Review: Don't Cry For Me

Don't Cry For Me by Daniel Black

Publisher: HarperCollins (Hanover Square Press)

Publication Date: January 10, 2023

Library Purchase: We bought it as a discussion set!

Synopsis

As Jacob lies dying, he begins to write a letter to his only son, Isaac. They have not met or spoken in many years, and there are things that Isaac must know. Stories about his ancestral legacy in rural Arkansas that extend back to slavery. Secrets from Jacob's tumultuous relationship with Isaac's mother and the shame he carries from the dissolution of their family. Tragedies that informed Jacob's role as a father and his reaction to Isaac's being gay.

Review: Lone Women

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

Publisher One World Penguin Random House
Publication Date March 28, 2023
Library Purchase We purchased this in our digital catalog

Synopsis

Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear.

The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, forcing her to flee California in a hellfire rush and make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will become one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can tame it—except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so