This poignant memoir of Guillermo Vincente Vidal tells of his early days in Cuba during Fidel Castro’s rise to power, his arrival in Colorado as part of Operation Peter Pan and the discrimination, poverty and uncertainty he faced. “Bill” Vidal grew up to be a respected public servant who has given back to the community in many ways, now as Deputy Mayor and Manager of Public Works in Denver.
Donna C.
On August 7, 1974 the unimaginable happened. A quarter mile above ground a man walked on a wire suspended between the unfinished World Trade Towers. In Colum McCann’s engrossing novel, Let the Great World Spin, this surreal act serves as a launching point to highlight the very real lives below. McCann beautifully intertwines the extraordinary walk above with the ordinary lives below, and we come to appreciate the “extra” hidden in the ordinary.
Laura
Addie and Valerie were BFFs but haven’t spoken in fifteen years since an incident of betrayal shattered their friendship in high school. But now glamorous TV star Valerie needs mousy Addie’s help in this story of friendship, secrets and small town loyalties that will make you cry a little and laugh out loud a lot.
Dedra
Gabriel Lightfoot seems to be on the road to success. He escaped the mill town drudgery of his father to become a top chef at a posh London hotel, his beautiful girlfriend is just waiting for the marriage proposal, and he’s finally got backers for his long-awaited eponymous restaurant. If only the Russian porter Yuri hadn’t died in the restaurant’s cellar. Already tightly wound, Gabe begins to unravel after he agrees to take in another young new porter, Lena, as she hides from authorities.
Laura
Tim Blake experiences a parent’s worse nightmare when his teenage daughter Sydney goes missing. As he searches for her, Tim discovers several frightening facts: no one has even heard of Sydney at her summer job site and sometimes the people you think you know best harbor dark secrets.
Dedra
Taking place over one hot 1987 South Carolina summer, Secret Keepers by Mindy Friddle is a perfect summer read. Just when 72-year-old Emma thought she’d finally get to travel the world, her husband drops dead, her daughter Dora’s marriage begins to crumble, her grandson Kyle sneaks into her house, and the most marvelous things begin to grow in her garden after Jake Cary (Dora’s former flame) and his “Blooming Idiots” begin to landscape the town. Secret Keepers, with its whimsical edge and quirky characters, is a lightweight antidote to summer doldrums.
Laura
Susan Rose may be the most unusual heroine you’ll ever meet. In Victorian England this uneducated, plucky, bawdy and wonderfully sympathetic character makes her living with her breasts. She is a wet nurse to the babies of upper class women who can’t or won’t breastfeed their children. When Susan’s father sells her baby, she begins a dangerous journey to get her own child back.
Dedra
Twin boys, orphaned by an Indian mother, grow up in an Ethiopian hospital compound. This book is magical and sprawling, filled with characters you’ll never forget. An ode to Ethiopia, the art of healing and families, Verghese’s first novel carries all the passion and artistry of his two non-fiction works, My Own Country and The Tennis Partner.
Laurie
Black nannies and maids are regular characters in many beloved novels of the American South. But what was life really like for them? How did Jim Crow laws & segregation look from their side of the issue? This is a wonderful, thought-provoking novel about black and white families in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s. And there’s just enough humor to remind you of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood.
Laurie
The weathered landscape and tumbledown cottages of the western Irish coast are the perfect setting for an immigration novel of escape and reinvention. Keane’s epic story of the Cahill sisters spans the years from 1956 to 2007 and highlights the bonds of family, the grip of home, and the truth of love.
Laura
