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House Privilege

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Fifteen-year-old Cassie Russell, the only daughter of a mega-rich Boston couple, is the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed her parents. She’s also the goddaughter of the Speaker of the House, John Mahoney, who’s now her legal guardian. Normally, Mahoney would send his kind-hearted wife to deal with his new ward, but she’s unavailable—so he dispatches his fixer, Joe DeMarco, to make sure the girl’s okay.

DeMarco’s job is only to put things into a holding pattern until Mrs. Mahoney is able to step in—but DeMarco unintentionally flips over a rock and out from under it crawls a lawyer, the one managing Cassie’s vast estate. DeMarco learns the lawyer has been embezzling—and may have killed Cassie’s parents.

What should have been a simple assignment soon unleashes murderous plots involving a Boston mob boss and his thugs, and DeMarco ends up chasing the scheming lawyer halfway around the world to save Cassie and ensure that justice is done—though he may ignore some of the legal niceties—in this fast-paced new mystery.

Chocolate Is Forever: Classic Cakes, Cookies, Pastries, Pies, Puddings, Candies, Confections, and More

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Maida Heatter is one of the most trusted and beloved cookbook authors of all time. Her recipes, each a modern classic, have inspired extraordinary bakers such as Dorie Greenspan, Christina Tosi, and David Lebovitz, whose foreword introduces the joy of baking with Maida to a new generation.
Throughout Maida’s nearly 50-year career as a “genius” of baking (New York Times), one thing was constant: her passion for chocolate. She created hundreds of recipes for chocolate cakes, puddings, pies, cookies, and more. Now, Chocolate Is Forever collects her very best, most irresistibly chocolatey delights-including The World’s Best Hot Fudge Sauce.
Developed for foolproof baking by anyone, each of these nearly 100 recipes is written with Maida’s warm but no-nonsense instructions and carries her guarantee that it will work perfectly every time. With recipes ranging from simple cupcakes and fudgy brownies to decadent flourless cakes, this book is a must-have in every chocolate-lover’s kitchen.

This Town Sleeps: a novel

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“Set on an Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota, This Town Sleeps is the story of Marion Lafournier, a gay Ojibwe man, and his search for meaning in a town he cannot seem to leave. When he begins a romance with a closeted former high school classmate Shannon, Marion finds himself struggling to connect with the volcanic and unstable man. One night, while roaming the dark streets of Geshig, Marion unknowingly brings to life a dog from underneath the elementary school playground. The mysterious revenant leads him to the grave of Kayden Kelliher, an Ojibwe basketball star who was murdered at the young age of seventeen, and whose presence still lingers in the memories of the townsfolk. While investigating the fallen hero’s death, Marion discovers family connections and an old Ojibwe legend that may be the secret to unraveling the mystery he has found himself in.” –Provided by publisher.
Staff Pick – one of the best books this year!

Invisible Americans: the tragic cost of child poverty

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By official count, more than one out of every six American children live beneath the poverty line. But statistics alone tell little of the story. In Invisible Americans, Jeff Madrick brings to light the often invisible reality and irreparable damage of child poverty in America. Keeping his focus on the children, he examines the roots of the problem, including the toothless remnants of our social welfare system, entrenched racism, and a government unmotivated to help the most voiceless citizens. Backed by new and unambiguous research, he makes clear the devastating consequences of growing up poor: living in poverty, even temporarily, is detrimental to cognitive abilities, emotional control, and the overall health of children. The cost to society is incalculable. The inaction of politicians is unacceptable. Still, Madrick argues, there may be more reason to hope now than ever before. Rather than attempting to treat the symptoms of poverty, we might be able to ameliorate its worst effects through a single, simple, and politically feasible policy that he lays out in this impassioned and urgent call to arms.

Clearer, Closer, Better: how successful people see the world

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Successful people literally see the world differently. Now an award-winning scientist explains how anyone can leverage this “perception” gap to their advantage. When it comes to setting and meeting goals, we are often susceptible to perceptual illusions: We think we are closer or further away depending on our mindset, and we might handicap ourselves by looking only at the big picture or too long at the fine detail. But as award-winning social psychologist Emily Balcetis explains in Clearer, Closer, Better, there is great power in these misperceptions–if we know how to use them to our advantage. Drawing on her own unique research and cutting-edge discoveries in vision science, cognitive research, and motivational psychology, Balcetis gives readers an unprecedented account of the perceptual habits, routines, and practices that successful people use to set and meet their ambitions. Through case studies of entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, and celebrities–as well as her own colorful experience of trying to set and reach a goal–she brings four powerful yet largely untapped visual tactics to life.

Lady in Waiting: my extraordinary life in the shadow of the crown

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“Anne Glenconner has been at the center of the royal circle from childhood, when she met and befriended the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, the Princess Margaret. Though the firstborn child of the 5th Earl of Leicester, who controlled one of the largest estates in England, as a daughter she was deemed “the greatest disappointment” and unable to inherit. Since then she has needed all her resilience to survive court life with her sense of humor intact. A unique witness to landmark moments in royal history, Maid of Honor at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, and a lady in waiting to Princess Margaret until her death in 2002, Anne’s life has encompassed extraordinary drama and tragedy. In Lady in Waiting, she will share many intimate royal stories from her time as Princess Margaret’s closest confidante as well as her own battle for survival: her broken-off first engagement on the basis of her “mad blood”; her 54-year marriage to the volatile, unfaithful Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, who left his fortune to a former servant; the death in adulthood of two of her sons; a third son she nursed back from a six-month coma following a horrific motorcycle accident. Through it all, Anne has carried on, traveling the world with the royal family, including visiting the White House, and developing the Caribbean island of Mustique as a safe harbor for the rich and famous-hosting Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Raquel Welch, and many other politicians, aristocrats, and celebrities.”–Publisher’s description.