Here you can find information on the many titles housed in the Millcreek Community Center Library's book club collection. We have summaries of each book, as well as links to our catalogue, and other resources for reading groups. All titles can be checked out singly or as a set to anyone with a Salt Lake County Library card.
The daring, dazzling, and highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller The Song of Achilles.
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of
the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child - not
powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother.
Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that
she does possess power - the power of witchcraft, which can transform
rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her
occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most
famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and
his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily
Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe
unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding
herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the
Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her
strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods
she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is
a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry,
palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable
female strength in a man's world.
To find a discussion guide for this book in the NoveList Plus database, go to the Library's website, click on Novelist under "We Recommend" → "Book Services". Click on "Book Discussion Guides" in the right sidebar on NoveList's
home page. Then, either enter the title in the Search box or search for
the title alphabetically. (You will need your Salt Lake County Library
card number to access this resource outside a county library.)
In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey
of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating
and lyrical debut.
In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January
Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke,
she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls:
carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.
Then
she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other
worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger.
Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January
discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
Lush and
richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and
the enduring power of stories awaits in Alix E. Harrow's spellbinding
debut--step inside and discover its magic.
To find a discussion guide for this book in the NoveList Plus database, go to the Library's website, click on Novelist under "We Recommend" → "Book Services". Click on "Book Discussion Guides" in the right sidebar on NoveList's
home page. Then, either enter the title in the Search box or search for
the title alphabetically. (You will need your Salt Lake County Library
card number to access this resource outside a county library.)
Ann Patchett, the New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth and State of Wonder,
returns with her most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story
that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of
their childhood, and a past that will not let them go.
"'Do you think it's possible to ever see the past as it
actually was?' I asked my sister. We were sitting in her car, parked in
front of the Dutch House in the broad daylight of early summer."
At
the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a
single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire,
propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order
of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs
outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house
sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.
The story is
told by Cyril's son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly
acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they
grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back
into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they
have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between
them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.
Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House
is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their
past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only
truly comfortable when they're together. Throughout their lives they
return to the well-worn story of what they've lost with humor and rage.
But when at last they're forced to confront the people who left them
behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his
ever-protective sister is finally tested.
The Dutch House
is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into
questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see
ourselves and of who we really are. Filled with suspense, you may read
it quickly to find out what happens, but what happens to Danny and Maeve
will stay with you for a very long time.
To find a discussion guide for this book in the NoveList Plus database, go to the Library's website, click on Novelist under "We Recommend" → "Book Services". Click on "Book Discussion Guides" in the right sidebar on NoveList's
home page. Then, either enter the title in the Search box or search for
the title alphabetically. (You will need your Salt Lake County Library
card number to access this resource outside a county library.)
A sweeping historical novel about a dance-hall girl and an orphan
boy whose fates entangle over an old Chinese superstition about men who
turn into tigers, set in 1930s Malaysia.
Quick-witted, ambitious Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice
dressmaker, moonlighting as a dancehall girl to help pay off her
mother's Mahjong debts. But when one of her dance partners accidentally
leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji Lin may finally get the adventure
she has been longing for.
Eleven-year-old houseboy Ren is also on a mission, racing to fulfill his
former master's dying wish: that Ren find the man's finger, lost years
ago in an accident, and bury it with his body. Ren has 49 days to do so,
or his master's soul will wander the earth forever.
As the days tick relentlessly by, a series of unexplained deaths wracks
the district, along with whispers of men who turn into tigers. Ji Lin
and Ren's increasingly dangerous paths crisscross through lush
plantations, hospital storage rooms, and ghostly dreamscapes.
Yangsze Choo's The Night Tiger pulls us into a world of servants
and masters, age-old superstition and modern idealism, sibling rivalry
and forbidden love. But anchoring this dazzling, propulsive novel is the
intimate coming of age of a child and a young woman, each searching for
their place in a society that would rather they stay invisible.
To find a discussion guide for this book in the NoveList Plus database, go to the Library's website, click on Novelist under "We Recommend" → "Book Services". Click on "Book Discussion Guides" in the right sidebar on NoveList's
home page. Then, either enter the title in the Search box or search for
the title alphabetically. (You will need your Salt Lake County Library
card number to access this resource outside a county library.)
A richly imagined, powerful new novel about how we explain the world to ourselves, ourselves to others, and the meaning of our lives in a universe that remains impenetrably mysterious.
On a dark midwinter's night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed.
Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? But answers proliferate nonetheless.
Three families are keen to claim her. A wealthy young mother knows the girl is her kidnapped daughter, missing for two years. A farming family reeling from the discovery of their son's secret liaison, stand ready to welcome their granddaughter. The parson's housekeeper, humble and isolated, sees in the child the image of her younger sister. But the return of a lost child is not without complications and no matter how heartbreaking the past losses, no matter how precious the child herself, this girl cannot be everyone's. Each family has mysteries of its own, and many secrets must be revealed before the girl's identity can be known.
Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, the beginning of this novel will sweep you away on a powerful current of storytelling, transporting you through worlds both real and imagined, to the triumphant conclusion whose depths will continue to give up their treasures long after the last page is turned.
To find a discussion guide for this book in the NoveList Plus database, go to the Library's website, click on Novelist under "We Recommend" → "Book Services". Click on "Book Discussion Guides" in the right sidebar on NoveList's home page. Then, either enter the title in the Search box or search for the title alphabetically. (You will need your Salt Lake County Library card number to access this resource outside a county library.)
An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward - with hope and pain - into the future.
A 2018 Oprah's Book Club Selection, and winner of the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn't commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy's time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy's conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.
This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control.
Loveday
Cardew prefers books to people. If you look closely, you might glimpse
the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But
there are things she'll never show you.
Fifteen years ago Loveday
lost all she knew and loved in one unspeakable night. Now, she finds
refuge in the unique little York bookshop where she works.
Everything
is about to change for Loveday. Into her bookstore hiding place—come a poet, a lover, and three suspicious deliveries.
Someone knows about her past. Someone
is trying to send her a message. And she can't hide any longer.
Will Loveday survive her own heartbreaking secrets?
To find a discussion guide for this book in the NoveList Plus database, go to the Library's website, click on Novelist under "We Recommend" → "Book Services". Click on "Book Discussion Guides" in the right sidebar on NoveList's
home page. Then, either enter the title in the Search box or search for
the title alphabetically. (You will need your Salt Lake County Library
card number to access this resource outside a county library.)
Arturo and Alma Rivera have lived their whole lives in Mexico. One day, their beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Maribel, sustains a terrible injury, one that casts doubt on whether she’ll ever be the same. And so, leaving all they have behind, the Riveras come to America with a single dream: that in this country of great opportunity and resources, Maribel can get better.
When Mayor Toro, whose family is from Panama, sees Maribel in a Dollar Tree store, it is love at first sight. It’s also the beginning of a friendship between the Rivera and Toro families, whose web of guilt and love and responsibility is at this novel’s core.
Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America. Their journeys and their voices will inspire you, surprise you, and break your heart.
Suspenseful, wry and immediate, rich in spirit and humanity, The Book of Unknown Americans is a work of rare force and originality that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be an American.
To find a discussion guide for this book in the NoveList Plus database, go to the Library's website, click on Novelist under "We Recommend" → "Book Services". Click on "Book Discussion Guides" in the right sidebar on NoveList's
home page. Then, either enter the title in the Search box or search for
the title alphabetically. (You will need your Salt Lake County Library
card number to access this resource outside a county library.)
“Lori Lansens has created a heart-pounder of a book that is every bit as much of an emotional roller-coaster as an adventurous one” (New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult).
Four lost hikers are about to discover they’re capable of something extraordinary.
Nola has gone up the mountain to commemorate her wedding anniversary, the first since her beloved husband passed. Blonde, stick-thin Bridget is training for a triathalon. Vonn is working out her teenage rebellion at eight thousand feet, driven by family obligation and the urge to escape her mistakes. Still reeling from the tragic accident that robbed him of his best friend, Wolf Truly is the only experienced hiker among them, but he has come to the cliffs on his eighteenth birthday without food or supplies because he plans to take his own life.
When a series of missteps strands this unusual group together in the wilderness, they soon realize that their only defense against the brutality of nature is one another. As one day without rescue spirals dramatically into the next, and misadventure turns to nightmare, these four broken souls begin to form an inextricable bond, pushing themselves and one another further than they ever could have dreamed possible. The three who make it home alive will be forever changed by their harrowing days on the mountain.
From the New York Times bestselling author ofThe Girls, The Mountain Story is a fast-paced, suspenseful adventure and a gorgeous tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. Braving a landscape both unforgivingly harsh and breathtakingly beautiful, Nola, Bridget, Vonn, and Wolf find themselves faced with an impossible question: How much will they sacrifice for a stranger?
To find a discussion guide for this book in the NoveList Plus database, go to the Library's website, click on Novelist under "We Recommend" → "Book Services". Click on "Book Discussion Guides" in the right sidebar on NoveList's
home page. Then, either enter the title in the Search box or search for
the title alphabetically. (You will need your Salt Lake County Library
card number to access this resource outside a county library.)
