Rose Drury and her partner, Lucy, have just learned that their son, Roger, is considered to be below average - at the third percentile rank in most areas, according to the pediatrician. Although Rose herself is a developmental psychologist and knows all of the "right" answers and "correct" things to do, she finds that she is all too human, struggling with the opinions, social pressures and off-handed cruelty that can beset the mother of a child who is different. With humour and desperation in equal measure, Rose sifts through her life history, looking for the definitive moment that could explain how she and her son got to this point. In this sparkling and empathetic novel, Marion Douglas digs into a young mother's uncertainty, fear, and hard-won wisdom as she and her son - an odd and loveable giant of unpredictability - forge a path forward together.

A brand-new novel from the #1 bestselling author of VIRGIN RIVER. Four women come together at a tumultuous time in their lives, forging an unbreakable bond that will leave them all forever changed. Celebrity cooking show host Marni McGuire has seen it all. She's been married-twice-and widowed and divorced. Now in her mid-fifties, she's single. Happily so. She just needs to convince her pregnant daughter, Bella, of this fact. And maybe convince herself, too. Especially after Marni's efforts to humor her determined daughter result in a series of disastrous dates that somehow prompt Marni to wonder if maybe the right man for her is still out there after all. Similarly single, Marni's best friend and colleague is confident she's content without a man, but both older women soon find themselves leading by example as the young intern on their show appears caught in a toxic relationship-and Bella reveals her own marriage maybe isn't built to withstand the stresses of the baby on the way. Suddenly, all four women find themselves at a crossroads, each navigating the challenges of dating, marriage, loneliness and love. Thankfully, they have each other to lean on. The realities of modern love are far from easy, but there's no better group to have in your corner than friends who will lift you up, no matter what, and hold fast in the face of any storm. Don't miss these other great summer beach reads from Robyn Carr A Family Affair Sunrise On Half Moon Bay The View From Alameda Island The Summer That Made Us Never Too Late

The three novels that make up this trilogy have long been recognized as masterpieces of 20th-century literature, and Galsworthy as one of its leading exponents. But don't let that be the reason you put off listening to this wonderful work. There are passion and lust in these pages, high art and low comedy, and unthinking violence that ride alongside ever-correct manners. Scandal, tragedy, despair, rape, accidental death, marriage, remarriage and a healthy leavening of births all unfold against a rolling backdrop of a world war.

hey chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family. Only a few generations removed from their farmer ancestors, the family members are keenly aware of their status as "new money". The main character, Soames Forsyte, sees himself as a "man of property," by virtue of his ability to accumulate material possessions

Claire Conway had finally come to terms with her ex-husband's adultry when her son brought home his fiancee, the same woman with whom Claire's husband had had the affair.

It's Holy Week in the small town of Las Penas, New Mexico, and thirty-three-year-old unemployed Amadeo Padilla has been given the part of Jesus in the Good Friday procession. He is preparing feverishly for this role when his fifteen-year-old daughter Angel shows up pregnant on his doorstep and disrupts his plans for personal redemption. With weeks to go until her due date, tough, ebullient Angel has fled her mother's house, setting her life on a startling new path. Vivid, tender, funny, and beautifully rendered, The Five Wounds spans the baby's first year as five generations of the Padilla family converge: Amadeo's mother, Yolanda, reeling from a recent discovery; Angel's mother, Marissa, whom Angel isn't speaking to; and disapproving Tive, Yolanda's uncle and keeper of the family's history. Each brings expectations that Amadeo doesn't think he can live up to. The Five Wounds is a miraculous debut novel from a writer whose stories have been hailed as "legitimate masterpieces" (New York Times). Kirstin Valdez Quade conjures characters that will linger long after the book's conclusion, bringing to life their struggles to parent children they may not be equipped to save.

Life is made up of three parts: in The First Third, you're embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass the family you've made. That's how Billy's grandmother explains it, anyway. She's given him her bucket list (cue embarrassment), and now, it's his job to glue their family back together. No pressure or anything. Fixing his family's not going to be easy and Billy's not ready for change. But as he soon discovers, the first third has to end some time. And then what? It's a Greek tragedy waiting to happen.

Three middle-aged sisters--each harboring a secret pain--gather to close up their grandmother's beach house for the final time. Together, they unpack their family baggage and discover the true legacy left behind by a grandma married seven times.

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed. Literature Professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud. Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids. Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage. Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire. When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to reveal their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers. Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.