Please check these new additions to our library.

1.  The Broken Cord, by Michael Dorris:  When Dorris and his wife, the novelist Louise Erdrich, adopted their 3 year old son, they realized he had developmental problems, but did not grasp how serious the diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome would be.  This book describes their lives with Adam as he grew up and as they coped with his disabilities and their own reactions.  This book won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1989.

2. How Lovely the Ruins:  Inspirational Poems and Words for Difficult Times, edited by Annie Chagnot and Emi Ikkanda.  “During this past politically divisive and culturally tumultuous year, these editors compiled this heartening collection of both contemporary and classic verses and quotations intended to provide hope, solace, and inspiration during times of personal turmoil and/or collective anxiety.”

3. Gundamentalism and Where it is Taking America, by The Reverend James E. Atwood.  “Jim Atwood started out writing books to encourage preaching with humor.  He ended up as the primary voice of the Christian church in sounding the alarm about the gun violence epidemic that killed 36,000 Americans in 2016.  His recognition, as the recipient of the 2018 David Steele Distinguished Writer Award by the Presbyterian Writers Guild, not only honors the urgent work of Jim Atwood, but speaks well of the whole Presbyterian Church for its focus on gun violence prevention.”

4. The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas:  This 2017 book, on the National Book Award Longlist , is required reading for all upcoming 9^th graders in the Charlottesville Public Schools this summer.  In it, a young African-American teenager is present when her friend is killed by a policeman.  From there, the story follows her struggle to make sense of her environment and her own life, as she encounters the viral racism and hate, as well as the genuine acceptance and warmth of those around her.  A strong book, “which everybody in America should read.”