Friends of the St. Paul Public Library are on a roll. They’ve announced Minneapolis author Kawai Strong Washburn’s debut novel “Sharks in the Time of Saviors” as the new One Book/One Minnesota reading title. And there’s news about guest authors at the Friends’ Opus & Olives fundraising event in October.

One Book/One Minnesota is a statewide book club that invites Minnesotans of all ages to read a common title and come together virtually to enjoy, reflect and discuss.

(Courtesy of Macmillan Publishers)

“Sharks in the Time of Saviors” is set in 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, when 7-year-old Noa Flores falls overboard from a cruise ship into the Pacific ocean. When sharks appear in the water, everyone fears the worst, but he is delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark. The boy’s family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails the rescue as a sign of favor from the ancient gods — a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities. But as time passes this supposedly divine favor pulls the family apart. Then, supernatural events revisit the family in Hawaii with tragic consequences and they are forced to reckon with the bonds of family, the meaning of heritage, and the cost of survival.

Kawai Strong Washburn (Crystal Liepa / Macmillan Publishers)

Washburn was born and raised on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. His widely praised novel was one of former President Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2020 and was on several “best of” lists.

The novel will be available at libraries and through e-book and Audiobook access until Sept. 22. Washburn will participate in a virtual conversation with VV Ganeshananthan at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. (For more information and to register for the virtual event, go to thefriends.org.)

Turning to Opus & Olives, the benefit dinner will be Oct. 13 at St. Paul RiverCentre. Guest authors will be Kirsten Miller, whose first adult novel “The Change” was a “Good Morning America” Book Club title and whose most recent is “Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books”; award-winning journalist Michele Norris, Washington Post columnist whose latest is “Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity”; Tommy Tomlinson, whose new book “Dogland” is about competitive dog shows; and David Wroblewski, introducing “Familiaris.”

Tickets, starting at $150 per individual, are on sale now. Go to thefriends.org.

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