REQUIRED READING
Growing Up Bank Street: A Greenwich Village Memoir
Donna Florio (f iction, Washington Mews Books) Donna Florio had an eclectic Greenwich Village childhood, with operasinger parents, neighbor John Lennon just down the street and Sex Pistols star Sid Vicious in the apartment next door. A delightful look back at a bygone neighborhood of beatniks and bohemians in a very different New York City.
How Beautiful We Were
Imbolo Mbue (f iction, Random House) From the author of the stunning bestseller “Behold the Dreamers” comes this novel about the fictional African village of Kosawa and an American oil company that pollutes the landscape. Finally, the villagers decide to fight back and reclaim what is theirs — even if it means dying in the process.
The Girls Are All So Nice Here Laurie Elizabeth Flynn (f iction, Simon & Schuster)
Ambrosia Wellington graduated from college ten years ago and has created a new life for herself. But when she receives an invitation to her college reunion with an ominous note saying “We need to talk about what we did that night,” two things become clear. 1: Attendance is not optional. And 2: When it comes to old secrets, the past is no longer just the past.
Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competitive Age
Matt Feeney (nonf iction, Basic Books) In this ode to family life, Feeney makes the case that, all too often, parents allow their families to be colonized by external drivers: the pursuit of prestigious preschools, educational technologies, youth sports and more.
The Windsor Knot SJ Bennett (f iction, William Morrow)
In the Spring of 2016, Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle, overseeing preparations for her 90th-birthday celebration. But when a guest is found dead in one of the Castle rooms, with foul play suspected, Her Majesty decides to take matters into her own hands, and do a bit of behind-the-scenes sleuthing. “The Windsor Knot” is the first in a series of novels in which Queen Elizabeth II will combine the duties of the crown with crime solving.
Her Dark Lies J.T. Ellison (f iction, MIRA)
Claire Hunter’s wedding at a luxurious villa off the Italian coast seems like it will be perfect in every way, until she sets foot on the island. Everything proceeds to go wrong, from threatening texts to a ruined wedding dress — and the growing suspicion that her husband-to-be isn’t telling the truth about his first wife.