ADULT FICTION
“Fractal Noise” by Christopher Paolini — “Breathes new life into the classic first encounter narrative. . . . Paolini makes the experiences of his well-shaded explorers vivid and gripping through smart worldbuilding and believable stakes. James S.A. Corey fans will be especially riveted.”―Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Granite Kingdom: A Novel” by Eric Pope — “With an engaging cast of characters, Granite Kingdom is a complex yet balanced look at the granite industry and newspaper business in rural Vermont in the early 1900s.” — Amazon.com
“Hello Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano – Large Print –“Hello Beautiful will make you weep buckets because you come to care so deeply about the characters and their fates. . . . [Napolitano] compels us to contemplate the complex tapestry of family love that can, despite grief and loss, still knit us together. She helps us see ourselves—and each other—whole.” — The Washington Post
“In the Lives of Puppets” by T.J. Klune — “A wholly charming post-robot-apocalypse retelling of Pinocchio. Speculative fiction readers will fall in love with this whimsical, bittersweet fable.” ―Shelf Awareness, starred review”
“No Two Persons” by Erica Bauermeister — “Unforgettable. No Two Persons is a beautiful and haunting love letter to the redemptive power of stories and the impressive mark it leaves on readers. Bauermeister is a powerful storyteller who weaves a brilliant narrative, while painting portraits of compelling characters.” ―Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
“The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese — “Grand, spectacular, sweeping and utterly absorbing . . . It is a better world for having a book in it that chronicles so many tragedies in a tone that never deviates from hope.”—Andrew Solomon, New York Times Book Review (cover review)
“The Trackers” by Charles Frazier — “The book’s continental scope proves that the lavishly talented Charles Frazier is not just a regional novelist. “The Trackers” is a novel of suspense with an all-American sting.”
— Washington Post
ADULT MYSTERY
“Blind Spots” by Thomas Mullen — “Grounded in the set pieces of police procedurals, this is both a whodunit and a cautionary tale about technology and government authoritarianism run amok. A lively, offbeat mystery with a thought-provoking premise.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Dark Angel” by John Sandford — “A female-forward thriller that makes a strong case that smart, unflinching women should run the world.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Going Zero” by Anthony McCarten — “A story that is timely, frightening, exciting, suspenseful, and surprising . . . .There are a lot of well-crafted characters . . . and secrets and neck-wrenching plot twists abound . . . The subject of high-tech surveillance has become a hot-button issue, and McCarten cleverly and plausibly extrapolates from today’s technology to what we may well see tomorrow. An outstanding thriller.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Identity” by Nora Roberts — “The #1 New York Times-bestselling author’s terrifying new thriller about one man’s ice-cold malice, and one woman’s fight to reclaim her life.” — Amazon.com
“Murder in Old Bombay” by Nev March — “Nev March’s Murder in Old Bombay is a tale of intrigue, duplicity and, as the title suggests, murder. . . . March deftly uses James’ biracial background to depict the societal structure of India during the British Raj and, by extrapolation, to indict other societies in which race and caste are sources of discrimination.” ― BookPage
“Small Mercies” by Dennis Lehane — “Powerful, unforgettable…[a] remarkable novel about racism, violence, and parental vengeance.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“The Fourth Enemy” by Anne Perry — “Barrister Daniel Pitt is thrown into the prosecution of a powerful man accused of a swindle that will remind readers of much more recent times than 1912. . . . [The Fourth Enemy is] familiar fare well served in Perry’s plush, comfortable prose.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The Girl Who Took What She Wanted” by David Handler — “The empathetic Hoag’s narrative voice compels, and Handler makes his role as an investigator easy to accept. Fans of hard-edged whodunits set in La La Land will be riveted.” ― Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
“We Know You Remember” by Tove Alsterdal — “Strong local color, convincing characters, and a twisty plot make this a standout. This is Swedish noir at its murky best.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
ADULT BIOGRAPHY
“The Beauty in Breaking” by Michele Harper — “Tackling such painful subjects as domestic abuse, trauma, and racism with grace and wisdom, this eloquent book probes the human condition as it chronicles a woman’s ever evolving spiritual journey. A profoundly humane memoir from a thoughtful doctor.” —Kirkus Reviews
ADULT NON-FICTION
“Big Week: The Biggest Air Battle of World War II” by James Holland — “This objective work, comprised of narratives often based on personal interviews with the author, provides views from both sides, including firsthand accounts of actions by fighter pilots and bomber crews. A solid popular history on an important event. Recommended for readers interested in World War II’s air war, particularly in Europe.”―Library Journal
“Collected Poems” by Ellen Bryant Voigt — “Reading Voigt one comes to understand that what we think of as reality is the product of both painstaking observation and imagination.… She favors a language that is both precise and lush, and a narrative that is both immediately accessible and richly layered with meaning.” ―Charles Simic, New York Review of Books
“Fire and Fortitude: The U. S. Army in the Pacific War, 1941-1943” by John C. McManys — “From the burning waters of Pearl Harbor to the sweltering jungles of Guadalcanal and the icy shores of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, Fire and Fortitude is a heart-pounding journey through the tragedies and the triumphs of the Pacific. Historian John C. McManus, armed with an incredible eye for detail and the deft touch of a novelist, has crafted one of the finest epics of World War II.”—James M. Scott, Pulitzer Prize-finalist and author of Target Tokyo and Rampage
“How to do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” by Jenny Odell — “How to Do Nothing is genuinely instructive, elaborating a practical philosophy to help us slow down and temporarily sidestep the forces aligned against both our mental health and long-term human survival. You can knock the hustle — and you should.”—Akiva Gottlieb, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court’s Drive to the Right and its Historic Consequences” by Joan Biskupic — “[Nine Black Robes] details how Chief Justice John Roberts lost control of an increasingly conservative US Supreme Court as it moved to overturn the constitutional right to abortion last year.” — Bloomberg
“The Seven-Step Homestead: A Guide for Creating the Backyard Microfarm of Your Dreams” by Leah M. Webb — “The Seven-Step Homestead takes readers through the process with a series of doable steps, beginning with establishing one or two raised beds of the easiest vegetables to grow, and gradually building up to the addition of fruit trees and berry bushes on hugelkulture mounds, a coop full of chickens, and a winter’s worth of storage crops. Step-by-step photos from the author’s own homestead, accompanied by her hard-earned advice and instruction, make this a one-of-a-kind guide for anyone who aspires to grow more of their own food.” — Amazon.com
KIT
Binoculars (2pair)
EASY READER
“Frog Meets Dog” by Janee Trasler — “An early reader for the earliest of readers. Trasler’s cartoon illustrations heighten the humor of her spare text, which has ample rhymes and assonance to support new decoders… Reader, meet Frogs and Dog-you won’t be sorry.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Making Roti” by Megan Borgert-Spaniol –“See how Sundar makes roti with his mom in this fictional story. Pairs with the nonfiction title We All Need Food.” — Lerner Pub Group
“Ned in Bed & Fun at the Park” by Jill Atkins — “Charming illustrations and carefully leveled text engage young students as they learn to read with Ned and his friends.” — Amazon.com
“Fox at Night” by Corey R. Tabor — “Carefully crafted using basic language, word repetition, sight words, and whimsical illustrations, Fox at Night is ideal for sharing with your emergent reader. The active, engaging My First I Can Read stories have appealing plots and lovable characters, encouraging children to continue their reading journey.” — Amazon.com
“Goat in a Boat” by Janee Trasler — “An early reader for the earliest of readers. Trasler’s cartoon illustrations heighten the humor of her spare text, which has ample rhymes and assonance to support new decoders… Reader, meet Frogs and Dog-you won’t be sorry.” — Kirkus Reviews
JUVENILE FICTION
“What Lane?” by Torrey Maldonado — “Engaging, timely novel. . . . Maldonado (Tight) paints a vivid, relatable picture of an adventurous boy learning the rewards and dangers of straying out of his lane against the backdrop of an unfair system that could see him killed or arrested for the behaviors his white peers easily engage in. The characters are warmly realistic, by turns impulsive and regretful. In relatively few words, Maldonado elucidates matters related to racial profiling, police violence against black people, and allyship, all through the eyes of a brave kid trying to figure out who he is and where he belongs.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
JUVENILE GRAPHIC NOVELS
“Grace Needs Space” by Benjamin A. Wilgus — “Though the story takes place among the cosmos, the earthly truths surrounding love and connection proves artfully rendered.” —Publishers Weekly
“Hidden” by Kati Preston — “HIDDEN [a graphic novel] is the compelling story told from the child’s perspective of Kati Preston, who lost her extended Jewish family in the Holocaust and was saved when she was 5 years old. … After successful careers as a journalist, international fashion designer, EMT, and owner of an educational theater company, Kati realized that what matters most is sharing her story of survival in order to educate others of the devastating consequences of hate and prejudice.” — Amazon.com
“Let’s Go” by Michael Emberley — “Imaginative, playful, and deceptively unassuming, this comic for early readers serves as a respectful (and exceedingly entertaining) introduction to the comics format.”—The Horn Book, Starred Review
“Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board” by Kristen Gudsnuk — “This charming graphic novel features full-color, manga-inspired illustrations and a breezy plot that blends wish fulfillment and fantasy with an approachable and contemporary storyline. With a broad brush, Gudsnuk hits many of the angst-y issues of middle school, including popularity, bullying, family relationships, body image, and fandom, creating appeal for a large swath of readers… A nifty pastiche of middle school matters.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Owl and Penguin” by Vikram Madan — “Reminiscent of the strong bond between Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad, Owl and Penguin’s friendship is deep and delightful, and this easy reader makes the story comprehensible as it addresses themes of envy, sadness, and problem-solving in an accessible and entertaining way.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Stepping Stones” by Lucy Kinsley — “Knisley balances humor and deeply felt emotion to capture the particular unfairness of being a child at the mercy of parental decisions.” —Publishers Weekly
JUVENILE NON-FICTION
“Classic Puzzles: From Ancient Egypt to the Modern Era” by Tim Sedopulos — “From “The Triangles of Babylon,” dated around 1900 BC, to “Achilles and the Tortoise,” a famous mathematical paradox devised by the Greek philosopher Zeno, here are some of history’s premier puzzles. These brainteasers come from the finest minds of the past and from around the world; placed alongside the best riddles and puzzles of recent generations, they create an irresistible challenge for any solver.” — Amazon.com