The Girl Who Cries Colors


Book Description

A painter with a spark in his hands. A muse who holds all the colors inside of her. Together, they will go on a tumultuous path of pain and love. Fate brings them together, but life will rip them apart. This is a dark romance filled with lyrical words of heartbreak, magic, and violence. The powerful prose in this love story will show you the real meaning of colors. Because he's the prodigal painter who creates beauty, and she's the storm that carries the rainbow in her eyes. Together, their colors will coat the world, and you will never see them the same way again. Author's Note: This book is intended for mature audiences only. Trigger Warnings: It does include scenes of violence, substance use, and non-consensual sex.




Before We Were Strangers


Book Description

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M




La Llorona


Book Description

La Llorona, the Crying Woman, is the legendary creature who haunts rivers, lakes, and lonely roads. Said to seek out children who disobey their parents, she has become a "boogeyman," terrorizing the imaginations of New Mexican children and inspiring them to behave. But there are other lessons her tragic history can demonstrate for children. In Rudolfo Anaya's version Maya, a young woman in ancient Mexico, loses her children to Father Time's cunning. This tragic and informative story serves as an accessible message of mortality for children. La Llorona, deftly translated by Enrique Lamadrid, is familiar and newly informative, while Amy Córdova's rich illustrations illuminate the story. The legend as retold by Anaya, a man as integral to southwest tradition as La Llorona herself, is storytelling anchored in a very human experience. His book helps parents explain to children the reality of death and the loss of loved ones.




My Hair is a Garden


Book Description

NEA'S READ ACROSS AMERICA 2019-2020 CALENDAR Like every good garden, my hair must be cared for and nourished, tilled, and weeded. After a day of being taunted by classmates about her unruly hair, Mackenzie can't take any more and she seeks guidance from her wise and comforting neighbor, Miss Tillie. Using the beautiful garden in the backyard as a metaphor, Miss Tillie shows Mackenzie that maintaining healthy hair is not a chore nor is it something to fear. Most importantly, Mackenzie learns that natural black hair is beautiful.




Colors of My Day


Book Description

Life, light, and darkness! The word portraits within paint scenes of love, despair and the bits in between. Find writings crying for lost loved ones, an epic and painful poem asking "why," and tributes to man's best friend. There are pieces reflecting the beauty of life, the hidden magic of nature, and the darker things that go bump in the night. Choice illustrations and quotes weave their way through this book, providing an altogether varied collection of work that truly has a place in any library, big or small. You have to read it to appreciate it!




My Rainbow


Book Description

A dedicated mom puts love into action as she creates the perfect rainbow-colored wig for her transgender daughter, based on the real-life experience of mother-daughter advocate duo Trinity and DeShanna Neal. Warm morning sunlight and love fill the Neal home. And on one quiet day, playtime leads to an important realization:Trinity wants long hair like her dolls. She needs it to express who she truly is. So her family decides to take a trip to the beauty supply store, but none of the wigs is the perfect fit. Determined, Mom leaves with bundles of hair in hand, ready to craft a wig as colorful and vibrant as her daughter is. With powerful text by Trinity and DeShanna Neal and radiant art by Art Twink, My Rainbow is a celebration of showing up as our full selves with the people who have seen us fully all along.




Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color


Book Description

A vibrant picture book featuring an irrepressible new character—perfect for fans of The Dot and Beautiful Oops!—from acclaimed illustrator Julia Denos. In a place where color ran wild, there lived a girl who was wilder still. Her name was Swatch, and color was her passion. From brave green to in-between gray to rumble-tumble pink . . . Swatch wanted to collect them all. But colors don’t always like to be tamed. . . . This is an exuberant celebration of all the beauty and color that make up our lives.




The Colors of Christmas


Book Description

The Colors of Christmas is a collection of vignettes that gives a glimpse into complex human relationships across the distance of many eras. The stories center on the Christmas holidays, and shows how relations between African Americans and whites can improve through understanding and friendship. It is 1860 and Rebecca's father is about to announce her engagement to the dashing Josh Gordon at a lavish ball. But Rebecca is torn between her true commitment to Josh and her devoted friendship to Ben, her servant's son. A Christmas star symbolizes how Rebecca's loyalty can overcome even the bonds imposed by slavery. During the Great Depression, Emily Gordon is taught that the true Christmas spirit is expressed by sharing what her family has with the family of an African American woman who washes their clothes. In 1972, Eddie Fraser, An African American policeman in New York City thwarts a carjacker and saves the life of a little white girl that clings to him for safety. In 2006, an aging man forgives his daughter for marrying a black man, and comes to return the love of her stepdaughter who is devoted to him. From the Civil War time to present day two families co-exist throughout different eras. Although they have different skin color and are accepted by society in a diverse manner, they have one thing in common: to achieve consideration and approval for all human beings. Even after their deaths, Rebecca and Ben presents the hope they shared for one another to the generations that followed.




Where the Crawdads Sing


Book Description

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE—The #1 New York Times bestselling worldwide sensation with more than 18 million copies sold, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “a painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature.” For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens. Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.




Between the Lines


Book Description

Told in their separate voices, sixteen-year-old Prince Oliver, who wants to break free of his fairy-tale existence, and fifteen-year-old Delilah, a loner obsessed with Prince Oliver and the book in which he exists, work together to seek his freedom.