Book picks similar to
Dakota Son by Mary Ramsey


contemporary
fiction
drama
recommend

Dying to Give


Gary B. Shelly - 2016
     Doctors. The ICU. An epidural hematoma. Respirators. Apnea tests. Nationwide publicity. A mogul who wants to buy her daughter's heart. The grieving mother on television begging for a liver to save her son. Hospitals that fight over a first-grader's body. Relatives seeking revenge. A conspiracy to end organ transplants. The hero who can't save his own son. A ninety-two-year old who brings wisdom and peace, together with a reporter who reveals her own story. Then, the lonely decision of how to let her daughter die with dignity and perhaps fulfill a mission Amy would've volunteered for. Will her family provide support? Might those who wait for organs applaud? Can someone who faces this impossible choice in the future learn from her? Would Amy be proud? How does one measure what is best and what is not when nothing makes sense?

Hairspray and Lighter


J. Jupes - 2018
    He didn't expect Darlene Johnson to walk into his office with her chocolate box. And certainly didn't expect what followed. . Book One of the Detectives That Don't Fit Series.

Société


Alexander Helas - 2015
    Christian Matters is a neurotic architect living in Chicago, but thrown off his routine by a bizarre episode he blames the whiskey on, he abandons his promising career, girlfriend, and home for a life-changing journey to California, where he meets a cavalier aristocrat named Lester Rothschild and the extravagant musician Ella Athens. Mysterious and insane, Lester takes Christian on his adventure to open Société, the most luxurious entertainment complex at the heart of the world's richest city. But, with the chance meeting of an unlikely visitor and the sudden death of a lover, colliding events lead him to unravel the true ambitions behind the greatly anticipated opening of Société, where he discovers the fate of something much greater is at stake. @AlexanderHelasForeword INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards Finalist, 2015USA Best Book Awards Finalist Visionary FictionUSA Best Book Awards Finalist New Age FictionSouthern California Book Festival Honorable Mention, LAMidwest Book Awards Honorable Mention, Chicago

The Kitchens of Canton


Isham Cook - 2018
    He finds himself in New Gary, Indiana, a labor camp of one million Chicagoans, their identities hacked and incriminated as pedophiles through the collusion of a corrupt US Government, the Russian cybermafia, and China. He escapes to Chicago, only to find himself in a full-scale replica of Ancient Rome in China, erected for the wealthy country’s amusement and manned by a million enslaved Italians. As he struggles to orient himself in these synchronized urban labyrinths, he is plunged back to real Ancient Rome, before being flung yet further into the future: It’s 2115 and the Chinese Empire rules the world. The former Western hemisphere is now the American Special Administrative Region, a vast Cantonese-speaking slave colony. Malmquist will soon be shipped to the most opulent city the world has ever known for an unspeakable fate. A dystopian satire both bleak and funny, The Kitchens of Canton distills the worst of our present and future societies into a strangely seductive maze of a story.

Evoke


Danielle Simmons - 2018
    But when Laney Thomas wakes up two-months later and discovers she is the sole survivor of the accident that has claimed the lives of three of her friends, Laney quickly realizes the world she awakened to is not the one she remembers. The one thing that hasn't changed however, is Evan - one of their group of five not in the car that night. Laney and Evan have always been close. Children of best friends, their lives inextricable, connection unbreakable. He is the only person that understands her grief and can help her get through their shared nightmare. But when Evan disappears from her life she is left to manage this new world alone, as well as memories of the past, where painful truths of the friendships she'd cherished are buried.

Married To A Chicago Bully


Fatima Munroe - 2018
    If you got a man, let him know I’m coming for him. And if you don’t, let these dudes know you belong to me – Atif Known on the streets of the Chi as God, Atif had no interest in being with one woman and one woman only. With his reputation as judge, jury and executioner wrapped into one, being in love has no place in his chosen line of work. Bumping into Kapri twice in one day was more than a coincidence, he had to know more about the exotic beauty whose eyes told the story of love and pain. You should know not to mess with me, I’ll break your heart – Kapri Chicago’s wild, wild west side was known for gunfights and shootouts on a daily basis. Kapri grew up as a product of her environment determined not to stay that way. Little did anyone know she was keeping a dark secret that no one would understand if it ever got out. Does she allow her past to dictate her future? Or can she teach Atif how to love a woman? When I found out my husband cheated on me I was determined to get back at him – Tanjalyn Tanjalyn had her own cross to bear stuck in a loveless marriage. Steve grounded her and provided her with stability while her heart begged to be with Prince, God’s ace. When Steve receives yet another commendation and promotion as an officer in the Navy, naturally he wants his family back together. Does she follow her heart or choose stability? The fact that she was married was the ONLY thing stopping me from putting her name on the deed to this house and the bank accounts. – Prince Prince treated women as disposable before meeting Tanjalyn. One date turned into a baby and a potentially messy situation two years later. Can he balance being one of Chicago’s biggest bullies while being a family man? Heavy is the head that wears the crown. But being married to a Chicago bully is even more of a headache. Will these women live through it? Or will the pressure be too much?

When the Side Nigga His Brother


Cherlina Works - 2016
    The power of their charm takes them on a journey that leaves a trail of broken hearts and random cuddy buddies. They lived by the laws of “do not tell them that you love them and never ever sleep over”. However, that all changed the day they both met Tyla. The brothers engage in a bitter battle to win her heart and suddenly blood didn’t matter. Rules were made to be broken, right? When Tyla falls in love with one and disregards the other, it breaks the bonds between Tyri and Tyrease; neither of them saw it coming. Tyla was beautifully tempting, and women like her didn’t come around too often. Nevertheless, to fall in love with your brother’s girl is the ultimate betrayal, or is it? Will the love for one woman forever break their brotherly bond, or will they learn to accept what cards they were dealt? When the Side Nigga His Brother, the fight to be with the one you love, could very well cost you the love of another.

Tidal Mist


Honor Donohoe - 2018
    The story begins in Edinburgh before crossing the Irish Sea with occasional forays to Eastbourne in England. It follows two young women, Kirsty and Eileen, on their search for identity.Can they find what they are looking for? Their chosen route becomes fraught with unpredicted outcomes. Can they find romance? Who are they really?Today they come whispering their stories.

Brownout - 666: or the Real Meaning of the Swastika


John Richard Spencer - 2012
    Rick Daly has established a business in the exotic surroundings of the Philippines, while simultaneously discovering Marilyn Delgado, the woman of his dreams. However, a clash of cultures and his own naiveté lead to disaster. Falsely accused of a sexual crime, Rick loses both his freedom and his business. To add insult to injury, a prison escape merely amounts to switching jails. In a world where the rich prosper, honest individuals are forced to the wall, and a cynical disregard for all but the dollar is destroying society from within, crime soon follows punishment for Rick. Close to losing his soul, will Rick's ultimate success in drug and arms dealing finally lead him to face up to reality? Difficult to put down and including erotic scenes, this is a high octane adventure, which will take the reader into a sea of cultural and ethical flashpoints, while exposing huge cracks in the world’s political and social order.

Shot Down: The True Story of Pilot Howard Snyder and the Crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth


Steve Snyder - 2014
    February 8, 1944 ... Shot Down and Alive For the first time, the full and complete story of the B-17 Flying Fortress Susan Ruth is shared in unbelievable detail. Author Steve Snyder’s story of his father, Lieutenant Howard Snyder, and the Susan Ruth crew, provides in-depth details about many aspects of World War II few understand or know about including the:• separation for young families as men went off to war;• training before heading to foreign soil;• military combat operations;• underground and resistance and what Lt. Snyder did when he joined it;• German atrocities toward captured crew and civilians;• behind-the-scenes stories of the Belgium civilians who risked all to save American flyers who were in the air one moment, spiraling down in flames the next;• creation and dedication of the monument to the Susan Ruth and its crew located in Macquenoise, Belgium in 1989.Shot Down was created from the vast number of letters and journals of Howard Snyder; diaries of men and women on the ground who rescued, sheltered and hid the crew; and interviews conducted by historians. Centered around the 306th Bomb Group in Thurleigh, England, it is informative, insightful and captivating.For most, 70 years is a long time ago. World War II fades in importance as each year goes by. Shot Down moves history out of the footnotes into reality, keeping the stories of real people alive as they experience being shot down. You are there, almost holding your breath as Lt. Snyder gets his crew out of his B-17 when bailing out over Nazi occupied Europe.

I'm With You


Allie Frost - 2016
    After their father makes a startling decision, the Morrigan siblings are forced to flee the only life they've ever known and embark on a dangerous adventure across the nation of Empirya. With the help of a disinherited vagabond, a cynical violinist, a fire-juggler with a fierce temper, an aspiring mechanic, and a cheerful librarian, Ciarán and Remiel must fight to escape those who have been hired to hunt them. But will Remiel's dark secret prevent the Morrigan children from finding a place they can truly call home?

Going Gone


Abraham Lopez - 2018
    His years in the CIA have prepared him for such a dreadful day.“Rasul” knows this, as he follows his young guide down the streets of New York City, with a gift for his adopted country.The soldiers and sentries of Camelot’s Corridor, deep under the sands of Texas know this, as they prepare the secret bunker for the President’s arrival.Mike Keogh knows this, as he remembers fallen friends, betrayals, and mention of a secretive monster named the Tangerine Demon.Jessie Rosen will know it soon enough, as she descends the steps to Kubrá, to meet her deliverer. Her new family descends those steps as well, calling for their Lord to hear their prayers.Phil Barr begrudgingly knows this, as he cowers in his palatial Hollywood Hills mansion, murderers and thugs auditioning on live TV, sirens ringing in his ears. This wasn’t how his charmed life was supposed to turn out.And DaRWIn knows this best of all, as it predicted the assassination, and the calamitous after-effects some time ago.On a certain day, on a certain street in the Middle East, the taking of a single life will mean everything, and it will shake the foundation of humanity. It will be the pulling of a loose strand in mankind’s tapestry, undoing the progress of a thousand years, ripping apart at the seams countless lives, countless societies.Intertwining lives and stories, some saved and some ended, some Going, some Gone…

The Summer Letters


Elyse Douglas - 2017
    Determined to find the woman whose life parallels her own in many ways, Vanessa searches for the woman and her lover, uncovering past and present secrets that finally reveal a shocking truth. Over the course of the summer, Vanessa's own life is transformed by the possibilities of love and new beginnings, even as she confronts the lingering pain of her own past. The Summer Letters is a celebration of the enduring promise of hope and the unbreakable bonds of love.

Notice Me


Emem Uko - 2018
    Being the frontman of a popular band in a foreign country? Never in his wildest dreams. Anders finds himself living a cool life but at a price of projecting an effeminate image to the public. His fans love it. They’ve only known him since his makeover after his debut as a singer. They don’t know the manly Anders. But the girl he wants to notice him thinks he’s not her type. Now he has to choose between his public image and his private life. Millions of fans versus one? Their happiness or his happiness?"Emem Uko takes you on a suspense-filled journey on the behind-the-scenes struggles of the lead vocalist of a boy band. A journey of growth, loss and finding a long-needed love. It is music to your ears. You will want it on repeat."

Hey! It's Summer!


Micci Fjord - 2015
    why are GCSE's so important anyway! As if that wasn't enough the nauseating 'Three J's' (Jackie, Jeanne and Josie) who are 'too cool for school' have given Summer and her friends the label of the 'Five Mis-fits'! Things have gone too far and Anaya and Amal (who are Muslim and Hindu) are not dealing with it well. Summer tries to understand but leaves school not knowing who she is, or which friends will be with her when she moves on to her new school in September!After a longer than usual summer holiday on Mallorca (I mean... who goes to Mallorca anymore!) Summer realises that she's learnt more from the local Spanish kids than she could ever learn at school..... she's found herself, found a place she can call home, and found true love .....all in the space of four weeks! As the holiday comes to an end she finds the truth lies in How you are and Who you choose to be ..... not in What you are!Based on the old english proverb ' Just when the caterpillar thought it's world couldn't become any worse.... it became a butterfly!' 'Hey! It's Summer!' takes a look at the transience of fighting to stay a teenager whilst starting to embrace the possibilities of adulthood..... and trying to understand some of it!As Summer returns to start at her new school as a 'senior', she looks at the world through different eyes and has a new determination to become the person she would choose to be!