River Readers

Olly lives with her artist mom and dad in a Soho loft in 1981. Dad has run off to France with a new girlfriend and mom has gone to bed with no intention of getting up. Olly relies on her friends Richard and Alex and a network of adults to help her out. Of course she doesn't tell them about her mom or how difficult life at home has become. It doesn't help that a mysteries man is trying to contact her dad and his partner Apollo about a missing piece of art. There is a lot going on for one young girl to keep track of. 

Walter Mortinson is an inventor in a town that does not appreciate anyone doing anything outside of the ordinary. His mother would like him to join the family mortuary business but Walter is not interested. He wants to be like his father who was also a great inventor and made life interesting until an unfortunate accident. When he finds a letter inviting him to meet the great Horace Flasterborn on Flaster Island he decides to make the cross-country trip. He is joined by Cordelia who has her own reasons for going to Flaster Island.

The Raxter School for Girls in Maine has been put under quaranteen. The girls there are being transformed by the Tox. Some girls come out of it ok, but others do not survive their transformations. Food has been getting scarcer and things have been going on for a long time. The girls form groups to help each other survive because the Tox isn't just transforming them but the world around them as well. When Hetty's best friend Byatt goes missing she is determined to find out what happened to her and what is going on at Raxter. 

Lucy and Fred are working on a Field Guide during their summer vacation. They write up any animals they encounter. When a white shark is caught in a fisherman's nets they decide to include it. The shark leads them to Lucy's mom who was a marine biologist and died several years ago. She was an expert on sharks and had many papers for them to refer to. Then tragedy strikes Lucy's young life for a second time. She is left on her own and turns to the sharks in her grief. She follows the trail laid down in her mom's last research paper.

Kamet is the personal slave of Nahuseresh. He's in charge of all his master's accounts and keeping the household running smoothly. When Kamet is tipped off that Nahuseresh has been murdered, he fears his fate and accepts the help of a mysterious soldier from Attolia.

This is the story of Kamet's journey away from the only way of life he has known into Attolia, a place he has no affection for ruled by a king he has no respect for.

When Connell picks his mom up from her job as his classmate Marianne's family's housekeeper, he and Marianne discover an unusual connection. Though Connell is a well-liked athlete and Marianne is seen as an antisocial outsider, they're both known as their high school's brightest: their first, and lasting, bond. The secrecy of their relationship creates a shelter in which to explore their intense chemistry, both intellectual and sexual, before Connell blithely betrays Marianne, and they both leave their small town for Dublin's Trinity College.

There are exceptions to every rule...

Jada Stanley is starting over--freeing herself from her past and all her mistakes. Following the rules she's given herself is easy enough, until she meets HIM. He’s gorgeous, cocky, and everything she needs to avoid, but that’s easier said than done.

Cane Alexander has his own set of rules, a plan to keep his life simple and free of complications. But Jada is a temptation he can't resist.

As their lives entwine, they realize one thing about rules... There is always an exception. Goodreads

Levin, the national editor of Slate, writes a stunning account of Linda Taylor, the woman famously tagged as a welfare queen in the 1970s. His powerful work of narrative nonfiction shows how Taylor victimized a slew of vulnerable people, was a victim herself, and was the cause of Black welfare recipients being stereotyped as welfare cheats.

Reza has just moved to NYC by way of Toronto via Iran. His mother has remarried and they have moved and now live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He is anxious about starting a new school and a new life but he is mostly anxious because Reza knows he is gay.

The story takes place in 1989 the only images Reza sees of the gay community are those of people dying with AIDS. The thought paralyzes him with fear not to mention the cultural implications of being Iranian and gay.

Hepworth (The Family Next Door, 2018) turns up the tension in her latest Australian-set domestic-suspense novel. Lucy's ties with her husband's mother, Diana, have always been fraught with tension, especially disappointing because Lucy had delighted at the prospect of a mother figure in her life after her own passed away. Lucy and Diana were never on the same page, and so it's with mixed feelings that Lucy receives the news of Diana's sudden death.

Before George Washington was president, he was also the commander of the revolutionary army. Not as well known, is the conspiracy to kidnap or kill Washington at the beginning of the war. Why the plot failed is due to the introduction of counterintelligence -- along with many coincidence and a dose of dumb luck. The story is told, pieced together from writings, records, and letters, in an engaging radio serial style, with each chapter setting up the next portion of the story.

"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans, the dramatic conclusion in the riveting Broken Road trilogy--a powerful redemption story about finding happiness on a pilgrimage across iconic Route 66"
-- Provided by publisher.

This sequel to Mad Wolf's Daughter finds Drest running for her life. Having been given the dreaded label of "wolf's head" Drest is in dire danger. Sir Oswyn has lied about her having killed the true heir to Faintree Castle so he can assume the title of Lord. Having the "wolf's head" label thrust upon her means that there is a sizable ransom for her head to be brought back to Sir Oswyn. Desperate to find a way to restore Lord Faintree to his castle and his rightful title, Drest, Tig and Emerick along with Drest's father and brothers find danger, adventure and treachery.

Alicia Berenson is a famous painter, living a life that many envy with her handsome fashion-photographer husband, Gabriel. With a gorgeous house, complete with a painting studio, and that perfect marriage, Alicia couldn't be happier. Until one day Gabriel comes home late from work, and Alicia shoots him in the face. In the brutal aftermath that leads to an indefinite stay in a psychiatric hospital, Alicia mutely accepts her punishment. Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is put in charge of her therapy; however, since the night of the shooting, she hasn't spoken a word.

Samuel's brother, Edward, shows up out of nowhere with a little girl claiming that she is Samuel's daughter. Edward is recently out of the penitentiary, and volatile. Samuel's wife, Julia, would like to believe that he has been faithful to her, but the facts are stacked against him. This is all set during the Depression in the Midwest on a couple of neighboring farms. A neighbor has lost his wife, and Julia and Samuel are doing their best to help raise his kids along with their own. The little girl, Katie, just wants a family to call her own.