Staff Picks

Geekerella

by Ashley Poston

Elle loves the show Starfield. It was her favorite thing to watch with her late father, who was also the founder of Excelsi Con. When she sees an add for a cosplay contest she has to win. Between the money she saved working at the Pumpkin Food Truck, and the money she could win at the contest, she’d finally be able to get away from her evil stepmother and her daughters. Darien plays Carmindor in the new Strafield movie. Many people think that he does not fit as the character, while others just see him as a heartthrob. When Elle and Darien meet at the Con, will it be love at first sight? Will they be able to save each other and live happily ever after?

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Now Entering Addamsville

by Francesca Zappia

Zora is special, just like her mom was before she disappeared. She can see ghosts. She is also being accused of setting a fire that killed the local school janitor. With evidence piling up against her, she starts the search for the real killer. She finds out that her town has a history of tragic fires and the arsonist was never caught. She teams up with her cousin Artemis, only to have their efforts blocked by a popular ghost hunting show that is filming in their town. Will Zora and Artemis be able to solve the mystery? Or are they doomed to become ghosts themselves?

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Young Adult Fiction

Morning Sun in Wuhan

by Ying Chang Compestine

Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine describes thirteen-year-old Mei’s experience as the Coronavirus pandemic starts in China in January 2020. Her mother just passed away, unrelated to COVID-19, and her father is already very busy as the director of Yangtze Hospital’s respiratory care department, so the virus outbreak means he’s even less available to Mei. Working through her grief she starts out feeling pretty lost, but she figures out a way to help her community, and even makes some unlikely friends. Her passion is cooking, so recipes and kitchen tips are sprinkled throughout the story. This book leaves readers hungry and hopeful that working together is not only possible, but also prosperous.

Recommended by: Erin Cady, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Everything You Need to Ace American History in One Big Fat Notebook

by Lily Rothman

Posted in: Young Adult Nonfiction

Miles Lewis, King of the Ice

by Kelly Starling Lyons

Great new series for beginning readers featuring large font and pictures throughout the book. In this book, the reader is introduced to how skating relates to physics, relationships with family and friends and how to resolve issues. It is also a perfect Segway to Black History month as the author refers to the first black hockey player in the NHL. At the end of the book, I really enjoyed how the author gives a sneak peak of the next book in the series.

Recommended by: Lenore Garoufalis, Youth Services Assistant

The Kind Worth Saving

by Peter Swanson

Some of the same characters that were in The Kind Worth Killing are in this book as well as references to events in that book, but it is not necessary to read it first. This book can stand alone with its page turning action. Joan has always seemed a little off to Henry Kimball even when he was a first-year teacher and she was in his Honors English class. Now many years later when she hires him to discover if her husband is having an affair, he feels uneasy taking the case. As his investigation continues, Kimball finds troubling incidences in Joan’s past. In alternating chapters using the voice of Kimball, Joan, Richard, and Lilly the past and present collide in an explosive ending.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Adult Fiction

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me

by William Landay

Phil has writer’s block. He meets up with an old friend and decides to write about the disappearance forty years ago of the man’s mother, Jane. Jane disappeared one day without a trace. No body was found. The three siblings did not know if she was dead, possibly killed by their father, or had just run away. An investigation took place, but no evidence was discovered to solve the mysterious disappearance. The sister and two brothers had their lives totally affected by that one event as is told in chapters that reflect their point of view. Twenty years later her body is found. The discovery of the body brought the guilt or innocence of their father to a head. Still, who killed Jane remained a mystery until the final pages.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Adult Fiction

The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their own Soccer Field

by Scott Riley

Young Prasit Hemmin and his friends loved soccer but because their small island home of Koh Panyee, off the coast in Thailand had so little land there was no room for even a small field. The boys played on sandbars at low tide, but as soon as the tide came in, the game was over. Set in 1986, this inspiring true story of determination and teamwork tells of Prasit and his friends’ wild plan to use scrap lumber to build a floating soccer field.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Youth Nonfiction

The Elephants Come Home: A True Story of Seven Elephants, Two People, and One Extraordinary Friendship

by Kim Tomsic

This touching true story portrays conservationist Lawrence Anthony’s relationship with a frightened, hunted elephant herd that found a home at his reserve in South Africa, Thula Thula. Anthony and his wife, Françoise, had a no-hunting rule at Thula Thula, but still the uneasy rescued elephants broke out of their enclosure. When they came back, a gentle Anthony carefully reassured the animals that they were safe, and they came to love their new home and him.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Youth Nonfiction

Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book

by Keila Dawson

In the late 1930s when segregation was legal and Black Americans couldn’t visit every establishment or travel everywhere they wanted to safely, a New Yorker named Victor Hugo Green decided to do something about it. Green wrote and published a guide that listed places where his fellow Black Americans could be safe in New York City. Soon customers started asking Green to make a guide to help them travel and vacation safely across the nation too.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Youth Biographies