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BIG FAT DISASTER

One of our recommended books is Big Fat Disaster by Beth Fehlbaum

Insecure, shy, and way overweight, Colby hates the limelight as much as her pageant-pretty mom and sisters love it. It’s her life: Dad’s a superstar, running for office on a family values platform. Then suddenly, he ditches his marriage for a younger woman and gets caught stealing money from the campaign. Everyone hates Colby for finding out and blowing the whistle on him. From a mansion, they end up in a poor relative’s trailer, where her mom’s contempt swells right along with Colby’s supersized jeans.

Then, a cruel video of Colby half-dressed, made by her cousin Ryan, finds its way onto the internet.

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AND THE BRIDE CLOSED THE DOOR

One of our recommended books for 2019 is And the Bride Closed the Door by Ronit Matalon

A young bride shuts herself up in a bedroom on her wedding day, refusing to get married. In this moving and humorous look at contemporary Israel and the chaotic ups and downs of love everywhere, her family gathers outside the locked door, not knowing what to do. The bride’s mother has lost a younger daughter in unclear circumstances. Her grandmother is hard of hearing, yet seems to understand her better than anyone. A male cousin who likes to wear women’s clothes and jewelry clings to his grandmother like a little boy.

The family tries an array of unusual tactics to ensure the wedding goes ahead,

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A DOG’S PROMISE

One of our recommended books is A Dog Promise by W. Bruce Cameron

A Dog’s Promise continues the story of Bailey, the good dog whose journey started in A Dog’s Purpose and continued in A Dog’s Journey (both major motion pictures).

This time, Bailey is joined by Lacey, another very special dog, who helps Bailey fulfill his promise over the course of several lives. This charming, wise canine soul brings joy, laughter, and comfort as he unites a family fractured by life’s inevitable obstacles.

The love and loyalty of these two memorable dogs shows us the incredible power of hope, truth, and unending devotion in this moving novel by award-winning,

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BEVERLY, RIGHT HERE

One of our recommended books for 2019 is Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo

Beverly put her foot down on the gas. They went faster still.
This was what Beverly wanted — what she always wanted. To get away. To get away as fast as she could. To stay away.

Beverly Tapinski has run away from home plenty of times, but that was when she was just a kid. By now, she figures, it’s not running away. It’s leaving. Determined to make it on her own, Beverly finds a job and a place to live and tries to forget about her dog, Buddy, now buried underneath the orange trees back home;

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RIDGE STORIES

One of our recommended books for 2019 is Ridge Stories by Gary Jones

Straight talk from up on the farm.

Raised on a small dairy farm in the Driftless Area in the mid-twentieth century, Gary Jones gets real about his rural roots. In this collection of interrelated stories, Jones writes with plainspoken warmth and irreverence about farm, family, and folks on the ridge.

Readers will meet Gramp Jones, whose over-sized overalls saved him from losing a chunk of flesh to an irate sow; the young one-room-school teacher who helped the kids make sled jumps at recess; Charlotte, the lawn-mowing sheep who once ended up in the living room; Victor the pig-cutter,

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WILD GAME

One of our recommended books for 2019 is Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur

A daughter’s tale of living in the thrall of her magnetic, complicated mother, and the chilling consequences of her complicity.

On a hot July night on Cape Cod when Adrienne was fourteen, her mother, Malabar, woke her at midnight with five simple words that would set the course of both of their lives for years to come: Ben Souther just kissed me.

Adrienne instantly became her mother’s confidante and helpmate, blossoming in the sudden light of her attention, and from then on, Malabar came to rely on her daughter to help orchestrate what would become an epic affair with her husband’s closest friend.

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