A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi- It's 2002, a year after 9/11. It's an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who's tired of being stereotyped. Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She's tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments-even the physical violence-she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she's built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.
Chistmas on the Island by Jenny Colgan- On the remote Scottish island of Mure, the Christmas season is stark, windy, and icy-yet incredibly festive and beautiful...It's a time for getting cozy in front of whisky barrel wood fires, and enjoying a dram and a treacle pudding with the people you love-unless, of course, you've accidentally gotten pregnant by your ex-boss, and don't know how to tell him.
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver- How could two hardworking people do everything right in life, a woman asks, and end up destitute? Willa Knox and her husband followed all the rules as responsible parents and professionals, and have nothing to show for it but debts and an inherited brick house that is falling apart. The magazine where Willa worked has folded; the college where her husband had tenure has closed. Their dubious shelter is also the only option for a disabled father-in-law and an exasperating, free-spirited daughter. When the family's one success story, an Ivy-educated son, is uprooted by tragedy he seems likely to join them, with dark complications of his own.
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Shell Game by Sara Paretsky- Acclaimed detective V. I. Warshawski tackles a pair of perplexing cases involving those closest to her in this compelling and timely adventure that centers on some of the most divisive and pressing issues of our time. When V. I Warshawski gets word that her closest friend and mentor Lotty Herschel's nephew has become a suspect in a murder, the legendary detective will do everything she can to save him. The cops found Felix Herschel's name and phone number on the unknown victim's remains, but Felix insists he doesn't know why.
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