Staff Picks
May 2021
Amari and the Night Brothers
by B. B. Alston
Amari’s older brother, who was working in a top-secret job, has been missing for 6 months. When Amari receives an unusual message from him, she realizes there may be more opportunities for her in the world than she originally thought. She’s given an invitation to join a summer camp run by the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Should she accept it? This is, after all, the same place where her brother works and he’s missing!
This book is available at the library and on OverDrvice/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Storyteller’s Secret
by Sejal Badani
Jaya has just suffered her third miscarriage. Her devastation is made more intense when her marriage starts deteriorating. She makes the decision to go to India to see her dying grandfather, who she has never met, in order to better understand her past. Told in two time periods, modern day and the 30’s and 40’s, this book brings you into another culture and time period with gripping results.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Adult Fiction
The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman
Posted in: Adult Fiction
The Woman of Troublesome Creek
by Kim Michelle Richardson
Posted in: Adult Fiction
The Book of Lost Names
by Kristin Harmel
Eva, in her eighties, sees a photograph in a newspaper of a book that she hasn’t seen in over 60 years. The article says researchers are looking to reunite books stolen by the Nazis in World War II to their rightful owners. This particular book has a special code in it that they are eager to crack. Eva has the answers but is she willing to revisit all those past memories?
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and an audiobook on CD.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Adult Fiction
Today Tonight Tomorrow
by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Rowan Roth and Neil McNair are both high school seniors vying for valedictorian. In fact, they have vied for every single thing for their entire high school careers. To say they are each other’s archnemesis is an understatement. During Howl, a senior specific game, they find out most of the senior class is ganging up on them. Rowan and Neil decide to team up with very interesting results.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audio book.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
The Sun Down Motel
by Simone St. James
Two stories, separated by time and connected by location. In 1982, Viv stops in Fell, NY on her way to New York City. She trades working the night shift at the Sun Down Motel for a place to stay. Soon she gets pulled into the mystery and suspense of a small town with 3 recent murders and a haunted motel. In 2017, Carly heads to Fell, NY after her mother passes to see if she can uncover the truth about her Aunt Viv’s mysterious disappearance in 1982 and ends up working the same night shift in the motel. This dual timeline, alternating narrator novel is absolutely thrilling. Part murder mystery, part ghost story, this novel is bound to get you hooked.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive as an ebook.
Recommended by: Brandi Smits, Youth Services Manager
Posted in: Adult Fiction
The Dark Matter of Mona Starr
by Laura Lee Gulledge
When Mona’s best friend moves, her depression and social anxiety go into overdrive. She feels alone and insecure, and her mental illnesses (her Dark Matter) are crushing her. She internalizes the shame and fear, worrying deeply when she befriends a new girl at her school. Will that friend be able to handle all of her? Will Mona be able to come up with a solution to help with her dark matter? Or will it swallow her up? This graphic novel is beautiful and heart-wrenching and will especially resonate with artsy kids struggling with their mental health.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.
Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Teen Librarian
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
A Crash of Fate (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, #1)
by Zoraida Córdova
Heading to Disney anytime soon? Pick this book up before you go and learn a bit about the planet that inspired Galaxy’s Edge.
Izzy and Jules were childhood friends, living amongst the spires of Batuu. Then, Izzy’s family left abruptly. Izzy’s life became one of constant motion, traveling from one world to the next, until her parents were killed and she became a low-level smuggler to make ends meet. Jules remained on Batuu, eventually becoming a farmer like his father, but always yearning for something more. Thirteen years later, Izzy returns to Batuu. She’s been hired to deliver a dangerous package, and she just wants to finish the job and leave. But upon arrival at Black Spire Outpost she runs smack into the one person who still means something to her after all this time: Jules. Will they fall in love and find a place where they both belong? But how could that happen when one lives the outlaw life of adventure, and the other has never left the safety of home?
This book is available at the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.
Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Teen Librarian
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
The Little Witch’s Book of Spells
by Ariel Kusby
This book will help you find the magic in yourself! It is a wonderful book for all ages and genders. It will help inspire you to slow down, play, and find various forms of magic in your surroundings. It is an incredibly sweet and empowering little book, perfect for aspiring witches, wizards, and others who seek a bit of magic in their lives.
Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Teen Librarian
Posted in: Youth Nonfiction