{"id":127,"date":"2023-01-01T18:26:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T18:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/?p=127"},"modified":"2025-04-16T20:44:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T20:44:50","slug":"2022-book-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/?p=127","title":{"rendered":"2022 book list"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n            <script src=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/widgets.js\" data-type=\"list\" data-list-slug=\"2022-book-list-lexington-ladies-lit\"><\/script>\n          \n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"663\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-11-663x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-128\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-11-663x1024.jpeg 663w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-11-194x300.jpeg 194w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-11-768x1187.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-11-994x1536.jpeg 994w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-11-1325x2048.jpeg 1325w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-11.jpeg 1650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-container-content-9cfa9a5a\">To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything<br><br>\u201cI refuse to be nothing\u2026\u201d<br><br>In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness\u2026<br><br>In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family\u2019s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family\u2019s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.<br><br>When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother&#8217;s identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.<br><br>After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future her brother&#8217;s abandoned greatness.<br><br>At the Publisher&#8217;s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>These Precious Days by Ann Patchett<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"264\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-12.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-129\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-12.jpeg 264w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-12-198x300.jpeg 198w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The beloved <em>New York Times<\/em> bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><br><br>\u201cAny story that starts will also end.\u201d As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.&nbsp;<br><br>At the center of <em>These Precious Days<\/em> is the title essay, a suprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores \u201cwhat it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self.\u201d When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks\u2019 short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman\u2014Tom\u2019s brilliant assistant Sooki\u2014with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both.&nbsp;<br><br>A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer\u2019s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be.&nbsp;<br><br>From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo\u2019s children\u2019s books to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz\u2019s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author\u2019s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in <em>These Precious Days <\/em>resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark\u2014and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Vladimir by Julia May Jones<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized wp-container-content-9cfa9a5a\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/S\/compressed.photo.goodreads.com\/books\/1641411420i\/57846324.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A provocative, razor-sharp, and timely debut novel about a beloved English professor facing a slew of accusations against her professor husband by former students\u2014a situation that becomes more complicated when she herself develops an obsession of her own&#8230;<\/strong><br><br><em>\u201cWhen I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me.\u201d<\/em><br><br>And so we are introduced to our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose charismatic husband at the same small liberal arts college is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extra-marital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both. And when our narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who\u2019s just arrived on campus, their tinder box world comes dangerously close to exploding.<br><br>With this bold, edgy, and uncommonly assured debut, author Julia May Jonas takes us into charged territory, where the boundaries of morality bump up against the impulses of the human heart. Propulsive, darkly funny, and wildly entertaining, <em>Vladimir<\/em> perfectly captures the personal and political minefield of our current moment, exposing the nuances and the grey area between power and desire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"677\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-13-677x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-130\" style=\"width:280px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-13-677x1024.jpeg 677w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-13-198x300.jpeg 198w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-13-768x1161.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-13-1016x1536.jpeg 1016w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-13-1355x2048.jpeg 1355w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-13-scaled.jpeg 1693w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 677px) 100vw, 677px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The critically acclaimed and Whiting Award\u2013winning author of <em>We Love You, Charlie Freeman<\/em> returns with an unforgettable story about the meaning of freedom.<br>&nbsp;<br>Coming of age as a free-born Black girl in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson was all too aware that her purposeful mother, a practicing physician, had a vision for their future together: Libertie would go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie, drawn more to music than science, feels stifled by her mother\u2019s choices and is hungry for something else\u2014is there really only one way to have an autonomous life? And she is constantly reminded that, unlike her mother, who can pass, Libertie has skin that is too dark.<br><br>When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find it\u2014for herself and for generations to come.<br>&nbsp;<br>Inspired by the life of one of the first Black female doctors in the United States and rich with historical detail, Kaitlyn Greenidge\u2019s new novel resonates in our times and is perfect for readers of Brit Bennett, Min Jin Lee, and Yaa Gyasi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-16-684x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-133\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-16-684x1024.jpeg 684w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-16-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-16-768x1150.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-16.jpeg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A novel of art, time travel, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.<\/strong><br><br>Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled from polite society following an ill-conceived diatribe at a dinner party. He enters the forest, spellbound by the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, and suddenly hears the notes of a violin echoing in an airship terminal&#8211;an experience that shocks him to his core.<br><br>Two centuries later a famous writer named Olive Llewellyn is on a book tour. She&#8217;s traveling all over Earth, but her home is the second moon colony, a place of white stone, spired towers, and artificial beauty. Within the text of Olive&#8217;s best-selling pandemic novel lies a strange passage: a man plays his violin for change in the echoing corridor of an airship terminal as the trees of a forest rise around him.<br><br>When Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a detective in the black-skied Night City, is hired to investigate an anomaly in the North American wilderness, he uncovers a series of lives upended: The exiled son of an earl driven to madness, a writer trapped far from home as a pandemic ravages Earth, and a childhood friend from the Night City who, like Gaspery himself, has glimpsed the chance to do something extraordinary that will disrupt the timeline of the universe.<br><br>A virtuoso performance that is as human and tender as it is intellectually playful, <em>Sea of Tranquility<\/em> is a novel of time travel and metaphysics that precisely captures the reality of our current moment.&#8217;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"325\" height=\"499\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-15.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-132\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-15.jpeg 325w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-15-195x300.jpeg 195w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 325px) 100vw, 325px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Celebrated, bestselling, elusive&#8230;who is Maud Dixon?<br><br>Florence Darrow wants to be a writer. Correction: Florence Darrow IS going to be a writer. Fired from her first job in publishing, she jumps at the chance to be assistant to the celebrated Maud Dixon, the anonymous bestselling novelist. The arrangement comes with conditions &#8211; high secrecy, living in an isolated house in the countryside\u00ad. Before long, the two of them are on a research trip to Morocco, to inspire the much-promised second novel. Beach walks, red sunsets and long, whisky-filled evening discussions&#8230;win-win, surely? Until Florence wakes up in a hospital, having narrowly survived a car crash.<br><br>How did it happen &#8211; and where is Maud Dixon, who was in the car with her? Florence feels she may have been played, but wait, if Maud is no longer around, maybe Florence can make her mark as a writer after all&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>You Made a Fool of Death with your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"674\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-14-674x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-131\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-14-674x1024.jpeg 674w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-14-198x300.jpeg 198w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-14-768x1166.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-14-1011x1536.jpeg 1011w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-14-1349x2048.jpeg 1349w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-14.jpeg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 674px) 100vw, 674px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Fresh and seductive novel about a young woman seeking joy while healing from loss.<br><br>Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again.<br><br>It\u2019s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she\u2019s almost a new person now\u2014an artist with her own studio, and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it\u2019s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn\u2019t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career.<br><br>She\u2019s even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits. This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers. Who is she ready to become? Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there\u2019s the biggest question of all\u2014how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love?<br><br>Akwaeke Emezi\u2019s vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing, and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Euphoria by Lily King<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"314\" height=\"475\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-17.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-134\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-17.jpeg 314w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-17-198x300.jpeg 198w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 314px) 100vw, 314px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Inspired by the true story of a woman who changed the way we understand our world.<\/strong><br><br>In 1933 three young, gifted anthropologists are thrown together in the jungle of New Guinea. They are Nell Stone, fascinating, magnetic and famous for her controversial work studying South Pacific tribes, her intelligent and aggressive husband Fen, and Andrew Bankson, who stumbles into the lives of this strange couple and becomes totally enthralled. Within months the trio are producing their best ever work, but soon a firestorm of fierce love and jealousy begins to burn out of control, threatening their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>They Won\u2019t Apologize for the Mess by Xine Rose<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"642\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-18-642x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-135\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-18-642x1024.jpeg 642w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-18-188x300.jpeg 188w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-18-768x1226.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-18-963x1536.jpeg 963w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-18-1283x2048.jpeg 1283w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-18.jpeg 1410w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">xr:d:DAFrD4nRLLc:6,j:1154462378331798874,t:24010918<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A novel (survival guide) for untying the knot.<br><br>On the surface, Story is a successful wedding photographer with a successful husband. Behind the camera, she wants a divorce. The problem is, she can\u2019t bring herself to leave for the sake of her own happiness. No Appalachian woman worth the salt in her boot straps would do such a thing. Everything would have been fine and manageable if love hadn\u2019t found Story in the back of an Astro van\u2014hadn\u2019t curated the soundtrack to her impending doom.<br><br>Alas, Story isn\u2019t the kind of woman to let herself have her sins, and savor them, too. She\u2019ll go the hard way, really drag her feet through the mud as she makes her way across the Universe. She&#8217;ll make a mess of things, before she\u2019ll let herself have someone good and decent, like Hunter. As Hell threatens to open up and swallow her whole, she begins her confession. This is her last-ditch effort to right all the wrongs, because it\u2019s not just her life at stake. It\u2019s Hunter\u2019s too. May god have mercy on their souls.<br><br>Fans of Andrew Sean Greer\u2019s Less, will enjoy They Won\u2019t Apologize for the Mess as they follow its main character through elaborate and hilarious schemes to run away from their problems. Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert\u2019s Eat, Pray, Love will appreciate this contemporary divorce story for its focus on breaking gender roles, savoring sins and simply remembering to eat: a Love, Pray, Eat if you will.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"265\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-20.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-137\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-20.jpeg 265w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-20-199x300.jpeg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CJ Hauser expands on her viral essay sensation, &#8220;The Crane Wife,&#8221; in a brilliant collection of essays that echo the work of Cheryl Strayed in their revelatory observations of romantic love.<\/strong><br><br>CJ Hauser uses her now-beloved title essay as an anchor around which to explore, through excavation of both her own personal and larger familial hope chest of &#8220;love stories,&#8221; the narratives of romantic love we are taught and which we tell ourselves, and the need to often <em>rewrite <\/em>those narratives to find an accurate version of ourselves in them. Covering ground ranging from her and her relatives&#8217; own romantic pasts to the much wider natural, supernatural, and cultural worlds, CJ relates the family legacies and lessons she imbibed in her youth, and the relationships formed in echo of those lessons, which helped to shape her early understanding of love and life.<br><br>Emerging from the rigorous honesty and radical empathy of these twenty pieces, CJ relinquishes the idea of a single, permanent love story&#8211;in favor of the metaphor of a happy haunted house as a space that contains many stories, many pasts, and multiple histories. These are hopeful pieces, which address the pain and complication of living in the present while being informed by things that have happened in one&#8217;s past, and the kind of energy and spirit necessary to attempt love, again and again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>True Biz by Sara Novic<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"263\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-19.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-136\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-19.jpeg 263w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-19-197x300.jpeg 197w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 263px) 100vw, 263px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>TRUE BIZ <em>(adj.\/exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talk<\/em><\/strong><br><br>True biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they&#8217;ll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who&#8217;s never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school&#8217;s golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the headmistress, who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another&#8217;s\u2014and changed forever.<br><br>This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-21-678x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-138\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-21-678x1024.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-21-199x300.jpeg 199w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-21-768x1161.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-21-1016x1536.jpeg 1016w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-21-1355x2048.jpeg 1355w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-21-scaled.jpeg 1694w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCome home.\u201d Vera\u2019s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories &#8212; she&#8217;s come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there.<br><br>Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren\u2019t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back, and is slowly stripping Vera\u2019s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn\u2019t the one leaving notes around the house in her father\u2019s handwriting\u2026 but who else could it possibly be?<br><br>There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them, and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Never have I ever by Isabel Yap<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"259\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-22.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-139\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-22.jpeg 259w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-22-194x300.jpeg 194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cAm I dead?\u201d<br><br>Mebuyen sighs. She was hoping the girl would not ask.<\/em><br><br>Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap\u2019s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, &#8216;A Spell for Foolish Hearts&#8217; to the terrifying tension of the urban legend &#8216;Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez&#8217;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-24-678x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-141\" style=\"width:auto;height:384px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-24-678x1024.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-24-199x300.jpeg 199w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-24-768x1161.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-24-1016x1536.jpeg 1016w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-24-1355x2048.jpeg 1355w, https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-24.jpeg 1399w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A stunning novel about love, work, and marriage that asks how far one family and one community will go to protect their future.<\/strong><br><br>Colleen and Rich Gundersen are raising their young son, Chub, on the rugged California coast. It\u2019s 1977, and life in this Pacific Northwest logging town isn\u2019t what it used to be. For generations, the community has lived and breathed timber; now that way of life is threatened.<br><br>Colleen is an amateur midwife. Rich is a tree-topper. It\u2019s a dangerous job that requires him to scale trees hundreds of feet tall\u2014a job that both his father and grandfather died doing. Colleen and Rich want a better life for their son\u2014and they take steps to assure their future. Rich secretly spends their savings on a swath of ancient Redwoods. Colleen, desperate to have a second baby, challenges the logging company\u2019s use of herbicides that she believes are responsible for the many miscarriages in the community\u2014including her own. Colleen and Rich find themselves on opposite sides of a budding conflict that threatens the very thing they are trying to protect: their family.<br><br>Told in prose as clear as a spring-fed creek, <em>Damnation Spring<\/em> is an intimate, compassionate portrait of a family whose bonds are tested and a community clinging to a vanishing way of life. An extraordinary story of the transcendent, enduring power of love\u2014between husband and wife, mother and child, and longtime neighbors. An essential novel for our times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[22,14,16],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-yearly-book-lists","tag-22","tag-book-list","tag-female-authors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions\/251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonladieslit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}