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The library is more than just books. Every month, the Milwaukee Public Library joins Lake Effect to share resources, book recommendations and cool stuff you might not know about.

'A Proposal They Can't Refuse' brings a light-hearted energy for this month's Book of the Month

Maria Burke
/
WUWM

Every month here on Lake Effect, we partner with the Milwaukee Public Library for our Book of the Month series to bring you new reading recommendations.

We will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month starting on September 15 and in honor of that, Maria Burke brings us her light-hearted, fiction pick. She is the library services manager at Milwaukee Public Library’s Mitchell Street branch and Bay View branch.

Burke recommends A Proposal They Can't Refuse by Natalie Caña. The book takes place in our neighboring city of Chicago. It is the first in a trilogy of a family-fueled comedy, a love story centered on the stories of children of immigrants and the tension they have with their families who want to hold onto historic traditions.

Burke recommends this book because, "with all the heaviness in the world right now, sometimes it's nice to have something light and fun."

"This is very much a foodie-love book," Burke says. The two main characters are Camila Vega and Liam Kane. They both work in the food industry and their grandfathers are close.

"The grandfathers schemed to require them to get married. Otherwise, the grandfathers would sell the building where the families live, and where both businesses reside. So they had no choice but to develop a fake relationship to try and get their grandfathers off their back and save their family businesses," Burke says.

She emphasizes that the twists and turns will keep you on your toes. The Milwaukee Public Library will be hosting a talk-back with the author, Natalie Caña on September 20 at 6:00 p.m. Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, MPL will be hosting events. You can see all the events on the Milwaukee Public Library website.

Mallory Cheng was a Lake Effect producer from 2021 to 2023.
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