Staff Picks
February 2021
Ensnared in the Wolf’s Lair: Inside the 1944 Plot to Kill Hitler and the Ghost Children of His Revenge
by Ann Bausum
A heartbreaking and haunting account of the many immediate family members and relatives who were killed or imprisoned in camps when the plot to kill Hitler in an explosion failed. His revenge was swift and thorough, even sweeping up people who happened to share the same last name of some of the conspirators. Told from a diary secreted away by a daughter of one of the conspirator’s, this should rank with Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl to show the evilness of some men, who took no account of age or innocence.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Nonfiction
Teen Killers Club
by Lily Sparks
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918: A Tragedy of Three Acts
by Don Brown
This nonfiction graphic novel describes the panic in 1918 – 1920 when the Spanish flu killed hundreds of thousands of people. This book is available in the library and on Hoopla as an ebook.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Young Adult Nonfiction
Snapdragon
by Kat Leyh
Snapdragon, Snap for short, is struggling to make friends and feeling different from the other kids in her class. Once she confronts the ‘witch’ of the neighborhood and discovers she’s pretty nice her world slowly begins to change.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Chirp
by Kate Messner
Mia is moving, convalescing from a broken arm, hiding a secret and trying to make new friends all at the same time. Then her grandmother suspects that someone is sabotaging her cricket farm. Mia and her new friends attempt to solve that mystery while simultaneously working on a marketing plan for her grandmother’s business.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Grand Escape: The Greatest Prison Breakout of the 20th Century
by Neil Bascomb
This book gives the reader a gripping description of the greatest prison breakout of the 20th century. 29 prisoners tunnel their way out of Holzminden prison in Germany during World War I. It’s replete with photographs, letters and maps.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Nonfiction
January 2021
Salem’s Lot
by Stephen King
The creeping dread of this tale makes it perfect for the dark cold days of winter. The sleepy Maine town of Jerusalem’s Lot is infiltrated by a vampire, who gradually drains the inhabitants. The everyday townsfolk are caught in the grip of the vampire’s infection, which spreads slowly at first, then builds to a terrifying crescendo. This book is available in the library and on Overdrive/Libby as an ebook.
Recommended by: Peter Tew, Adult Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Adult Fiction
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories
by B. J. Novak
B.J. Novak, one of the writers and stars of the TV show The Office, has compile several short stories in this collection. The stories spread for a rematch between the Tortoise and the Hare to a Las Vegas intervention gone wrong to a cereal box sweepstakes worth $100,000. Often with short story collections, you get some kind of mixture of hits and misses. I will say that a majority of these stories were hits. For a special treat, check out the audiobook and hear Novak and some of his celebrity friends narrate the stories. This book is available in the library and on Overdrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Brandi Smits, Youth Services Manager
Posted in: Adult Fiction
Clean Getaway
by Nic Stone
William “Scoob” Lamar is on a remarkably interesting and confusing RV trip with his grandmother. Between talking in her sleep, taking him to unusual places and telling him things she never had before, Scoob is confused and sometimes frightened but is ultimately enlightened. This book is available in the library and on Overdrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Push
by Ashley Audrain
A Good Morning America book club pick that keeps the reader engrossed as you learn more about Blythe and her unhappy childhood and her unhappiness as a mother. Blythe felt she never loved her daughter Violet. Is the problem Blythe has with being a mother stemming from her or is there something wrong with Violet? Then Blythe has Sam, who she adores.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Adult Fiction