Title: THE STORY OF US (Paperback Book)
FICTION / LGBTQ+ / General
Author:
Publisher:
In stock: 0 On order: 0
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Longlist - Toronto Book Awards
Nominee - Forest of Reading Evergreen Award
Selection - Amnesty International Book Club
From the author of Canada Reads finalist Scarborough, a stunning new novel about the unbreakable bond of family and the magic that can happen when we meet in the middle
Like many Overseas Filipino Workers, Mary Grace Concepcion has lived a life of sacrifices. First, she left her husband, Ale, to be a caregiver in Hong Kong. Now, she has travelled even farther, to Canada, in the hopes of one day sponsoring Ale and having children of their own.
But when she arrives in Toronto, she must navigate a series of bewildering and careless employers and unruly children. Mary Grace seeks new employment as a Personal Support Worker and begins caring for Liz, an elderly patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease, whose health is as fragile as her rundown bungalow beside the Rouge River in Scarborough. While Mary Grace's time with her charge challenges her conservative beliefs, she soon becomes Liz's biggest ally, and the friendship that grows between them will turn out to be just as legendary as Liz's past.
Beautifully narrated by the all-seeing eye of Mary Grace's newborn baby, The Story of Us is a novel about sisterhood, about blood and chosen family, and about how belonging can be found where we least expect it.
Title: THE STRANGER (Paperback Book)
FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
Author:
Publisher:
In stock: 0 On order: 0
Title: THE STRANGERS (Paperback Book)
FICTION / Literary
Author:
Publisher:
In stock: 0 On order: 3
Cedar has nearly forgotten what her family looks like. Phoenix has nearly forgotten what freedom feels like. And Elsie has nearly given up hope. Nearly.
After time spent in foster homes, Cedar goes to live with her estranged father. Although she grapples with the pain of being separated from her mother, Elsie, and sister, Phoenix, she's hoping for a new chapter in her life, only to find herself once again in a strange house surrounded by strangers. From a youth detention centre, Phoenix gives birth to a baby she'll never get to raise and tries to forgive herself for all the harm she's caused. Elsie, struggling with addiction and determined to turn her life around, is buoyed by the idea of being reunited with her daughters and strives to be someone they can depend on. These are the Strangers, each haunted in her own way. Between flickering moments of warmth and support, the women diverge and reconnect, fighting to survive in a fractured system. Facing the distinct blade of racism from those they trusted most, they urge one another to move through the darkness, all the while wondering if they'll ever emerge safely on the other side.
A breathtaking companion to vermette's bestselling debut The Break, The Strangers brings readers into the dynamic world of the Stranger family, the strength of their bond, the shared pain in their past, and the light that beckons from the horizon. This is a searing exploration of race, class, inherited trauma, and matrilineal bonds that refuse to be broken.
Title: THE SUMMER CLUB (Paperback Book)
FICTION / Women
Author:
Publisher:
In stock: 0 On order: 2
New Release
Mayhaven is the best keep secret in Massachusetts. Tucked between old cedars and a spring-fed lake, the Mayhaven beach club has long been the ultimate escape to understated exclusivity. It's the place where Darcy Birch is supposed to be experiencing the best summer of her life, but there are a few things standing in her way. Her high-strung mother won't stop hovering over her, her father is consumed by his job as president of Mayhaven, where she works as a summer camp counselor and things are not as rosy as they seem, and her neurodivergent little brother is struggling to live with a measure of independence not everyone is ready for.
Then there is the matter of the new neighbors. Flick Creevy, his mother, and stepfather have arrived in town, parking their enormous RV, not to mention all-night music and clouds of marijuana, in the Birches's perfectly landscaped backyard.
Flick is not interested in the perfect summer or the girl next door. Pushed to get a job at Mayhaven by his mother, who had her eyes on a new life for their family, his own eyes have been opened to the ways of the upper crust. Even though Mayhaven prides itself on being an inclusive association of good New England families with good New England values, the fact remains: either you're on the inside or the outside.
As the heat of summer increases, it's soon clear that the members of Mayhaven will have to struggle to stay cool in this sharply written and refreshing new novel that is perfect for fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Jennifer Weiner.
Title: THE SUMMER PACT (Hardcover Book)
FICTION / Women
Author:
Publisher:
In stock: 0 On order: 2
New Release
Four freshmen arrive at college from completely different worlds: Lainey, a California party girl with a flair for drama; Tyson, a brilliant scholar and aspiring lawyer from Washington, D.C.; Summer, an ambitious, recruited athlete from the Midwest; and Hannah, a mild-mannered southerner who is content to quietly round out the circle of big personalities. Soon after arriving on campus, they strike up a conversation in their shared dorm, and the seeds of friendship are planted.
As their college years fly by, their bond intensifies and the four become inseparable. But as graduation nears, their lives are forever changed after a desperate act leads to tragic consequences. Stunned and heartbroken, they make a pact, promising to always be there for one another, no matter how separated they may become by circumstances or distance.
Ten years later, Hannah is anticipating what should be one of the happiest moments of her life when everything is suddenly turned upside down. Calling on her closest friends, it soon becomes clear that they are all facing their own crossroads. True to their promise, they agree to take a time out from lives headed in wrong directions and embark on a shared journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, and acceptance.
In this tender portrayal of grief, love, and hope, Emily Giffin asks: When things fall apart, who will be at our sides, helping us pick up the pieces?
Title: THE SURVIVORS (Paperback Book)
FICTION / Family Life / Siblings
Author:
Publisher:
In stock: 0 On order: 0
In the wake their mother's death, three estranged brothers return to the lakeside cottage where, over two decades before, an unspeakable accident forever altered their family. There is Nils, the oldest, who couldn't escape his suffocating home soon enough, and Pierre, the youngest, easily bullied and quick to lash out. And then there is Benjamin, always the family's nerve centre, perpetually on the look-out for triggers and trap doors in a volatile home where the children were left to fend for themselves, competing for their father's favour and their mother's elusive love.
But as the years have unfolded, Benjamin has grown increasingly untethered from reality, frozen in place while life carries on around him. And between the brothers, a dangerous current now vibrates. What really happened that summer day when everything was blown to pieces?
In a thrillingly fast-paced narrative, The Survivors mixes the emotional acuity of Edward St. Aubyn, the literary verve of Ian McEwan and the heart of Shuggie Bain. By brilliantly dissecting a mind unravelling in the wake of tragedy, Alex Schulman reveals the ways in which our deepest loyalties leave us open to the greatest betrayals.
Title: THE SWEETEST REVENGE (Paperback Book)
FICTION / Women
Author:
Publisher:
In stock: 0 On order: 0
Title: THE THREE OF US (Hardcover Book)
FICTION / Literary
Author:
Publisher:
In stock: 0 On order: 0
Long-standing tensions between a husband, his wife, and her best friend finally come to a breaking point in this sharp domestic comedy of manners, told brilliantly over the course of one day.
What if the two most important people in your life hated each other with a passion?
The wife has it all. A big house in a nice neighbourhood, a ride-or-die snarky friend with whom to laugh about facile men, and an affectionate husband who loves her above all else. The only thing missing from this portrait is a baby. But motherhood is a serious undertaking, especially for the wife who has valued her selfhood above all else.
On a seemingly normal day, the best friend comes over to spend a lazy afternoon with the wife. But when the husband comes home and a series of confessions are made that threaten to throw everything off balance, the wife's two confidantes are suddenly forced to jockey for their positions. Told in three taut, mesmerizing parts - the wife, the husband, the best friend - the day quickly unfolds to show how the trio's dented visions of each other finally unravel, throwing everyone's integrity into question - and their long-drawn-out territorial dance, carefully constructed over pivotal years, into utter chaos.
At once subversively comical, wildly astute, and painfully compulsive, The Three of Us explores cultural truths, what it means to defy them, and the fine line between compromise and betrayal, ultimately asking: Who are we if not for the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, and the people we're meant to love?
Title: THE TRAGEDY OF EVA MOTT (Hardcover Book)
FICTION / Literary
Author:
Publisher:
In stock: 0 On order: 0
The Raskin brothers were once proud to be producers of a much sought-after material of great benefit to society--asbestos. But now their mine is under close scientific scrutiny, with reports of serious illness linked to the place. The world is changing, no doubt for the better...
But in the shadow of the mine, the values of a whole community are transforming, in more sinister ways. The Raskins' nephew Byron, a war hero and man of wealth, urges the brothers to look for other, less toxic minerals to extract. But meanwhile his own world is unravelling in ways that are unlikely ever to be fixed. His wife Carmel, whom he vaingloriously believed he was rescuing with his marriage proposal, has become an intellectual and political poseur. She and her son Albert are contemptuous of the values of Byron and his kind, while still finding use for his wealth and property. Carmel and Albert, it seems, are heralds of a new world addicted to mimicry and empty self-promotion, to delusions and temptations. Its victims are growing in number: a college professor in town is falsely accused of sexual harassment; a young woman is slipped an hallucinogen at a party with appalling consequences for her and two boys. And what of poor, naive Eva Mott, the captivating beauty who wished to be like her talented cousin Clara? Her story and the book that bears her name will haunt you.
The Tragedy of Eva Mott has all the power and brilliance--and many flashes of wry humour--of David Adams Richards at the very top of his form. It will attract controversy but its fierce authenticity cannot be denied.