Central Kansas Library System

"When Kathleen Deane's husband, Tom, tells her he's no longer happy with his life and their marriage, Kathleen is confused. Who said anything about being happy? They live in Kansas, for goodness sake! But with Tom off finding himself, Kathleen starts to think about what she wants. And her thoughts lead her to a small beach community on the east coast, a town that has always looked lovely in the Christmas cards her childhood friend Josie sends every...

"The Loverlys sit by the hospital bed of their young son who is in a coma after falling from his bedroom window in the middle of the night; his mother, Whitney, will not speak to anyone. Back home, their friends and neighbors are left in shock, each confronting their own role in the events that led up to what happened that terrible night: the warm, altruistic Parks who are the Loverlys' best friends; the young, ambitious Goldsmiths who are struggling...

On the streets of 1970s Brooklyn, a daily ritual goes down: the dance. Money is exchanged, belongings surrendered, power asserted. The promise of violence lies everywhere, a currency itself. For these children, Black, brown, and white, the street is a stage in shadow. And in the wings hide the other parents; cops; renovators; landlords; those who write the headlines, the histories, and laws; those who award this neighborhood its name. The rules appear...

"Leah has been living with akinetopsia, or motion blindness, since she was a child. For the last twenty years, she hasn't been able to see movement. As she walks around her upper Manhattan neighborhood with her white stick tapping in front, most people assume she's blind. But the truth is Leah sees a good deal, and with her acute senses of smell and hearing, very little escapes her notice. She has a quiet, orderly life, with little human contact beyond...

Warring London neighbors Winston and Bernice share an empty patch of greenery lost to time, but when Winston receives photographs of the garden in bloom many years prior, they decide to lay down their arms to revitalize the garden and help revive the community spirit that's been languishing for so long.

After her fiancé's brother convinces him to break up with her before the wedding, Athena Greydon moves into a ten-foot-wide Spite House between the two and engages in some well-deserved payback. When Athena Greydon's fiancé ends their engagement, she has no choice but to move into the Spite House she recklessly bought him as a wedding gift. This is a problem, for several reasons: The house, originally built as a brick middle finger to the neighbors,...

They say they have no children. So who did I see at the window? My darling little boy Albie adores playing at our new neighbours' house. And after the terrible year we've had, I feel so lucky that we can start over in this perfect place, with new friends who treat Albie like the son they never had. He can't stop talking about the tree house they're building him, and the cookies they bake together. But as time passes, something starts to feel...

When her parents decide to close the family flower shop, Mei finds a special way to say goodbye to their neighbors.

"Once you find our perfect little town nestled between the gorgeous hills, you never want to leave. My husband and I both grew up here and we knew there was nowhere better to raise our two sweet girls... But when the moving van pulls up, and a mother and daughter jump out, my blood runs cold. I met the mother once on our summer holiday and I let slip a terrible secret, something no one here must ever know... Fear rushes through me as I remember that...

"It's the most anticipated event of the decade -- Big Lou and Fat Bob's wedding -- and everyone is invited! But the relative peace and tranquillity of 44 Scotland Street is about to be disrupted. Domineering Irene is set to return for a two-month stay, consigning young Bertie to a summer camp. Not content with that, she somehow manages to come between the enigmatic nun, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna, and her friend, the hagiographer, Antonia...