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3) The Lottery
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The people of a village perform their annual lottery, with startling consequences for the recipient of the one paper with the black spot.
4) The promise
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"A modern saga that could only have come from South Africa, written in gorgeous prose by the Booker Prize-shortlisted author Damon Galgut. Haunted by an unmet promise, the Swart family loses touch after the death of their matriarch. Adrift, the lives of the three siblings move separately through the uncharted waters of South Africa; Anton, the golden boy who bitterly resents his life's unfulfilled promises; Astrid, whose beauty is her power; and the...
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Inspired by the culture of West Africa, a feminist fantasy debut traces the experiences of an intuitive girl who is invited to leave her discriminatory village to join the emperor's army of near-immortal women warriors.
The blood ceremony will determine whether Deka will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on...
6) Bleachers
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High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty. Now, as Coach Rake's "boys" sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old games, relive the...
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Most people want to avoid thinking about death, but Caitlin Doughty-a twenty-something with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre-took a job at a crematory, turning morbid curiosity into her lifes work. Thrown into a profession of gallows humor and vivid characters (both living and very dead), Caitlin learned to navigate the secretive culture of those who care for the deceased. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes tells an unusual coming-of-age...
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Annie passes away at the youthful age of 56, leaving her high-school friend, Katherine, responsible for organizing her traveling funeral. Katherine receives a UPS package with Annie's favorite pair of red high-top sneakers, which contain her ashes, and instructions to contact four other women who played pivotal roles in her life. All of the women either have met or heard of each other through Annie, and all agree to fulfill her request that they fly...
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Laurel Hand, long absent from the South, comes from Chicago to New Orleans, where her father dies after surgery. With Fay, the stupid new young wife of her father, Laurel returns to her former Mississippi home and stays a few days after the funeral for reunions with old friends. In a night alone in the house she grew up in, she confronts elements of the past and comes to a better understanding of it and of herself and her parents.
10) The Choosing
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"Like all citizens since the Ruining, Carrington Hale knows the importance of this day. But she never expected the moment she'd spent a lifetime preparing for--her Choosing Ceremony--to end in disaster. Ripped from her family, she'll spend her days serving as a Lint, the lowest level of society. She knows it's her duty to follow the true way of the Authority. As Carrington begins this nightmare, rumors of rebellion rattle her beliefs. Though the whispers...
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In this deliciously entertaining slice of Southern life (and death), inveterate hostess Gayden Metcalfe explains everything you need to know to host an authentic Southern funeral, such as: Can you be properly buried without tomato aspic? Who prepares tastier funeral fare, the Episcopal ladies or the Methodist ladies? And what does one do when a family gets three sheets to the wind and eats the entire feast the night before a funeral? Each chapter...
12) Powwow day
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Because she has been very ill and weak, River cannot join in the dancing at this year's tribal powwow, she can only watch from the sidelines as her sisters and cousins dance the celebration--but as the drum beats she finds the faith to believe that she will recover and dance again.
13) The funeral
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"Norma and her parents are going to her great-uncle Frank's funeral, and Norma is more excited than sad. She is looking forward to playing with her favorite cousin, Ray, but when she arrives at the church, she is confronted with rituals and ideas that have never occurred to her before. While not all questions can be answered, when the day is over Norma is certain of one thing: Uncle Frank would have enjoyed his funeral. This sensitive and life-affirming...
16) Big game
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"Every boy in Oskari's remote mountain village must face a ritual hunt on his thirteenth birthday--the Trial--to become a man. It's Oskari's turn, and whatever animal he kills--if he succeeds--will symbolize who he will become. But the idea of spending a night alone in the forest makes him queasy, and the ceremonial bow he has to use is too big for him. Not long after he sets out, Oskari comes across a strange creature in the woods, emerging in eerie...
17) Odin's child
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Hirka has always been a little bit different, ostracized because her tail was cut off when she was an infant, so it is unexpected that she's summoned to take place in this year's Rite -- and even more shocking that her adoptive father reveals she is a tailless, powerless, human whose kiss rots flesh. The Rite also looms for Rime, a popular young man whose discovery of Hirka's secret threatens his destiny on the Council, and Urd, who would literally...
18) The long call
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From Ann Cleeves--bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows--comes the first in a gripping new series. "Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers."--Louise Penny In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father's funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community...
19) Tokens and Omens
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"Zander, Adanna, and the other fourteen-year-old children of their village must prepare for their quest, a dangerous rite of passage, by earning tokens through good deeds to combat the deadly omens incurred for wrongdoings"--