Recommendations based on "Fun Home"

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDIt was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation.Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed the city from Coney Island to Forty-Second Street, and eventually to the celebrated round table of Max’s Kansas City, where the Andy Warhol contingent held court. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a community of the famous and infamous, the influential artists of the day and the colorful fringe. It was a time of heightened awareness, when the worlds of poetry, rock and roll, art, and sexual politics were colliding and exploding. In this milieu, two kids made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years.Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists’ ascent, a prelude to fame.

From a god-fearing Muslim boy enraptured with their mother, to a vocal, queer drag queen estranged from their family, this is a heart-breaking and hilarious memoir about the author’s fight to be true to themself‘It should be read far and wide’ Ian McKellenAmrou knew they were gay when, aged ten, they first laid eyes on Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. It was love at first sight.Amrou’s parents weren’t so happy…From that moment on, Amrou began searching in all the wrong places for ways to make their divided self whole again.Life as a Unicorn is a hilarious yet devastating story of a search for belonging, following the painful and surprising process of transforming from a god-fearing Muslim boy to a queer drag queen, strutting the stage in seven-inch heels and saying the things nobody else dares to ….

Jackson is aggressive, confrontational and often volatile. His mother, Kayla, is crippled with grief after tragically losing her husband and eldest son. Struggling to cope, she puts Jackson into foster care.Cathy, his carer, encourages Jackson to talk about what has happened to his family, but he just won’t engage. His actions continue to test and worry everyone.Then, in a dramatic turn of events, the true reason for Jackson’s behaviour comes to light …Cathy Glass's book 'Unwanted' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2023-01-16.

Born into the beautiful bedlam of downtown New York in the eighties, iO Tillett Wright came of age at the intersection of punk, poverty, heroin, and art. This was a world of self-invented characters, glamorous superstars, and strung-out sufferers, ground zero of drag and performance art. Still, no personality was more vibrant and formidable than iO’s mother’s. Rhonna, a showgirl and young widow, was a mercurial, erratic glamazon. She was iO’s fiercest defender and only authority in a world with few boundaries and even fewer indicators of normal life. At the center of Darling Days is the remarkable relationship between a fiery kid and a domineering ma—a bond defined by freedom and control, excess and sacrifice; by heartbreaking deprivation, agonizing rupture, and, ultimately, forgiveness.Darling Days is also a provocative examination of culture and identity, of the instincts that shape us and the norms that deform us, and of the courage and resilience it takes to listen closely to your deepest self. When a group of boys refuse to let six-year-old, female-born iO play ball, iO instantly adopts a new persona, becoming a boy named Ricky—a choice iO’s parents support and celebrate. It is the start of a profound exploration of gender and identity through the tenderest years, and the beginning of a life invented and reinvented at every step. Alternating between the harrowing and the hilarious, Darling Days is the candid, tough, and stirring memoir of a young person in search of an authentic self as family and home life devolve into chaos.

From New York Times bestselling author Tim Green comes a captivating baseball story about one brave boy’s search for a miracle. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica.Ever since Ryder could remember, it's always been just Ryder and his mom. But in one day, everything changes. Ryder's mom is in the hospital fighting for her life after being struck by a truck while crossing the street. When he learns that his mom will need an expensive operation to survive, he steps up to the plate.Ryder finds in his mother's closet a letter and a baseball signed by a Major League Baseball player, and he's sure the signature is his father's. So with this clue and the help of his next door neighbor and a New York City firefighter, Ryder goes on an epic quest to find his father and get the support he needs to save his mom. But will everything fall into place in time, or will Ryder become a lost boy forever?

"A funny, heartfelt story about found family and seeing the silver lining in life. Fans of A Man Called Ove and Remarkably Bright Creatures will especially enjoy this new novel."--Library Journal A zany case of mistaken identity allows a lonely old man one last chance to be part of a family. "Would you mind terribly, old boy, if I borrowed the rest of your life? I promise I'll take excellent care of it." Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he'd return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is, at age eighty-two, there's nobody left in Fred's life to borrow from, and he's broke and on the brink of eviction. But Fred's luck changes when he's mistaken for Bernard Greer, a missing resident at the local nursing home, and takes his place. Now Fred has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head--as long as his look-alike Bernard never turns up. Denise Simms is stuck breathing the same disappointing air again and again. A middle-aged mom and caregiver at Bernard's facility, her crumbling marriage and daughter's health concerns are suffocating her joy for life. Wounded by her two-faced husband, she vows never to let a man deceive her again. As Fred walks in Bernard's shoes, he leaves a trail of kindness behind him, fueling Denise's suspicions about his true identity. When unexpected truths are revealed, Fred and Denise rediscover their sense of purpose and learn how to return a broken life to mint condition. Bittersweet and remarkably perceptive, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a hilarious, feel-good, clever novel about grief, forgiveness, redemption, and finding family.

Rusty Returns To His Beloved Hills, Never To Leave AgainRusty Comes Home Is The Fifth And Final Volume In Puffin'S Complete Collection Of Ruskin Bond'S Ever-Popular Rusty Stories. A Lonely And Sensitive Boy Who Lost His Father Early, Rusty Spent His Childhood In Boarding Schools And With Relatives In Dehra. While Still A Teenager, He Ran Away From His Foster Home And Had Myriad Adventures Before Landing Up In London With The Ambition Of Becoming A Writer. This Book Chronicles Rusty'S Exploits After His Return From London, As He Explores Delhi, Dehra And The Small, Dusty Town Of Shahganj Before Settling Down In Mussoorie, Making His Living As A Writer, And Revelling In The Hills That Have Always Fascinated Him.Rusty Comes Home Contains Some Captivating Stories About Rusty'S Friends And Fleeting Acquaintances, About Human Nature And The Supernatural. Among His Friends In Shahganj Are Ketan, A Victim Of The Partition And Prone To Paralytic Fits; Madhu, A Child Whose Life Is Tragically Cut Short, But Not Before She Leaves An Indelible Impression On Rusty; And Suresh, A Disabled Child With Whom Rusty Strikes Up A Close Bond. In Dehra He Meets Up With His Genial Uncle Bill, Who Makes It His Habit To Poison People With Arsenic; The Incredible Jimmy, A Jinn Who Can Extend His Arms At Will To Infinite Lengths; And Miss Pettibone, The Oldest Resident Of Dehra, Who Enthralls Him With Riveting Stories From The Town'S Past. Then There Is The Unnamed Basket-Selling Girl He Meets By Chance On The Deoli Railway Platform And Can Never Forget; And Binya, A Young And Vivacious Widow, Who Floats Into His Life On The Strains Of A Song.Full Of Charming And Idiosyncratic Characters, These Stories Of Love, Loss And Adventure Will Appeal To Young Readers Of All Ages.

New York Times bestselling author and former NFL defensive end Tim Green encourages readers to fight for their dreams in this heartfelt story about a young football star grappling with the stress of living up to his father’s name. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica!Danny Owens is dedicating his seventh-grade season to his Super Bowl champion father, who recently passed away. Danny promises everyone that, just like his dad, he’ll dominate the big game at the end of the season and earn a spot on the high school varsity team.Then his English teacher catches him cheating on a test. Even though Danny can retake it, he knows there’s no point. He can’t read. And if Danny can’t pass this class, he won’t be eligible to play in the championship game that could unlock his future.While his resentment rises against the only person willing to help him win off the field, the pressure to succeed begins to weigh heavily on Danny’s shoulders. Danny is being tested on every level now, and to pass, he may very well have to choose a different path from his father’s.

Thousands of readers have come home to Mitford, the little town with the big heart, whose endearing and eccentric residents have become like family members. But now change is coming to the hamlet. Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his wife Cynthia are pondering retirement; a brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development; a suspicious realtor with plans for a health spa is eyeing the beloved house on the hill; and, worst of all, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing. Meanwhile, ordinary people are leading the extraordinary lives that hundreds of thousands of readers have found so inviting and inspiring. Peopled with the lovable cast of characters familiar to so many, and peppered with plenty of new and colorful personalities, Out to Canaan is filled to the brim with the mysteries and miracles that make everyday life worth living, and that make Mitford one of the most memorable small towns in recent literature.

ONE REMARKABLE WOMAN OVER 30 YEARS OF FOSTERING CARER TO MORE THAN 150 CHILDREN Tayo arrives at Cathy's with only the clothes he stands up in. He has been brought to her by the police, but he is calm, polite, and very well-spoken, and not at all like the children she normally fosters. The social worker gives Cathy the forms which should contain Tayo's history, but apart from his name and age, it is blank. Tayo has no past. Tayo is an 'invisible' child, kidnapped from his loving father in Nigeria and brought illegally to the UK by his drink and drugs dependent prostitute mother, where he is put to work in a sweatshop in Central London. When he sustains an injury and is no longer earning, he is cast out. When Cathy takes Tayo to school he points out a dozen different addresses where he has stayed in the last six months, often being left alone. Tayo lies, and manipulates situations to his own advantage and Cathy has to be continually on guard. Tayo's social worker searches all computer databases but there is no record of Tayo - he has only attended school for three terms and has never seen a doctor. He and his mother have been evading the authorities by living 'underground'. With his mother recently released from prison, Tayo is desperate to live with his father in Nigeria, but no one can track him down or even prove that he exists.