New Materials - November 23, 2021

A biweekly selection from our shelves, as curated by your favorite SPL librarians!


For the week of November 23, 2021:  Fiction | Nonfiction | Graphic Novels | Movies/TV, Music & More


Fiction

A Conspiracy of Mothers Conspiracy of Mothers by Colleen Van Niekerk

From a bold new voice in literary fiction comes a compelling story of three mothers whose lives intersect during a generation-defining period in South Africa's history.

Clark and Division Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

Inspired by historical events, Clark and Division infuses an atmospheric and heartbreakingly real crime fiction plot with rich period details and delicately wrought personal stories Naomi Hirahara has gleaned from thirty years of research and archival work in Japanese American history.

Hao Hao: Stories by Ye Chun

An extraordinary debut collection of short stories by a three-time Pushcart Prize winner following Chinese women in both China and the United States who turn to signs and languages as they cross the alien landscapes of migration and motherhood

Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words by Annika Sharma

Kiran Mathur knows firsthand just how dangerous love can be. After all, her sister's marriage in India nearly destroyed Kiran's family. So she's decided to redeem romance herself-by not falling for anyone who might disappoint her parents. That is, until she meets her new neighbor Nash Hawthorne...

Sistersong Sistersong by Lucy Holland

In the ancient kingdom of Dumnonia, there is old magic to be found in the whisper of the wind, the roots of the trees, the curl of the grass. King Cador knew this once, but now the land has turned from him, calling instead to his three children. However, change comes on the day ash falls from the sky. It brings with it Myrdhin, meddler and magician. And Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear them apart. Riva, Keyne and Sinne--three siblings entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, who must fight to forge their own paths.

The Sweetest Remedy The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo

Hannah Bailey has never had a relationship with her father, the Nigerian businessman who had a fling with her white mother. But when he dies, she's invited to Nigeria for the funeral. Searching for answers, Hannah boards a plane to Lagos. In Banana Island, Hannah meets her late father's prestigious and famed family - some who accept her and some who think she doesn't belong. In the chaotic days leading up to the funeral, she is shaped by a family she never thought she would have, a culture she never thought she would understand, and a love interest who makes her see herself in a new light.

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Nonfiction

Breathing Fire Breathing Fire: Female Inmate Firefighters on the Front Lines of California's Wildfires by Jaime Lowe

A dramatic, revelatory account of the female inmate firefighters who battle California wildfires.

Discord for Dummies Discord by Tee Morris

Though it was originally a virtual meeting place primarily for gamers, Discord's userbase has quintupled in size in just two years and branched to include discussions on a multitude of topics. Discord For Dummies shows readers how to connect with the massive Discord audience, both within and well beyond the gaming niche.

It's Elemental It's Elemental: The Hidden Chemistry in Everything by Kate Biberdorf

Dr. Biberdorf has appeared on TV programs from the Today show to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, lighting the world on fire and changing the face of chemistry as we know it. In It's Elemental, she demystifies the fundamental principles of the science that may have eluded you in high school and shows how chemistry comes alive in everything we do.

Justice Deferred Justice Deferred: Race and the Supreme Court by Orville Vernon Burton and Armand Derfner

In the first comprehensive accounting of the US Supreme Court's race-related jurisprudence, a distinguished historian and renowned civil rights lawyer scrutinize a legacy too often blighted by racial injustice.

Saga Boy Saga Boy: My Life of Blackness and Becoming by Antonio Michael Downing

Harnessing the lyricism of an evangelical childhood into a flourishing and unforgettable prose all its own, Saga Boy is a poignant journey of overcoming, belonging, and becoming one's own self.

Self-Care for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents Self-Care for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: Daily Practices to Honor Your Emotions and Live with Confidence by Lindsay C. Gibson, PsyD

From the author of the self-help hit, Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, this essential guide offers daily, practical ways to help you heal the invisible wounds caused by immature parents, nurture self-awareness, trust your emotions, improve relationships, and stop putting others' needs ahead of your own.

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Graphic Novels

Cemetery Beach Cemetery Beach by Warren Ellis

"Professional pathfinder Mike Blackburn breaks out of a torture cell, bringing murderous young dissident Grace Moody with him, to kick off his worst day ever--escaping on foot across a sprawling and secret off-world colony established a hundred years ago and filled with an army of lunatics.

Elegy for Mary Turner Elegy for Mary Turner: An Illustrated Account of a Lynching by Rachel Marie-Crane Williams

A lyrical and haunting depiction of American racial violence and lynching, evoked through stunning full-color artwork

In. In. by Will McPhail

A poignant and witty graphic novel by a leading New Yorker cartoonist, following a millennial's journey from performing his life to truly connecting with people.

Memoirs of a Book Thief Memoirs of a Book Thief by A. Tota

Daniel Brodin--bibliophile, book thief, self-proclaimed poet--enters the heated atmosphere of the Cafe Serbier, home of the Parisian literati. A poetry night is taking place and, when one luminary suggests giving the floor to an unknown, Daniel impulsively puts himself forward. Under pressure, he recites not one of his own surrealist poems but an obscure piece of Italian verse he's certain no one will know. It's plagiarism--but it's a triumph.

Seek You Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke

From the acclaimed author of Imagine Wanting Only This--a timely and moving meditation on isolation and longing, both as individuals and as a society.

This Is How I Disappear This Is How I Disappear by Mirion Malle

An affecting glimpse into the ways millennials cope with mental health struggles.

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Movies/TV, Music & More

Movies/TV

Crisis Crisis by Nicholas Jarecki
Format: DVD

Three stories about the world of opioids collide: a drug trafficker arranges a multi-cartel Fentanyl smuggling operation between Canada and the U.S., an architect recovering from an OxyContin addiction tracks down the truth behind her son's involvement with narcotics, and a university professor battles unexpected revelations about his research employer, a drug company with deep government influence bringing a new non-addictive painkiller to market.

Down a Dark Stairwell Down a Dark Stairwell by Ursula Liang
Format: DVD

When a Chinese-American police officer kills an innocent, unarmed Black man in a darkened stairwell of a New York City housing project, it sets off a firestorm of emotion and calls for accountability. When he becomes the first NYPD officer convicted of an on-duty shooting in over a decade, the fight for justice becomes complicated, igniting one of the largest Asian-American protests in history, disrupting a legacy of solidarity, and putting an uneven legal system into sharp focus.

His Dark Materials. Season 2 His Dark Materials. Season 2
Format: DVD

Relive every episode of the second season of HBO's epic His Dark Materials, based on the critically-acclaimed Philip Pullman trilogy. In this season, Lyra begins an unexpected journey in a strange, abandoned city, only to meet a boy named Will, also fleeing from a troubled past.

Music

Respect Respect: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jennifer Hudson
Format: CD

Following the rise of Aretha Franklin's career -- from a child singing in her father's church choir to her international superstardom -- it's the remarkable true story of the music icon's journey to find her voice.

Sour Sour by Olivia Rodrigo
Format: CD

Olivia Rodrigo became the brightest new pop star of 2021 with "Driver's License," the single that broke streaming records and kicked off a string of number one hits. On the rest of her debut album Sour, she delivers on the potential of that blockbuster single and then some. Rodrigo nails what it's like to be 17, heartbroken, and frustrated.

& More

The City We Became The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
Format: Spoken CD

Every great city has a soul. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy New York and her six newborn avatars unless five residents can stop it for good.

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