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Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Unexpected Friends


Sometimes friendship can be found in someone that you wouldn't expect.  We may think that the differences in personality, for example, may hinder friendship but, other similarities can be buried beneath the surface; a shared sense of humor, demographics, shared experiences, and beliefs can bring people together.



Brooke is a divorced single mom, financially strapped, living with her mother and holding tight to the one thing that matters most – her two-year-old daughter, Etta. Then, in a matter of seconds, Brooke’s life is shattered when she’s carjacked. Helpless and terrified, all Brooke can do is watch as Etta, still strapped in her seat, disappears into the Los Angeles night. Miles away, Etta is found by Molly, a homeless teen who is all too used to darkness. Thrown away by her parents and with a future as stable as the wooden crate she calls home, Molly survives day to day by her wits. As unpredictable as her life is, she’s stunned to find Etta, abandoned and alone. Shielding the little girl from more than the elements, Molly must put herself in harm’s way to protect a child as lost as she is. Out of one terrible moment, Brooke’s and Molly’s desperate paths converge and an unlikely friendship across generations and circumstances is formed. With it, Brooke and Molly will come to discover that what’s lost – and what’s found – can change in a heartbeat.




"As the youngest of eight, painfully average Pup Flanagan is used to flying under the radar. He's barely passing his classes. He lets his longtime crush walk all over him. And he's in no hurry to decide on a college path. The only person who ever made him think he could be more was his older brother Patrick. But that was before Patrick died suddenly, leaving Pup with a family who won't talk about it and acquaintances who just keep saying, "sorry for your loss." When Pup excels at a photography assignment he thought he'd bomb, things start to come into focus. His dream girl shows her true colors. An unexpected friend exposes Pup to a whole new world, right under his nose. And the photograph that was supposed to show Pup a way out of his grief ultimately reveals someone else who is still stuck in their own. Someone with a secret regret Pup never could have imagined." -- Provided by publisher.

Women in Sunlight: a novel by Mayes, Frances


Four American women become unexpected friends during a magical year in Tuscany marked by a writer's complicated relationship with the subject of her biography, long-postponed dreams, and shifting senses of adventure and bravery.
Kit Raine, an American writer living in Tuscany, is working on a biography of a friend. Her work is interrupted by the arrival of Julia, Camille, and Susan, all of whom have launched a recent and spontaneous friendship. Susan, the most adventurous of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of staid retirement by taking a lease on a big, beautiful house in Tuscany. Though novices in a foreign culture, their renewed sense of adventure imbues each of them with a gusto for life, and a fierce determination to thrive-- which will have drastic and unforeseeable results. -- adapted from jacket.



    Respected professor Jack Owens brought his son, Danny, to Gilbert, Indiana, to escape a betrayal too painful to endure anywhere but in this quiet midwestern college town. After ten years, Jack believed they were safe. But on a seemingly ordinary day, the world Jack thought he knew and the future he anticipated abruptly come apart at the seams, leaving him haunted by the questions: Why? and What next? Redemption, however, could come with the arrival of an unexpected friend whose prescient understanding slowly helps Jack cope with the unacceptable. But with healing comes clarity--and secrets best left unrevealed by the stark, glaring light of day.

  • The Story of Arthur Truluv: a novel by Berg, Elizabeth

    "Truluv is a moving novel about three people who have lost the person they love most and must find their way back to happiness. Arthur, a widower, meets Maddy, an angry and friendless teenage girl while visiting his late wife at the cemetery, where he goes every day for lunch. Against all odds, the two strike up a friendship that pulls them out of a serious rut. They band together with Arthur's nosy neighbor Lucille, to create lives that are truly worth living. Proving that life's most precious moments are sweeter when shared, they go from strangers to friends, to an untraditional but loving family. Betrayal, loneliness, romance, and family are at the heart of this honey of a book, a must-read for fans of Elizabeth Berg's early work. This is a story about life being affirmed at all ages, old and young, and about finding happiness when hope seems lost. Readers will laugh, cry, and love Truluv"-- Provided by publisher.

  • For as long as he can remember, Malcolm has never felt like he was good enough. Not for his parents, who have always seemed at odds with each other, with Malcolm caught in between. And especially not for his dad, whose competitive drive and love for sports Malcolm has never shared. That is, until Malcolm discovers miniature golf, the one sport he actually enjoys. Maybe it's the way in which every hole is a puzzle to be solved. Or the whimsy of the windmills and waterfalls that decorate the course. Or maybe it's the slushies at the snack bar. But whatever the reason, something about mini golf just clicks for Malcolm. And best of all, it's a sport his dad can't possibly obsess over. Or so Malcolm thinks. Soon he is signed up for lessons and entered in tournaments. And yet, even as he becomes a better golfer and finds unexpected friends at the local course, be wonders if he might not always be a disappointment. But as the final match of the year draws closer, the tension between Malcolm's parents reaches a breaking point, and it's up to him to put the puzzle of his family back together again.




An orphan, Dores is working in the kitchen of a sugar plantation in 1930s Brazil when she meets Graça, the spoiled daughter of a wealthy sugar baron. Born to wildly different worlds, the girls quickly bond over shared mischief, and then, on a deeper level, over music. One has a voice like a songbird; the other feels melodies in her soul and composes lyrics to match. Music will become the only way out of the life to which each was born... but only one is destined to be a star. -- adapted from jacket.




"An unlikely friendship between a curmudgeonly old man and a desperate young woman delivers a funny and uplifting message about the power of human connection and how it's never too late to be the person you wanted to be. Eighty-eight-year-old Duffy Sinclair wants the last leg of his bachelor life to be strictly predictable, so Centennial Assisted Living is perfect: low-sodium meals, off-key sing-alongs, and the company of his best pal and roommate, Carl. It may not sound like much, but compared to the piss-smelling, roach-infested nursing home down the road, Centennial is paradise. There's only one problem: Carl's estranged granddaughter, Josie, has just clambered through their bedroom window. Though she claims it's a well-intentioned visit, her bare feet and black eye say otherwise. Carl begs Duffy to let her stay--she's all that's left of his family. But hiding her means risking eviction, and Duffy would rather die than move, just like he would rather die than fall off the wagon again. That's why when he sniffs out Josie's alcoholic tendencies, he has no choice but to go against Carl's wishes and chase her off. But before Duffy knows it, Josie's heartfelt plight has won him over, and he finds himself risking everything he has left to save his newfound family and discover what it really means to live"-- Provided by publisher.




"A tender, joyous debut novel about a cub reporter and her eighty-six-year-old subject-and the unlikely and life-changing friendship that develops between them. Kate is a twenty-six-year-old riddled with anxiety and panic attacks who works for a local paper in Brixton, London, covering forgettably small stories. When she's assigned to write about the closing of the local lido (an outdoor pool and recreation center), she meets Rosemary, an eighty-six-year-old widow who has swum at the lido daily since it opened its doors when she was a child. It was here Rosemary fell in love with her husband, George; here that she's found communion during her marriage and since George's death. The lido has been a cornerstone in nearly every part of Rosemary's life. But when a local developer attempts to buy the lido for a posh new apartment complex, Rosemary's fond memories and sense of community are under threat. As Kate dives deeper into the lido's history--with the help of a charming photographer--she pieces together a portrait of the pool, and a portrait of a singular woman, Rosemary. What begins as a simple local interest story for Kate soon blossoms into a beautiful friendship that provides sustenance to both women as they galvanize the community to fight the lido's closure. Meanwhile, Rosemary slowly, finally, begins to open up to Kate, transforming them both in ways they never knew possible. In the tradition of Frederick Backman, The Lido is a charming, feel-good novel that captures the heart and spirit of a community across generations--an irresistible tale of love, loss, aging, and friendship"-- Provided by the publisher.



Connell and Marianne grew up in the same small town, but the similarities end there. At school, Connell is popular and well-liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation--awkward but electrifying--something life-changing begins.

A year later, they're both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Normal People is the story of mutual fascination, friendship, and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find that they can't.


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