"THE FALL GIRL is the story of three women involved in a high profile murder trial-the hot-shot lead prosecutor; the young up-and-comer chosen to co-chair the case; and the teenage girl standing trial for the sensational murder of her mother-and the secrets each is compromised by. Its nimble balancing of legal expertise and dark and dramatic psychological suspense reminds me in part of William Landay's DEFENDING JACOB, and a bit (because of the female mentor/protégé dynamic) of DAMAGES, that fabulous FX series with Glenn Close and Rose Byrne from a few years back"--
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, acclaimed horse trainer and show rider Martha Crawford Cantarini was among the busiest of Hollywood's elite corps of female stunt riders. She was the regular stunt double for such actresses as Eleanor Parker, Anne Baxter and Shirley MacLaine, appearing in films ranging from Elvis Presley's debut feature Love Me Tender to the epic Western The Big Country. Martha also hosted a Las Vegas television program in the 1960s, while her palomino Frosty gained fame as "the gambling horse" after rolling a seven at the Thunderbird Casino craps table. This fascinating insider's memoir of the American entertainment industry recounts Martha's personal and professional associations with Clark Gable, Ronald Reagan, Jean Simmons, and other Hollywood luminaries.
The breathless finale to the New York Times bestselling Rebel of the Sands series will have you on the edge of your seat until the dust from the final battle clears! When gunslinging Amani Al'Hiza escaped her dead-end town, she never imagined she'd join a revolution, let alone lead one. But after the bloodthirsty Sultan of Miraji imprisoned the Rebel Prince Ahmed in the mythical city of Eremot, she doesn't have a choice. Armed with only her revolver, her wits, and her untameable Demdji powers, Amani must rally her skeleton crew of rebels for a rescue mission through the unforgiving desert to a place that, according to maps, doesn't exist. As she watches those she loves most lay their lives on the line against ghouls and enemy soldiers, Amani questions whether she can be the leader they need or if she is leading them all to their deaths.
Kendall has a crush—and the ghost of his mother has something to say about it. The second book in a hilariously haunting tween series that Kirkus Reviews calls “bright, bubbly fun.” Kendall Williams talks to dead people all the time. Like it or not, it’s kind of her thing—the ghosts need her help resolving issues from when they were alive, and she’s good at figuring out their problems. What she can’t figure out, however, is why the ghost of her crush’s mother is haunting her. Add to that her ghost-client’s obnoxious brother who thinks Kendall is crushing on him, her father who is getting serious with his girlfriend, and her BFF who thinks Kendall’s losing her mind, and it’s enough to make this “ghost whisperer” seriously consider getting out of the ghost-helping business once and for all!
Whether pulled from the folds of memory, channeled through the icons of Greek mythology and Roman Catholicism, or filtered through the lens of pop culture, Sonja Livingston’s Queen of the Fall considers the lives of women. Exploring the legacies of those she has crossed paths with in life and in the larger culture, Livingston weaves together strands of memory with richly imagined vignettes to explore becoming a woman in late 1980s and early 1990s America. Along the way, the award-winning memoirist brings us face-to-face with herself as an inner-city girl—trying to imagine a horizon beyond poverty, fearful of her fertility and the limiting arc of teenage pregnancy. Livingston looks at the lives of those she’s known: friends who’ve gotten themselves into “trouble” and disappeared never to be heard from again, girls who tell their school counselor small lies out of necessity and pain, and a mother whose fruitfulness seems, at times, biblical. Livingston interacts with figures such as Susan B. Anthony, the Virgin Mary, and Ally McBeal to mine the terrain of her own femininity, fertility, and longing. Queen of the Fall is a dazzling meditation on loss, possibility, and, ultimately, what it means to be human. Watch a book trailer
In the era of blue eyeshadow, body glitter, and Axe, seventeen-year-old Sophia Salvatore starts her junior year with one goal: get a boyfriend. She's an award-winning varsity athlete and the best friend of Bridget James-the most popular girl in school. That should make it easy, right? Right. Except snagging the catch of their class turns out to be the easy part. Keeping him proves harder. Especially when her dad comes back into her life-sober and saved-wanting to resume a father-daughter relationship and lecture about boys. Especially when she can't untangle the ambivalent feelings about her first boyfriend. Especially when a rift begins forming between her and Bridget that she can't explain. It's only after their friendship finally, and publicly, implodes that Bridget reveals a secret that could change both of their lives. The girls of fall have an important decision to make: will they start their junior year together or fractured apart? A funny, gritty, and fierce coming-of-age story with an authentic voice, The Girls of Fall is the nostalgic, perfectly angsty romp through the early aughts you didn't know you needed.
A fiercely told survivorship novel about one girl's determination to push her body to win gold at the Olympics, and the power of uniting as women to speak out. The only thing seventeen-year-old Audrey Lee dreams about is swinging her way to Olympic glory. Nothing is going to stop her, not even the agony in her back. Every spasm and ache will be worth it once she has that gold medal around her neck. But none of her training prepares her for her coach being led away in handcuffs, accused by a fellow gymnast of the unthinkable. No one knows what, or who to believe and Audrey's teammates go into meltdown. As the Olympic torch closes in, Audrey has no idea who to trust, let alone what life holds after her final dismount. The only thing she can do is hope that in the end, belief in herself and what's left of her team, will be enough for gold.
From James Preller, the author of Bystander, another unflinching book about bullying and its fallout. The summer before school starts, Sam's friend and classmate Morgan Mallen kills herself. Morgan had been bullied. Maybe she kissed the wrong boy. Or said the wrong thing. What about that selfie that made the rounds? Morgan was this, and Morgan was that. But who really knows what happened? As Sam explores the events leading up to the tragedy, he must face a difficult and life-changing question: Why did he keep his friendship with Morgan a secret? And could he have done something-anything-to prevent her final actions? This title has Common Core connections.
The day Frances Fall steals a baby from outside a shop, is the day her past catches up with her. At the age of thirty-six, Frances is forced to relive a life dominated on one side by a harsh unloving mother, and on the other by friendship with the most dazzling girl in their no-hope town. As she puts together the pieces of her past, Frances must finally confront and forgive betrayals that she has never understood. But most of all, at the end of a stunning and moving journey of pain and redemption, Frances must forgive herself - if she can.
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE • Three generations of Taiwanese American women are haunted by the myths of their homeland in this spellbinding, visceral debut about one family’s queer desires, violent impulses, and buried secrets. “Gorgeous and gorgeously grotesque . . . Every line of this sensuous, magical-realist marvel is utterly alive.”—O: The Oprah Magazine FINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD • LONGLISTED FOR THE VCU CABELL FIRST NOVELIST AWARD • LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews One evening, Mother tells Daughter a story about a tiger spirit who lived in a woman’s body. She was called Hu Gu Po, and she hungered to eat children, especially their toes. Soon afterward, Daughter awakes with a tiger tail. And more mysterious events follow: Holes in the backyard spit up letters penned by her grandmother; a visiting aunt arrives with snakes in her belly; a brother tests the possibility of flight. All the while, Daughter is falling for Ben, a neighborhood girl with strange powers of her own. As the two young lovers translate the grandmother’s letters, Daughter begins to understand that each woman in her family embodies a myth—and that she will have to bring her family’s secrets to light in order to change their destiny. With a poetic voice of crackling electricity, K-Ming Chang is an explosive young writer who combines the wit and fabulism of Helen Oyeyemi with the subversive storytelling of Maxine Hong Kingston. Tracing one family’s history from Taiwan to America, from Arkansas to California, Bestiary is a novel of migration, queer lineages, and girlhood. Praise for Bestiary “[A] vivid, fabulist debut . . . the prose is full of imagery. Chang’s wild story of a family’s tenuous grasp on belonging in the U.S. stands out with a deep commitment to exploring discomfort with the body and its transformations.”—Publishers Weekly
