Fiction
When women were dragons : a novel
Kelly Regan Barnhill
FICTION Barnhill Kelly
Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQ+
"Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours. But this version of 1950's America is characterized by a significant event: The Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales and talons, left a trail of fiery destruction in their path, and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex's beloved Aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn't know. It's taboo to speak of. Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this disturbing event: a mother more protective than ever; a father growing increasingly distant; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and helping to raise a beloved younger girl obsessed with dragons far beyond propriety. In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the forced limitations of girlhood. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small-their lives and their prospects-and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve"--
I'm afraid you've got dragons
Peter S. Beagle
SCIENCE FICTION Beagle Peter
Fiction, Fantasy
Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased dad's job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart in part because he likes dragons, feeling a kinship with them, but mainly because his dream has always been the impossible one of transcending his humble origin to someday become a prince's valet. Needless to say, fate has something rather different in mind...
If "The Last Unicorn" is about the ways in which we are irrevocably changed by the world, "I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons" is about having the courage to be yourself in spite of the external forces that try to shape you. The characters all have an assigned role, a person that they think they want to be, and the person that they need to be. It is delightful to accompany them on their (very much unexpected) journeys of self discovery. -Chelsea
Annihilation
Jeff VanderMeer
SCIENCE FICTION VanderMeer, Jeff
Fiction, Science Fiction
Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide; the third expedition in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition. The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself. They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers―they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding―but it's the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.
Simultaneously dense and dreamlike, VanderMeer's prose is full of vivid detail and demands your full attention. For your effort you are rewarded with a fevered meditation on grief , identity, and the transitional ecologies of the human mind. -Chelsea
The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy
Douglas Adams
SCIENCE FICTION Adams, Douglas
Fiction, Adventure, Science Fiction
This is the story of Arthur Dent, who, seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, is plucked off the planet by his friend, Ford Prefect, who has been posing as an out-of-work actor for the last fifteen years but is really a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Together they begin a journey through the galaxy aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a hilariously bizarre adventure! Be sure to pair with the BBC miniseries, which is complete with fun 80s special effects! -Violette
Hokuloa Road
Elizabeth Hand
MYSTERY Hand Elizabet
Fiction, Mystery
"On a whim, Grady Kendall applies to work as a live-in caretaker for a luxury property in Hawai'i, as far from his small-town Maine life as he can imagine. Within days he's flying out to an estate on remote Hokuloa Road, where he quickly uncovers a dark side to the island's idyllic reputation: It has long been a place where people vanish without a trace. When a young woman named Jessie from his flight becomes the next to disappear, Grady is determined - and soon desperate - to figure out what happened to her, and to all those staring out of the island's 'missing' posters. But working with Raina, Jessie's fiercely protective best friend, to uncover the truth is anything but easy, and with an inexplicable and sinister presence stalking his every step, Grady can only hope he'll find the answer before it's too late." -- From jacket flap.
Elizabeth Hand consistently writes interesting mysteries that have an uncanny weirdness to them, and in Hokuloa Road you get that plus the beautiful setting of Hawaii, with flora, fauna, customs, and lore. Our protagonist, Grady, is a laid-back good guy who gets the job of a lifetime, but soon finds himself enmeshed in a situation that seems to defy explanation, but requires him to keep sleuthing. There are many likable characters here, as well as a satisfying ending. -Candice
The hate u give
Angie Thomas
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Thomas Angie
Black Lives Matter, Fiction, Young Adult
After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.
The Hate U Give is an incredibly powerful book that got me back into reading after finishing my graduate degree. It was during the Black Lives Matter movement and I found that this book really connected my love of reading with my passion for social justice. I believe that everyone should read The Hate U Give -- it's one of numerous titles in the ICPL's collection that has the power to change you. -Violette
Welcome to Samantha's world, 1904 : growing up in America's new century
Catherine Gourley
j973.91 Gourley
Fiction, Historical Fiction, Kids, Nonfiction, History
An in-depth look at life for girls and women in America in 1904, discussing city and town life, social reform, new inventions, amusements, and more.
If you're like me and grew up with American Girl, you know that this book was a highly sought after item! I, myself, am a Samantha, and was absolutely thrilled to find that ICPL had a copy of Welcome to Samantha's World in the collection! I'd never had the privilege of looking through this book before, but always dreamed about it when I was younger. Catherine Gourley provides a wider historical context for the Samantha books that illustrate what life what like for young girls at the turn of the century. I would definitely recommend for any fans of American Girl! -Violette
How high we go in the dark : a novel
Sequoia Nagamatsu
SCIENCE FICTION Nagamatsu, Sequoia
Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Short Story
"For fans of Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven, a spellbinding and profoundly prescient debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague-a daring and deeply heartfelt work of mind-bending imagination from a singular new voice. Beginning in 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic Plague will reshape life on earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children, a cynical employee falls in love with a mother desperate to hold on to her infected son. A heartbroken scientist searching for a cure finds a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects-a pig-develops the capacity for human speech. A widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter embark on a cosmic quest to locate a new home planet. From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, Sequoia Nagamatsu takes readers on a wildly original and compassionate journey, spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resiliency of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe"--
Sequoia Nagamatsu's How High We Go in the Dark consists of several fascinating short stories that feature characters whose lives are inextricably linked, even if not directly. If you're like me, this book will remain in the back of your mind for a long time. -Violette
Old enough : a novel
Haley Jakobson
FICTION Jakobson Haley
Diverse Characters, Fiction, LGBTQ+, Romance, Young Adult
"Savannah 'Sav' Henry is almost the person she wants to be, or at least she's getting closer. It's the second semester of her sophomore year. She's finally come out as bisexual, is making friends with the other queers in her dorm, and has just about recovered from her disastrous first queer 'situationship.' She is cautiously optimistic that her life is about the begin. But when she learns that Izzie, her best friend from childhood, has gotten engaged, Sav faces a crisis of confidence. Things with Izzie haven't been the same since what happened between Sav and Izzie's brother when Sav was sixteen. Now, with the wedding around the corner, Sav is forced to reckon with trauma she thought she could put behind her. On top of it all, Sav can't stop thinking about Wes from her Gender Studies class--sweet, funny Wes, with their long eyelashes and green backpack. There's something different here--with Wes and her new friends; it feels, terrifyingly, like they might truly see her. With a singulary funny, heartfelt voice, Old Enough explores queer love, community, and what it means to be a survivor in a post #MeToo world. Haley Jakobson has written a love letter to friendship and an honest depiction of what it means to find your people"--
I love this book because it illustrates what it's like to be a young queer woman navigating the world through self discovery. I would recommend Old Enough to anyone who is questioning their identity, as Haley Jakobson shows the power of finding your community and loving yourself just as you are. -Violette
The fellowship of the ring : being the first part of The Lord of the Rings
J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien
SCIENCE FICTION Tolkien, J. R. R.
Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy
After discovering the true nature of the one ring, Bilbo Baggins entrusts it to the care of his young cousin, Frodo, who is charged with bringing about its destruction and thus foiling the plans of the Dark Lord.
My favorite book in the LOTR trilogy! I could read this series over and over again and never tire of Frodo and Sam's adventures. -Violette
This is a searing feminist novel that explores female rage through a lens of magical realism. This book really shines in its exploration of female relationships, especially between Alex and her family. They love each other deeply, but that love is often tempered by resentment or fear or secrecy, and Barnhill does a great job depicting that complexity. -Chelsea