Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

The AIDS Years

In Carter Sickels’ The Prettiest Star, set in 1986, a young AIDS patient encounters bigotry when he returns to his hometown in Ohio

Set in 1986 during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Carter Sickels’ The Prettiest Star depicts a sick young man returning to his hometown in rural Ohio and confronting ignorance and prejudice, the worst of it coming from his own family.

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Survival Kit

Jenny Offill’s Weather is a guidebook for finding hope in the dark

Jenny Offill’s latest novel, Weather, is a meditation on the challenges of our times and a lesson in maintaining optimism despite our worst fears.

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St. Jeter the Kitty Cat, Pray for Us

Sometimes transcendence comes during a marathon of potty breaks and toddler demands

There are certain things in life that are inevitable, which means that over time, the Litany will likely get longer. If the tradition continues for my daughters, well into their adulthood, it’s very possible that I, should they choose to promote me, may make the Litany myself.

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Coal Country Maelstrom

To the Bones sets a satisfying thriller in small-town Appalachia

In To the Bones by Southern author Valerie Nieman, the dystopian horror is a chilling reminder of what can arise from the vast distances between human beings, as well as the vast mysteries within an individual.  

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Broken Lives

Don Winslow’s action-filled collection is layered with emotion

In his new novella collection, Broken, Don Winslow takes a breather from the intensely dark depictions of violence in his Cartel crime trilogy, but he still provides plenty of action to satisfy readers

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A Meditation on Memory

Newbery Medalist Lois Lowry explores human connectedness in On the Horizon

In On the Horizon, her new novel in verse for young readers, Newbery Medalist Lois Lowry reflects on World War II by drawing on her childhood memories of life in Honolulu and Japan.

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