National Network for Equitable Library Service

In May of 1946 science teacher Joe Robert Kirkman's day begins with hunting a mythical devil-possum in the North Carolina mountains and ends in defending his job before the school board.

"For those who loved Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior comes a new climate-themed, Shakespeare-inspired novel from bestselling author Catherine Bush. The time is now or an alternate near now, the world close to our own. A mammoth Category Five hurricane sweeps up the eastern seaboard of North America, leaving devastation in its wake, its outer wings brushing over tiny Blaze Island in the North Atlantic.

Inspired by a true incident of mass hysteria in Le Roy, New York in 2011-2012, Songs from a Small Town (in a Minor Key) is a novel written as a series of stories from different points of view. It examines a mysterious condition that strikes only teenage girls in a small farming town--their arms twitch and jump, and they can't control the movements--and while people speculate about what is causing the disease, no one knows for sure. As the stories progress, various facets of this bizarre phenomenon are explored, dark secrets come to light, and the hysteria grows.

Cassie, Julie, Marty, and Beth have been best friends since seventh grade. But this summer, teetering on the threshold of thirty, the four women each have quite a history of romance going bad. They are going to need each other more than ever. Life can change in an instant, or a summer. And having old friends to lean on can only up the chances of happily ever after.

Alexander Cold's grandmother Kate is never far from an adventure. Days into the tour to write an article on the first elephant-led safaris in Africa, a Catholic missionary approaches them in search of his companions who have mysteriously disappeared. Kate and Alexander, agreeing to help, discover a clan of Pygmies who unveil a harsh and surprising world of corruption, slavery, and poaching.

With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee's Pachinko and Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner's In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North.

After a sudden heartbreaking loss, young widow Abigail Stolz must somehow help her troubled son adjust-even if it means working with Jamie's stern schoolmaster, Ethan Miller. Much to her surprise, Ethan is actually a sensitive man who is also grieving-and lonely. But will family duty and the past keep them from a chance at happiness together?

Artist and spa owner Penny Brannigan has been asked to organize a formal dinner to mark the centenary of the armistice that ended World War One. After dinner, the guests adjourn to the library for a private exhibition of the Black Chair, a precious piece of Welsh literary history awarded in 1917 to poet Hedd Wyn. But to the guests' shock, the newly restored bardic chair is missing. And then Penny discovers the rain-soaked body of a waiter. When Penny learns that the victim was the nephew of one of her employees, she is determined to find the killer.

Sweet Magnolias is now a Netflix original series! Ever since she discovered her ex-husband's affair, Dana Sue Sullivan decided to put down new roots and create the best restaurant in Serenity, South Carolina. After years of hard labor, her dream has become a reality. Sullivan's provides more than just Southern comfort food-it's become a haven for the whole town-and Dana Sue knows better than anyone that relying on friendship can get you through the toughest times.

Mourning the death of his wife, a painter finds an escape through the drawings in his work. Not until he gets an unexpected knock at his door does his life take a drastic turn.