Having known families affected by substance abuse, Iāve long been fascinated by the resiliency of addictsā relatives and close friends. Equally compelling to me, as a one-time wannabe psychologist, was how living with substance abusers shaped peopleās characters and lives. But while the search for a recovering addict drives Beyond Billicombeās plot, the book is also an ode of sorts to North Devon, the area of England where I spent three of the happiest years of my life. Though I now live outside New York City, I havenāt given up hope on being able to move back there someday.
From the first paragraph, with its almost-throwaway mention of how a hook had given a coat "a permanent hump behind the collar," Lights All Night Long transports you with its authenticity. The bond between Ilya, a Russian teenager who wins a scholarship to study in a Louisiana high school, and his older brother, Vladimir, whose addiction to krokodil has replaced his urge to escape their industrial town, is limned beautifully. A mystery drives the plot, but thatās not why I love this book. What kept me reading was the heartbreaking truth of its world.
A gripping and deftly plotted narrative of family and belonging, Lights All Night Long is a dazzling debut novel from an acclaimed young writer
"Lights All Night Long is utterly brilliant and completely captivating. . . . One of the most propulsive, un-put-downable literary novels I've read in ages."--Anthony Marra, author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
Fifteen-year-old Ilya arrives in Louisiana from his native Russia for what should be the adventure of his life: a year in America as an exchange student. But all is not right in Ilya's world: he's consumed by the fate of his older brotherā¦
This is a story of two siblings. Mickey is a police officer; her sister, Kacey, is a heroin-addicted prostitute. The setting is Kensington, a notorious drug-ravaged neighborhood in my hometown of Philadelphia. Kacey has gone missing, and Mickey fears she may have been the victim of a killer whoās been targeting prostitutes, so she inserts herself into the investigation. The dual mysteriesāwhereās Kacey, and who are the killersāgive the story its shape. But the relationship between the sisters, the glimpses of their childhoods, and the depiction of growing up among addicts shooting up on the sidewalk and nodding off in doorways are Long Bright Riverās heart and soul.
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, PARADE, REAL SIMPLE, and BUZZFEED
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK
"[Mooreās] careful balance of the hard-bitten with the heartfelt is what elevates Long Bright River from entertaining page-turner to a book that makes you want to call someone you love.ā ā The New York Times Book Review
"This is police procedural and a thriller par excellence, one in which the city of Philadelphia itself is a character (think Boston and Mystic River). But itāsā¦
Ferry to Cooperation Island
by
Carol Newman Cronin,
James Malloy is a ferry captain--or used to be, until he was unceremoniously fired and replaced by a "girl" named Courtney Farris. Now, instead of piloting Brenton Islandās daily lifeline to the glitzy docks of Newport, Rhode Island, James spends his days beached, bitter, and bored.
Dealing with an addicted child or sibling is traumatic enough; when the addict is your parent, the person who is supposed to protect and support you, the fear and betrayal are ramped up to an unbearable level. One of the Boys captures this in all its harrowing detail. Two barely teenaged boys move with their father from Kansas to New Mexico, where the fatherās descent into meth addiction obliterates any sense of responsibility, affection, and decency he might once have possessed. Narrated by the younger son, One of the Boys is more than a realistic depiction of addiction; it also shows how far children will go to gain or retain a parentās love, which is what makes the story so devastating.
A father and his boys have won 'the war': the father's term for his bitter divorce and custody battle. They leave Kansas and drive through the night to their new apartment in Albuquerque. Settled in new schools, the brothers join basketball teams, make friends. Meanwhile their father works from home, smoking cheap cigars to hide another smell. Soon his missteps - the dead-eyed absentmindedness, the late-night noises, the comings and goings of increasingly odd characters - become sinister, and the boys find themselves watching him transform into someone they no longer recognize.
Shuggie Bain invades the senses: You smell the sour breath of Shuggieās mum as she snores, open-mouthed, in a drunken stupor; you feel the stiffness of the rug where endless spilled drinks were left to dry. Just as important, you feel the push-and-pull of love and despair, hope and anger, as Shuggie grows up, the youngest child of an alcoholic who is ultimately abandoned by the rest of their family. The final chapters, as Shuggie moves into adolescence and struggles to break from the burden of becoming caretaker to the woman who should have been taking care of him, are exceptional.
WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
A stunning debut novel by a masterful writer telling the heartwrenching story of a young boy and his alcoholic mother, whose love is only matched by her pride.
Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of young Hugh āShuggieā Bain, a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in run-down public housing in Glasgow, Scotland. Thatcherās policies have put husbands and sons out of work, and the cityās notorious drugs epidemic is waiting in the wings.
Shuggieās mother Agnes walks a wayward path: sheā¦
It's 1943, and World War II has gripped the nation, including the Stilwell family in Jacksonville, Alabama. Rationing, bomb drills, patriotism, and a changing South barrage their way of life. Neighboring Fort McClellan has brought the world to their doorstep in the form of young soldiers from all over theā¦
So far as I know, this novel, published in 1848, is one of the first fictional depictions of life with an abusive alcoholic. (True, Wuthering Heightsby Anneās sister Emily features the drunken Hindley, but in that bookās world of chaos, his behavior isnāt any more damaging than that of the other characters.) In Tenantwe discover that a seemingly respectable marriage is one of disgust, pain, and humiliation for Helen, the titular tenant, and as she sees her aristocratic husbandās influence over their son grow stronger, she takes unconventional action. The book was shockingly frank for its time; now itās considered a landmark feminist novel as well as a realistic depiction of a family devastated by substance abuse.
One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'
A beautiful edition of Anne Bronte's most enduring novel, to accompany her sisters' greatest books in Penguin Clothbound Classics.
Gilbert Markham is deeply intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young woman who has moved into nearby Wildfell Hall with her young son. He is quick to offer Helen his friendship, but when her reclusive behaviour becomes the subject of local gossip and speculation, Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her has been misplaced. It is only when she allows Gilbert to read her diary that theā¦
Suzanne has come to Billicombe, a faded English resort town, to find her older brother. A recovering addict, Jax had moved to Billicombe after completing rehab more than a year ago, but itās now been six months since Suzanne heard from him. While she didnāt expect the search to be easy, the fact that Suzanne is a former child actress on a long-running TV series complicates matters, as she needs to avoid being recognized while exploring Billicombeās underside. Richard, a local Suzanne turns to for help, proves to be another complication, due to an accident that cost him much of his memory. Suzanneās quest for Jax and Richardās attempt to put his life back together collide in ways neither could have expected.
Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlifeāmostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket miceānear her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marksā¦
Sheās hiding from pain. Heās lost everything but his dog. When fresh air and second chances bring them together, can they rediscover true love?
If you enjoy kind-hearted heroes, small towns, and more humor than heat, youāll adore this contemporary Alaskan romance! A Darling Handyman is the feel-good first bookā¦