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5 Books | by Ari

I'm Glad My Mom Died

I'm Glad My Mom Died

Books

A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life. Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income. In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants. Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.

Dumplin'

Dumplin'

Books

Now a popular Netflix feature film, starring Jennifer Aniston, Danielle Macdonald, and Dove Cameron, as well as a soundtrack from Dolly Parton!The #1 New York Times bestseller and feel-good YA of the year—about Willowdean Dixon, the fearless, funny, and totally unforgettable heroine who takes on her small town’s beauty pageant.Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body.With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . . until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back. Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any girl does.Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

Evvie Drake Starts Over

Evvie Drake Starts Over

Books

You don't always get to start your life over. Sometimes, life starts itself over for you. 'Charming, hopeful, and gently romantic . . . Evvie Drake is great company.' Rainbow Rowell One morning, Eveleth 'Evvie' Drake got up, packed her suitcase, and got ready to leave her life - and her perfect husband - behind. But before she walked out of the door, she received a phone call asking her to come to the hospital. That day, Evvie's new life as a widow began. Now wrestling with her guilt and grief, Evvie has found her independence, but not the way she planned. Unable to leave the house she once dreamed of escaping, it's clear to her best friend Andy that Evvie needs a change. And Andy might just have the answer. . . Dean Tenney was a big-shot baseball star, until a bad case of the 'yips' meant he couldn't play anymore - or understand why. An invitation from his childhood friend Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button. When Dean moves into the apartment at the back of Evvie's house, the two make a deal: Dean won't ask about Evvie's late husband, and Evvie won't ask about Dean's baseball career. But rules have a funny way of being broken sometimes, and as a friendship begins to evolve, will Evvie and Dean be brave enough to let go of the past and start over again? 'A quirky, sweet, and splendid story of a woman coming into her own' Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six What reviewers have said about Evvie Drake Starts Over: 'You'll find yourself rapidly reading, wanting to know how it all turns out, and hoping for a happy ending for Dean and Evvie . . . do NOT miss this book this summer!' 'Joyous . . . I laughed, I cried and I thoroughly enjoyed this book' 'This book was an absolute DELIGHT . . . a story that is fun to read and has just the right amount of quirk' 'Just what I needed to get out of a book rut . . . such a heartwarming and uplifting read and so funny . . . You could not help but root for Evvie to find her way and her happiness' 'One of the best beach reads I've read in a long, long time' 'Tells a story of second chances with wit, compassion, and kinetic dialogue. Romantic and moving: an absolute joy to read. Five Stars'

Alone With You in the Ether

Alone With You in the Ether

Books

CHICAGO, SOMETIME-Two people meet in the armory of the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. After their meeting, those things do not change. Everything else, however, is slightly different. Both obsessive, eccentric personalities, Aldo Damiani and Charlotte Regan struggle to be without each other from the moment they meet. The truth-that he is a clinically depressed, anti-social theoretician and she is a manipulative liar with a history of self-sabotage-means the deeper they fall in love, the more troubling their reliance on each other becomes. An intimate study of time and space, ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER is a fantasy writer's magicless glimpse into the nature of love, what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you're not broken.

Field Notes on Love

Field Notes on Love

Books

"Utterly romantic." --Jenny Han, NYT bestselling author of To All the Boys I've Loved BeforeThe bestselling author of Windfall and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight returns with a meet-cute romance about Hugo and Mae, two teens who are thrown together on a cross-country train trip that will teach them about love, each other, and the futures they can build for themselves.It's the perfect idea for a romantic week together: traveling across America by train.But then Hugo's girlfriend dumps him. Her parting gift: the tickets for their long-planned last-hurrah-before-uni trip. Only, it's been booked under her name. Nontransferable, no exceptions.Mae is still reeling from being rejected from USC's film school. When she stumbles across Hugo's ad for a replacement Margaret Campbell (her full name!), she's certain it's exactly the adventure she needs to shake off her disappointment and jump-start her next film.A cross-country train trip with a complete stranger might not seem like the best idea. But to Mae and Hugo, both eager to escape their regular lives, it makes perfect sense. What starts as a convenient arrangement soon turns into something more. But when life outside the train catches up to them, can they find a way to keep their feelings for each other from getting derailed?"One of the loveliest, most touching romances of 2019 thus far that gets at the nature of something deeply buried in all of our hearts." --Entertainment Weekly"This warm, romantic, never overly sentimental story is told with humor and heart....A deeply satisfying read about a life-changing journey full of poignant moments." --Kirkus, starred review

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