LaRose by Louise Erdrich

National Book Award Winner Louise Erdrich begins her new novel, LaRose, with a punch to the gut: a hunting accident involving Landreaux Iron results in the death of his neighbor’s five-year-old son Dusty Ravich.  The two families had been close; the mothers were half-sisters, the five-year-old sons best friends.  Grief works in different ways on the two families and soon the Irons decide to honor an ancient tradition in order to make up for the Ravichs’ loss.  The Iron’s give their five-year-old son LaRose to the Ravich family.  Between a sweeping history of the four previous generations of LaRoses, and the story of Landreaux Iron’s past, Erdrich weaves a tale of loss and love.  LaRose grows to be a bond between the two families, helping them process their grief.  This deeply emotional read is another powerful novel from a talented award-winning author.

After You by Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes is back with her new book, After You, the sequel to her New York Times bestselling Me Before You. After You follows Louisa Clark after Will Traynor's assisted suicide. Louisa finds herself in the throws of grief, unable to move on. Much to her dismay, she's joined the Moving on Circle for those dealing with the loss of a loved one. She's working at a job she hates, with a horrible boss that makes her wear the outfit of an Irish dancer, right down to the curly haired wig. Though her luck can't get much worse, Louisa winds up taking a tumble off of her balcony, severely injuring her hip. Her life is a mess.

As if Louisa's life needs any more chaos, a teenager named Lily shows up to Louisa's flat with some shocking news--that she's Will's daughter. Wanting to know what her father and his family was like, Lilly befriends Louisa. For Louisa, already struggling with the loss of Will, the constant memories and once again dealing with the Traynors is often a bit much. Even though Lilly creates some chaos while she's staying with Louisa, she's the catalyst for Louisa's ability to begin to let go of her grief. Louisa finally feels complete enough to begin dating someone and do things she never thought she'd be able to do, including contemplating taking a caregiver-type job in the New York City.

With many of the same characters from Me Before You, Moyes' new book will make you laugh while also pulling on your heartstrings. From the sad ending of Me Before You, it's nice to see where Louisa's life ends up.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste NG

Leo Tolstoy wrote that, “…each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” The Lee family, living in a small town in Ohio during the 1970s, is a good example of this. Their unhappiness, which had driven middle child Lydia to disappear on a summer night, involved none of the usual components of the dysfunctional family. There was no alcoholism, drug abuse, physical violence, mental illness, poverty or infidelity. There was simply a lack of communication.

The parents, James and Marilyn, were disappointed with their lives. Marilyn had planned to defy her mother’s expectations for her, perfect wife and homemaker, by becoming one of the few women of the 1950’s to qualify for medical school. James, the son of Chinese immigrants, striving to be accepted as a true American, became a professor who taught a class focusing on the American cowboy. Unfortunately, Marilyn’s plans for medical school were disrupted by an unexpected pregnancy. And the academic community put little value on James’ area of expertise. He was viewed as odd and was offered only one teaching position.

So they transferred their ambitions to their children, particularly Lydia. Marilyn, making the same mistake her own mother had made, assumed that Lydia wanted what she had wanted, medical school. And James pushed her into a tortured social life which had her lurking at the edges of the gym at school dances and pretending to talk to friends on the telephone. Meanwhile they ignored their other two children, Nath and Hannah, whose real interests and abilities seemed insignificant in comparison to those imagined for Lydia.

The family imploded after Lydia’s disappearance, shortly after her sixteenth birthday. Rage and recrimination from past slights and injuries came to the surface and drove the family members apart. It seemed a point of no return had been reached. Only quiet and observant Hannah, who knew some of Lydia’s secrets, could help the others come to terms with what had happened.

Check out a copy of Everything I Never Told You @ the library!