Fiction
The mysterious Benedict Society
Stewart, Trenton Lee.
jFICTION Stewart, Trenton Lee
Fiction, Kids
After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.
The last true poets of the sea
Drake, Julia, author.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Drake Julia
Fiction, Young Adult, Literary Fiction
Inspired loosely by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, teenaged Violet is shipped off to Maine after her brother's hospitalization, where she searches for the lost shipwreck that her great-great grandmother survived and for answers about her family's long struggle with mental illness, all while falling in love.
I'm always in for a Shakespeare retelling, and Twelfth Night is one of my favorites. I've heard The Last True Poets of the Sea is really good, but have yet to get to it. Maybe this year! -Casey
Hamnet : a novel of the plague
O'Farrell, Maggie, 1972- author.
FICTION O'Farrell, Maggie
Fiction, Historical Fiction
England, 1580. A young Latin tutor-- penniless, bullied by a violent father-- falls in love with an eccentric young woman who walks her family's estate with a falcon on her shoulder and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer.
Added by Casey
Me (Moth)
McBride, Amber, author.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Mcbride Amber
Fiction, Young Adult
Moth, who lost her family in an accident, and Sani, who is battling ongoing depression, take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors, which helps them move forward in surprising, powerful and unforgettable ways.
Added by Casey
Unsheltered : a novel
Kingsolver, Barbara, author.
FICTION Kingsolver, Barbara
Fiction
At the corner of Sixth and Plum in Vineland, New Jersey two families live in the same house-- centuries apart.
I've been told that I need to branch out from the one Barbara Kingsolver book I've read, The Poisonwood Bible. This one has had my eye for a few years now. -Casey
When you trap a tiger
Keller, Tae, author.
jFICTION Keller Tae
Fantasy, Fiction
When Lily, her sister Sam, and their mother move in with her sick grandmother, Lily traps a tiger and makes a deal with him to heal Halmoni.
I tried to get into this one as an audio book a year or so ago and it wasn't sticking. I'm going to give it another go with the physical format this time. -Casey
Juniper & Thorn
Reid, Ava, author.
SCIENCE FICTION Reid Ava
Fiction, Fantasy
"Marlinchen and her two sisters live with their wizard father in a city shifting from magic to industry. As Oblya's last true witches, she and her sisters are little more than a tourist trap as they treat their clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm. And while Oblya flourishes with culture and bustles with enterprise, a monster lurks in its midst, borne of intolerance and resentment and suffused with old-world power. Caught between history and progress and blood and desire, Marlinchen must draw upon her own magic to keep her city safe and find her place within it"--Dust jacket flap.
Added by Casey
A gentleman in Moscow
Towles, Amor, author.
FICTION Towles Amor
Fiction, Literary Fiction
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility--a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel
This is the book in 2023 that I am determined to tackle. It's been on my list for at least four years and I have multiple family members who adore this title. I'm coming for you, Amor Towles! -Casey
The song of Achilles
Miller, Madeline.
FICTION Miller Madeline
Fiction, Fantasy
Circe is one of my favorite books--I've reread it a few times now. Yet I have not read Madeline Miller's other title, Song of Achilles. -Casey
Community board
Tara Conklin
FICTION Conklin Tara
Fiction
Darcy Clipper, prodigal daughter, nearly thirty, has returned home to Murbridge, Massachusetts, after her life takes an unwelcome left turn. Murbridge, Darcy is convinced, will welcome her home and provide a safe space in which she can nurse her wounds and harbor grudges, both real and imagined. But Murbridge, like so much else Darcy thought to be fixed and immutable, has changed. And while Darcy’s first instinct might be to hole herself up in her childhood bedroom, subsisting on Chef Boy-R-Dee and canned chickpeas, it is human nature to do two things: seek out meaningful human connection and respond to anonymous internet postings. As Murbridge begins to take shape around Darcy, both online and in person, Darcy will consider the most fundamental of American questions: What can she ask of her community? And what does she owe it in return?
Conklin stretches her legs as a writer here through this funny and endearing novel. Darcy and the small town of Murbridge encapsulates a lot of what Americans are experiencing post-pandemic: disconnection, polarization, disillusion, anger, fear, and resentment. But Conklin's tale isn't one of despair. This book is about making connections with others, creating community around common goals, and finding meaning in your life through the process. But this novel also doesn't take itself too seriously. It is laugh-out-loud funny. -Anne M
Added by Casey