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CLOSE YOUR EYES, HOLD HANDS

A Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Best Book of the Year

In a voice that shifts from anguished to sarcastic,

heartbroken to hopeful, sixteen-year-old Emily

Shepard recounts her solitary odyssey after the

meltdown of a nuclear power plant near her home

in northern Vermont. Both her parents worked at

the plant: her father as chief engineer, her mother

as head of public relations. Her father had a reputation as a heavy drinker,

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GIRL WAITS WITH GUN

One of our recommended books is Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Drunken Botanist comes an enthralling novel based on the forgotten true story of one of the nation’s first female crime fighters.

Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters from city to country fifteen years ago. When a powerful, ruthless factory owner runs down their buggy, a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks,

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SWEET BREATH OF MEMORY

With its tree-lined streets and curbside planters

brimming with spring bulbs, Amberley,

Massachusetts seems a good place for Cate Saunders

to start over. It’s been two years since her husband,

John, was killed in Iraq, and life has become

something to simply struggle through. Cate’s new

job as a caregiver doesn’t pay much, but the locals

are welcoming. Cate’s barely unpacked before she’s

drawn—reluctantly at first—into a circle of friends.

There’s Gaby, who nourishes her diner customers’ spirits as well as their

bodies;

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KATHERINE CARLYLE

Katherine Carlyle is Rupert Thomson’s breakthrough novel. Written in the beautifully spare, lucid, and cinematic prose Thomson is known for, and powered by his natural gift for storytelling, it uses the modern techniques of IVF to throw new light on the myth of origins. It is a profound and moving novel about identity, the search for personal meaning, and how we are loved.

Unmoored by her mother’s death and feeling her father to be an increasingly distant figure, Katherine Carlyle abandons the set course of her life and starts out on a mysterious journey to the ends of the world.

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STONES IN THE ROAD

A young Amish boy ventures from Pennsylvania to California in this richly imagined historical novel from the author of An Unseemly Wife.

1867. Growing up among the Pennsylvania Amish, eleven-year-old Joshua knows that his father is a respected church deacon who has the ear of God. But he’s also seen his father’s weakness for drink, and borne the brunt of his violent rages. In the aftermath of a disastrous fire, Joshua fears his father’s reprimand enough to run away from home. Having never experienced the ways of the English, Joshua now embarks on a decade-long journey to California,

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KEEP MOVING

One of our recommended books is Keep Moving by Kick Van Dyke

Hollywood icon Dick Van Dyke will celebrate his 90th birthday in December 2015. He is a beloved legend, having starred in Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. And he is still keeping himself busy, entertaining America on television, movies, the stage, and social media. Everyone wonders, “How does he do it?” For the first time, Van Dyke will share his secrets and tips on aging: Just keep moving.

Keep Moving is a heartwarming memoir and inspiring instruction book on how to embrace aging with a positive attitude.

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