Can you ever really start over? It's the question that follows Ariana now that she's reunited with the boys from the Sound of Us. Haunted by the past and her hopefully soon to be ex-husband, Ari is dragged along as the band continues its world tour. Touring the world together...it's what they all used to dream about. Sold out stadiums and screaming fans, it's everything anyone would want. But with broken hearts to mend, groupies to ignore, and someone who clearly wants Ariana to leave for good, is their dream more of a nightmare? Can Ariana discover her own song before it's too late?

When an estranged mother reappears after thirteen years, a dysfunctional family is forced to confront the past in this absorbing novel of love and forgiveness. When twenty-five-year-old Ben Hamilton calls his twin sister, Reese, to tell her their father has cancer, she drops everything and races back to their childhood home in Nebraska. A few days later―and thirteen years since walking out of their lives without a word―their estranged mother, Bernice, arrives on the doorstep. She has three suitcases, Rocky the Chihuahua sitting in her fuchsia purse, and mascara running down her cheeks. Over the following months, the Hamiltons begrudgingly grow reacquainted with each other, confront their past and explore a possible future, with a little help from Guru Carl, J. R. R. Tolkien, and a rusty VW van named Ernie. As Reese cares for her father and grapples with her feelings for the woman formerly known as Mom, she must also make a choice between two talented men, as well as a decision about her next step in her photography career. This hilarious and heartbreaking novel pulls no punches in its exploration of forgiveness, love, loss, and the unexpected beauty of the people who share the same DNA.

Remember Us is a look back at the lost world of the shtetl: a wise Zayde offering prophetic and profound words to his grandson, the rich experience of Shabbos, and the treasure of a loving family. All this is torn apart with the arrival of the Holocaust, beginning a crucible fraught with twists and turns so unpredictable and surprising that they defy any attempt to find reason within them. From work camps to the partisans of the Nowogródek forests, from the Mauthausen concentration camp to life as a displaced person in Italy, and from fighting the Egyptian army in a tiny Israeli kibbutz in 1948 to starting a new life in a new world in New York, this book encompasses the mythical “hero’s journey” in very real historical events. Through the eyes of ninety-one-year-old Holocaust survivor Martin Small, we learn that these priceless memories that are too painful to remember are also too painful to forget.

I Remember Me weaves an American tapestry of colorful tales, beginning with the timid musings of a young boy on the verge of becoming a man in the Jewish section of New Yorks Bronx neighborhood, and bringing us up to date with the mature insight of a man whose remarkable trajectory has sent him to the top of Hollywoods elite and sparked the careers of dozens of household-name entertainers. Along the way, Reiner treats his loyal readers to everything from the ordinary to the truly unforgettable: a family trip to a nude beach, French lessons with Mel Brooks, a chapter dedicated to Rinnie the dog who unfortunately mistakes a skunk for a cat, a surprise early-morning visit from the McCarthy era FBI, a heart wrenching story of loss describing the day of his wifes passing, and then in a revealing chapter of Reiners character, he describes the most theatrically triumphant day of his young career. Through his memoir, we meet the man behind the success in roles rarely seen before: son to Romanian immigrant Irving Reiner, husband to fellow Bronx native and renowned singer Estelle Reiner, father to the prolific filmmaker Rob Reiner, Dr. Annie Reiner psychoanalyst & gifted singer, and Lucas Reiner, a globally recognized fine artist. Written with the same combination of playful jest and modest humility that has garnered the love and respect of fans for generations, I Remember Me remembers the creative and inspiring journey of one of the most revered comedic icons of the past hundred years. Carl Reiner is at that wonderful point in life where he knows absolutely everything. Especially, how to tell a wonderful story. I just love being in his world and this book is the Grand Tour. Jerry Seinfeld Great stories from the great Carl Reiner. I liked Chapter 29 the best. Albert Brooks At a time when so much of comedy can be cruel and mean spirited... Carl Reiner is a perfect example of comedy and kindness mixed with just the right amount of biting wit to make for a really satisfying read. Jay Leno Crime and Punishment has always been my favorite book... Until Now! Mel Brooks

If you simply must read one local government management book this year, then this is the one for you. Bauer, the autobiographical author, after eighteen months service, just got fired as county manager for no good reason from a county in which he had previously managed for six years. Bauer chronicles the ensuing five months of his life: his thoughts, prayers, actions, successes, failures. For students, practitioners, and local taxpayers worldwide, the book is replete with improvement suggestions for more than thirty service areas, ranging from agendas to water and sewer. You will discover recommendations like tax churches in order to lower local property taxes, pay people to vote to increase turnout, and have professional juries in order to decrease administrative costs as well as reduce the unemployment rate. It is all based on Bauer's personally odd and oddly personal thirty years of local government experience. Things not taught in school; you will find them here. Things you were taught in school and want to forget; you will find them here. Thoughout, Bauer contemplates and answers the age old question: does God have a place in local government and more particularly, county management? Hint: God never had to balance a budget nor recommend raising taxes, but He did have to reprimand an employee or two. At the end of the day, you enjoy unraveling life's knots and accepting God's rescue boats; you are seeking a down-to-earth, tongue-in-cheek, efficient/effective, suprisingly uplifting textbook; you wouldn't be reading this promo if you weren't half-interested; it is now up to you to welcome and appreciate the ironies of other things.

Set in America’s original ski resort, Sun Valley, Idaho—SISTERS offers a thought-provoking look at three women . . . and the choices they make when they realize their lives aren’t exactly what they expected. Karyn Macadam is starting over after losing her husband to a skiing accident. A chance encounter with a backcountry pilot might be this young widow’s one shot at a new beginning, but only if she can let go of the past. Leigh Ann Blackburn is the perfect wife, until her husband grows more distant and she believes the worst. An outrageous plan to save her marriage turns the situation on its head and she soon learns not everything is as it seems. Joie Abbott, who always finds a way to mess up her life, has done it yet again. This time a bitter betrayal threatens to expose a heartache she desperately wants to keep secret, especially from her family. Through romance and heartbreak, laughter and tears . . . life is always better with your sisters at your side.

National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson brings readers a powerful story that delves deeply into life’s burning questions about time and memory and what we take with us into the future. It seems like Sage’s whole world is on fire the summer before she starts seventh grade. As house after house burns down, her Bushwick neighborhood gets referred to as “The Matchbox” in the local newspaper. And while Sage prefers to spend her time shooting hoops with the guys, she’s also still trying to figure out her place inside the circle of girls she’s known since childhood. A group that each day, feels further and further away from her. But it’s also the summer of Freddy, a new kid who truly gets Sage. Together, they reckon with the pain of missing the things that get left behind as time moves on, savor what’s good in the present, and buoy each other up in the face of destruction. And when the future comes, it is Sage’s memories of the past that show her the way forward. Remember Us speaks to the power of both letting go . . . and holding on.

At a time of sweeping nationalism in the Balkans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the characters ... survive pogroms, ethnic cleansing and guerilla warfare. Escaping war, they leave homes and loved ones to forge new lives in America ... [where] the immigrants find that they must rely on their culture and enduring family ties in the face of loss of place, poverty, death and scandal.

Amid the shadows of war, one family faces an impossible choice that will change their lives forever. From bestseller Mario Escobar comes a 20th-century historical novel of sacrifice and resilience inspired by Spain’s famed Children of Morelia and the true events that shaped their lives. Madrid, 1934. Though the Spanish Civil War has not yet begun, the streets of Madrid have become dangerous for thirteen-year-old Marco Alcalde and his two younger sisters. Marco’s parents align themselves against the new fascist regime, unaware that their choice will endanger the entire family—nor do they predict the violence that is to come. In a desperate bid for safety, the Alcaldes join many other Spanish families in making an impossible choice to send their unaccompanied children across the ocean to the city of Morelia, Mexico—a place they’ve never seen or imagined, but whose government promises their children protection. Young Marco promises to look after his sisters in Mexico until their family can be reunited in Spain, but a harrowing journey ensues. As the growing children work to care for themselves and each other, they feel their sense of home, family, and identity slipping further and further away. As their memories of Spain fade, they begin to wonder if they will ever see their parents again or the glittering streets of the home they once loved. Based upon the true stories of the Children of Morelia, Mario Escobar’s Remember Me—now available for the first time in English—paints a poignant portrait of an immigrant family’s sacrificial love and endurance, detailing just how far we go for those we love. “Luminous and beautifully researched, Remember Me is a study of displacement, belonging, compassion, and forged family amid a heart- wrenching escape from the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War. Fans of Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Chanel Cleeton, and Lisa Wingate will be mesmerized.” —Rachel McMillan, author of The London Restoration Perfect for book clubs: Includes discussion questions, research notes from the author, and a historical timeline Based on real historical events: Full-length, 90,000-word historical novel based on the true stories of the Children of Morelia Researched and written by a subject-matter expert: Mario Escobar has a master's degree in modern history and lives in Madrid