THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

  The story of a runaway mother’s ten days of freedom—and the pain, desire, longing, and wonder we find on the messy road to enlightenment—from Pulitzer Prize winner, Quiara Alegría Hudes. April is a young mother raising her daughter in an intergenerational house of unspoken secrets and loud arguments. Her only refuge is to hide away in a locked bathroom, her ears plugged into an ambient soundscape, and a mantra on her lips: dead inside. That is, until one day, as she finds herself spiraling toward the volcanic rage she calls the white hot, a voice inside her tells her to just . . . walk away. She wanders to a bus station and asks for a ticket to the furthest destination; she tells the clerk to make it one-way. That ticket takes her from her Philly home to the threshold of a wilderness and the beginning of a nameless quest—an accidental journey that shakes her awake, almost kills her, and brings her to the brink of an impossible choice. The White Hot takes the form of a letter from...

A sweeping and immersive history of modern Afghanistan from the one of the world ’ s leading war correspondents. In 1969, the luxury Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul opened its glistening white box, high on a hill, that reflected Afghanistan’s hopes of becoming a modern country, connected to the world. Lyse Doucet – now the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, then a young reporter on her inaugural trip to Afghanistan – first checked into the Inter-Continental in 1988. In the decades since, she has witnessed a Soviet evacuation, a devastating civil war, the US invasion, and the rise, fall, and rise of the Taliban, all from within its increasingly battered walls. The Inter-Con has never closed its doors. Now, she weaves together the experiences of the Afghans who have kept the hotel running to craft a richly immersive history of their country. It is the story of Hazrat, the septuagenarian housekeeper who still holds fast to his Inter-Continental training from the hotel’s 1970s glory da...

  Lucy Gardiner felt like she was put on earth to dance. Amid the chaos of her Massachusetts upbringing—her loving, erratic brothers; her overburdened mother—twelve-year-old Lucy is discovered and cast on a new dance reality show. When its popstar judge, Bruise, takes an obsessive interest in Lucy’s raw talent, Lucy’s life suddenly becomes what she’s always wanted—or has it? In the whirlwind of talk shows, movie sets, and extravagant Hollywood parties of her teenage years, Lucy slowly grows more alienated from her family. And when a series of youthful mistakes comes back to haunt her, she finds she must free herself from Bruise’s world of fame and all its trappings, and decide where her home truly is. With lively prose and a rich cast of supporting characters—including a retired parrot actor traumatized by his former career— Lucky Girl  is an unparalleled coming-of-age story that explores the sparkling highs and heartbreaking lows of ambition, infamy, and the determination to ...

  The first major biography of Jeannette Rankin, a groundbreaking suffragist, activist, and the first American woman to hold federal office. “Few members of Congress have ever stood more alone while being true to a higher honor and loyalty.” —President John F. Kennedy on Jeannette Rankin Born on a Montana ranch in 1880, Jeannette Rankin knew how to ride a horse, make a fire, and read the sky for weather. But most of all, she knew how to talk to people, how to convince them of her vision for America. It was this rare skill that led her, in 1916, to become the first woman ever elected to the House of Representatives. As her first act, Rankin introduced the legislation that would become the 19th Amendment. Throughout her two terms in 1916 and 1940, she continued to introduce and pass legislation benefiting unions, protecting workers, and increasing aid for children in poverty. In 1941, she stood tall as the sole anti-war voice in Congress during WWII, advocating for pacifism in the fa...

  You think you know what abusive relationships look like, until you see it for yourself. When Lucy and Meg’s mother is assaulted by her husband, stepfather Greg, his arrest seems to mark the end of a nightmare. But when their mother chooses to stay with him, the sisters are thrust into a disturbing moral dilemma. Desperate to protect her, they take a drastic step: secretly install hidden cameras to capture the truth for themselves—and the rest of the world. What unfolds isn’t what Lucy expected. Told with emotional clarity and literary depth, The Truth About You probes the unsettling gap between what we’re taught to believe and the evidence. As Lucy grapples with conflicting narratives of abuse, loyalty, and manipulation, she’s forced to question not only her mother and stepfather’s roles in this abusive relationship, but the entire framework of judgment, justice, and victimhood. This is a bold, timely novel for readers who crave psychological insight, emotional complexity, and st...

  "You don't know who to trust or where loyalties lie in  The Perfect Hosts . I loved every minute of this fun, twisty, wild ride!"  –Mary Kubica,  New York Times  bestselling author of  Local Woman Missing A couple’s gender reveal party turns deadly, and everyone is a suspect in this gripping thriller from the  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Overnight Guest Is it a boy or a girl? They would die to know … Madeline and Wes Drake have invited two hundred of their closest friends and family to their sprawling horse ranch for the most anticipated event of the year: a “pistols and pearls” gender reveal party so sensational it is sure to make headlines. But the party descends into chaos when the celebratory explosive misfires, leaving one woman dead and a trail of secrets. As the aftershocks of the bloody party ripple across the small town, Agent Jamie Saldano is brought to the scene to investigate. Battling his demons fr...