Middletown Thrall Library bids ye on a merry quest... Beyond the Bestsellers - Discovering New and Interesting Authors - Fall 2017 Edition

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Beyond the Bestsellers highlights new and notable authors not often found on bestseller lists. Discover new books and writers you might enjoy!

To learn more about a book and check on its availablity within the library system, please click or tap on its cover or title.

You can also click / tap an author's name to locate any additional titles by that writer in the library catalog.





General Fiction

  • Floating World - C. Morgan BabstFloating World - C. Morgan Babst - A family is torn apart and must find the strength to rebuild, much like their hometown in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As the storm hurtles toward New Orleans, choices made bring lasting consequences on the Boisdore family. Joe and his wife Tess evacuate with Joe's father. Their oldest daughter, Cora, refuses to leave, while her sister Del is safe in New York. After the storm passes, Del comes back home to find her sister catatonic from something that happened during the storm, while Joe and Tess's strained marriage is now in shambles. Told from each character's point-of-view, this debut is a moving examination of grief, perseverance, family, and home.
  • Something Like Happy - Eva WoodsSomething Like Happy - Eva Woods - Annie is miserable after a rough few years. She's stuck in a dead-end job, her baby died, her husband left her and now her mother has been hospitalized with dementia. Polly, on the other hand, is bright, bubbly and irresistible despite only having a few months left to live, due to a brain tumor she calls Bob. After a chance meeting at the hospital, Polly challenges Annie to 100 days of happiness. Reluctantly, Annie joins in trying to do one thing, big or small, that makes her happy everyday. Slowly Annie learns to live again as her unexpected friendship with Polly grows. For fans of Graeme Simsion, Gabrielle Zevin and Marian Keyes.

Other titles to consider:





Historical Fiction

  • The Half-drowned King - Linnea HartsuykerThe Half-drowned King - Linnea Hartsuyker - 9th Century Norway is a land of myth, legend, warring kings, and petty kingdoms - and the backdrop for this action-packed tale inspired by the Icelandic Sagas. Ragnvald Eysteinsson is betrayed and left for dead on the journey home from a raid. To pursue his quest to reclaim his lands and take revenge against his stepfather, he allies himself with the warrior Harald, rumoured to be the prophesied high king. Meanwhile, Ragnvald's sister Svanhild is too strong-minded to leave her fate in the hands of others. She escapes an unwanted arranged marriage and seeks adventure, joining her brother's betrayer. The first of a trilogy, this thrilling saga is for fans of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories or A Song of Ice and Fire.
  • Caroline - Sarah MillerCaroline: Little House Revisited - Sarah Miller - Those who grew up with The Little House on the Prairie know her as Ma. Miller retells the beloved story of Caroline and Charles Ingalls selling their Wisconsin farm and leaving all they know behind for a dangerous journey to put down roots in the wild frontier of Kansas with their two young girls and another on the way. Against the vivid landscape, the story looks beyond the strong, calm exterior Caroline is known for to examine her fears, doubts, and loves as they build a new life on the edge of civilization.
  • To Die in Spring - Ralf RothmannTo Die in Spring - Ralf Rothmann - In the final days of World War II a young German farmhand finds himself a reluctant soldier when he is coerced into enlisting. Assigned as a driver in a supply unit, he is spared from frontline combat, but he still sees the horrors and devastation caused by war. People keep saying it will be over soon, but not soon enough for him in this haunting, powerful story of how ordinary people can be both culprits and victims of atrocities and misery.

Another title to consider:





Mysteries

  • Impossible Views of the World - Lucy IvesImpossible Views of the World - Lucy Ives - While snooping in the office of a colleague who has disappeared, Stella Krakus, assistant curator at a Manhattan art museum, discovers a copy of a map for a 19th century utopian community. As a cartography expert, she feels sure it was left for her, and so begins her obsession with learning the origins of the mysterious map. Her research finds her connecting the dots between a poem, a Wonderland-esque novel, museum benefactors, a counterfeiting scheme, and secrets held by her missing colleague in this offbeat art mystery.

Other titles to consider:





Sci-Fi / Fantasy

  • An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors - Curtis CraddockAn Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors - Curtis Craddock - High above a shattered world, float great kingdoms reachable only by sailing airships. Princess Isabelle is shunned for her deformed hand and lack of "bloodshadow magic," yet she finds refuge in her forbidden studies and her ever loyal guardian, Jean-Claude. Surprised and puzzled by an offer of marriage to the younger prince of a nearby kingdom, Isabelle takes the opportunity for a new life. She finds herself pulled into a realm of court intrigue and assassination attempts as she tries to uncover the truth behind her rise in status and prevent a war.

Another title to consider:





Thrillers

  • Child Finder - Rene DenfieldChild Finder - Rene Denfield - Five year-old Madison Culver disappeared three years ago when her family went out to chop down a Christmas Tree. Desperate for answers, her parents turn to Naomi, a private investigator with a reputation for finding missing children. As Naomi hunts for Madison her own past as a missing child is revealed. Alternating chapters tell the story of the "Snow Girl" held by a man known only as Mr. B, who finds refuge in her favorite fairy tale to survive her captivity. A fast-paced, compelling narrative.

Other titles to consider:










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