Last Dance on the Starlight Pier
The Worst Hard Time

The Secret Life of Bees

Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily’s fierce-hearted Black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that holds the secret to her mother’s past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of Black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

More Adult, Non-Juvenile Books

  • In The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride explores the intertwined lives of the residents of Chicken Hill, a neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans coexist amid struggles and secrets. As the community rallies to protect a deaf boy from institutionalization, the narrative reveals the deep bonds of love and resilience that sustain them, even in the face of adversity and the oppressive forces of society.

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  • The House on Mango Street is a poignant coming-of-age novel that follows Esperanza Cordero as she navigates her childhood in Chicago, exploring her identity and aspirations. Through a series of beautifully crafted vignettes, Sandra Cisneros captures the essence of self-discovery and the importance of telling one's story, making it a cherished classic in American literature.

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  • Told in a series of vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous—Cisneros’s masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery and one of the greatest neighborhood novels of all time.

  • The Hunter unfolds in a small Irish village where former Chicago PD officer Cal Hooper seeks peace but finds himself entangled in a conflict involving a reappearing father and a gold-seeking scheme. As Cal and his partner Lena strive to protect a troubled teenager from the looming threat, the lines between safeguarding and revenge blur, challenging their relationships and their morals.

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