Here is a look at some exciting new editions to Peter White Public Library’s Adult Fiction collection.

DISAPPOINT ME: a novel by Nicola Dinan is funny, heartfelt, and insightful. The story follows Max, a 30 year old trans woman as she navigates dating, identity, and the ways in which the past mingles with and seeps into the present. After falling down the stairs at a party, Max, fresh out of a break up, decides to get her life together and start dating again. Enter, Vincent, a Hong Kong Chinese lawyer, and with him, a glimpse at a life of heteronormativity. But as time goes on, relationships are redefined and questions are asked: what do you do when your past reaches the surface and are we defined by our worst mistakes?

BRING THE HOUSE DOWN: a novel by Charlotte Runcie drops readers right into the action as a one-night-stand turns into a major public scandal. This novel is told from the perspective of art critic, Sophie, who becomes somewhat of a fly on the wall to the downfall of fellow critic, Alex Lyons, who, after giving a show a scathing one star review, proceeds to sleep with the very performer he tore apart on page. The next morning, Haley–the performer from the night before–sees the review, scraps her old show and puts on “The Alex Lyons Experience,” an unapologetic theatrical commentary on Alex, and, more broadly, male/female power dynamics. This story is messy, intimate, hilarious, and full of feminine rage.

STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE: a novel by Kristen Arnett is fun, funny, and full of tomfoolery. Living as a self-sustaining artist in a capitalistic society is hard, but Cherry Hendricks finds it even harder than most as a queer woman living pay check to paycheck while simultaneously trying to make it big as a professional clown. When Cherry becomes entangled with Margot the Magnificent, local lesbian magician and recent divorcee, more than just her artistic pursuits begin to catch steam. (WINK WINK). This novel is a lighthearted and easy read about grief, personal growth, and self-discovery.

THE GOWKARAN TREE IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR KITCHEN: a novel by Shokoofeh Azar is a layered story, inspired by real events, about a large and complicated family amidst the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Although the narrator, also named Shokoofeh, claims that nothing has a definite beginning, the story, in some ways, begins when a magical and mysterious tree sprouts up through the family’s kitchen table–a tree that only members of the household can see. Twelve children from this family then become the focal point, as each experiences love and loss while immense cultural and political changes occur around them over a 50 year span. Threading history and mythology, the voice in this novel is both rich and enchanting. Azar spins a spellbinding tale of magical realism and critical social commentary.

By Elliot Shumate

Adult Services Assistant