNTING: It's
spring of 2013. Selena has been hiding since 1990. Brady has been hiding
from her. But the death of Inspector Gloria Madsen catalyzes a series
of events that draws Selena and Brady into a fight for Malcolm's life.
In the aftermath, Lena and Mally must turn to the friendship and family
they have refused since childhood, and Brady must confront himself.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35671205-ashes-wax
Meghan - The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.
Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.
Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined . . .
https://ellenmariewiseman.com/books/the-lost-girls-of-willowbrook/
Corrie - Conscience and Unconsciousness (Based on the movie 'While You Were Sleeping') by pontmercy44
“Who are you?” The man carrying the newspaper asked her, scrunching up his brow. He looked her up and down, completely befuddled. One by one, the other man, the doctor, and the stormy woman turned to look at her. They wore almost identical expressions of confusion. Rey blinked, speechlessly. The appropriate answer was "a waitress", or "a stranger," or even "a crazy, perpetually single woman who’s been hopelessly, inexplicably in love with your comatose son for weeks."
Behind her, the nurse huffed, cocking her hip. As if it was obvious, she said, “She’s his fiancée.”
https://archiveofourown.org/works/10212815/chapters/22665005
Nina - I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
When Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break — a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house — she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime.
In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim — police, family, and friends — tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night. Lou, a social worker, grapples with the departure of her live-in boyfriend. Cheryl, an artist, mourns the premature death of her sister Rain. Paulina, a single mother, struggles to trust her new partner. Phoenix, a homeless teenager, is released from a youth detention centre. Officer Scott, a Métis policeman, feels caught between two worlds as he patrols the city. Through their various perspectives a larger, more comprehensive story about lives of the residents in Winnipeg’s North End is exposed.
A powerful intergenerational family saga, The Break showcases Vermette’s abundant writing talent and positions her as an exciting new voice in Canadian literature.
Once upon a time, Sandy Macintosh thought
she would have her happily ever after with her high school sweetheart,
Hank Tillman. Sandy wanted to be an artist, Hank was the only boy in
town who seemed destined for bigger things, and they both had dreams to
escape town together. But when Sandy’s plans fell through, she stayed in
their small town in Ohio while Hank went off to Boston to follow his
dreams to be a musician, with the promise to stay together. Only that
plan fell through, too.
Fifteen years later, Sandy runs a
successful greenhouse while helping her parents with their bed and
breakfast. Everything is perfect…until Hank rolls back into town, now a
famous alt-country singer with a son in tow. She’s happy with the life
she’s built by herself, but seeing Hank makes her think about what might
have been. There aren’t enough cliché love songs in the world to
convince Sandy to give Hank another chance, but when the two of them get
thrown together to help organize the town’s annual street fair, she
wonders if there could be a new beginning for them or if what they had
is just a tired old song of the past.
Cedar has nearly forgotten what her family looks like. Phoenix has nearly forgotten what freedom feels like. And Elsie has nearly given up hope. Nearly.
After time spent in foster homes, Cedar goes to live with her estranged father. Although she grapples with the pain of being separated from her mother, Elsie, and sister, Phoenix, she’s hoping for a new chapter in her life, only to find herself once again in a strange house surrounded by strangers. From a youth detention centre, Phoenix gives birth to a baby she’ll never get to raise and tries to forgive herself for all the harm she’s caused (while wondering if she even should). Elsie, struggling with addiction and determined to turn her life around, is buoyed by the idea of being reunited with her daughters and strives to be someone they can depend on, unlike her own distant mother. These are the Strangers, each haunted in her own way. Between flickering moments of warmth and support, the women diverge and reconnect, fighting to survive in a fractured system that pretends to offer success but expects them to fail. Facing the distinct blade of racism from those they trusted most, they urge one another to move through the darkness, all the while wondering if they’ll ever emerge safely on the other side.
A breathtaking companion to her bestselling debut The Break, Vermette’s The Strangers brings readers into the dynamic world of the Stranger family, the strength of their bond, the shared pain in their past, and the light that beckons from the horizon. This is a searing exploration of race, class, inherited trauma, and matrilineal bonds that—despite everything—refuse to be broken.
https://katherenavermette.com/the-strangers/
Join us for October's Bring Your Own Book Club at Lakeshore Cafe on October 19th.
