November 30, 2020
Adult Fiction
Hideaway by Nora Roberts.
Caitlyn Sullivan had come
from a long line of Hollywood royalty, stretching back to her Irish immigrant
great-grandfather. At nine, she was already a star--yet still an innocent child
who loved to play hide and seek with her cousins at the family home in Big Sur.
It was during one of those games that she disappeared. Some may have considered
her a pampered princess, but Cate was in fact a smart, scrappy fighter, and she
managed to escape her abductors. Dillon Cooper was shocked to find the
bloodied, exhausted girl huddled in his house--but when the teenager and his family
heard her story they provided refuge, reuniting her with her loved ones. Cate's
ordeal, though, was far from over. First came the discovery of a shocking
betrayal that would send someone she'd trusted to prison. Then there were years
spent away in western Ireland, peaceful and protected but with restlessness
growing in her soul. Finally, she would return to Los Angeles, gathering the
courage to act again and get past the trauma that had derailed her life. What
she didn't yet know was that two seeds had been planted that long-ago
night--one of a great love, and one of a terrible vengeance...
Royal by Danielle Steel.
As the war rages on in the
summer of 1943, causing massive destruction and widespread fear, the King and
Queen choose to quietly send their youngest daughter, Princess Charlotte, to
live with a trusted noble family in the country. Despite her fiery, headstrong
nature, the princess's fragile health poses far too great a risk for her to
remain in war-torn London. Third in line for the throne, seventeen-year-old
Charlotte reluctantly uses an alias upon her arrival in Yorkshire, her two
guardians the only keepers of her true identity. In time, she settles
comfortably into a life out of the spotlight, befriending a young evacuee and
training with her cherished horse. But no one predicts that in the coming
months she will fall deeply in love with her protectors' son. She longs for a
normal life. Far from her parents, a tragic turn of events leaves an infant
orphaned. Alone in the world, that child will be raised in the most humble
circumstances by a modest stable manager and his wife. No one, not even she,
knows of her lineage. But when a stack of hidden letters comes to light, a
secret kept for nearly two decades finally surfaces, and a long lost princess
emerges.
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell.
Utopia Avenue is the
strangest British band you've never heard of. Emerging from London's
psychedelic scene in 1967, and fronted by folk singer Elf Holloway, blues
bassist Dean Moss and guitar virtuoso Jasper de Zoet, Utopia Avenue embarked on
a meteoric journey from the seedy clubs of Soho, a TV debut on Top of the
Pops, the cusp of chart success, glory in Amsterdam, prison in Rome, and a
fateful American sojourn in the Chelsea Hotel, Laurel Canyon, and San Francisco
during the autumn of '68.
Adult Non-Fiction
The Killer Book of
Serial Killers by Tom Philbin &
Michael Philbin.
The Killer Book of Serial
Killers is the ultimate resource (and gift) for any true crime fan and student
of the bizarre world of serial killers. Filled with stories, trivia, quizzes,
quotes, photos, and odd facts about the world's most notorious murderers, this
is the perfect bathroom reader for anyone fascinated with serial killers. The
stories and trivia cover such killers as: John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, The BTK
Killer, Jack the Ripper, The Green River Killer, serial killers around the
world, and many, more. Including more than 40 black & white photos, this is
a must for true crime fans.
Appalachian Fall by Jeff Young.
Despite fueling a century
of American progress, the people at the heart of coal country are being left
behind, suffering from unemployment, the opioid epidemic, and environmental
crises often at greater rates than anywhere else in the country. But what if
Appalachia's troubles are just a taste of what the future holds for all of us? Appalachian
Fall tells the captivating true story of coal communities on the leading
edge of change. A group of local reporters known as the Ohio Valley ReSource
shares the real-world impact these changes have had on what was once the heart
and soul of America. Including stories like: the miners' strike in Harlan
County after their company suddenly went bankrupt, bouncing their paychecks, the
farmers tilling former mining ground for new cash crops like hemp, the
activists working to fight mountaintop removal and bring clean energy jobs to
the region, and the mothers mourning the loss of their children to overdose and
despair. In the wake of the controversial bestseller Hillbilly
Elegy, Appalachian Fall addresses what our country owes to a region
that provided fuel for a century and what it risks if it stands by watching as
the region, and its people, collapse.
Easy/Juvenile/Young Adult/Graphic Novel
Who Was Nellie Bly? by Margaret Gurevich. NF
Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman
had no idea that the open letter she'd written to a local newspaper in
Pittsburgh in 1885 would change her life forever. The editor of the paper was
so impressed with her writing, that he offered her a job! She'd later change her
name to Nellie Bly and work as an investigative reporter in New York City. Known
for her extraordinary and record-breaking trip around the world and her
undercover of a mental institution, Nellie Bly was one of the first female
investigative reporters in the United States and a pioneer in the field of
journalism.
City of Secrets by Victoria Ying. GN
Ever Barnes is a shy
orphan who lives in a puzzle-box building (think an architectural Transformer)
that is also a multi-level switchboard center, the communications hub of his
city. He's the last of a family that's guarded a precious safe--contents
unknown--for generations. All Ever knows is that what's in that safe protects
the city and that his father was killed because he wouldn't give up the secret
of the safe. Ever is resigned to living on his own in the switchboard building,
where he knows every nook and cranny, and all the cranks and levers that
operate the complicated complex. Some of the nicer young women who work there
give him food on the sly. He's got his job- stay out of sight and protect the
safe hidden deep in the maze of the building. Ever is the only one who knows
about it. Or is he? Ever's lonely existence is upended by when Hannah, the
daughter of the building's owner, shows up and spots the orphan in hiding.
Hannah is determined to befriend Ever. His avoidance and her pursuit set off an
unexpected series of events. Two things quickly become very clear- someone else
knows Ever's secret and wants in on it. And having a friend is a very good thing
when a whole evil goon squad is after you!
