"Vivi Holden is closer than she's ever been to living her dream as a lead actress in sun-dappled L.A., but an unfair turn of events sends her back to New York, a place she worked so hard to escape from. She has one last chance to get back to Hollywood - by performing well as the star of the heralded Aquacade synchronized swimming spectacular at the World's Fair. Everything seems to be working against her, but her summer in New York will lead to her...

Emmalee Bullard is on her own with a new baby. She has no husband, no running water in her house,no know-how about caring for an infant, and no help from her cruel father, who's furious she got herself into this situation. Only Leona Lane, the older seamstress who sat beside her sewing collars on the neighboring machine at the local shirt factory, has befriended her. Much to Emmalee's wonder, Leona even offers her a place to live. But before Emmalee...

"In this glittering triptych novel, Suzette, Maple and Agnes, three Black women with albinism, call Shreveport, Louisiana home. At the bustling crossroads of the American South and Southwest, these three women find themselves at the crossroads of their own lives. Suzette, a pampered twenty-year-old, has been sheltered from the outside world since a dangerous childhood encounter. Now, a budding romance with a sweet mechanic allows Suzette to seek independence,...

"To the rest of the world, Polly Solo-Miller Demarest lives a charmed life. She has a beautiful home, a dashing lawyer husband, and two delightful children. But beneath this idyllic surface, the pressure of being the "perfect flower"of an illustrious family -- and a stable, always-available wife, mother, and daughter -- are getting to her. The spark has gone out of her marriage, and to her own surprise, she's having an affair. What follows is at once...

"When Lottie Palmer runs away the day before her wedding to join the Navy WAVES program, she not only leaves behind a fiancé, but also the privileged lifestyle that she has known as the daughter of one of the most important manufacturers in Detroit's auto industry. Spurred by a desire to contribute meaningfully to the war effort, Lottie pours all of her focus and determination into becoming the best airplane mechanic in the division, working harder...

Marta, who left Switzerland to find her own way in the world, must come to terms with her faulty yet well-meaning desire to help her daughter, Hildie, find her place, as Hildie becomes a nurse and has a family of her own.

"Clara Millen's life is spiraling out of control: her dream job is a nightmare, she's resoundingly single, and it's been years since she's taken some time off. Thankfully, the last problem she can fix - this year she'll join her friends on their annual summer vacation to their beloved childhood sleepover camp for a much-needed escape. But when Clara arrives at Pine Lake Camp, she faces yet another unwelcome change: the owners are retiring and selling...

A young Irish drama student in 1990s London makes new friends, establishes a place for herself, and seeks to shed her plain-girl identity before entering a whirlwind affair with an older man who changes her in unexpected ways.

"The woman lives on a cul-de-sac with her lover and her dog. She is smart and sensible. She buys groceries and goes to work. And she finds herself reliving her childhood memories while she waits - for what, she is not sure. In the tradition of Rachel Cusk and Sheila Heti, The Ballad of Big Feeling reveals the mind of a woman perched before middle age and confronting the hidden contradictions and intricacies of everyday life."--Publisher description...

"Paulie Johannson has never put much stock in the idea of family. She has her long-term boyfriend, Declan, and beloved best friend, Jemma, and that's more than enough for her. Yet one night on a lark, she lets Jemma convince her to audition for Sverige och Mig, a show on Swedish television where Swedish Americans compete to win the ultimate prize: a reunion with their Swedish relatives. Much to Paulie's shock, her drunken submission video wins her...