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New and recommended books that take on social issues
Updated February 9, 2024
RPL Staff
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Jackal : a novel
Adams, Erin E.
Paper Book
RECOMMENDED BY GILLIAN FLYNN ON THE TODAY SHOW * A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town. But she's not the first--and she may not be the last. . . . "I read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half<...
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In every mirror she's Black : a novel
Akinmade Åkerström, Lola
Paper Book
A Good Morning America Buzz Pick! As seen in Vulture, Essence, Good Morning America, The Independent, Goodreads, PureWow, and many more! "A sexy, surprising, searing debut about love, loss, desire, and the many dimensions of Black womanhood."--Deesha Philyaw, 2020 National Book...
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The power : a novel
Alderman, Naomi
Paper Book
In this stunning bestseller that inspired the Amazon Prime series, praised as "our era's Handmaid's Tale," a fierce new power has emerged--and only women have it (Washington Post). In The Power, the world is a recognizable place: there's a rich Nigerian...
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The personal librarian
Benedict, Marie
Paper Book
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world as she helps build a world-class collection. But...
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The vanishing half
Bennett, Brit
Paper Book
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP BESTSELLER #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 'An utterly mesmerising novel..I absolutely loved this book' Bernardine Evaristo, winner...
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Alone with you in the ether a love story
Blake, Olivie
Paper Book
From Olivie Blake, the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six, comes a literary, intimate study of time, space, and the nature of love. Alone with You in the Ether explores what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as...
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The red arrow
Brewer, William
Paper Book
'It was a strange time. He felt like he was happy. It was strange because it wasn't so long ago that he was convinced the only way out of the depression that had crippled him since he was a child, was death.' But now, he is on a high-speed train travelling from Rome to Modena, a failed...
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0101816023275
CAR
Paper Book
*NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES* *ONE of NPR's and TIME's BEST BOOKS of the YEAR * NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK of the YEAR by WOMAN'S DAY, NEWSDAY, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, BUSTLE, and BOOK RIOT!* "A book that sneaks up on...
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Birnam Wood
Catton, Eleanor
Paper Book
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Greenwood : a novel
Christie, Michael
Paper Book
A magnificent generational saga that charts a family's rise and fall, its secrets and inherited crimes, from one of Canada's most acclaimed novelists Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize * "A rugged, riveting novel . . . This superb family saga will satisfy fans of...
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How not to drown in a glass of water
Cruz, Angie
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE · A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NOTABLE BOOK · REVIEWED ON THE FRONT COVER From GMA BOOK CLUB PICK and WOMEN'S PRIZE FINALIST Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana, an electrifying new novel about a...
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Damnation spring : a novel
Davidson, Ash
Paper Book
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What strange paradise
El Akkad, Omar
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE 2021From the widely acclaimed author of American War, Omar El Akkad, a beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic and profoundly moving novel that brings the global refugee crisis down to the level of a child''s eyes.More bodies have washed up on the shores of...
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If I survive you
Escoffery, Jonathan
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE 2023 BOOKER PRIZE. LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION. Finalist for the 2023 Pen/Faulkner Award, the DUBLIN Literary Award, the Southern Book Award, and the Gordon Burns Award. Nominated for the 2022 National Book...
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Unsettled ground
Fuller, Claire
Paper Book
Twins Jeanie and Julius have always been different. At 51 years old, they still live with their mother, Dot, in rural isolation and poverty. Their rented cottage is simultaneously their armour against the world and their sanctuary. Inside its walls they make music, in its garden they grow (and...
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Transcendent Kingdom
Gyasi, Yaa.
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021 **From the bestselling author of Homegoing** ______________________________________________ As a child Gifty would ask her parents to tell the story of their journey from Ghana to Alabama,...
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This other Eden : a novel
Harding, Paul
Paper Book
In 1792, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife, Patience, discover an island where they can make a life together. Over a century later, the Honeys' descendants and a diverse group of neighbors are desperately poor, isolated, and often hungry, but nevertheless protected from the...
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Open throat
Hoke, Henry
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction 'An instant classic' - THE GUARDIAN 'A bloody masterpiece.' - MELISSA BRODER, author of THE PISCES 'Witty, emotional and gripping, Open Throat is a short but savage thrill...
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The house of Eve
Johnson, Sadeqa
Paper Book
1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that...
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The last story of Mina Lee
Kim, Nancy Jooyoun
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Riveting and unconventional, The Last Story of Mina Lee traces the far-reaching consequences of secrets in the lives of a Korean immigrant mother and her daughter Margot Lee's mother is ignoring her...
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Demon Copperhead
Kingsolver, Barbara
Paper Book
A masterpiece in storytelling from the global bestselling author of Unsheltered and Flight Behaviour.
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Whalefall : a novel
Kraus, Daniel
Paper Book
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER Named a Best Book of 2023 by Book Riot, Shelf Awareness, and NPR The Martian meets 127 Hours in this "astoundingly great" (Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author) and scientifically...
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The leftover woman : a novel
Kwok, Jean
Paper Book
Recommended by The New York Times * Elle * Good Morning America * TIME * People * New York Post * Real Simple * Goodreads * LibraryReads * and many more! An evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two very different...
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Scatterlings : a novel
Manenzhe, Rešoketšwe
Paper Book
A BEST NEW BOOK from *Vanity Fair *The Root *Vulture *People *The Washington Post *Christian Science Monitor *Los Angeles Times *Essence A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice Pick! A New Yorker Best Book of the Year! A lyrical, moving novel in the spirit of...
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The deluge
Markley, Stephen
Paper Book
A New York Times Notable Book "This book is, simply put, a modern classic. If you read it, you'll never forget it. Prophetic, terrifying, uplifting." --Stephen King From the bestselling author of Ohio, a masterful American epic charting a near future...
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Sorrow and bliss
Mason, Meg
Paper Book
Spiky, sharp, intriguingly dark and tender, full of pathos, fury and wit, Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason is a dazzling, distinctive novel from a boldly talented writer - now an instant Sunday Times bestseller and shortlisted for the Women''s Prize. ''Sorrow and Bliss is a...
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How beautiful we were : a novel
Mbue, Imbolo
Paper Book
A fearless young woman from a small African village starts a revolution against an American oil company in this sweeping, inspiring novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers. ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York...
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The god of good looks
Mc Ivor, Breanne
Paper Book
Sometimes you need to clash to make an impact. Bianca Bridge is like an eyeshadow palette. She's a vibrant kaleidoscope of big personality and even bigger dreams, with a tendency towards messiness and fallout. Case in point: ruining her career prospects and hopes...
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The last migration
McConaghy, Charlotte
Paper Book
'An extraordinary novel... as beautiful and as wrenching as anything I've ever read.' Emily St John Mandel 'This novel is enchanting, but not in some safe, fairytale sense. Charlotte McConaghy has harnessed the rough magic that sears our souls. I recommend The Last...
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The fortune men
Mohamed, Nadifa
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALES BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022 'Chilling and utterly compelling, The Fortune Men shines an essential light on a much...
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Hot stew
Mozley, Fiona
Paper Book
Longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 'Ambitious, clever, brilliant and very funny . . . If Elmet announced the arrival of a bright new voice in British literature, Hot Stew confirms Mozley as a writer of extraordinary empathic gifts' Observer ...
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Our missing hearts a novel
Ng, Celeste
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book * Named a Best Book of 2022 by People, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and Oprah Daily, and more * A Reese's Book Club...
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Things we lost to the water : a novel
Nguyen, Eric
Paper Book
A captivating novel about an immigrant Vietnamese family who settles in New Orleans and struggles to remain connected to one another as their lives are inextricably reshaped. This stunning debut is "vast in scale and ambition, while luscious and inviting ... in its intimacy" (The New York...
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Sunshine nails a novel
Nguyen, Mai
Paper Book
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The Dutch house : a novel
Patchett, Ann
Paper Book
Next, dive into TOM LAKE - the breath-taking newest novel from Ann Patchett Lose yourself in the story of a lifetime - the unforgettable Sunday Times bestseller 'Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature'...
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Bewilderment
Powers, Richard
Paper Book
THE BRAND NEW NOVEL FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING, BOOKER PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THE OVERSTORY 'It changed how I thought about the Earth and our place in it. . . . It changed how I see things and that's always, for me, a mark of a book worth reading....
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We are not like them
Pride, Christine
Paper Book
THE MOST IMPORTANT NOVEL YOU'LL READ THIS YEAR 'Harrowing and heartening in equal measure, this book is a breathtaking tale of racial fissures, fury and friendship' David Lammy, MP and author of Tribes 'A powerful story about friendship, race, love,...
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Night of the living rez
Talty, Morgan
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER Winner of the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection New England Book Award Winner, Fiction A Finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Fiction, The Story Prize, B&N Discover Book Prize A New York...
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White horse
Wurth, Erika T.
Paper Book
"This ghost story is a perfect example of new wave horror that will also satisfy fans of classic Stephen King." --Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic Erika T. Wurth's White Horse is a gritty, vibrant debut novel...
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Land of milk and honey
Zhang, C Pam
Paper Book
" The award-winning author of How Much of These Hills Is Gold returns with a rapturous and revelatory novel about a young chef whose discovery of pleasure alters her life and, indirectly, the world A smog has spread. Food crops are rapidly...
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