Sunrise in Florence
Summary: Schoolteacher Rose follows her dream, buys an apartment in Florence and falls in love. She makes a mysterious discovery that changes her destiny.
DISCUSSION GUIDES
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Wild Women and the Blues: A Fascinating and Innovative Novel of Historical Fiction
Summary: Through linked stories of an ambitious 1920’s chorus girl and a grieving modern-day film student, award-winning author and journalist Denny S. Bryce brings jazz age Chicago’s Black Renaissance to vibrant life in this stirring, impeccably researched novel about loss, forgiveness, and the limitations—and surprises—of love.
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Of Women and Salt
Summary: A sweeping debut about a daughter's fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born. Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia is a powerful novel from an incredible new talent.
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Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
Summary: An Oprah's Book Club pick and #1 New York Times bestseller, Hidden Valley Road is the true medical detective story of an American family who became science's greatest hope in the quest to understand schizophrenia.
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The Husbands: A Novel
Summary: Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, it seems like she is always working so much harder than her husband. When the Spanglers go house hunting in an exclusive neighborhood, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that’s worth killing for.
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Libertie: A Novel
Summary: Set during and after the Civil War, Kaitlyn Greenidge’s masterful second novel follows Libertie Sampson, the daughter of a Black female physician, and explores what “freedom” actually means for Black women. Beautifully written and rich with historical detail, Libertie is an immersive, revelatory read, perfect for fans of Yaa Gyasi and Brit Bennett.
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Queenie
Summary: Queenie Jenkins can't cut a break. Well, apart from one from her long term boyfriend, Tom. That's definitely just a break though. Definitely not a break up. Stuck between a boss who doesn't seem to see her, a family who don't seem to listen (if it's not Jesus or water rates, they're not interested), and trying to fit in two worlds that don't really understand her, it's no wonder she's struggling. She was named to be queen of everything. So why is she finding it so hard to rule her own life?
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Calder Brand: A Beautifully Written Historical Romance Saga (The Calder Brand)
Summary: America’s First Lady of Frontier Romance, the iconic Janet Dailey, invites readers on an exciting new journey beginning in the late-1800’s, as a cowboy named Joe Dollarhide sets out on one of the first cattle drives from Texas to Montana in hopes of claiming his own piece of the open range.
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The Sculptress
Summary: A talented artist with a broken heart finds her calling crafting realistic masks for wounded soldiers disfigured in WWI…
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The Arsonists' City
Summary: A rich family story, a personal look at the legacy of war in the Middle East, and an indelible rendering of how we hold on to the people and places we call home.
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Three Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable Story of Three Dutch Teenagers Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassinsand WWII Heroes
Summary: Three Ordinary Girls by award-winning historian Tim Brady is the astonishing true story of three fearless teenage resisters during WWII whose youth and innocence belied their extraordinary daring in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.
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Still Life
Summary: A Scottish police inspector deals with forgeries and false identities in a new murder mystery from bestselling author Val McDermid.
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We Begin at the End
Summary: We Begin at the End is an extraordinary novel about two kinds of families: the ones we are born into and the ones we create.
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The Idea of You: A Novel
Summary: Solène Marchand begins an impassioned affair with a member of her daughter’s favorite boy band.
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At the Wolf's Table: A Novel
Summary: Based on a true story, At the Wolf’s Table centers around twenty-six-year-old Rosa Sauer who is conscripted, along with nine other women, to become one of Hitler’s tasters. Resentment and secrets begin to grow as a divide is formed within the group of women: on one side, those who are loyal to Hitler and on the other, those who insist they’re not, even as they risk their lives for him. Soon, everyone begins to wonder if they’re on the wrong side of history.
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When the Apricots Bloom
Summary: Under the rule of a ruthless dictator in a country on the brink of war, three women will risk everything to protect what matters most.
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Blood Grove (Easy Rawlins, 15)
Summary: "Master of craft and narrative" Walter Mosley returns with this crowning achievement in the Easy Rawlins saga, in which the iconic detective's loyalties are tested on the sun-soaked streets of Southern California (National Book Foundation)
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Shuggie Bain: A Novel
Summary: Winner of the 2020 Booker Prize, Shuggie Bain is a stunning debut novel by a masterful writer telling the heartwrenching story of a young boy and his alcoholic mother, whose love is only matched by her pride. Recalling the work of Édouard Louis, Alan Hollinghurst, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, Shuggie Bain is an epic portrayal of a working-class family that is rarely seen in fiction.
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The Thousand Steps (The Fiery Spiral)
Summary: In a post-apocalyptic South Africa, Ebba den Eeden is elevated from the underground bunker where she’s lived her whole life to discover that she’s the heiress to a massive fortune—and an ancient prophecy to save the human race.
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Yellow Wife: A Novel
Summary: Called "simply enchanting" by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate, this harrowing story follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.
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