Books, Movies, CDs

The least of us : true tales of America and hope in the time of fentanyl and meth

Sam Quinones

362.293 /Quinones
History, Science

Quinones was among the first to see the dangers of synthetic drugs and a new generation of kingpins whose product could be made in Magic Bullet blenders. In fentanyl, traffickers landed a painkiller a hundred times more powerful than morphine. They laced it into cocaine, meth, and counterfeit pills to cause tens of thousands of deaths-- at the same time as Mexican traffickers made methamphetamine cheaper and more potent. He investigated these new threats, discovering how addiction is exacerbated by consumer-product corporations. Amid a landscape of despair, Quinones found hope in those embracing the forgotten and ignored, illuminating the striking truth that we are only as strong as our most vulnerable. -- adapted from jacket

This book is part history, part science, and part character study. It is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. -Tom

Fans : how watching sports makes us happier, healthier, and more understanding

Larry Olmsted

796 /Olmsted
Sports, Health, Self Help

"Research into sports fandom makes the sometimes counterintuitive case for why being a fan is good for us individually and is a force for positive change in our society"--

This book is for the fan devastated by loss, the skeptic who sees no value in sports fandom, and the fan making the case to that skeptic. -Tom

The fallen star

Claudia Gray

SCIENCE FICTION Star Wars

In this gripping sequel to Star Wars: The Rising Storm, the light of the Jedi faces its darkest hour. Time and again, the vicious raiders known as the Nihil have sought to bring the golden age of the High Republic to a fiery end. Time and again, the High Republic has emerged battered and weary, but victorious thank to its Jedi protectors - and there is no monument to their cause grander than the Starlight Beacon. Hanging like a jewel in the Outer Rim, the Beacon embodies the High Republic at the apex of its aspirations: a hub of culture and knowledge, a bright torch against the darkness of the unknown, and an extended hand of welcome to the furthest reaches of the galaxy. As survivors and refugees flee the Nihil’s attacks, the Beacon and its crew stand ready to shelter and heal. The grateful Knights and Padawans of the Jedi Order stationed there finally have a chance to recover - from the pain of their injuries and the grief of their losses. But the storm they thought had passed still rages; they are simply caught in its eye. Marchion Ro, the true mastermind of the Nihil, is preparing his most daring attack yet - one designed to snuff out the light of the Jedi.

The last adult novel of Phase 1 of The High Republic was a doozy. The writing team said that not everyone would make it out alive, and they weren't kidding. I've really enjoyed all of these Star Wars novels. It has been a treat to explore a new time period. They've announced that the next wave won't begin until October. That's okay, though, cause I need a breather after this one! -Brian

Smalltime : a story of my family and the mob

Russell Shorto

364.1092 /Shorto
Nonfiction, Literary Nonfiction, True Crime, Biographies

"Family secrets emerge as a best-selling author dives into the history of the mob in small-town America. Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a city "in its brawny postwar prime," is where "Little Joe" Regino and Russ Shorto build a local gambling empire on the earnings of factory workers for whom placing a bet--on a horse or pool game, pinball or "tip seal"--is their best shot at the American dream. Decades later, Russell Shorto grew up knowing that his grandfather was a small-town mobster, but never thought to write about him, in keeping with an unspoken family vow of silence. Then a distant cousin prodded him: You gotta write about it. Smalltime, the story of Shorto's search for his namesake, delves into the world of the small-town mob, an intricate web that spanned midcentury America, stitching together cities from Yonkers to Fresno. A riveting immigrant story, Smalltime is also deeply personal, as the author's ailing father, Tony, becomes his partner in piecing together their patriarch's troubled past. Moving, wryly funny, and richly detailed, Smalltime is an irresistible memoir by a masterful writer of historical narrative"--

Shorto takes a deep dive into his own family history, uncovering its origins in Sicily, why Pennsylvania attracted his own great-grandfather to sail across the Atlantic, and why the mob? He unearths family secret after family secret and paints a picture of an American experience. -Anne M

Imaginary Borders

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

363.73874 /Martinez

If we wait for the floodwater to reach our doorstep, it will be too late. Earth Guardians youth director and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez uses his art and activism to show that climate change is a human issue. In Imaginary Borders, Martinez visualizes a future that allows us to direct our anger, fear, and passion toward creating change. Because we all have a part to play.

This paper-thin pocket-sized manifesto highlights the inequity in climate change and amplifies ways we can get involved to advocate for real change. A great quick read. -Victoria

Sea state : a memoir

Tabitha Lasley

BIOGRAPHY Lasley, Tabitha
Literary Nonfiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Adventure

"A stunning and brutally honest memoir that shines a light on what happens when female desire conflicts with a culture of masculinity in crisis In her midthirties and newly free from a terrible relationship, Tabitha Lasley quit her job at a London magazine, packed her bags, and poured her savings into a six-month lease on an apartment in Aberdeen, Scotland. She decided to make good on a long-deferred idea for a book about oil rigs and the men who work on them. Why oil rigs? She wanted to see what men were like with no women around. In Aberdeen, Tabitha became deeply entrenched in the world of roughnecks, a teeming subculture rich with brawls, hard labor, competition, and the deepest friendships imaginable. The longer she stayed, the more she found her presence had a destabilizing effect on the men--and her. Sea State is on the one hand a portrait of an overlooked industry: "offshore" is a way of life for generations of primarily working-class men and also a potent metaphor for those parts of life we keep at bay--class, masculinity, the transactions of desire, and the awful slipperiness of a ladder that could, if we tried hard enough, lead us to security. Sea State is on the other hand the story of a journalist whose professional distance from her subject becomes perilously thin. In Aberdeen, Tabitha gets high and dances with abandon, reliving her youth, when the music was good and the boys were bad. Twenty years on, there is Caden: a married rig worker who spends three weeks on and three weeks off. Alone and in an increasingly precarious state, Tabitha dives into their growing attraction. The relationship, reckless and explosive, will lay them both bare"--

This book is in my selection area, and I found my interest piqued each time I came across a review for it. It's one of those "under the radar" reads--worthy of "best of" rankings but not explosively viral like Educated or Atomic Habits. The author's narrative writing style allows a reader to (sea) breeze through the book. Read it if you're in the mood for a true story about living a life in search of something more. -Melody

The leak : for the love of truth

Kate Reed Petty

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Petty
Graphic Novels, Kids

"Ruth Keller is brash and precocious; she argues with her dentist, her parents, and her teachers. So, when she discovers a strange black slime in the man-made lake of her suburban neighborhood, she decides to investigate. Fortified by the encouragement of those around her, Ruth seeks the truth at all costs, even if it means taking on the rich local country club owner, who she believes is responsible for the pollution. Between the teasing of former friends, and a sudden viral spotlight, Ruth discovers how difficult it is for a journalist to take a stand for what's right in the face of critique and controversy. From writer Kate Reed Petty and illustrator Andrea Bell, comes a story about corruption, pollution, and freedom of the press, and the young journalist at the center of it all."--Provided by publisher.

Join Ruth as she uncovers a shocking pollution scandal in her town and persists in trying to get to the bottom of it despite setbacks and discouragement. A nuanced look at the tough work of journalism (Ruth makes some mistakes along the way and learns that not everything is black-and-white, good-versus-evil), the book remains accessible to young readers. You'll want to stand up and cheer for Ruth's courage and commitment to freedom of the press, justice, and protecting her town and its citizens. The blocky illustrations with slightly fuzzy, crayon-like outlines are so satisfying visually as well. -Anne W

Circe

Madeline Miller

OverDrive Audiobook
Fiction, Fantasy

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Circe has had me spellbound since I listened to Perdita Weeks weave her magic in March of 2020. This is my third time around and I love it just as much as the first. -Casey

Somebody's daughter : a memoir

Ashley C. Ford

BIOGRAPHY Ford, Ashley C.
Memoir

"One of the most prominent voices of her generation debuts with an extraordinarily powerful memoir: the story of a childhood defined by the ever looming absence of her incarcerated father and the path we must take to both honor and overcome our origins. For as long as she could remember, Ashley has put her father on a pedestal. Despite having only vague memories of seeing him face-to-face, she believes he's the only person in the entire world who understands her. She thinks she understands him too. He's sensitive like her, an artist, and maybe even just as afraid of the dark. She's certain that one day they'll be reunited again, and she'll finally feel complete. There are just a few problems: he's in prison, and she doesn't know what he did to end up there. Through poverty, puberty, and a fraught relationship with her mother, Ashley returns to her image of her father for hope and encouragement. She doesn't know how to deal with the incessant worries that keep her up at night, or how to handle the changes in her body that draw unwanted attention from men. In her search for unconditional love, Ashley begins dating a boy her mother hates; when the relationship turns sour, he assaults her. Still reeling from the rape, which she keeps secret from her family, Ashley finally finds out why her father is in prison. And that's where the story really begins. Somebody's Daughter steps into the world of growing up a poor Black girl, exploring how isolating and complex such a childhood can be. As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she provides a poignant coming-of-age recollection that speaks to finding the threads between who you are and what you were born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them. 'Ashley Ford's prose is glass-so clear, sharp and smooth that the reader sees, in vivid focus, her complicated childhood, brilliant mind, and golden heart. The gravity and urgency of Somebody's Daughter anchored me to my chair and slowed my heartbeat-like no book has since Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Ashley Ford is a writer for the ages, and Somebody's Daughter will be a book of the year.'-- Glennon Doyle, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed and founder of Together Rising" --

This was such a raw, honest and hopeful book about making sense of our past to put our best selves forward into the future. I couldn't get enough of this book. -Victoria

Legends of the Dark Knight : Matt Wagner

Wagner, Matt, writer, artist.

COMIC Batman Wagner

"Matt Wagner's complete collection of Batman stories in a new hardcover format! Matt Wagner's prolific run on Batman is collected in one place for the first time ever. From a mad scientist who has created a race of giant monster men to do his bidding, to Batman encountering sinister machinations and new dimensions of wickedness as he confronts the hooded menace of the Mad Monk, there's plenty of horror and action!"--

This hardcover includes Batman and the Monster Men along with its sequel Batman and the Mad Monk. Both tales are set early in Batman's career after the events of Batman: Year One. Matt Wagner draws and writes the heck out of these stories! This was out of print the last time I made a Batman list. I was bummed, because it's one of my favorites! -Brian

Where have all the boys gone? : a novel

Jenny Colgan

FICTION Colgan Jenny
Fiction, Romance, Humor

With more women than men in London, Katie's dating prospects are at an all-time low. She decides to head for the hills-- the Scottish Highlands to be exact. Fairlish is in the middle of nowhere, but the tiny town does have one major draw: men. LOTS of them! Theres plenty of local eye-candy, including gorgeous newshound Iain. But he is at loggerheads with Katie's new boss, Harry, and she can't afford to get on Harry's bad side any more than she already has. -- adapted from back cover

I will read pretty much anything Jenny Colgan writes. She crafts relatable characters and places them in remote settings that let their minds be free to experience themselves anew. This book is no different. I'm not finished yet, but I love the pickle the protagonist is in--forced to do a PR job for a grumpy forester who just wants to save the trees in the Highlands of Scotland. My favorite way to eat up a Jenny Colgan story is through audiobooks, and we have this one on hoopla. https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12586888 The accents the narrator performs instantly transport the listener to the Highlands. Take me away, Calgon! -Melody

Cloud cuckoo land : a novel

Anthony Doerr

FICTION Doerr Anthony
Fiction

Constantinople, 1453: Anna lives in a convent where women toil all day embroidering the robes of priests. She learns the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to the paradise of Cloud Cuckoo Land, a better world, and reads it to her sister as the walls of Constantinople are bombarded by armies of Saracens. Lakeport, Idaho, 2020: Seymour, an activist bent on saving the earth, sits in the public library with two homemade bombs in pressure cookers. Upstairs, eighty-five-year old Zeno, a former prisoner-of-war, and an amateur translator, rehearses five children in a play adaptation of Aethon's adventures. The future: On an interstellar ark called The Argos, Konstance, alone in a vault with access to all the information in the world, knows Aethon's story through her father, who has sequestered her to protect her. All are dreamers, misfits on the cusp of adulthood in a world the grown-ups have broken.

I finished reading Cloud Cuckoo Land several weeks ago, but find that my mind keeps drifting back to it, making new connections between the interwoven narratives. The novel’s movement through storylines, seemingly unconnected characters, places and times initially frustrated me, but I came to appreciate the fluidity in the text. Each thread of the narrative built quickly, setting up an image of life in 15th century Constantinople, 21st century Idaho, and a futuristic space mission of 2146. These stories linked in myriad ways: love, loss, war, escape… but I especially appreciated the focus on libraries and the influence that one particular manuscript had on the lives and times it touched. -Becky

Only in America! : the weird and wonderful 50 states

Heather Alexander

j973 Alexander
Nonfiction, Kids

"A state-by-state compendium of weird laws, quirks, one-offs, and unusual records only to be found in the wonderfully wacky US of A. Only in America! explores the strangest claims to fame and the most unusual place names every state has to offer. Visit the city of Dinosaur, drop by the Pizza Museum, find out where it is illegal to feed a pig without a permit, and check out the world's only "carhenge" (that's right, Stonehenge reconstructed using cars)."--

This books is chock full of interesting facts for each state as well as hundreds of beautiful illustrations with bold colors. The highlight for each state for me are the lists fantastic foods, its super interesting to read about dishes unique to each state and makes me want to try them all! I also enjoy the state slang and list of books that take place in each state. -Mari

Hell of a book : or the altogether factual, Wholly Bona Fide story of a big dreams, hard luck, American-Made Mad Kid

Jason Mott

FICTION Mott Jason
Fiction

Soot, a young Black boy, lives in a rural town in the recent past. The Kid, a possibly imaginary child appears to a Black author on a cross-country publicity tour. to promote his bestselling novel. As their stories build and converge, they astonish. As the nation reckons with a tragic police shooting playing over and over again on the news, what it can mean to be Black in America? Who has been killed? Who is The Kid? Will the author finish his book tour, and what kind of world will he leave behind? -- adapted from jacket

This tightly-paced narrative follows several characters who all, ultimately, offer reflection upon some very important themes and ideas: love, trauma, the importance of stories, the danger of perceptions (our own, those placed on others), belonging, and safety...just to name a few. The book starts out simply enough, but really picks up pace and intertwines with the different characters so deftly that the reader can really get swept along. The storytelling is energetic here, and the language feels snappy and graceful at the same time. Fresh, timely, important, enjoyable. -Candice

We came, we saw, we left : a family gap year

Charles J. Wheelan

910.41 /Wheelan
Memoir, Travel

"Charlie Wheelan and his family do what others dream of: they take a year off to travel the world. This is their story. What would happen if you quit your life for a year? In a pre-COVID-19 world, the Wheelan family decided to find out; leaving behind work, school, and even the family dogs to travel the world on a modest budget. Equal parts "how-to" and "how-not-to"--and with an eye toward a world emerging from a pandemic--We Came, We Saw, We Left is the insightful and often hilarious account of one family's gap-year experiment. Wheelan paints a picture of adventure and connectivity, juggling themes of local politics, global economics, and family dynamics while exploring answers to questions like: How do you sneak out of a Peruvian town that has been barricaded by the local army? And where can you get treatment for a flesh-eating bacteria your daughter picked up two continents ago? From Colombia to Cambodia, We Came, We Saw, We Left chronicles nine months across six continents with three teenagers. What could go wrong?"--

In the middle of an Iowa winter, two years into a pandemic, during the week of Valentine's Day, what better to read than a funny, heartwarming, fascinating memoir of a middle-aged couple who spend a year traveling the world with three teenagers? Charles Wheelan brings a dry humor to his clear, concise descriptions of beautiful and surreal landscapes like the Bolivian salt flats and beaches of Zanzibar, as well as snafus like cleaning up his daughter's vomit with a bedsheet on a night train through India and getting lost in the Chilean jungle. He and his wife and their teenagers visit dozens of countries on a 9-month trip around the world with a strict, low-budget daily spending limit. Their adventures are so interesting and their experiences parenting teens so relatable you won't want this tale to end! -Anne W

Sky High

jDVD Sky

When you're the son of the world's most legendary superheroes there's only one school for you--Sky High, an elite high school that molds today's power-gifted students into tomorrow's superheroes. The problem is that Will Stronghold has no superpowers!

This might be the best superhero film of all time. It's goofy and endearing. The kids moved on to big tv shows and movies. The supporting cast is amazing with Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, Jim Rash, Tom Kenny, Kevin Heffernen, Patrick Warburton, and more. -Mykle

Upon a burning throne

Ashok Banker

SCIENCE FICTION Banker Ashok
Fantasy, Diverse Characters

"In a world where demigods and demons walk among mortals, the Emperor of the vast Burnt Empire has died, leaving a turbulent realm without an emperor. Two young princes, Adri and Shvate, are in line to rule, but birthright does not guarantee inheritance: For any successor must sit upon the legendary Burning Throne and pass The Test of Fire. Imbued with dark sorceries, the throne is a crucible--one that incinerates the unworthy. Adri and Shvate pass The Test and are declared heirs to the empire... but there is another with a claim to power, another who also survives: a girl from an outlying kingdom. When this girl, whose father is the powerful demonlord Jarsun, is denied her claim by the interim leaders, Jarsun declares war, vowing to tear the Burnt Empire apart--leaving the young princes Adri and Shvate to rule a shattered realm embroiled in rebellion and chaos..." -- Front jacket flap.

The fantasy genre has a great new addition with this epic series. Set in a world filled with Indian myth and folklore, this is an epic filled with interesting characters. A lot of interesting themes: Magic, Political/war, Relationships, etc -Mykle

The Selection

Kiera Cass, Read by Amy Rubinate

Fall in love—from the very beginning. Discover the first book in the captivating, #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series.Prepare to be swept into a world of breathless fairy-tale romance, swoonworthy characters, glittering gowns, and fierce intrigue perfect for readers who loved Divergent, Delirium, or The Wrath & the Dawn.For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape a rigid caste system, live in a palace, and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her, and competing for a crown she doesn't want.Then America meets Prince Maxon—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

This book is the first in the Selection Series, an emotional, adrenaline-filled, and somewhat indulgent book about romance and royalty. It was a fairly light-hearted listen that got me through a solo road trip to the east coast one year for the holidays. It is enthralling. -Hanna

Capone : the man and the era

Laurence Bergreen

BIOGRAPHY Capone, Al
Biographies, History

Bergreen shows the seedy and glamorous sides of the age, the rise of Prohibition, the illicit liquor trade, the battlefield that was Chicago. Delving beyond the Capone mythology. Bergreen finds a paradox: a coldblooded killer, thief, pimp, and racketeer who was also a devoted son and father; a self-styled Robin Hood who rose to the top of organized crime. Capone is a masterful portrait of an extraordinary time and of the one man who reigned supreme over it all, Al Capone.

This is a well-structured, narrative account of Al Capone's career. It's not my usual kind of book, but I picked it up while in the hospital and it got me through some bad days. The small moments about a daughter's first date are just as engrossing as the descriptions of well-known and historical shootouts between the mob and the cops in downtown Chicago. This book was a surprisingly good read. -Hanna

The lightest object in the universe

Kimi Eisele

FICTION Eisele Kimi
Dystopian

What if the end times allowed people to see and build the world anew? This is the landscape that Kimi Eisele creates in her surprising and original debut novel. Evoking the spirit of such monumental love stories as Cold Mountain and the creative vision of novels like Station Eleven, The Lightest Object in the Universe tells the story of what happens after the global economy collapses and the electrical grid goes down. In this new world, Carson, on the East Coast, is desperate to find Beatrix, a woman on the West Coast who holds his heart. Working his way along a cross-country railroad line, he encounters lost souls, clever opportunists, and those who believe they'll be saved by an evangelical preacher in the middle of the country. Meanwhile, Beatrix and her neighbors begin to construct a cooperative community that suggests the end could be, in fact, a bright beginning. Without modern means of communication, will Beatrix and Carson reach each other, and what will be left of the old world if they do? The answers may lie with a fifteen-year-old girl who could ultimately decide the fate of the cross-country lovers.

At first, this dystopian book hit uncomfortably close to home during the covid-19 pandemic. However, as the characters found hope and community after a flu pandemic and the destruction of the electric grid, it gave me hope for our real-world future. -Hanna

Solo leveling

author Chugong

MANGA Chugong Solo
Fantasy, Dystopian, Adventure

"The weakest of the weak, E-class hunter Jinwoo Sung has no money, no talent, and no prospects to speak of. And when he enters a hidden dungeon that fateful day, he ends up being left to die in the aftermath of a horrendous tragedy. At death's door, Jinwoo is suddenly invited to be a "player" by a mysterious voice. Desperate to live, Jinwoo jumps at the chance...but what is this strange new leveling system that only he can see?"--

The art is amazing and the story is good. -Mykle

Everything, everything

Nicola Yoon

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Yoon Nicola
Fiction

"The story of a teenage girl who's literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she's ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more"--

The novel is thought provoking to parents of young adults like me. It is not easy to see that line between being “adequately” protective and “over” protective. It is even harder to let go or forgive when tensions rise between loved ones. But there’s always hope with the backing of true love and empathy. -Fang

Concrete Rose

Angie Thomas

OverDrive Audiobook
Young Adult, Fiction, Black Lives Matter, Read Woke

International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood.

Dion Graham breathes life into the characters and setting of Angie Thomas's prequel to The Hate U Give. Don't miss this powerful chapter in Carter family history. -Casey

The song of Achilles

Miller, Madeline.

FICTION Miller Madeline

Added by Bond

The orphans of Davenport : eugenics, the Great Depression, and the war over children's intelligence

Marilyn Brookwood

305.231 /Brookwood
Nonfiction, History, Science

"The fascinating-and eerily timely-tale of the forgotten Depression-era psychologists who overthrew long-accepted racist and classist views of childhood development. "Doomed from birth" was how psychologist Harold Skeels described two toddler girls at the Orphans' Home in Davenport, Iowa, in 1934. Following prevailing eugenic beliefs, Skeels and his colleague Marie Skodak assumed that the girls had inherited their parents' low intelligence and sent them to an institution for the "feebleminded" to be cared for by "moron" women. To their astonishment, under the women's care, the children's IQ scores became normal. This revolutionary finding, replicated in eleven more "retarded" children, infuriated leading psychologists, all eugenicists unwilling to accept that nature and nurture work together to decide our fates. Recasting Skeels and his team as intrepid heroes, Marilyn Brookwood weaves years of prodigious archival research to show how after decades of backlash, the Iowans finally prevailed. In a dangerous time of revived white supremacy, The Orphans of Davenport is an essential account, confirmed today by neuroscience, of the power of the Iowans' scientific vision"--

It is fascinating. It is emotionally wrenching. It is an important story of how our community contributed to how we understand the human condition. -Anne M

What if it's us

Becky Albertalli

YOUNG ADULT FICTION/Albertal Becky
Diverse Characters, LGBTQ+, Young Adult

(G) Told in two voices, when Arthur, a summer intern from Georgia, and Ben, a native New Yorker, meet it seems like fate, but after three attempts at dating fail they wonder if the universe is pushing them together or apart.

Added by Alexander

Nightwing

Tom Taylor

COMIC Nightwing 2016 Taylor
Graphic Novels

"Nightwing is back-and his drive to keep Blüdhaven safe has never been stronger! But his adoptive city has elected a new mayor with the last name Zucco. When Nightwing enlists Batgirl's help in investigating the politician bearing the same name as the man who murdered his parents, she unearths details that will shock and fundamentally change the hero. Dick Grayson's big heart has protected those persecuted by bullies in his youth, combated evil alongside Batman as Robin, and pledged his newly inherited wealth to enriching Blüdhaven as Nightwing. His kindness and generosity have always guided his life. But now a new villain stalks the back alleys, removing the hearts of the city's most vulnerable. Who is this terrifying new menace named Heartless, and will he be able to resist plucking out the biggest heart in all of Blüdhaven?"--

Before reading this, I hadn't read a superhero comic in... *checks Goodreads* over a year. They, for whatever reason, didn't appeal to me during the ongoing pandemic. What it took to get me back was a writer I like writing my FAVORITE superhero. Nightwing: Leaping Into the Light by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo is exactly what I wanted: More character work than fighting and playful, energetic art. It's a perfect jumping on point if you've never read a comic about Dick Grayson. I highly recommend it. -Brian

Matrix

Lauren Groff

FICTION Groff Lauren
Historical Fiction

"Cast out of the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine, deemed too coarse and rough-hewn for marriage or courtly life, seventeen-year-old Marie de France is sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease. At first taken aback by the severity of her new life, Marie finds focus and love in collective life with her singular and mercurial sisters. In this crucible, Marie steadily supplants her desire for family, for her homeland, for the passions of her youth with something new to her: devotion to her sisters, and a conviction in her own divine visions. Marie, born the last in a long line of women warriors and crusaders, is determined to chart a bold new course for the women she now leads and protects. But in a world that is shifting and corroding in frightening ways, one that can never reconcile itself with her existence, will the sheer force of Marie's vision be bulwark enough? Equally alive to the sacred and the profane, Matrix gathers currents of violence, sensuality, and religious ecstasy in a mesmerizing portrait of consuming passion, aberrant faith, and a woman tat history moves both through and around. Lauren Groff's new novel, her first since Fates and Furies, is a defiant and timely exploration of the raw power of female creativity in a corrupted world"--

This is a really special, one-of-a-kind book. I don't usually seek out books set in a 12th century abbey, and because of this the book acted as a great reading refresher. It is also based on the life of a real woman, which I love. I always enjoy reading about secret societies or little-known places, and an abbey is fascinating from that perspective - it operates on its own plane which is hidden from most of the world. The story about Marie de France is powerful, and you get to see the character transform over a long period of time. -Heidi K

The last cuentista

Donna Barba Higuera

jFICTION Higuera Donna
Science Fiction, Diverse Characters

"A girl named Petra Pena, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again? " --

The winner of this year's Newbery Medal, awarded to the author for the most distinguished contribution to literature for children in the past year, goes to The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera! This is a wholly original book - a science fiction tale inspired by Latin American folklore! A young girl, Petra Pena, heads out on an evacuation spaceship when Earth is destroyed by a comet. But when she suddenly wakes aboard the ship to find hundreds of years have passed and she is the only one left who remembers Earth and the stories of her heritage and past, how will she use her knowledge to build the future and save her people? -Anne W

The invisible life of Addie LaRue

Victoria Schwab

SCIENCE FICTION Schwab Victoria
Fantasy

France, 1714. In a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever-- and cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Addie LaRue's life will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art. After nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore. He remembers her name-- and everything changes. How far will she go to leave her mark on the world?

In a desperate moment, Addie strikes a bargain with unintended consequences. This novel explores the value of being remembered and the impact of everyday interactions and connections. The audiobook narration is fantastic (read by Julia Whelan) and, for Iowa City Resident Card Holders, can be downloaded instantly on hoopla or borrowed through Libby. Recommended for fans of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden’s “Winternight Trilogy.” -Becky

Time to eat : delicious meals for busy lives

Nadiya Hussain

641.5 /Hussain
Nonfiction, Cookbooks

Feeding a family and juggling a full workload can be challenging. Hussain shares recipes that are both quick and easy-- and that the whole family will love. She also shares tips and tricks for creating second meals to keep in the freezer; includes ideas for repurposing leftovers; and shows how high-quality convenience foods can cut your prep time significantly. -- adapted from inside front cover

Nadiya is famous for her win on Great British Bake Off and subsequent Netflix cooking shows. I picked this new cookbook up after seeing an excerpt for her super simple "cheat" for chocolate puff pastry on Bon Appetit. This is full of basic recipe concepts that can be scaled up, amended in different directions, frozen as meal prep, or partially adapted to become prep for another recipe in the book. There is an efficiency I like about this concept though it is a bit heavy with meat options. -Jason

The huntress : a novel

Kate Quinn

FICTION Quinn Kate
Historical Fiction

Shining a light on a shadow of history, The Huntress is an epic, sweeping Second World War novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network. On the icy edge of Soviet Russia, bold and reckless Nina Markova joins the infamous Night Witches - an all-female bomber regiment - wreaking havoc on Hitler's eastern front. But when she is downed behind enemy lines and thrown across the path of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, Nina must use all her wits to survive. British war correspondent Ian Graham has witnessed the horrors of war from Omaha Beach to the Nuremburg Trials. He abandons journalism after the war to become a Nazi hunter, yet one target eludes him: the Huntress. Fierce, disciplined Ian must join forces with reckless, cocksure Nina, the only witness to escape the Huntress alive. In post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride is delighted when her long-widowed father brings home a fiancee. But Jordan grows increasingly disquieted by the soft-spoken German widow who seems to be hiding something. Delving into her new stepmother's past, Jordan slowly realizes that a Nazi killer may be hiding in plain sight.

Absolutely riveting. Full of suspense and intrigue, I could not put this book down. -Anne M

Playing the cards you're dealt

Varian Johnson

jFICTION Johnson Varian
Fiction, Read Woke

"Ten-year-old Anthony Joplin has made it to double digits! Which means he's finally old enough to play in the spades tournament every Joplin Man before him seems to have won. So while Ant's friends are stressing about fifth grade homework and girls, Ant only has one thing on his mind: how he'll measure up to his father's expectations at the card table. Then Ant's best friend gets grounded, and he's forced to find another spades partner. "

Playing the Cards You're Dealt is great for readers of all ages. Perfect for card players, fans of realistic fiction, and anyone who enjoys fabulously full characters, I can't wait to reread this one. -Casey

The ultimate meal prep cookbook : one grocery list. a week of meals. no waste

641.555 /America's
Cookbooks, Nonfiction

Meal prep no longer means filling your freezer with boring casseroles, dipping into the same pot of beans every day for a week, or spending all day Sunday cooking. Instead, use these smart meal plans to customize fast, fresh dinners that fit your ever-changing schedule. We've done the work of building 25 weekly plans that minimize shopping and kitchen time and guide you through prep-ahead options, make-ahead options, and ingredient substitutions. So now you can reap the benefits to make your life easier, your grocery bill lower, and your dinners better.

Meal-prepping is a grand idea in theory, but when do you have the time to meal-prep? My weekends are always filled with chores and entertaining the kiddo and puppy (the cats are self-sufficient, lol). I tried checking this book out anyway, and I'm happy I did. I found a 5-ingredient black bean soup with zero chopping required. 10-minute meal prep? Sign me up! The soup was very good to boot, so now I've got my lunches ready all week. Gotta love soup season! -Melody

Watercress

Andrea Wang

jE Wang
Kids, Picture Books

Embarrassed about gathering watercress from a roadside ditch, a girl learns to appreciate her Chinese heritage after learning why the plant is so important to her parents.

Beautifully illustrated and wonderful, powerful writing makes this a very touching picture book to share. 2022 winner of the Caldecott Medal. -Angie

Rabbit & Bear. Attack of the snack

Julian Gough

jFICTION Gough Julian
Early Chapter Books, Kids, Humor

When Rabbit and Bear's swim is disturbed by a small owl, Bear is interested in learning more but Rabbit relates horror stories and wants to imprison the sleeping bird.

Rabbit and Bear books are great for beginning readers; the simple stories, laugh out loud humor and great illustrations mean that they are the perfect transition from picture books to chapter books. Plus they are a great and fun read aloud to younger kids. Look for the other four books in this hilarious series! -Angie

The Year of Magical Thinking

Joan Didion

OverDrive eBook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • From one of America’s iconic writers, a stunning book of electric honesty and passion that explores an intensely personal yet universal experience: a portrait of a marriage—and a life, in good times and bad—that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child. Several days before Christmas 2003, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion saw their only daughter, Quintana, fall ill with what seemed at first flu, then pneumonia, then complete septic shock. She was put into an induced coma and placed on life support. Days later—the night before New Year’s Eve—the Dunnes were just sitting down to dinner after visiting the hospital when John Gregory Dunne suffered a massive and fatal coronary. In a second, this close, symbiotic partnership of forty years was over. Four weeks later, their daughter pulled through. Two months after that, arriving at LAX, she collapsed and underwent six hours of brain surgery at UCLA Medical Center to relieve a massive hematoma. This powerful book is Didion’ s attempt to make sense of the “weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I ever had about death, about illness ... about marriage and children and memory ... about the shallowness of sanity, about life itself.

Although not like the other prolific fictional works of Didion, this book examines the timeline of grief after we lose someone close in an interesting and solitary way. While some references to her ritzy lifestyle were lost on me, I appreciated many merits of this one. -Victoria

The world played chess : a novel

Robert Dugoni

FICTION Dugoni Robert
Fiction

"In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his final summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer--Vincent's last taste of innocence and first taste of real life--dramatically unfold in a novel about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one's own destiny"--

The World Played Chess is is a hauntingly beautiful story of growing from boy to man. Well written and a moving story line makes this a great read. -Angie

Nobody

DVD MOVIE ACTION Nobody
Action

Hutch Mansell is an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life's indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody. When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake, is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca, seems to pull only further away. The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch's long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary, and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.

Have you ever wanted to see Bob Odenkirk beat the living daylights out of someone? How about see Christopher Lloyd with a sawed-off shotgun? Then do I have a movie for you! I was completely surprised by this fun and violent movie. Warning: if you're squeamish, like me, then there will be a lot of cringing and covering your face. -Brian

No One Goes Alone: A Novel

Erik Larson

OverDrive Audiobook
Suspense, Fiction, Historical Fiction

A group of researchers sets sail for the Isle of Dorn in the North Atlantic in 1905 to explore the cause of several mysterious disappearances, most notably a family of four who vanished without a trace after a week-long holiday on the island. Led by Professor James, a prominent member of the Society for Psychical Research, they begin to explore the island’s sole cottage and surrounding landscape in search of a logical explanation. The idyllic setting belies an undercurrent of danger and treachery, with raging storms and unnerving discoveries adding to the sense of menace. As increasingly unexplainable events unfold, the now-stranded investigators are unsure whether they can trust their own eyes, their instincts, one another—or even themselves. Erik Larson has written a terrifying tale of suspense, underpinned with actual people and events. Created specifically to entertain audio listeners, this eerie blend of the ghostly and the real will keep listeners captivated till the blood-chilling end.

Need a good story for a dark winter's night? Here is one. Erik Larson's latest, only available in audiobook is worth the listen. The premise is familiar, a group of individuals stay at an old manor in an isolated place. Strange events occur, suspicions arise, and everyone is afraid. However, this group of individuals expected came here for exactly this purpose. They are a group of 19th century scientists, experts, and scholars there to prove--or more likely disprove--that the house is haunted. But can they? I love Erik Larson's histories. All of his skills as a writer: ability to tell a story, have you deeply care about the individual's involved, and keep you rapt as the events unfold, translated easily to fiction. -Anne M

Wishes

Muon Van

jE Van
Picture Books

"In this spare, poetic picture book based on author Muon Van's family history and told through a series of wishes, a family packs up everything they own and embarks on a perilous oceanic voyage toward a better life"--

This is a simple but absolutely stunning little story about leaving your motherland and hoping for a brighter future. The text, though sparse soundly resonates and aligns perfectly with the richly detailed and beautiful illustrations. -Victoria

The dictionary of obscure sorrows

John Koenig

428.1 /Koenig

Poetically defining emotions we all feel but don't have the words to express, the creator of the popular online project of the same name invites readers on his epic quest to fill the gaps in the language of emotion.

Way back before being swamped with work and life, I loved getting emails from sites that would teach me a new word each day. This books takes that curiosity for language to new heights. After all, words enter language when enough members of a group recognize its meaning as true. What is the meaning of "jouska?" According to The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, it means "a hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head." And to be "looseleft" is to have that "sense of loss upon finishing a good book." But you know the great thing about creative reference books like this one? Once finished, you can always open a random page and savor a definition again. Truly enjoyable! -Melody

Without you, there is no us : my time with the sons of North Korea's elite

Suki Kim

951.93 /Kim
Memoir

It is 2011, and all universities in North Korea have been shut down for an entire year, the students sent to construction fields-- except for the 270 students at the all-male Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), a walled compound where portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il look on impassively from the walls of every room. Suki Kim offers a moving and incalculably rare glimpse of life in the world's most unknowable country, and at the privileged young men she calls "soldiers and slaves."

With her personal experience and empathetic analysis, the author presented one of the few factual narratives about the elite descendants from North Korea’s ruling class, about how did they shape and carry that kind of collectivist culture from the dictatorship of Kim’s reign. -Fang

Bella figura : how to live, love, and eat the Italian way

Kamin Mohammadi

914.5 /Mohammadi
Travel

"One woman's story of finding beauty, and herself--and a practical guide to living a better life, the Italian way"--

From a female perspective, the author took me to a fairly relaxed tour around Italy between the lines, which is a good alternative with all the pandemic limitations. I really like the way how she enjoyed herself with different lifestyles. -Fang

Dracula

Stoker, Bram, 1847-1912.

FICTION Stoker, Bram

Bram Stoker's peerless tale of desperate battle against a powerful, ancient vampire When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries in his client's castle. Soon afterwards, disturbing incidents unfold in England: a ship runs aground on the shores of Whitby, its crew vanished; beautiful Lucy Westenra slowly succumbs to a mysterious, wasting illness, her blood drained away; and the lunatic Renfield raves about the imminent arrival of his 'master'. In the ensuing battle of wills between the sinister Count and a determined group of adversaries - led by the intrepid vampire hunter Abraham van Helsing - Bram Stoker created a masterpiece of the horror genre, probing into questions of identity, sanity and the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire. For this completely updated edition, Maurice Hindle has revised his introduction, list of further reading and notes, and added two appendices: Stoker's essay on censorship and his interview with Winston Churchill, both published in 1908. Christopher Frayling's preface discusses the significance and the influences that contributed to his creation of the Dracula myth. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Added by Alexander

Truly Devious

Johnson, Maureen, 1973- author.

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Johnson Maureen

When Stevie Bell, an amateur detective, begins her first year at a famous private school in Vermont, she sets a plan to solve the cold case involving the kidnapping of the founder's wife and daughter shortly after the school opened.

Truly Devious is book one of the four part series, including The Vanishing Stair, The Hand on the Wall, and The Box in the Woods. -Beth

Wicked : the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Maguire, Gregory.

SCIENCE FICTION Maguire, Gregory

The novel is a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil and takes place in the Land of Oz, in the years leading to Dorothy's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba, the misunderstood green-skinned girl who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West. Maguire fashioned the name of Elphaba from the initials of Lyman Frank Baum, L-F-B. The story is divided into five different sections, based on the plot location. A prologue presents Elphaba spying on Dorothy and her friends, and hearing their gossip about her. It also shows how Elphaba wants the shoes that Dorothy is wearing.

Added by Beth

Piece by piece

Susan Tan

jE Tan
Picture Books

A child who loves visiting museums with her grandmother is sad when Nainai returns to China, but her father takes her to see something special where signs of Nainai are in every corner. Includes facts about the Peabody Essex Museum's Yu Yu Tang exhibit.

I visited the Peabody Essex Museum together with my close family and my extended family. That was a wonderful memory as precious as Nainai’s blanket. Strongly recommend this beautiful picture book that is well mixed with separation and togetherness, feelings and facts. -Fang

Seven Days in June

Tia Williams

FICTION/Williams, Tia
Romance

Brooklynite Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer, who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning literary author who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their past buried traumas, but the eyebrows of New York's Black literati. What no one knows is that twenty years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. They may be pretending that everything is fine now, but they can't deny their chemistry-or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books ever since. Over the next seven days in the middle of a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect, but Eva's not sure how she can trust the man who broke her heart, and she needs to get him out of New York so that her life can return to normal. But before Shane disappears again, there are a few questions she needs answered. . . With its keen observations of Black life and the condition of modern motherhood, as well as the consequences of motherless-ness, Seven Days in June is by turns humorous, warm and deeply sensual

I love this book because it provides plenty of FUN and SUBSTANCE. These two things should come together more often in fiction, but usually don't. -Heidi K

Once upon a chef : weeknight/weekend : 70 quick-fix weeknight dinners + 30 luscious weekend recipes

Jennifer Segal

641.5 /Segal
Cookbooks

"100 dependable recipes including no-fuss weeknight dinners plus leisurely weekend meals to look forward to, from the bestselling author of Once Upon a Chef. Years before she started her popular Once Upon a Chef blog, back when she became a new mom, Jennifer Segal kept a recipe binder divided into two sections: Weeknight and Weekend. This is how she thought about what to cook for dinner, and, fifteen years later, it still is. In this versatile collection, you'll find seventy recipes for fast and easy weeknight meals, like Sesame-Ginger Meatballs and Pecorino-Crusted Chicken with Rosemary, and thirty recipes for slow, soothing weekend cooking, whether that's company-friendly Sear-Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream Sauce or lazy Sunday morning Popovers with Salted Maple Butter. You'll also find Jenn's favorite desserts, like Cherry Ricotta Cake and Triple Chocolate Cheesecake, that are easy enough for the weeknight rush and luscious enough for weekend rest and celebration. Featuring seventy all-new dishes plus thirty fan favorites from her popular blog, Once Upon a Chef, each recipe is tested and retested multiple times in Jenn's home kitchen to ensure they are reliable, delicious, and sure to please every night of the week"--

I am always looking for new recipes that I can make in the short amount of time I have between work and sleep. I want them to be fast, good, and easy. This book fit the bill. From creamy dijon chicken to baked ziti to leek and butternut squash soup, I've enjoyed every recipe that I have made in the book. Plus, there is always leftovers, which helps too. -Anne M

Goldenrod : poems

Maggie Smith

811.6 /Smith
Poetry

"With her breakout bestseller Keep Moving, Maggie Smith captured the nation with her "meditations on kindness and hope" (NPR). Now, with Goldenrod, the award-winning poet returns with a powerful collection of poems that look at parenthood, solitude, love, and memory. Pulling objects from everyday life--a hallway mirror, a rock found in her son's pocket, a field of goldenrods at the side of the road--she reveals the magic of the present moment. Only Maggie Smith could turn an autocorrect mistake into a line of poetry, musing that her phone "doesn't observe / the high holidays, autocorrecting / shana tova to shaman tobacco, / Rosh Hashanah to rose has hands" -- Amazon.

This has been a difficult year for all of us. With that in mind, I related to many beautiful lines in the poems of Goldenrod. Smith has a way of expressing doubt and misgivings, an unsureness when one is grappling with grief or fear. -Anne M

Small things like these

Claire Keegan

FICTION/Keegan, Claire
Literary Fiction, Fiction

"It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. Already a bestseller in France and certain to be read worldwide for generations to come, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers"--

This is a December book. Bill Furlong, who has an ordinary and content existance, delivers an order of coal to a local convent that houses young and unwed mothers. That one ordinary, simple order sets him on a path of rethinking who he is, what his life means, and the importance of empathy and compassion for others. It is a small, but mighty book. -Anne M

Eyes that kiss in the corners

Joanna Ho

jE Ho

"A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers'. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother's, her grandmother's, and her little sister's. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future. Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self love and empowerment. This powerful, poetic picture book will resonate with readers of all ages and is a celebration of diversity."--Provided by publisher.

The eyes that kiss in the corners deliver exotic stories and the same kind of true love from generation to generation. This beautiful book with its vibrant illustrations and lyrical prose is a gorgeous celebration of self-love and family heritage. You will definitely be fascinated by those mysterious stories hidden behind Amah's (the grandma's) eyes that kiss in the corners. -Fang

Marshmallow & Jordan

Alina Chau

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Chau
Graphic Novels

"Jordan's days as the star player for her school's basketball team ended when an accident left her paralyzed...Now, she's still the team captain, but her competition days seem to be behind her...until an encounter with a mysterious elephant, who she names Marshmallow, helps Jordan discover a brand new sport. Will water polo be the way for Jordan to continue her athletic dreams--or will it just come between Jordan and her best friends on the basketball team?"--

I was instantly drawn to this graphic novel when I saw it on the bookmobile shelf. The illustrations are bright, bold and beautiful and the characters are loveable immediately. I love how strong the protagonist is and that the reader learns about Hindu and Indonesian culture, as well as some exciting sports moments. Plus the elephant Marshmallow is SO CUTE. -Mari

Off to see the sea

Nikki Grimes

jE Grimes
Picture Books

"The faucet flows like a waterfall, the bathroom floor is a distant shore, toy boats sail against the waves. An imagination-fueled adventure on the high seas is just what it takes to get little one clean."--Provided by publisher.

Nikki Grimes' picture book with beautiful, vivid illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon brings bath time to life bringing the ocean to us in a tub. A great pick for bedtime or something to read before coaxing a little one into the bath. -Anne M

The Beatryce Prophecy

Kate DiCamillo

jFICTION DiCamillo, Kate
Adventure, Early Chapter Books

"We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong. We shall all, in the end, find our way home. In a time of war, a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Gentle Brother Edik finds the girl, Beatryce, curled in a stall, wracked with fever, coated in dirt and blood, and holding fast to the ear of Answelica the goat. As the monk nurses Beatryce to health, he uncovers her dangerous secret, one that imperils them all--for the king of the land seeks just such a girl, and Brother Edik, who penned the prophecy himself, knows why. And so it is that a girl with a head full of stories--powerful tales-within-the-tale of queens and kings, mermaids and wolves--ventures into a dark wood in search of the castle of one who wishes her dead. But Beatryce knows that, should she lose her way, those who love her--a wild-eyed monk, a man who had once been king, a boy with a terrible sword, and a goat with a head as hard as stone--will never give up searching for her, and to know this is to know everything. With its timeless themes, unforgettable cast, and magical medieval setting, Kate DiCamillo's lyrical tale, paired with resonant black-and-white illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall, is a true collaboration between masters"--

Kate DiCamillo's work is always magical and this book is no exception. Set in a somewhat Medieval time period, Beatryce, our protagonist wakes up with no memory sleeping on a bed of straw holding the ear of a goat. Slowly, things get revealed to her: she can read, she can write, her name is Beatryce. She finds a band of friends (always slightly a misfit band of friends, the goat for one), and as her memory returns, she goes to try and find her mother. If you have a child who loves adventure, here's their book. Sophie Blackwell's illustrations are beautiful. This is a chapter book, but it is also a good one to read aloud. -Anne M

Bright star

Yuyi Morales

jE Morales
Picture Books

"A nurturing voice reassures the lonely and afraid in difficult times"--

This is a breathtakingly beautiful read and Morales reigns supreme in matching powerful text with absolutely gorgeous illustrations you'll want to fawn over again and again! -Victoria

The Lincoln highway

Amor Towles

FICTION Towles Amor
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Fiction

"The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett's intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden's car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett's future, one that will take them all on a fateful journey in the opposite direction-to the City of New York. Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles's third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes"--

I very much enjoyed Towles latest novel. He is a talented writer and I think this book is Towles at his best. If you enjoy adventure novels, different perspectives, and a narrative that builds upon itself, I highly recommend this book. The audiobook is very well done. Towles has essentially written an American Odyssey; the read would make a great companion for any travel. -Anne M

The rice in the pot goes round and round

Wendy Wan Long Shang

jE Shang

Presents a song set to the tune of "The wheels on the bus," where a multigenerational family enjoys a culturally rich meal.

Sing along with this delicious picture book as your family gathers round during the hilarious holiday season! Food and songs, laughter and love, the forever theme of holidays all over the world! -Fang

My shadow is pink

Scott Stuart

jE/Stuart
Kids, Diverse Characters, LGBTQ+

Inspired by the author's own little boy, 'Shadow's' main character likes princesses, fairies and things 'not for boys'... he soon learns (through the support of his dad) that everyone has a shadow that they sometimes feel they need to hide. This is an important book for a new generation of children (and adults alike) which exemplifies the concepts of unconditional love, respect and positive parenting.

Added by Alexander

The last garden in England

Julia Kelly

FICTION Kelly Julia
Historical Fiction, Fiction

Present day: Emma Lovett has dedicated her career to breathing new life into long-neglected gardens. Given the chance to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House estate, designed in 1907 by her hero Venetia Smith, she begins to uncover secrets that have long lain hidden. 1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her ambitious work, Venetia Smith is determined to make the gardens of Highbury House a triumph; but the gardens-- and the people she meets-- promise to change her life forever. 1944: Land girl Beth Pedley arrives at a farm on the outskirts of the village of Highbury wanting to find a place she can call home. Cook Stella Adderton is desperate to leave Highbury House to pursue her own dreams. And widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the grand house, is anxiously trying to cling to her pre-war life now that her home has been requisitioned and transformed into a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. -- adapted from jacket

I love books where the main character has to research and engage with history in some way and discovers something about the past and themselves along the way. The Last Garden in England fits this bill. Emma, our heroine, is commissioned to restore the gardens of Highbury House to their former glory. In her research, she uncovers the original creation of the gardens in 1907 and the changes that occurred during World War II. We the reader get to take a deep dive with interweaving narratives from those times. And there are secrets to uncover. If you are a fan of Tracey Chevalier (The Girl with the Pearl Earring) or Jennifer Robson (The Gown), this novel will interest you too. -Anne M

Dumplings for Lili

Melissa Iwai

jE Iwai

Lili loves to cook little dumplings called baos with her grandmother, but when cabbage is needed, Lili races up and down the stairs of her grandmother's apartment building to find the ingredient and help the other grandmothers borrow ingredients for different dumplings, from Jamaican meat patties and Italian ravioli to Lebanese fatayer and more.

Another joyful picture book about sharing food, friendship and world culture. Very interesting people, very inclusive neighborhood, and what’s more attractive, very delicious dumplings from different countries! I can’t wait to try them all! -Fang

Cloud cuckoo land : a novel

Anthony Doerr

FICTION Doerr Anthony
Literary Fiction, Fiction

Constantinople, 1453: Anna lives in a convent where women toil all day embroidering the robes of priests. She learns the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to the paradise of Cloud Cuckoo Land, a better world, and reads it to her sister as the walls of Constantinople are bombarded by armies of Saracens. Lakeport, Idaho, 2020: Seymour, an activist bent on saving the earth, sits in the public library with two homemade bombs in pressure cookers. Upstairs, eighty-five-year old Zeno, a former prisoner-of-war, and an amateur translator, rehearses five children in a play adaptation of Aethon's adventures. The future: On an interstellar ark called The Argos, Konstance, alone in a vault with access to all the information in the world, knows Aethon's story through her father, who has sequestered her to protect her. All are dreamers, misfits on the cusp of adulthood in a world the grown-ups have broken. -- adapted from publisher info

If you read “All the Light We Cannot See,” Anthony Doerr’s 2014 novel about two young people living in war-torn Europe, you know it was phenomenal. This is the much-anticipated next novel. It was worth the wait. This novel spans places and time. It has an interweaving narrative from characters living during the collapse of the Byzantine Empire to 20th century Idaho to sometime in the non-distinct future. What anchors them and puts them together is a book and libraries. It is specifically about a lost book (lost multiple times in history), the aforementioned “Cloud Cuckoo Land” and found again by the characters and what this Greek comedy meant to each person. I can’t recommend it enough. -Anne M

We keep the dead close : a murder at Harvard and a half century of silence

Becky Cooper

364.1523 /Cooper
True Crime

"1969: the height of counterculture; the year Harvard would begin the tumultuous process of merging with sister school Radcliffe; and the year that Jane Britton, an ambitious graduate student in Harvard's Anthrlopology department, would be found bludgeoned to death in her apartment. Forty years later, Becky Cooper, a curious undergrad, will first hear whispers of the story: The dead was nameless. A student had an affair with her professor, and he murdered her in the Peabody Museum. Though this rumor would prove false, it started and investigation that would consume Cooper's life for the next ten years. WE KEEP THE DEAD CLOSE is a narrative of mirrors, misogyny, and murder. It is at once a rumination on the violence and oppression that rules our revered institutions, a ghost story reflecting one young woman's past onto another's present, and a love story for a girl who was lost to history"--Dust jacket flap.

Fascinating. The rumors of a death some 40 years previous instigate a journey of research, sifting through stories, facing and naming some hard-learned truths, and personal reckoning for the author. -Candice

Witches of Brooklyn

Sophie Escabasse

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Escabasse Witches
Graphic Novels

"Effie moves to Brooklyn to live with her strange aunt and soon discovers that she might be a witch"--

I am beyond obsessed with these aunts! I love the illustration style and the story moves really quickly, just picked up the sequel "What the Hex?!" and can't wait to dive in! -Mari

The dinosaur awards

Barbara Taylor

j567.9 Taylor
Kids, Nonfiction, Humor

Welcome to the Dinosaur Awards. Fifty fabulous dinosaurs are practicing their acceptance speeches. They're in the running for prizes that celebrate their most award-worth qualities and skills (some will surprise you). Who will win the fuzzy and furious award? Who will win the terrifying toes award? And who will take home the loudest trumpeter award? Who will be crowned the Lizard King? Readers can learn all about the dinosaurs' features, diet and habits as well as discover what makes each one so prize-worthy - and there are 10 comic strips to enjoy, too. With easy-to-understand, humorous text by Barbara Taylor and joyful illustrations from cartoonist Stephen Collins, this is the perfect book for dinosaur-loving kids everywhere. There are pronunciation guides, time periods, and vital statistics for each dinosaur, as well as an index to peruse.

A mixture of clever/hilarious text, adorable and colorful illustrations and as always amazing dinosaur trivia, this book is great one to enjoy during Dinovember! I enjoyed many of the award categories such as "Mom-of-the-Era," "Absolutely Crushing It," the "Scissorhands" award and "King of Rock and Roll." The book is delightfully sprinkled with comic strips, infographics, and tons of little quotes and details to keep you engaged all the way through. -Mari

Himawari House

Harmony Becker

GRAPHIC NOVEL Becker
Graphic Novels, Read Woke

"When Nao returns to Tokyo to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, she books a yearlong stay at the Himawari sharehouse. There she meets Hyejung and Tina, two other girls who came to Japan to freely forge their own paths."--Provided by publisher.

Incredible design, a wide breadth of illustration styles, strong female friendships, humor, and polyglots adjusting to life abroad. Himawari House is a delectable slice of life through and through! -Casey

The unofficial Simpsons cookbook : from Krusty burgers to Marge's pretzels, famous recipes from your favorite cartoon family

Laurel Randolph

641.5973 /Randolph
Cookbooks

"Everyone knows and loves The Simpsons. Now you can make the food you've seen in the show for thirty-one seasons right in the comfort of your own home faster than you can say, "Mmm...Donuts." Over the years, Simpsons episodes have featured, and sometimes revolved, around countless food items. Thanks to Homer Simpson's unending appetite and a writers' room full of food lovers, the show has a long list of truly iconic dishes. From Chief Wiggum's Chili to the Flaming Moe (a.k.a. Flaming Homer) to Super Squishees to Krusty Burgers, you'll find all those recipes and more in The Unofficial Simpsons Cookbook. Featuring 70 recipes that include many of the most classic Simpsons dishes, this cookbook includes easy-to-follow instructions for chefs of all ages and levels. Finally, you can make all your favorite meals straight from Marge's kitchen in no time!"--

I enjoyed looking through this book for the amazing pictures alone, plus the recipes are hilarious. My favorite recipe to try someday is the Nacho Man Nacho hat! I frequent this author's Instagram account, The Joy of Cooking Milhouse, on the regular. -Mari

The legend of auntie Po

Shing Yin Khor

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Khor
Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction

"Aware of the racial tumult in the years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Mei tries to remain blissfully focused on her job, her close friendship with the camp foreman's daughter, and telling stories about Paul Bunyan--reinvented as Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch"--

I loved the story, the characters, the illustration style and the historical context. -Mari

Northern spy

Flynn Berry

FICTION Berry Flynn
Fiction

"A producer at the Belfast bureau of the BBC, Tessa is at work one day when the news of another raid comes on the air. The IRA may have gone underground after the Good Friday agreement, but they never really went away, and lately, bomb threats, arms drops, and helicopters floating ominously over the city have become features of everyday life. As the anchor requests the public's help in locating those responsible for this latest raid - a robbery at a gas station - Tessa's sister appears on the screen. Tessa watches in shock as Marian pulls a black mask over her face. The police believe Marian has joined the IRA, but Tessa knows this is impossible. They were raised to oppose Republicanism, and the violence enacted in its name. They've attended peace vigils together. And besides, Marian is vacationing by the sea. Tessa just spoke to her yesterday. When the truth of what has happened to Marian reveals itself, Tessa will be forced to choose: between her ideals and her family, between bystanderism and action. Walking an increasingly perilous road, she fears nothing more than endangering the one person she loves more fiercely than her sister: her infant son."--Provided by publisher.

It was very difficult to stop reading this until I finished. The Troubles in Ireland is such a complicated topic, I found the narrative set within to be very interesting. Plus, there are a lot of surprises. -Mari

Seek you : a journey through American loneliness

Kristen Radtke

155.92 Radtke
Science, Graphic Novels, Memoir

"When Kristen Radtke was in her twenties, she learned that, as her father was growing up, he would crawl onto his roof in rural Wisconsin and send signals out on his ham radio. Those CQ calls were his attempt to reach somebody--anybody--who would respond. In Seek You, Radtke uses this image as her jumping off point into a piercing exploration of loneliness and the ways in which we attempt to feel closer to one another. She looks at the very real current crisis of loneliness through the lenses of gender, violence, technology, and art. Ranging from the invention of the laugh-track to Instagram to Harry Harlow's experiments in which infant monkeys were given inanimate surrogate mothers, Radtke uncovers all she can about how we engage with friends, family, and strangers alike, and what happens--to us and to them--when we disengage."--

A great mixture of autobiographical and social science examination. I loved this unique graphic format and felt very relevant in the pandemic world with more isolation. -Mari

Elf

DVD MOVIE COMEDY Elf

A human that thinks he's an elf goes to New York to meet his biological father then saves Xmas.

Great performances by James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, and Will Ferrell. -Mykle