Girls Burn Brighter

Girls Burn Brighter
Author: Shobha Rao
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2018-03-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250074266

Best Book of the Year: The Washington Post, NPR, Shelf Awareness, Paste, LitHub, Real Simple 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist: Best Fiction Longlisted for the 2018 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize “Incandescent...A searing portrait of what feminism looks like in much of the world.” —Vogue “A treat for Ferrante fans, exploring the bonds of friendship and how female ambition beats against the strictures of poverty and patriarchal societies.” —The Huffington Post An electrifying debut novel about the extraordinary bond between two girls driven apart by circumstance but relentless in their search for one another. Poornima and Savitha have three strikes against them: they are poor, they are ambitious, and they are girls. After her mother’s death, Poornima has very little kindness in her life. She is left to care for her siblings until her father can find her a suitable match. So when Savitha enters their household, Poornima is intrigued by the joyful, independent-minded girl. Suddenly their Indian village doesn't feel quite so claustrophobic, and Poornima begins to imagine a life beyond arranged marriage. But when a devastating act of cruelty drives Savitha away, Poornima leaves behind everything she has ever known to find her friend. Her journey takes her into the darkest corners of India's underworld, on a harrowing cross-continental journey, and eventually to an apartment complex in Seattle. Alternating between the girls’ perspectives as they face ruthless obstacles, Shobha Rao's Girls Burn Brighter introduces two heroines who never lose the hope that burns within.

Burn Baby Burn

Burn Baby Burn
Author: Meg Medina
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2016-03-08
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0763679984

While violence runs rampant throughout New York, a teenage girl faces danger within her own home in Meg Medina's riveting coming-of-age novel. Nora Lopez is seventeen during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora’s family life isn’t going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn eighteen and be on her own. And while there is a cute new guy who started working with her at the deli, is dating even worth the risk when the killer likes picking off couples who stay out too late? Award-winning author Meg Medina transports us to a time when New York seemed balanced on a knife-edge, with tempers and temperatures running high, to share the story of a young woman who discovers that the greatest dangers are often closer than we like to admit — and the hardest to accept.

Rage Becomes Her

Rage Becomes Her
Author: Soraya Chemaly
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2018-09-11
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1501189573

***A BEST BOOK OF 2018 SELECTION*** NPR * The Washington Post * Book Riot * Autostraddle * Psychology Today ***A BEST FEMINIST BOOK SELECTION*** Refinery 29, Book Riot, Autostraddle, BITCH Rage Becomes Her is an “utterly eye opening” (Bustle) book that gives voice to the causes, expressions, and possibilities of female rage. As women, we’ve been urged for so long to bottle up our anger, letting it corrode our bodies and minds in ways we don’t even realize. Yet there are so, so many legitimate reasons for us to feel angry, ranging from blatant, horrifying acts of misogyny to the subtle drip, drip drip of daily sexism that reinforces the absurdly damaging gender norms of our society. In Rage Becomes Her, Soraya Chemaly argues that our anger is not only justified, it is also an active part of the solution. We are so often encouraged to resist our rage or punished for justifiably expressing it, yet how many remarkable achievements would never have gotten off the ground without the kernel of anger that fueled them? Approached with conscious intention, anger is a vital instrument, a radar for injustice and a catalyst for change. On the flip side, the societal and cultural belittlement of our anger is a cunning way of limiting and controlling our power—one we can no longer abide. “A work of great spirit and verve” (Time), Rage Becomes Her is a validating, energizing read that will change the way you interact with the world around you.

Bright We Burn

Bright We Burn
Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2018-07-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0553522418

The tumultuous, edge-of-your-seat conclusion to the New York Times bestselling AND I DARKEN series--the epic saga that reads like Game of Thrones . . . if it were set in the Ottoman Empire. Who will live? Who will die? And who will rule triumphant? Haunted by the sacrifices he made in Constantinople, Radu is called back to the new capital. Mehmed is building an empire, becoming the sultan his people need. But Mehmed has a secret: as emperor, he is more powerful than ever . . . and desperately lonely. Does this mean Radu can finally have more with Mehmed . . . and would he even want it? Lada's rule of absolute justice has created a Wallachia free of crime. But Lada won't rest until everyone knows that her country's borders are inviolable. Determined to send a message of defiance, she has the bodies of Mehmed's peace envoy delivered to him, leaving Radu and Mehmed with no choice. If Lada is allowed to continue, only death will prosper. They must go to war against the girl prince. But Mehmed knows that he loves her. He understands her. She must lose to him so he can keep her safe. Radu alone fears that they are underestimating his sister's indomitable will. Only by destroying everything that came before--including her relationships--can Lada truly build the country she wants. Claim the throne. Demand the crown. Rule the world. "Rich . . . A worthy end to a powerful saga." --Booklist "Exciting, complex, and faithful to the feelings that drive human beings in love and conflict. . . . Highly recommended." --SLJ "An intense, engrossing read." --Kirkus PRAISE FOR NOW I RISE: "Gorgeous, rich, and rewarding." --Booklist, Starred Review "Absolutely devastating in the best way." --Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review "A+, 5 knives." --Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling coauthor of the STARBOUND and ILLUMINAE FILES trilogies "Fierce, epic, and crazy fun." --Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood PRAISE FOR AND I DARKEN: "A dark jewel of a story, one that gleams with fierce, cunning characters--absolutely riveting." --Alexandra Bracken, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Passenger "A dark, gritty, and seriously badass epic that will have you dying for more . . . required reading for every feminist fantasy fan." --BuzzFeed "Evocative . . . this book takes no prisoners." --NPR

The Best American Short Stories 2015

The Best American Short Stories 2015
Author: T. Coraghessan Boyle
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2015-10-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 054793940X

Presents twenty of the best works of short fiction of the past year from a variety of acclaimed sources.

The Burning Girl: A Novel

The Burning Girl: A Novel
Author: Claire Messud
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2017-08-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0393635031

A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist "[A] masterwork of psychological fiction.… Messud teases readers with a psychological mystery, withholding information and then cannily parceling it out." —Chicago Tribune Julia and Cassie have been friends since nursery school. They have shared everything, including their desire to escape the stifling limitations of their birthplace, the quiet town of Royston, Massachusetts. But as the two girls enter adolescence, their paths diverge and Cassie sets out on a journey that will put her life in danger and shatter her oldest friendship. The Burning Girl is a complex examination of the stories we tell ourselves about youth and friendship, and straddles, expertly, childhood’s imaginary worlds and painful adult reality—crafting a true, immediate portrait of female adolescence. Claire Messud, one of our finest novelists, is as accomplished at weaving a compelling fictional world as she is at asking the big questions: To what extent can we know ourselves and others? What are the stories we create to comprehend our lives and relationships? Brilliantly mixing fable and coming-of-age tale, The Burning Girl gets to the heart of these matters in an absolutely irresistible way. The Burning Girl was named one of the best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Vogue, NPR, Financial Times, Town & Country, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Refinery29, and Literary Hub.

Girls on Fire

Girls on Fire
Author: Robin Wasserman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2016-05-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0062417169

An NPR Best Book of the Year • A Buzzfeed Best Book of the Year On Halloween, 1991, a popular high school basketball star ventures into the woods near Battle Creek, Pennsylvania, and disappears. Three days later, he’s found with a bullet in his head and a gun in his hand—a discovery that sends tremors through this conservative community, already unnerved by growing rumors of Satanic worship in the region. In the wake of this incident, bright but lonely Hannah Dexter is befriended by Lacey Champlain, a dark-eyed, Cobain-worshiping bad influence in lip gloss and Doc Martens. The charismatic, seductive Lacey forges a fast, intimate bond with the impressionable Dex, making her over in her own image and unleashing a fierce defiance that neither girl expected. But as Lacey gradually lures Dex away from her safe life into a feverish spiral of obsession, rebellion, and ever greater risk, an unwelcome figure appears on the horizon—and Lacey’s secret history collides with Dex’s worst nightmare. By turns a shocking story of love and violence and an addictive portrait of the intoxication of female friendship, set against the unsettled backdrop of a town gripped by moral panic, Girls on Fire is an unflinching and unforgettable snapshot of girlhood: girls lost and found, girls strong and weak, girls who burn bright and brighter—and some who flicker away.

The Concubine's Child

The Concubine's Child
Author: Carol Jones
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2018-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 178669980X

An evocative, multi-generational tale of a family haunted by the death of a young concubine. For fans of Dinah Jefferies and Amy Tan. In 1930s Malaya a sixteen-year-old girl, dreaming of marriage to her sweetheart, is sold as a concubine to a rich old man desperate for an heir. Trapped, and bullied by his spiteful wife, Yu Lan plans to escape with her baby son, despite knowing that they will pursue her to the ends of the earth. Four generations later, her great-grandson, Nick, will return to Malaysia, looking for the truth behind the facade of a house cursed by the unhappy past. Nothing can prepare him for what he will find. This exquisitely rich novel brings to life a vanished world – a world of abandoned ghost houses, inquisitive monkeys, smoky temples and a panoply of gods and demons. A world where a poor girl can be sold to fulfil a rich man's dream. But though he can buy her body, he can never capture her soul, nor quench her spirit. WHAT READERS ARE SAYING: 'Compelling, atmospheric and emotional' 'Well-written, compelling... A tale of duty, treachery, misery and superstition' 'Wonderfully drawn characters, searing emotion, powerful intensity and nail-biting drama'.

Bright Side

Bright Side
Author: Kim Holden
Publisher:
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2014-07-09
Genre: College students
ISBN: 9780991140237

Secrets.Everyone has one.Some are bigger than others.And when secrets are revealed,Some will heal you ...And some will end you.Kate Sedgwick's life has been anything but typical. She's endured hardship and tragedy, but throughout it all she remains happy and optimistic (there's a reason her best friend Gus calls her Bright Side). Kate is strong-willed, funny, smart, and musically gifted. She's also never believed in love. So when Kate leaves San Diego to attend college in the small town of Grant, Minnesota, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with Keller Banks.They both feel it.But they each have a reason to fight it.They each have a secret.And when secrets are revealed,Some will heal you ...And some will end you.