Staff Picks
February 2023
We Are Wolves
by Katrina Nannestad
Liesl, Otto and Mia are siblings living in Germany in 1944 with their mother, father and grandparents. The war affects them only in small ways until their father is forced to join the army and then they are told to leave their home as the Russian army is coming. They struggle to survive but one by one they get separated from their group. Fortunately, there are good people everywhere and the three children use all their wits just to survive.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
All Eyes on Her
by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
A boy and a girl go into the woods…. only the girl comes out alive. Some say that she pushed him off of a cliff. Others think it was he accidently slipped and fell. This is the story of the events that led up to that fateful night, and what happened after, told by her sister, her best friend, her enemy and more. Everyone has their own opinion on the mystery. It’s time for you to figure out your own.
Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
1000 Hours Outside: Activities to Match Screen Time with Green Time
by Ginny Yurich
The perfect book to help you and your children get outside more this year. Challenge yourselves to see how many hours you spend outside each month. Can you reach 1000 in a year? Even if you don’t hit that high of a number, you still win! This book is full of ideas to help get you started with the challenge. There are ideas for all ages and abilities including building bug hotels, forest games, painting with nature and more. Pick it up today and start enjoying outside.
Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian
Posted in: Adult Nonfiction
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling
by Wai Chim
All Anna wants is to live a life of a normal teenager, but her life is anything but normal. Being a teenager in a prestigious school is already hard since they have high expectations on their students but Anna shoulders so much more than what her teachers and advisors think. If only her parents could be present in her life, things would be easier to handle, but her mother lives confined to her bed and mental demons, and her Baba works long hours at the family restaurant they own. The reality is that she knows her Baba doesn’t want to come on Mama’s bad days but will she be able to continue being the pillar holding her family together or will she crumble under all the pressure?
This book is available in the library and on Hoopla as an e audiobook.
Recommended by: Ayla Franco, Youth Services Assistant
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
Honestly Elliott
by Gillian McDunn
Elliott is having a rough year. His best friend moved away, his parents got divorced, he’s having trouble transitioning to middle school AND his ADHD is hard for him to keep under control. When his ‘friends’ don’t want him to join their group for a school project, Elliott is feeling pretty low. Luckily one of the smartest girls in his class, Maribel, is willing to work with him on the project. As Elliott and Maribel learn more about each other, Elliott’s year begins to get better.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Killing Code
by Ellie Marney
Kit Sutherland is a codebreaker working in Arlington Hall with other women to decipher the secret messages of the enemy during WW II. She, however, has her own secret. She also finds herself working with three other codebreakers to discover the killer who is targeting young women working for the government. A well- researched murder mystery that also incorporates inequality across class, race, and sexuality.
Submitted by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
Winterborne Home for Vengeance & Valor
by Ally Carter
This action packed book caught my attention right away! The story revolves around five orphans who are brought to live at the Winterborne home. Little do they know, they will become immersed in a mystery of a missing family heir. Great read aloud for middle school. It has you thinking and guessing the whole way through!
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and eaudiobook
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Poet X
by Elizabeth Acevedo
The path of adolescence for Xiomara Bastista is a roller coaster full of questions, doubts, and emotional up-and-downs. She is a first generation Dominican-American Afro-Latina who is trying to figure out life as she navigates her place in society. This poignant coming of age novel-in-verse mirrors the reality that many young girls experience in regards to self-awareness, self-esteem, and relationships. Set in the urban setting of Harlem life, Xiomara discovers the power of writing, poetry and spoken word.
Alicia Acevedo is a National Poetry Slam Champion and The Poet X became the winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award, among other prestigious awards. Highly recommending the audiobook version, narrated by the author herself.
This book is available in the library, on Hoopla as an ebook, OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and eaudiobook and in Playaway format.
Recommended by: Fanny Camargo, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
January 2023
Wondercat Kyuu-chan
by Sasami Nitori
Hinata is just young salary worker in Japan whose only responsibility is to take care of himself and go to work. His day-to-day life is dreary and quite lonely until he rescues a kitty of whom he names Kyuu-chan! But Kyuu-chan isn’t your ordinary house cat, oh no sir, this little white cat has human tendencies and has many little talents. Every day little Kyuu-chan helps Hinata find happiness in life’s simple pleasures and sprinkles his lonesome life with color and wonder.
Recommended by: Ayla Franco, Youth Services Assistant
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
Hilde on the Record: Memoir of a Kid Crime Reporter
by Hilde Lysiak
When she was 4 years old Lysiak managed to go with her journalist father to the scene of a murder. That was when she knew journalism was for her. The family moved to Pennsylvania and she started her own neighborhood newspaper. When she was 9 years old she covered a murder and it went viral for getting the information out before any traditional news sources. There were a variety of reactions to that as people spoke from their perspectives as to whether she should be covering murder at her age. By 14, she had published a book series, Hilde Cracks the Case, and she was the inspiration for the TV series, Home Before Dark. In spite of her many awards and accomplishments, such as being youngest person to give a college commencement address, she suffers from issues with food, loss of self-esteem, and emotional turmoil as a teenager. This is the scoop from the perspective of a teen reporter.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Youth Biographies