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| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Fresh Water for Flowers Valérie Perrin, 2020-07-07 An eccentric young caretaker brings exuberant life to a smalltown French cemetery in this #1 international bestselling novel: “Enchanting” (Publishers Weekly). Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne, France. Traversing the grounds by unicycle, tending to her many gardens—and being present for the intimate, often humorous confidences of visitors—Violette’s life follows the predictable rhythms of mourning. But then Violette’s routine is disrupted by the arrival of Julien Sole, the local police chief. Julien has come to scatter the ashes of his recently deceased mother on the gravesite of a complete stranger. It soon becomes clear that Julien’s inexplicable gesture is intertwined with Violette’s own complicated past. “Melancholic and yet ebullient . . . An appealing indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all, friendships.” —The Guardian, UK |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Gateway to the Moon Mary Morris, 2018-04-10 If you haven’t read Mary Morris yet, start here. Now. Immediately. —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things From award-winning novelist Mary Morris comes the remarkable story of a remote New Mexican town coming to grips with a dark history it never imagined. In 1492, the Jewish and Muslim populations of Spain were expelled, and Columbus set sail for America. Luis de Torres, a Spanish Jew, accompanies Columbus as his interpreter. His journey is only the beginning of a long migration, across many generations. Over the centuries, de Torres’ descendants travel from Spain and Portugal to Mexico, finally settling in the hills of New Mexico. Five hundred years later, it is in these same hills that Miguel Torres, a young amateur astronomer, finds himself trying to understand the mystery that surrounds him and the town he grew up in. Entrada de la Luna is a place that holds a profound secret--one that its residents cannot even imagine. It is also a place that ambitious children, such as Miguel, try to leave. Poor health, broken marriages, and poverty are the norm. Luck is unusual. When Miguel sees a flyer for a babysitting job, he jumps at the opportunity, and begins work for a Jewish family new to the area. Rachel Rothstein is not the sort of parent Miguel expected. A frustrated artist, Rachel moved her family from New York in search of a fresh start, but so far New Mexico has not solved any of the problems she brought with her. Miguel loves the work, yet he is surprised to find many of the Rothstein family's customs similar to ones he’s grown up with and never understood. Interwoven throughout the present-day narrative are the powerful stories of the ancestors of Entrada's residents, highlighting the torture, pursuit, and resistance of the Jewish people. A beautiful novel of shared history, Gateway to the Moon is a moving and memorable portrait of a family and its journey through the centuries. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Orphans of Race Point Patry Francis, 2014-05-06 “Set against the coast of Provincetown, Patry Francis’s fierce, ravishing epic cuts deep to the bone about how love binds us together and breaks us apart, and how the past’s thumbprint rests on the present. Tender, violent, and alive, it’s also unforgettable.” — Caroline Leavitt, New York Times-bestselling author of Pictures of You Set on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a suspenseful page-turning saga of love, murder, and the true meaning of faith from the author of the acclaimed The Liar’s Diary. Set in the close-knit Portuguese community of Provincetown, Massachusetts, The Orphans of Race Point traces the relationship between Hallie Costa and Gus Silva, who meet as children in the wake of a terrible crime that leaves Gus parentless. Their friendship evolves into an enduring and passionate love that will ask more of them than they ever imagined. On the night of their high school prom, a terrible tragedy devastates their relationship and profoundly alters the course of their lives. And when, a decade later, Gus—now a priest—becomes entangled with a distraught woman named Ava and her daughter Mila, troubled souls who bring back vivid memories of his own damaged past, the unthinkable happens: he is charged with murder. Can Hallie save the man she’s never stopped loving, by not only freeing him from prison but also—finally—the curse of his past? Told in alternating voices, The Orphans of Race Point illuminates the transformative power of love and the myriad ways we find meaning in our lives. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Three Valérie Perrin, 2022-06-07 A June 2022 Indie Next List Pick From the international bestselling author of Fresh Water for Flowers, a beautifully told and suspenseful story about the ties that bind us and the choices that make us who we are. 1986: Adrien, Etienne and Nina are 10 years old when they meet at school and quickly become inseparable. They promise each other they will one day leave their provincial backwater, move to Paris, and never part. 2017: A car is pulled up from the bottom of the lake, a body inside. Virginie, a local journalist with an enigmatic past reports on the case while also reflecting on the relationship between the three friends, who were unusually close when younger but now no longer speak. . As Virginie moves closer to the surprising truth, relationships fray and others are formed. Valérie Perrin has an unerring gift for delving into life. In Three, she brings readers along with her through a sequence of heart-wrenching events and revelations that span three decades. Three tells a moving story of love and loss, hope and grief, friendship and adversity, and of time as an ineluctable agent of change. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Hundred-Year House Rebecca Makkai, 2014-07-10 The acclaimed author of The Borrower returns with a dazzlingly original, mordantly witty novel about the secrets of an old-money family and their turn-of-the-century estate, Laurelfield. “Rebecca Makkai is a writer to watch, as sneakily ambitious as she is unpretentious. –Richard Russo Meet the Devohrs: Zee, a Marxist literary scholar who detests her parents’ wealth but nevertheless finds herself living in their carriage house; Gracie, her mother, who claims she can tell your lot in life by looking at your teeth; and Bruce, her step-father, stockpiling supplies for the Y2K apocalypse and perpetually late for his tee time. Then there’s Violet Devohr, Zee’s great-grandmother, who they say took her own life somewhere in the vast house, and whose massive oil portrait still hangs in the dining room. Violet’s portrait was known to terrify the artists who resided at the house from the 1920s to the 1950s, when it served as the Laurelfield Arts Colony—and this is exactly the period Zee’s husband, Doug, is interested in. An out-of-work academic whose only hope of a future position is securing a book deal, Doug is stalled on his biography of the poet Edwin Parfitt, once in residence at the colony. All he needs to get the book back on track—besides some motivation and self-esteem—is access to the colony records, rotting away in the attic for decades. But when Doug begins to poke around where he shouldn’t, he finds Gracie guards the files with a strange ferocity, raising questions about what she might be hiding. The secrets of the hundred-year house would turn everything Doug and Zee think they know about her family on its head—that is, if they were to ever uncover them. In this brilliantly conceived, ambitious, and deeply rewarding novel, Rebecca Makkai unfolds a generational saga in reverse, leading the reader back in time on a literary scavenger hunt as we seek to uncover the truth about these strange people and this mysterious house. With intelligence and humor, a daring narrative approach, and a lovingly satirical voice, Rebecca Makkai has crafted an unforgettable novel about family, fate and the incredible surprises life can offer. For readers of Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Look Both Ways Jason Reynolds, 2020-10-27 A collection of ten short stories that all take place in the same day about kids walking home from school-- |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Lab Girl Hope Jahren, 2016-04-05 Lab Girl is a book about work and about love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren's remarkable stories: about the discoveries she has made in her lab, as well as her struggle to get there; about her childhood playing in her father's laboratory; about how lab work became a sanctuary for both her heart and her hands; about Bill, the brilliant, wounded man who became her loyal colleague and best friend; about their field trips - sometimes authorised, sometimes very much not - that took them from the Midwest across the USA, to Norway and to Ireland, from the pale skies of North Pole to tropical Hawaii; and about her constant striving to do and be her best, and her unswerving dedication to her life's work. Visceral, intimate, gloriously candid and sometimes extremely funny, Jahren's descriptions of her work, her intense relationship with the plants, seeds and soil she studies, and her insights on nature enliven every page of this thrilling book. In Lab Girl, we see anew the complicated power of the natural world, and the power that can come from facing with bravery and conviction the challenge of discovering who you are. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Reunion by Fred Uhlman (Book Analysis) Bright Summaries, 2015-12-07 Unlock the more straightforward side of Reunion with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of Reunion by Fred Uhlman, which begins its story in pre-war Germany and developing against the background of Hitler’s rise to power. It tells the story of two teenagers, Hans and Conrad, whose profound friendship is pulled apart by the Nazi regime and its toxic ideas. The heartbreaking novella explores the nature of friendship and the humanity in the face of atrocity. It is Uhlman's most famous work, earning him critical acclaim thanks to its realistic portrayal of a childhood living under Hitler's regime. Find out everything you need to know about Reunion in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you in your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com! |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Beyond a Darkened Shore Jessica Leake, 2018-04-10 Vikings meets Frostblood in this romantic historical fantasy stand-alone from author Jessica Leake. The ancient land of Éirinn is mired in war. Ciara, princess of Mide, has never known a time when Éirinn’s kingdoms were not battling for power, or Northmen were not plundering their shores. The people of Mide have always been safe because of Ciara’s unearthly ability to control her enemies’ minds and actions. But lately a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat. Although her clansmen dismiss her visions as pagan nonsense, Ciara fears this coming evil will destroy not just Éirinn but the entire world. Then the crow leads Ciara to Leif, a young Northman leader. Leif should be Ciara’s enemy, but when Ciara discovers that he, too, shares her prophetic visions, she knows he’s something more. Leif is mounting an impressive army, and with Ciara’s strength in battle, the two might have a chance to save their world. With evil rising around them, they’ll do what it takes to defend the land they love...even if it means making the greatest sacrifice of all. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Fresh Complaint Jeffrey Eugenides, 2017-10-03 Proudly presenting the widely anticipated new work of fiction from the multi-award winning bestselling author of Middlesex--a #1 major bestseller in Canada--and The Marriage Plot--also an acclaimed national bestseller--and the beloved The Virgin Suicides. Featuring unseen stories from one of the most eclectic, dynamic fiction writers working today, Fresh Complaint brings together works both new and previously published--including the crème de la crème of Eugenides's beloved New Yorker stories, never before collected between two covers. Jeffrey Eugenides's bestselling novels have shown that he is an astute observer of the crises of adolescence, sexual identity, self-discovery, family love and what it means to be an American in our times. The stories in Fresh Complaint continue that tradition. Ranging from the reproductive antics of Baster to the wry, moving account of a young traveller's search for enlightenment in Air Mail (selected by Annie Proulx for The Best American Short Stories 1997), this collection presents characters in the midst of personal and national crises. We meet a failed poet who, envious of other people's wealth during the real-estate bubble, becomes an embezzler; a clavichordist whose dreams of art collapse under the obligations of marriage and fatherhood; and, in Bronze, a sexually confused college freshman whose encounter with a stranger on a train leads to a revelation about his past and his future. Narratively compelling, beautifully written and packed with a density of ideas that belie their fluid grace, Fresh Complaint proves Eugenides to be a master of the short form as well as the long. Showcasing stories from as far back as the 1980s and as recently as 2017, Fresh Complaint is the career-spanning collection from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Pavane Keith Roberts, 2011 A collection of linked short stories set in a twentieth century where The Roman Catholic Church controls the western world, the Protestant Reformation never happened, the Inquisition thrives, and a tyrannical Rome maintains its power in a Dark Age by limiting knowledge, outlawing electricity, and curbing technology. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Chasing the Italian Dream Jo Thomas, 2021-04-08 From the bestselling author of Escape to the French Farmhouse comes a deliciously feel-good story about making your dreams come true, set in sun-kissed southern Italy. 'A tale full of wonderful characters, sunshine, food and romance. A winning recipe!' Katie Fforde -------------------------- A summer escape she'll never forget . . . Lucia has worked hard as a lawyer in Wales, aiming for a big promotion she hopes will shortly come her way. Finally taking a well-earned break at her grandparents' house in southern Italy, the sunshine, lemon trees and her nonna's mouth-watering cooking make her instantly feel at home. But she's shocked to learn that her grandfather is retiring from the beloved family pizzeria and will need to sell. Lucia can't bear the thought of the place changing hands - especially when she discovers her not-quite-ex-husband Giacomo wants to take it over! Then bad news from home forces Lucia to re-evaluate what she wants from life. Is this her chance to carry on the family tradition and finally follow her dreams? ----------------------------- Readers have fallen sure with Chasing the Italian Dream 'The perfect escape' 'This book is like summer on a page' 'I loved getting whisked away to Italy' If you love Jo's books, her newest summer novel, Summer at the Ice Cream Cafe, is out now! |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Summer Place Jennifer Weiner, 2023-04-04 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of That Summer comes another “fun, feisty” (The Washington Post) novel of family, secrets, and the ties that bind. When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house in Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market. But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps. Ruby has always known exactly what she wants, but as the wedding date approaches, she finds herself grappling with the wounds left by the mother who walked out when she was a baby. Veronica ends up facing unexpected news, thanks to her meddling sister, and must revisit the choices she made long ago, when she was a bestselling novelist with a different life. Sarah’s twin brother, Sam, is recovering from a terrible loss, and confronting big questions about who he is—questions he hopes to resolve during his stay on the Cape. Sarah’s husband, Eli, who’s been inexplicably distant during the pandemic, confronts the consequences of a long ago lapse from his typical good-guy behavior. And Sarah, frustrated by her husband, concerned about her stepdaughter, and worn out by the challenges of the quarantine, faces the alluring reappearance of someone from her past and a life that could have been. When the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same. From “the undisputed boss of the beach read” (The New York Times), The Summer Place is a testament to family in all its messy glory; a story about what we sacrifice and how we forgive. Enthralling, witty, big-hearted, and sharply observed, “this first-rate page-turner” (Publishers Weekly) is Jennifer Weiner’s love letter to the Outer Cape and the power of home, the way our lives are enriched by the people we call family, and the endless ways love can surprise us. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Kew Gardens Girls Posy Lovell, 2021-04-20 A heart-warming novel inspired by real life events, about the brave women during WWI who worked in the historic grounds of London's Kew Gardens. Can the women of Kew keep the gardens alive in the midst of war? London, 1916. England is at war. Desperate to help in whatever way they can, Ivy and Louisa enlist as gardeners at Kew, the Royal Botanic Gardens, taking on the jobs of the men who have gone to fight. Under their care, the gardens begin to flourish and become a safe haven for those seeking solace--but not everyone wants women working at Kew. The pair begin to face challenges on the home front. When a tragedy overseas affects the people closest to them, can the women of Kew pull together to support themselves and their country through the darkest of times? |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham M. C. Beaton, 2007-06-26 British sleuth Agatha Raisin investigates the death by poison of her hairdresser. He is believed to have been blackmailing his customers. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Lost Hours Karen White, 2009-04-07 The New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street novels delivers a gripping tale of family, fate, and forgiveness. When Piper Mills was twelve, she helped her grandfather bury a box that belonged to her grandmother in the backyard. For twelve years, it remained untouched. Now a near fatal riding accident has shattered Piper’s dreams of Olympic glory. After her grandfather’s death, she inherits the house and all its secrets, including a key to a room that doesn’t exist—or does it? And after her grandmother is sent away to a nursing home, she remembers the box buried in the backyard. In it are torn pages from a scrapbook, a charm necklace—and a newspaper article from 1939 about the body of an infant found floating in the Savannah River. The necklace’s charms tell the story of three friends during the 1930s— each charm added during the three months each friend had the necklace and recorded her life in the scrapbook. Piper always dismissed her grandmother as not having had a story to tell. And now, too late, Piper finds she might have been wrong. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides, 2011-07-18 Spanning eight decades and chronicling the wild ride of a Greek-American family through the vicissitudes of the twentieth century, Jeffrey Eugenides’ witty, exuberant novel on one level tells a traditional story about three generations of a fantastic, absurd, lovable immigrant family -- blessed and cursed with generous doses of tragedy and high comedy. But there’s a provocative twist. Cal, the narrator -- also Callie -- is a hermaphrodite. And the explanation for this takes us spooling back in time, through a breathtaking review of the twentieth century, to 1922, when the Turks sacked Smyrna and Callie’s grandparents fled for their lives. Back to a tiny village in Asia Minor where two lovers, and one rare genetic mutation, set our narrator’s life in motion. Middlesex is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire. It’s a brilliant exploration of divided people, divided families, divided cities and nations -- the connected halves that make up ourselves and our world. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes, 2011-10-05 BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Adventurer's Son Roman Dial, 2020-02-18 NATIONAL BESTSELLER Destined to become an adventure classic. —Anchorage Daily News Hailed as gripping (New York Times) and beautiful (Washington Post), The Adventurer's Son is Roman Dial’s extraordinary and widely acclaimed account of his two-year quest to unravel the mystery of his son’s disappearance in the jungles of Costa Rica. In the predawn hours of July 10, 2014, the twenty-seven-year-old son of preeminent Alaskan scientist and National Geographic Explorer Roman Dial, walked alone into Corcovado National Park, an untracked rainforest along Costa Rica’s remote Pacific Coast that shelters miners, poachers, and drug smugglers. He carried a light backpack and machete. Before he left, Cody Roman Dial emailed his father: “I am not sure how long it will take me, but I’m planning on doing 4 days in the jungle and a day to walk out. I’ll be bounded by a trail to the west and the coast everywhere else, so it should be difficult to get lost forever.” They were the last words Dial received from his son. As soon as he realized Cody Roman’s return date had passed, Dial set off for Costa Rica. As he trekked through the dense jungle, interviewing locals and searching for clues—the authorities suspected murder—the desperate father was forced to confront the deepest questions about himself and his own role in the events. Roman had raised his son to be fearless, to be at home in earth’s wildest places, travelling together through rugged Alaska to remote Borneo and Bhutan. Was he responsible for his son’s fate? Or, as he hoped, was Cody Roman safe and using his wilderness skills on a solo adventure from which he would emerge at any moment? Part detective story set in the most beautiful yet dangerous reaches of the planet, The Adventurer’s Son emerges as a far deeper tale of discovery—a journey to understand the truth about those we love the most. The Adventurer’s Son includes fifty black-and-white photographs. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Hinds Feet on High Places Hannah Hurnard, 2013-03-21 Much-Afraid had been in the service of the Chief Shepherd, whose great flocks were pastured down in the Valley of Humiliation. She lived with her friends and fellow workers Mercy and Peace in a tranquil little white cottage in the village of Much-Trembling. She loved her work and desired intensely to please the Chief Shepherd, but happy as she was in most ways, she was conscious of several things which hindered her in her work and caused her much secret distress and shame. Here is the allegorical tale of Much-Afraid, an every-woman searching for guidance from God to lead her to a higher place. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: No Flying in the House Betty Brock, 1998-01-02 Annabel Tippens seems like an ordinary little girl, with short blond hair and very good manners. But Annabel is actually quite unusual. Instead of parents, she has Gloria, a tiny white dog who talks and wears a gold collar. Annabel never wonders why her life is different, until one day a cat named Belinda tells her the truth -- she′s not just a little girl, she′s half fairy! But now that she knows the truth, will her whole life have to change? |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Liar's Diary Patry Francis, 2008-01-29 Drawn almost against her will to a vibrant newcomer who has been breaking hearts in their community, Jeanne Cross discovers that she and the woman share deep-seated emotional needs, a commonality that turns deadly when her house is repeatedly burglarized and her son is framed for murder. Reprint. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: My Lovely Wife Samantha Downing, 2019-03-26 SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE INSTANT #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER USA Today bestseller Edgar + ITW Thriller Award nominee for Best First Novel “Think: Dexter but sexier.”—theSkimm “A dark and irresistible debut.”—People “Will shock even the savviest suspense readers.”—Real Simple Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting... Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored. We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with. We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Way of the Rose Clark Strand, Perdita Finn, 2019-11-05 What happens when a former Zen Buddhist monk and his feminist wife experience an apparition of the Virgin Mary? “This book could not have come at a more auspicious time, and the message is mystical perfection, not to mention a courageous one. I adore this book.”—Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit Before a vision of a mysterious “Lady” invited Clark Strand and Perdita Finn to pray the rosary, they were not only uninterested in becoming Catholic but finished with institutional religion altogether. Their main spiritual concerns were the fate of the planet and the future of their children and grandchildren in an age of ecological collapse. But this Lady barely even referred to the Church and its proscriptions. Instead, she spoke of the miraculous power of the rosary to transform lives and heal the planet, and revealed the secrets she had hidden within the rosary’s prayers and mysteries—secrets of a past age when forests were the only cathedrals and people wove rose garlands for a Mother whose loving presence was as close as the ground beneath their feet. She told Strand and Finn: The rosary is My body, and My body is the body of the world. Your body is one with that body. What cause could there be for fear? Weaving together their own remarkable story of how they came to the rosary, their discoveries about the eco-feminist wisdom at the heart of this ancient devotion, and the life-changing revelations of the Lady herself, the authors reveal an ancestral path—available to everyone, religious or not—that returns us to the powerful healing rhythms of the natural world. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Year of Yes Shonda Rhimes, 2015-11-10 The creator of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal details the one-year experiment with saying yes that transformed her life, revealing how accepting unexpected invitations she would have otherwise declined enabled powerful benefits. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Thirty Names of Night Zeyn Joukhadar, 2020-11-24 Winner of the ALA Stonewall Book Award—Barbara Gittings Literature Award Named Best Book of the Year by Bustle Named Most Anticipated Book of the Year by The Millions, Electric Literature, and HuffPost The author of the “vivid and urgent…important and timely” (The New York Times Book Review) debut The Map of Salt and Stars returns with this remarkably moving and lyrical novel following three generations of Syrian Americans who are linked by a mysterious species of bird and the truths they carry close to their hearts. Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. He has been unable to paint since his mother’s ghost has begun to visit him each evening. As his grandmother’s sole caretaker, he spends his days cooped up in their apartment, avoiding his neighborhood masjid, his estranged sister, and even his best friend (who also happens to be his longtime crush). The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria. One night, he enters the abandoned community house and finds the tattered journal of a Syrian American artist named Laila Z, who dedicated her career to painting the birds of North America. She famously and mysteriously disappeared more than sixty years before, but her journal contains proof that both his mother and Laila Z encountered the same rare bird before their deaths. In fact, Laila Z’s past is intimately tied to his mother’s—and his grandmother’s—in ways he never could have expected. Even more surprising, Laila Z’s story reveals the histories of queer and transgender people within his own community that he never knew. Realizing that he isn’t and has never been alone, he has the courage to officially claim a new name: Nadir, an Arabic name meaning rare. As unprecedented numbers of birds are mysteriously drawn to the New York City skies, Nadir enlists the help of his family and friends to unravel what happened to Laila Z and the rare bird his mother died trying to save. Following his mother’s ghost, he uncovers the silences kept in the name of survival by his own community, his own family, and within himself, and discovers the family that was there all along. Featuring Zeyn Joukhadar’s signature “magical and heart-wrenching” (The Christian Science Monitor) storytelling, The Thirty Names of Night is a timely exploration of how we all search for and ultimately embrace who we are. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Queen of Water Laura Resau, Maria Virginia Farinango, 2012-03-13 For fans of I Am Malala comes this poignant novel based on the true story of one girl's unforgettable journey to self-discovery. *An ALA Amelia Bloomer Selection* *An ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book* Born in an Andean village in Ecuador, Virginia lives with her family in a small, earthen-walled dwelling. In her Indigenous community, it is not uncommon to work in the fields all day, even as a child, or to be called a longa tonta—stupid Indian—by members of the privileged class of mestizos, or Spanish descendants. When seven-year-old Virginia is taken from her home to be a servant to a mestizo couple, she has no idea what the future holds. In this poignant novel based on her own story, the inspiring María Virginia Farinango has collaborated with acclaimed author Laura Resau to recount one girl's unforgettable journey to find her place in the world. It will make you laugh and cry, and ultimately, it will fill you with hope. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Radar Girls Sara Ackerman, 2021-07-27 A fresh, delightful romp of a novel.—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code * SheReads Most Anticipated Historical Fiction of Summer 2021 pick * Book Reporter Summer Reading pick * BiblioLifestyle Most Anticipated Summer 2021 Historical Fiction Books selection * Greatist Best Historical Fiction Books pick * An extraordinary story inspired by the real Women’s Air Raid Defense, where an unlikely recruit and her sisters-in-arms forge their place in WWII history. Daisy Wilder prefers the company of horses to people, bare feet and salt water to high heels and society parties. Then, in the dizzying aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Daisy enlists in a top secret program, replacing male soldiers in a war zone for the first time. Under fear of imminent invasion, the WARDs guide pilots into blacked-out airstrips and track unidentified planes across Pacific skies. But not everyone thinks the women are up to the job, and the new recruits must rise above their differences and work side by side despite the resistance and heartache they meet along the way. With America’s future on the line, Daisy is determined to prove herself worthy. And with the man she’s falling for out on the front lines, she cannot fail. From radar towers on remote mountaintops to flooded bomb shelters, she’ll need her new team when the stakes are highest. Because the most important battles are fought—and won—together. This inspiring and uplifting tale of pioneering, unsung heroines vividly transports the reader to wartime Hawaii, where one woman’s call to duty leads her to find courage, strength and sisterhood. “A wow of a book…[that is] a captivating story of friendship, heartbreak and true love. Highly recommend!” —Karen Robards, New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan of Paris |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Footprints of God Greg Iles, 2004 In this New York Times bestseller, Iles probes the terrifying possibility that the next phase of human evolution may not be human at all. Alarming, believable, and utterly consuming.--Dan Brown. Now available in a tall Premium Edition. Reissue. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Wild LA Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Gregory B. Pauly, Lila M. Higgins, Jason G. Goldman, Charles Hood, 2019-03-19 Los Angeles may have a reputation as a concrete jungle, but in reality, it’s incredibly biodiverse, teeming with an amazing array of animals and plants. You just need to know where to find them. Wild LA—from the experts at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County—is the guidebook you’ve been waiting for. Equal parts natural history book, field guide, and trip planner, Wild LA has something for everyone. You’ll learn about the factors shaping LA nature—including flood, fire, and climate change—and find profiles of over one hundred local species, from sea turtles to rare plants to Hollywood's famous mountain lion, P-22. Also included are day trips that detail which natural wonders you can experience on hiking trails, in public parks, and in your own backyard. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: This Close to Okay Leesa Cross-Smith, 2023-07-20 'This Close to Okay hits the ground running. Cross-Smith writes tenderly about the trial and error of intimacy and draws you in with enormous warmth and control' - Raven Leilani, author of LUSTER On a rainy October night, therapist Tallie Clark is on her way home from work when she spots a man standing at the edge of a bridge. Without a second thought, Tallie pulls over and convinces him to join her for a cup of coffee. Eventually, he agrees to come back to her house, where he finally shares his name: Emmett. Over the course of the emotionally charged weekend that follows, Tallie makes it her mission to provide a safe space for Emmett. But he isn't the only one who needs healing-and they both are harbouring secrets... As they inch closer to the truth of what brought Emmett to the bridge-and the hard truths Tallie has been grappling with since her marriage ended-could their connection lead to love? This Close to Okay is an uplifting story about chance encounters, and hope found in the most unlikely moments, from a consummate author of emotionally-wrought romance. Longlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award Longlisted for the Goodreads Choice Awards Book of the Month December Pick Good Housekeeping Book Club February Pick Marie Claire Book Club March Pick |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book VI Maryrose Wood, 2018-06-19 For fans of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society, here comes the final book in the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, the acclaimed and hilarious Victorian mystery series by Maryrose Wood. Unhappy Penelope Lumley is trapped in unhappy Plinkst! Even the beets for which Plinkst is inexplicably famous fail to grow in this utterly miserable Russian village. Penelope anxiously counts the days and wonders how she will ever get back to England in time to save all the Ashtons—who, she now knows, include herself and the Incorrigible children, although their precise location on the family tree is still a mystery—from their accursèd fate. Her daring scheme to escape sends her on a wildly unexpected journey. But time is running out, and the not-really-dead Edward Ashton is still on the loose. His mad obsession with the wolfish curse on the Ashtons puts Penelope and the Incorrigibles in dire peril. As Penelope fights her way back to her beloved pupils, the three brave Incorrigibles endure their gloomy new tutor and worriedly prepare for the arrival of Lady Constance’s baby. Little do they know the danger they’re in! In this action-packed conclusion to the acclaimed series, mysteries are solved and long-lost answers are found. Only one question remains: Will Penelope and the Incorrigibles find a way to undo the family curse in time, or will the next full moon be their last? |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Book Club Cookbook Judy Gelman, Vicki Levy Krupp, 2004 A combination of cookbook and discussion ideas for popular book club selections features an assortment of recipes for masterful culinary creations that tie in with a variety of literary masterpieces, including Honey Cakes to go with The Secret Life of Bees or Shrimp Flautas for Richard Russo's Empire Falls. Original. 35,000 first printing. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Book Club Babies Ashton Lee, 2017-11-28 In the colorful small town of Cherico, Mississippi, librarian Maura Beth McShay is preparing for an exciting new installment in her own life story—with some help from the Cherry Cola Book Club. Overseeing the opening of Cherico’s new library has been a labor of love for Maura Beth McShay, made extra challenging by the fact that she and Jeremy are expecting their first child. And there’s another plot twist on the horizon: Jeremy’s sister, Elise, has taken a sabbatical to have a baby and will be staying in Cherico during her pregnancy. It’s an unlikely move for the fiercely independent Elise, one that’s causing her some anxiety. Jeremy, who’s supposed to be birthing the Great American Novel, is instead testing his wife’s patience with his incessant “sympathy pains.” Resourceful as always, Maura Beth decides to use her new library as a venue for “Expecting Great Things” meetings—a sequel to her beloved book club. The weekly gatherings allow townsfolk to share hopes, fears, and practical advice about parenting and pregnancy, along with anecdotes both poignant and hilarious. And amongst the revelations and new friendships, Maura Beth, Jeremy, and the rest of the Cherry Cola Book Club prepare to meet their newest members . . . Praise for The Cherry Cola Book Club novels “An intrepid librarian, a book club feast, and a cozy, heart-warming Mississippi mystery—what's not to love?” —Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet “Lee’s buoyant David-versus-Goliath tale zestfully illuminates a real problem confronting libraries and cities of all sizes.” —Booklist |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Home Marilynne Robinson, 2009-09-22 Glory Boughton has returned to Gilead to care for her dying father. soon her brother, Jack—the prodigal son of the family, gone for twenty years—comes home too, looking for refuge and trying to make peace with a past littered with torment and pain. A troubled boy from childhood, an alcoholic who cannot hold a job, Jack is one of the great characters in recent literature. He is perpetually at odds with his surroundings and with his traditionalist father, though he remains Reverend Boughton’s most beloved child. Brilliant, beguiling, lovable and wayward, Jack forges an intense new bond with Glory and engages painfully with John Ames, his godfather and namesake. Home is a moving and healing book about families, family secrets and the passing of the generations, about love and death and faith. It is arguably Marilynne Robinson’s greatest work, an unforgettable embodiment of the deepest and most universal emotions. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Henna Artist Alka Joshi, 2021-08-05 Trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own... Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone from her 1950s rural village to the pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the henna artist-and confidante-most in demand to women of the upper class. Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a young girl in tow-a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Vivid and compelling in its portrait of one woman's struggle for fulfillment in society, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once fascinating, stark and cruel. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Cincinnati Magazine , 2002-01 Cincinnati Magazine taps into the DNA of the city, exploring shopping, dining, living, and culture and giving readers a ringside seat on the issues shaping the region. |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Natural Gardening Magazine , 1960 |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: Country Life Illustrated , 1900 |
| fresh water for flowers book club questions: The Delineator R. S. O'Loughlin, H. F. Montgomery, Charles Dwyer, 1917 |
Fresh Water for Flowers Discussion Questions - AAUW
Discuss the ways in which this novel reproduces the cycle of life and the ways in which it celebrates it, with all the good and the bad that come along with living? Did you learn anything …
FRESH WATER FOR FLOWERS RGG - Europa Editions
A #1 international best-seller, Fresh Water for Flowers is an intimately told story about a woman who defiantly believes in happiness, despite it all. Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a …
12 Discussion Questions for Any Book - Bookclubs
Did you find the author’s writing style easy to read or hard to read? Why? How long did it take you to get into the book? 3. Who was your favorite character? What character did you identify with …
GENERAL QUESTIONS - BOOK RIOT
BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS 1. What did you like best about this book? 2. What did you like least about this book? 3. What other books did this remind you of? 4. Which characters in the book …
Book Club QUestions - BOOK RIOT
What did you like least about this book? 3. What other books did this remind you of? 4. Which characters in the book did you like best? 5. Which characters did you like least? 6. If you were …
Fresh Water For Flowers - cdn.bookey.app
Finding joy and connection amidst life's hidden stories. In Valérie Perrin's enchanting novel, **Fresh Water for Flowers**, we delve into the life of Violette Toussaint, the devoted caretaker …
Ultimate Book Club Discussion Question List
Would you recommend this book to someone? Why or why not (or with what caveats)? 2. What kind of reader would most enjoy this book? 3. How much did you know about this book before …
Discussion Questions for Memoirs - TCK Publishing
• Do you have any lingering questions after finishing the book? • Does this book make you think of any songs? Create a playlist for the book. • Did you find the author to be a sympathetic or …
Questions about fresh water (lakes, rivers, etc
In order to generate hydroelectric power, one of the world’s largest artificial lakes was created in Ghana in 1965. Name this body of water. 2. The Coco River forms part of the boundary …
FRESH WATER FOR FLOWERS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK
A number one bestseller in France, Fresh Water for Flowers is a heartwarming and tender story that will stay will readers for years after the final page is turned.
Join us for a monthly book club!
Join us for a monthly book club! Books & Brews is a book club put on by the West Fargo Library and held at Caribou Coffee. Pick up a copy of our monthly read and join us to enjoy some …
Tips for Book Discussions - Daniel Boone Regional Library
Come prepared with 10 to 15 open-ended questions. Questions that can be answered yes or no tend to cut off discussion. Questions should be used to guide the discussion and keep it on …
Reading Group Discussion Questions The Language of Flowers
What did you think of the structure of the book --- the alternating chapters of past and present? In what ways did the two storylines parallel each other, and how did they diverge?
Must Love Flowers
Discussion Questions 1. What are the themes of Must Love Flowers? How would you describe this novel to a friend? 2. Joan relies on routines each day. In what ways are routines helpful, as …
A Court of Thorns and Roses Book Club Questions
What were your first impressions of them? Did you feel any empathy for them given how they grew up? Or was your empathy all for Feyre for having that kind of a family? Explain. 3. The …
31 Discussion Questions For The Measure by Nikki Erlick
What initial reaction might you have had if you were in this situation? If you were a character in the book, how would you react upon receiving your string? Would you choose to look at it or …
A BOOK CLUB KIT for YELLOW WIFE
Drink hot or serve cold over ice and topped off with sparkling water. On hikes in spring and summer, look for the distinctive mitten-shaped, three-fingered leaves of foot-high sassafras …
Fresh Water For Flowers Summary - tickets.benedict.edu
Violette's routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of police chief Julien Seul, wishing to deposit his mother's ashes on the gravesite of a complete stranger.
Discussion Guide - Spiritual Seedlings
Questions for Discussion 1. What were your general impressions of this book? 2. How much did you know about Vincent Van Gogh before you read the book? How did this add to your …
All Good People Here DISCUSSION GUIDE - Google
Flowers, the host of the true crime podcast Crime Junkie, debuts with a twisty psychological thriller coauthored with Kiester (The Truth About Ben and June). Twenty-five years after the …
Fresh Water for Flowers Discussion Questions - AAUW
Discuss the ways in which this novel reproduces the cycle of life and the ways in which it celebrates it, with all the good and the bad that come along with living? Did you learn anything …
FRESH WATER FOR FLOWERS RGG - Europa Editions
A #1 international best-seller, Fresh Water for Flowers is an intimately told story about a woman who defiantly believes in happiness, despite it all. Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a …
12 Discussion Questions for Any Book - Bookclubs
Did you find the author’s writing style easy to read or hard to read? Why? How long did it take you to get into the book? 3. Who was your favorite character? What character did you identify with …
GENERAL QUESTIONS - BOOK RIOT
BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS 1. What did you like best about this book? 2. What did you like least about this book? 3. What other books did this remind you of? 4. Which characters in the book …
Book Club QUestions - BOOK RIOT
What did you like least about this book? 3. What other books did this remind you of? 4. Which characters in the book did you like best? 5. Which characters did you like least? 6. If you were …
Fresh Water For Flowers - cdn.bookey.app
Finding joy and connection amidst life's hidden stories. In Valérie Perrin's enchanting novel, **Fresh Water for Flowers**, we delve into the life of Violette Toussaint, the devoted caretaker …
Ultimate Book Club Discussion Question List
Would you recommend this book to someone? Why or why not (or with what caveats)? 2. What kind of reader would most enjoy this book? 3. How much did you know about this book before …
Discussion Questions for Memoirs - TCK Publishing
• Do you have any lingering questions after finishing the book? • Does this book make you think of any songs? Create a playlist for the book. • Did you find the author to be a sympathetic or …
Questions about fresh water (lakes, rivers, etc
In order to generate hydroelectric power, one of the world’s largest artificial lakes was created in Ghana in 1965. Name this body of water. 2. The Coco River forms part of the boundary …
FRESH WATER FOR FLOWERS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK
A number one bestseller in France, Fresh Water for Flowers is a heartwarming and tender story that will stay will readers for years after the final page is turned.
Join us for a monthly book club!
Join us for a monthly book club! Books & Brews is a book club put on by the West Fargo Library and held at Caribou Coffee. Pick up a copy of our monthly read and join us to enjoy some …
Tips for Book Discussions - Daniel Boone Regional Library
Come prepared with 10 to 15 open-ended questions. Questions that can be answered yes or no tend to cut off discussion. Questions should be used to guide the discussion and keep it on …
Reading Group Discussion Questions The Language of Flowers
What did you think of the structure of the book --- the alternating chapters of past and present? In what ways did the two storylines parallel each other, and how did they diverge?
Must Love Flowers
Discussion Questions 1. What are the themes of Must Love Flowers? How would you describe this novel to a friend? 2. Joan relies on routines each day. In what ways are routines helpful, …
A Court of Thorns and Roses Book Club Questions
What were your first impressions of them? Did you feel any empathy for them given how they grew up? Or was your empathy all for Feyre for having that kind of a family? Explain. 3. The …
31 Discussion Questions For The Measure by Nikki Erlick
What initial reaction might you have had if you were in this situation? If you were a character in the book, how would you react upon receiving your string? Would you choose to look at it or …
A BOOK CLUB KIT for YELLOW WIFE
Drink hot or serve cold over ice and topped off with sparkling water. On hikes in spring and summer, look for the distinctive mitten-shaped, three-fingered leaves of foot-high sassafras …
Fresh Water For Flowers Summary - tickets.benedict.edu
Violette's routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of police chief Julien Seul, wishing to deposit his mother's ashes on the gravesite of a complete stranger.
Discussion Guide - Spiritual Seedlings
Questions for Discussion 1. What were your general impressions of this book? 2. How much did you know about Vincent Van Gogh before you read the book? How did this add to your …
All Good People Here DISCUSSION GUIDE - Google
Flowers, the host of the true crime podcast Crime Junkie, debuts with a twisty psychological thriller coauthored with Kiester (The Truth About Ben and June). Twenty-five years after the …
