Adult

Nestled at the bottom of a five-story apartment block in the community of Advance Hill is the children's playground in Hinode Park. If you look to the side, standing on stubby legs, is a hippo. Its upturned eyes give it a teary look, yet for decades, its quiet power has sustained the hearts of one community. According to urban legend, if you touch the exact part of the hippo where you have an ailment or wound, you will see swift signs of recovery. A quietly powerful story of hope, friendship and connection, Michiko Aoyama's beloved bestseller is a celebration of everyday encounters. Its subtle portrayal of the magic of community will lodge itself in every reader's heart as the eclectic cast of characters find healing in their lives --- though they may not always find it in the ways they expect.

This dazzling, genre-defying collection from Jonathan Lethem features seven major stories published since his last collection, along with his best work spanning more than three decades. “The Red Sun School of Thoughts" follows a teenage boy coming to terms with figures of authority and power --- those in both his biological family and in the family he creates for himself. Elsewhere we meet “Super Goat Man,” a down-at-heels bohemian superhero; “The Porn Critic,” whose accidental expertise wrecks his own romantic aspirations; and “Sleepy People,” who pose interpersonal conundrums without ever rousing from their slumber. A DIFFERENT KIND OF TENSION is a container bursting with life and death, couples in trouble, talking animals, and technologies on the fritz. Through it all are people longing to be seen and to connect; to thrive, love and be forgiven.

IT'S ME THEY FOLLOW is an allegorical love story set in a not so distant past. It follows The Shopkeeper, a bookseller and reluctant matchmaker. Helping others find love through books comes easily for The Shopkeeper, until it is time for her to find love for herself. She secretly yearns for her first customer, ME, who took both her most prized book and a piece of her heart when he left. But just when she begins to lose hope, she discovers that she may hold the key to her own happily ever after as well.

The multi-million-dollar casino heist is impossible. That’s what makes it irresistible to a legendary robber facing life in prison for his “Final Score.” A college-bound teenager has a side job delivering illegal booze to “The Sunday List” until a crooked cop, a seductive customer, and a fake guru threaten to end his dreams. Two wise guys tell each other a “True Story” over breakfast at a diner. It's all fun until someone else has to pick up the check. An honest patrolman has to choose between his loyalty to the job and his love for a cousin in “The North Wing.” The substance-addicted movie star that Boone Daniels and his crew are hired to babysit in “The Lunch Break” has a problem --- someone wants her dead. Finally, a terrible mistake that a devoted family man makes sends him to prison and on a “Collision” course between the man he wants to be and the killer he’s forced to become.

Desiree, Danielle, January, Monique and Nakia are in their early 20s, and together, they are finding their way through the wilderness, that period of life when the reality of contemporary adulthood swoops in. Desiree and Danielle, sisters whose shared history has done little to prevent their estrangement, nurse bitter family wounds in different ways. January has a relationship with a “good” man she feels ambivalent about, even after her surprise pregnancy. Monique, a librarian and aspiring blogger, finds unexpected online fame after calling out the university where she works for its plans to whitewash history. And Nakia is trying to get her restaurant off the ground, without relying on her upper-middle-class family. These friends must also figure out what they mean to one another --- amid political upheaval, economic and environmental instability, and the increasing volatility of modern American life.

After more than a decade as a journalist and television producer, Robin Allison Davis decided to shake up her life and move to France. But it wasn’t quite the life she expected. When she was just 34, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. SURVIVING PARIS recounts her journey from diagnosis through multiple surgeries to surviving the strictest COVID-19 lockdowns, only to be told her cancer had come back --- and how she got to finding herself healthy again, including all the detours in between. While this book is about cancer, it’s not just about survival. It's a love story about cancer. It's a story about Robin's love of adventure, her love of love, and her love for herself. 

For Buddy and Lillian, the criminal underworld is the only life they’ve ever known. When they’re forced to flee Las Vegas, they end up opening a club in Oklahoma City. Along for the ride are their five children, all of them raised into the family business of crime --- until the day comes when they each have a chance to make their own way in the world. Jeremy, the family’s Golden Boy, will throw himself into the drug-fueled Hollywood in the roaring 1980s. Tallulah, the daredevil, will find herself in the deadly Wild West of post-communist Moscow. Ray wants nothing more than to put down his gun, but following orders is all he’s ever known. Alice, the genius who renounced her life of crime long ago, now sees her law firm being blackmailed and must tap into old skills to save both the company and her own life. And Piggy, a civilian always on the outside looking in on his crime family, desperate to be part of the gang.

Art has always been an escape for Lewis Dixon. But no one has ever praised his work, so he is shocked when the British Museum shows an unusual interest in his art. Lewis soon learns he has not been invited to participate in a curated show, but rather a test: to see if the exhilaration he experiences when painting is actually magic, a power that allows him to enter nine very special paintings made by his great-grandfather. Spread across the globe, these paintings have unbelievable eldritch abilities, and there are those out there who would do anything to possess just one. And Lewis, upon passing the test, has been asked to destroy them all. Partnered with the alluring agent, Noah Rao, Lewis must travel to Japan, Australia, Nigeria --- and the past --- to save those unlucky enough to call any of the paintings their own --- or to free the world from those who would misuse the power of the paintings. 

Anne Bishop seems like a typical Vassar sophomore --- one of a popular group of privileged WASP friends. None of the girls in her circle has any idea that she’s Jewish, or that her real name is Miriam. Pretending to be a Gentile has made life easier --- as Anne, she no longer suffers the snubs, snide remarks, and daily restrictions Jews face --- after all, it's no longer directed at her. But her secret life is threatened when she becomes fascinated by Delia Goldhush. Delia is sophisticated, stylish, brilliant and unashamedly Jewish --- and seems not to care that she’s an outcast among the other students. Knowing that her growing closeness with Delia would be social suicide if it were discovered, Anne keeps their friendship quiet. Delia seems to understand --- until a cruelty on Anne’s part drives them apart and sends them scattering to other corners of the world, alone and together. 

Boston Bearcats rookie Robbie Corrigan is living the dream. He’s made it to the NHL, his best friend/teammate and fellow “orgasm donor” is his roomie --- and the women of Boston love them both. Life is sweet, until he meets Skylar Paige, division one softball pitcher, and the one member of the opposite sex immune to his charms. Skylar pegs him as a filthy player and wants nothing to do with him. When he discovers she’s carrying a serious torch for her brother’s best friend, Robbie knows he should just go back to clubbing and whipped cream bikini parties, but he can’t seem to leave Skylar to flounder on her romantic quest to land another man. Nor can he miss out on the opportunity to spend time with her and hopefully redeem himself. Before Robbie knows it, he’s agreed to be Skylar’s fake boyfriend at an upcoming family wilderness competition where her crush will be in attendance. What could go wrong?