Book of the Month
THE NEOPOLITAN SISTERS: A Novel of Heritage and Home
Author: Margo Candela
Publisher: Alcove Press / Crooked Lane Books
ISBN-10: 1639100849 / ISBN-13: 978-1639100842 / ASIN: B09LH8KZGH
SUMMARY:
A TODAY.COM MOST ANTICIPATED LATINX BOOK OF 2022!
Three sisters. Three vastly different lives. A maelstrom of family secrets. For fans of María Amparo Escandón and Laurie Frankel, Margo Candela pens a riotous, provocative tale of family and sisterhood.
Growing up with a kind but alcoholic father and a suspicious, passive aggressive mother, the Bernal sisters each developed their own way of coping: Dulcina had her art and drugs and alcohol, Claudia plunged into her studies and fled to Princeton, and Maritza watched one Disney movie after another in between devouring romance novels.
Now all grown up, the sisters are reunited at last for Maritza’s dream wedding. But they are no less different than they were growing up: Maritza is a princess bridezilla, Claudia is the family “fixer,” and Dulcina “Dooley” is finally sober. With all three Bernal sisters back in their East L.A. home, each begins to take steps to come to terms with each other, their parents, and the secrets from their shared past. While their lives may have taken different paths, they are still sisters at heart.
Told in alternating points of view, The Neapolitan Sisters is a humorous yet moving look at what it means to be a sister, daughter, and ultimately, your own self, despite the pressures that come with being part of a family
About the Author:
Margo Candela was born and raised in Los Angeles and began her writing career when she joined Glendale Community College’s student newspaper. She transferred to San Francisco State University as a journalism major, and upon graduation began writing for websites and magazines before writing her first two novels, Underneath It All and Life Over Easy. She returned to Los Angeles to raise her son and wrote More Than This and Good-bye to All That. The Neapolitan Sisters is her fifth novel and her first after a decade-long hiatus from writing. She now lives in San Francisco.
Website: https://www.margocandela.com/
Facebook: @AuthorMargoCandela
Twitter: @MargoCandela
Instagram: @margocandela
Conversations With Book
SECRET MORE THAN YOU’LL EVER KNOW
Author: Katie Gutierrez
Publisher: William Morrow / HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 0063118459 / ISBN-13: 978-0063118454
SUMMARY:
The dance becomes an affair, which becomes a marriage, which becomes a murder…
In 1985, Lore Rivera marries Andres Russo in Mexico City, even though she is already married to Fabian Rivera in Laredo, Texas, and they share twin sons. Through her career as an international banker, Lore splits her time between two countries and two families—until the truth is revealed and one husband is arrested for murdering the other.
In 2017, while trawling the internet for the latest, most sensational news reports, struggling true-crime writer Cassie Bowman encounters an article detailing that tragic final act. Cassie is immediately enticed by what is not explored: Why would a woman—a mother—risk everything for a secret double marriage? Cassie sees an opportunity—she’ll track Lore down and capture the full picture, the choices, the deceptions that led to disaster. But the more time she spends with Lore, the more Cassie questions the facts surrounding the murder itself. Soon, her determination to uncover the truth could threaten to derail Lore’s now quiet life—and expose the many secrets both women are hiding.
About the Author:
Katie Gutierrez is the author of the national bestselling debut novel MORE THAN YOU’LL EVER KNOW (Morrow/Michael Joseph), which was also a Good Morning America Book Club pick for June 2022. She is a National Magazine Award finalist whose writing has appeared in TIME, Harper’s Bazaar, the Washington Post, Longreads, and her writing has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, The Washington Post, Longreads, Texas Monthly, and more. She has an MFA from Texas State University.
She was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and now lives in San Antonio, with her husband and their two children. More Than You’ll Ever Know is Katie’s first novel.
Website: https://www.katiegutierrez.net/
Twitter: @katie_gutz
Facebook: @KatieGutierrezCollins
