A family’s storytelling tradition hides and reveals a history of domestic abuse
The Crocodile Bride, the debut novel by Ashleigh Bell Pedersen, is a gripping family saga about the power of storytelling — especially its ability to warm and soften the edges of cold, harsh reality. Pedersen creates a world at once tragic and beautiful, violent and magical, desperately impoverished yet rich in meaning.
Read more
Mary Laura Philpott confronts life’s toughest questions with humor and heart
Making sense of the land mines of life is the theme of Nashville author Mary Laura Philpott’s new memoir in essays, Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives. Philpott will celebrate the launch of Bomb Shelter at an event hosted by Parnassus Books in Nashville on April 10.
Read more
Kathryn Williams spins the timeless story of the Grand Duchess Anastasia into a YA mystery
In The Storyteller, the new YA novel by Kathryn Williams, 17-year-old Jess pretends to be someone she’s not when she’s around her boyfriend and his friends. But when she uncovers new evidence regarding the mysterious fate of the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, Jess is forced to delve deeper into the meaning of identity — and the cost of deception.
Read more
Caitlin Hamilton Summie’s first novel explores the heart of a proud Midwestern family
Geographies of the Heart, the first novel from Knoxville writer Caitlin Hamilton Summie, depicts a close-knit Midwestern family over 25 years as they weather the daily trials and losses of life with quiet dignity.
Read more
Two teens work to overturn a murder conviction in this twisty YA mystery
In We Were Kings, the latest YA novel from Court Stevens, 18-year-old Nyla and her new friend, Sam, race against time to solve a decades-old cold case and save the life of a woman they believe to be wrongfully imprisoned for the crime. Stevens will discuss We Were Kings with Sharon Cameron at a virtual event hosted by Parnassus Books in Nashville on February 9.
Read more
Katherine Paterson’s new middle grade novel considers fear, faith, family, and friendship
In Katherine Paterson’s new middle grade novel, Birdie’s Bargain, 10-year-old Elizabeth “Birdie” Cunningham is sure that her dad’s third tour of duty overseas with the National Guard will end with his death. As Birdie struggles with jealousy, loss, anger, anxiety, and the trustworthiness of both God and man, Paterson allows her readers into the inmost thoughts of this conflicted and unhappy character.
Read more
