Virtual Get Lit - Massacre on the Merrimack

Join us on Thursday, August 20 at 7:00 PM for the next virtual Get Lit! We'll be discussing Jay Atkinson's Massacre on the Merrimack: Hannah Duston's Captivity and Revenge in Colonial America. Reserve a copy today! We'll send a meeting invite via email on the day of the program.

Virtual Get Lit - 1984

Join us virtually on Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00 PM for Get Lit! This month, we'll be discussing George Orwell's classic 1984. Visit haverhillpl.org to register! We will send a meeting invite via email.

Virtual Get Lit - Speak No Evil

Join on Thursday, June 18 at 7:00 PM for the next virtual Get Lit! In celebration of Pride Month, we'll be reading Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala. From the description in the OverDrive record:

In the long-anticipated novel from the author of the critically acclaimed Beasts of No Nation, a revelation shared between two privileged teenagers from very different backgrounds sets off a chain of events with devastating consequences.
On the surface, Niru leads a charmed life. Raised by two attentive parents in Washington, D.C., he's a top student and a track star at his prestigious private high school. Bound for Harvard in the fall, his prospects are bright. But Niru has a painful secret: he is queer—an abominable sin to his conservative Nigerian parents. No one knows except Meredith, his best friend, the daughter of prominent Washington insiders—and the one person who seems not to judge him.
When his father accidentally discovers Niru is gay, the fallout is brutal and swift. Coping with troubles of her own, however, Meredith finds that she has little left emotionally to offer him. As the two friends struggle to reconcile their desires against the expectations and institutions that seek to define them, they find themselves speeding toward a future more violent and senseless than they can imagine. Neither will escape unscathed.
In the tradition of Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah, Speak No Evil explores what it means to be different in a fundamentally conformist society and how that difference plays out in our inner and outer struggles. It is a novel about the power of words and self-identification, about who gets to speak and who has the power to speak for other people. As heart-wrenching and timely as his breakout debut, Beasts of No Nation, Uzodinma Iweala's second novel cuts to the core of our humanity and leaves us reeling in its wake.

This meeting will take place using Cisco WebEx. Please visit the "Calendar of Events" at haverhillpl.org to register. We will send an invite to you!

Virtual Get Lit - The Leavers

Join us on Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 PM for our second virtual Get Lit! May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, and we'll be discussing The Leavers by Lisa Ko. From the description in the OverDrive record:

One morning, Deming Guo's mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon--and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. But far from all he's ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents' desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind.
Told from the perspective of both Daniel--as he grows into a directionless young man--and Polly, Ko's novel gives us one of fiction's most singular mothers. Loving and selfish, determined and frightened, Polly is forced to make one heartwrenching choice after another.
Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It's a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of his past.

Download a copy today!

This meeting will take place using Cisco WebEx. Please visit the "Calendar of Events" at haverhillpl.org to register. We will send an invite to you!

Virtual Get Lit - The Heretic's Daughter

Hello, readers! Get Lit will return on Thursday, April 21 at 7:00 PM, but it will be a little different. We will be meeting virtually, using Zoom, to discuss The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent.  The book is a novel based on the experiences of Salem Witch Trials victim Martha Carrier, and is narrated by her daughter, Sarah. The author will join us on the call to discuss the book's background -- including her Carrier family history -- and answer questions. From the author:

Kathleen Kent’s debut novel, The Heretic's Daughter--about the author's 9X great-grandmother who was hanged as a witch in Salem in 1692-- made the New York Times' Bestseller List the first week of publication. It has since been published in 17 countries and was followed by two more bestselling historical novels. Her fourth book, titled The Dime, is a contemporary crime novel set in Dallas and has been nominated by both the Edgar and the Nero Awards for “Best Crime Novel" in 2018. The New York Times picked The Dime as one of their “Latest and Greatest” in crime fiction. The sequel to The Dime, titled The Burn, with a starred Kirkus Review, was published early this year. Ms. Kent was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters in 2020.  

We ask interested folks to register online at haverhillpl.org under the "Calendar of Events," and to include a valid email address in the registration. We will send an invitation to that email. Download a copy from OverDrive today!

Going Dark

March's Get Lit will be a bit different. We'll still be meeting at The Peddler's Daughter for a book discussion, but this month we'll have an appearance by the author! Join us on Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 PM to discuss Going Dark by Haverhill author Jolene Grace. The book is a pulse-racing spy novel inspired by Jolene's travels and encounters with people from all walks of life, and is her debut novel in the Gabriel Jets series. Jolene, who launched Going Dark at the library in January, will join us at Get Lit for the discussion. Place a hold on Going Dark today!

Boy, Snow, Bird

The next Get Lit will be on Thursday, February 20 at 7:00 PM. We'll be discussing Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi at The Peddler's Daughter. This take on Snow White is set in mid-20th century Massachusetts, and explores race and family as they intersect with the lives of Boy, Snow, and Bird.