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 Labor Day Joyce Maynard Harper Perennial $13.99 | I've been a Joyce Maynard fan since her days as a columnist and this does not disappoint. Henry is lonely, friendless, and 13 with only his mother for company. But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day weekend when a bleeding man asks for help. This is a beautiful tale of love seen through Henry's eyes. |
 Almost Home Pam Jenoff Washington Square Press $15.00 | Intelligence officer Jordan Weiss has avoided returning to England and the painful memory of her college boy- friend's death. But when her termin- ally ill friend asks her to come back, she does. And learns his death was no accident. As she begins to in- vestigate, she finds her own life is in danger. You won't want to put it down. |
 Rainwater Sandra Brown Simon & Schuster $23.99 | It is 1984 and Ella Brown needs to keep her boarding house full. So she agrees to rent to Mr. Rainwater even though she senses he will bring un- settling changes to her life and her challenging son Solly's. In a time of social unrest, Rainwater is calm, and one violent night that calm is put to the test. |
 Mockingbird Kathryn Erskine Philomel Books $15.99 | Destined to become a classic.... Mockingbird is the story of a ten-year- old girl with Asperger's whose brother was the victim of a random school shooting. You will cry, you'll laugh, you'll cheer as Caitlin struggles to find CLOSURE. Don't miss it! |
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 The Denim Diet formerly The List Kami Gray New World Library $14.95 | OK--She's my cousin's daughter. But who would have thought she'd write a book to make me healthier. And make me laugh at the same time. It's great! |
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|  First Family David Baldacci Grand Central Publilshing $27.99 | When the First Lady's niece is kidnapped, it's not the FBI she trusts to find her. It's a private detective who has helped her hide a secret for years. And when his partner's mother is murdered, they are in a race to solve two crimes before the little girl is killed. It's fast paced and kept me up well past midnight. Great escapist fiction! |
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Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel Jeannette Walls Scribner Book Company $26.00 | Read The Glass Castle? Here's the book that explains her mother! It is the story of the maternal grandmother--a no-nonsense, resourceful, unforgettable woman. |
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The Housekeeper and the Professor Yoko Ogawa Picador USA 14.00 | A most unusual book. Beautiful. Simple. He's a brilliant math professor with only 80 minutes of short-trem memory. She's an astute housekeeper with a young son he calls "Root". An enchanting story of living in the present. |
How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets Garth Stein Soho Press $13.00 | For those who love The Art of Racing in the Rain (and who didn't?), this is just as wonderful. It's the story of Evan, a rock singer who meets his son when he is 14 and how they grow up together. Told with humor, compassion and unfailing honesty. |
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Matterhorn Karl Marlantes Atlantic Monthly Press $24.95 | Written by Seaside High School graduate. Many have said "it's destined to become a classic of war literature". Karl was a Rhodes Scholar and decorated war hero. This is his Vietnam story which took 30 years to tell. |
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One Amazing Thing Chitra Banerjee Divkaruni Voice $23.99 | When nine people are trapped by an earthquake in an Indian visa office, they ease the tension by telling one amazing thing about their lives. Each character tells such an evocative tale, the reader is forced to look at them in a new light and to see the humanity in each. This is a beautiful, rich and passionate book. |
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A Reliable Wife Robert Goolrick Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill $14.95 | When Ralph Truitts mail-order bride arrives, she's not quite the "simple, honest woman" he's expecting. But then, he's not what she expected either. Just when you think you've figured it out, you find you haven't at all. |
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Saving CeeCee Honeycutt Beth Hoffman Viking Books $25.95 | . If you loved Secret Life of Bees and The Help, you'll fall for CeeCee. When her mentally ill mother dies, CeeCee's taken into the loving care of her great aunt, Tootie, and moves to Savannah. This is a story of love and wisdom and the hospitality of the South in the 60's. |
 The School of Essential Ingredients Lisa Bauermeister Berkley Publishing Group $15.00 | I love this book. Not only do I want to go to this cooking school, I want to go with these people. Their stories are so real and the world Erica has created is so captivating that you truly want to spend time there |
Sixty-Eight Rooms Marianne Malone Random House Books for Young Readers $16.99 | The Chicago Art Institute has a display of 65 miniature rooms--eerily accurate. What if you found a key that lets you shrink to explore the rooms? What if you found someone had been there before--and left some- thing important behind? A charming adventure. |
When Autumn Leaves Amy S. Foster Overlook Press $14.95 | This is a magical story of an enchanted Pacific NW town. Autumn is its spiritual leader-- and some may call her a witch-- who must find her replacement. Through her eyes we get intimate glimpses of the locals and heartwarming and heartbreaking stories. If you love a little magic and wonderfully drawn characters, this is it. |
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