Adult

HOPE is the first autobiography in history ever to be published by a Pope. Written over six years, this complete autobiography starts in the early years of the 20th century, with Pope Francis’ Italian roots and his ancestors’ courageous migration to Latin America, continuing through his childhood, the enthusiasms and preoccupations of his youth, his vocation, his adult life, and the whole of his papacy up to the present day. In recounting his memories with intimate narrative force (not forgetting his own personal passions), Pope Francis deals unsparingly with some of the crucial moments of his papacy and writes candidly, fearlessly and prophetically about some of the most important and controversial questions of our present times.

The arrival of an unexpected visitor to Oregon forces small-town lawyer Cal Claxton to revisit painful events from his previous life in Los Angeles. He feels compelled to return to the City of Angels to make up for a terrible injustice that caused an innocent man to spend 13 years in prison. Cal's return also brings back dark memories of his wife's suicide, a tragedy that triggered his escape to Oregon and a new life. The cold case, involving the murder of a beautiful young woman, quickly becomes one of the most dangerous and baffling of his storied career. Once a chief prosecutor for the city of L.A., he now finds himself alone, forced to operate with nothing but his wits in a city that is even meaner and less forgiving than when he left it. He soon finds himself pitted against an array of suspects who will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden.

Brooke Shields has spent a lifetime in the public eye. Growing up as a child actor and model, her every feature was scrutinized, her every decision judged. Today she faces a different kind of scrutiny: that of being a “woman of a certain age.” And yet, for Brooke, the passage of time has brought freedom. At 59, she feels more comfortable in her skin, more empowered and confident than she did decades ago in those famous Calvin Kleins. Now, in BROOKE SHIELDS IS NOT ALLOWED TO GET OLD, she’s changing the narrative about women and aging. This is an era, she insists, when women are reclaiming agency and power, not receding into the shadows. With remarkable candor, Brooke paints a vibrant and optimistic picture of being a woman in the prime of her life, while dismantling the myths that have dimmed that perception for too long.

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption and forget any of it ever happened. Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970; she’s pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. Everything they eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely.

Sybil Sweet is worried that she’s the directionless, floundering daughter her family thinks she is. All she really wants now is a little financial stability and carb comfort. Lucky for her, she has just enough in the bank to buy a lottery ticket, and the late-night donut store is open. Kieran Anderson put his dreams of becoming a doctor on hold to take over running his family’s bakery. After fighting a losing battle to save the place, he’s exhausted, broke and no closer to getting back to school. But when a whirlwind of a woman sweeps in late one night, flirty energy gives way to more…until she runs out the next morning, leaving behind her winning lottery ticket. Kieran’s attempt to return the ticket goes viral, sending sales through the roof. In an effort to keep the store afloat and to convince Sybil’s family she can make good relationship choices, they agree to fake a relationship for three months.

Following a successful but costly mission to destroy an enemy outpost in Antarctica, Alex Hawke is looking forward to some quiet time at Teakettle Cottage, his home in Bermuda, along with his family. But he's not a man who can avoid trouble. Former Chief Inspector of Scottland Yard Ambrose Congreve calls him with stunning news. Just days away from a controversial vote threatening to tear the United Kingdom apart at the seams, King Charles has disappeared while vacationing at Balmoral Castle. The prime minister believes she can keep the news quiet for no more than 72 hours. After that, Britain will be plunged into chaos. With the fate of the kingdom hanging in the balance, it's up to Lord Hawke to find and rescue the missing monarch before it's too late.

Jessica Fletcher has taken a nasty spill on the ice, leaving her in a wheelchair for several weeks. She tries to work on her latest manuscript but finds herself distracted by a new neighbor moving in across the street. Soon after unpacking his sparse belongings, Mr. Rymer is out in the front yard, building somewhat risqué (read: naked) snow sculptures. While Cabot Cove debates whether the sculptures are a protected form of art or a public display of lewdness, someone starts destroying them at night. Rymer doesn’t seem upset. He just makes new ones. No need to get the police involved over a little snow, he says. Especially when there’s plenty more of it and a blizzard in the forecast. The morning after the storm, Jessica looks out the window to see a new sculpture across the street --- and the body of Mr. Rymer half-buried in the snow.

With her name on the Hollywood blacklist and her life on hold, starlet Melanie Cole has little choice in company. There is her next-door neighbor, Elwood, but the screenwriter’s agoraphobia allows for just short chats through open windows. He’s her sole confidante, though, as she and her housekeeper, Eva, an immigrant from war-torn Europe, rarely make conversation. Then one early morning, Melanie and Eva spot Elwood’s sister-in-law and caretaker, June, digging in his beloved rose garden. After that they don’t see Elwood at all anymore. Where could a man who never leaves the house possibly have gone? As they try to find out if something has happened to him, unexpected secrets are revealed among all three women, leading to an alliance that seems the only way for any of them to hold on to what they can still call their own.

When Darby finds himself unemployed and in need of a fresh start, he moves back to the small Illinois town he left behind. But Oak Falls has changed almost as much as he has since he left. One thing is familiar: In Between Books, Darby’s refuge growing up and eventual high school job. When he walks into the bookstore now, Darby feels an eerie sense of déjà vu --- everything is exactly the same. Even the newspapers are dated 2009. And behind the register is a teen who looks a lot like Darby did at 16…who just might give Darby the opportunity to change his own present for the better --- if he can figure out how before his connection to the past vanishes forever.

Disabled, disinclined to marry, and more interested in writing than a lucrative career in medicine or law, Zelu has always felt like the outcast of her large Nigerian family. Then her life is upended when she’s unceremoniously fired from her university job and her novel is rejected by yet another publisher. With her career and dreams crushed in one fell swoop, she decides to write something just for herself. What comes out is nothing like the quiet, literary novels that have so far peppered her unremarkable career. It’s a far-future epic where androids and AI wage war in the grown-over ruins of human civilization. When Zelu finds the courage to share her strange novel, she does not realize she is about to embark on a life-altering journey --- one that will catapult her into literary stardom, but also perhaps obliterate everything her book was meant to be.