Staff Picks

Featuring two strong female protagonists, an eerie setting, and a fast-paced plot, Spinning Silver is a brilliant twist on the classic Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale, set against the cold, wintery backdrop of old Slavic society. As the daughter of a reluctant moneylender, Miryem must find a way to collect what her family is owed, while navigating the demands of the Staryk, icy fae creatures whose lust for gold lead them to seek Miryem's skills for turning silver into gold to suit their own purposes. Soon, she faces an insurmountable challenge that will test her independence and uncovers secrets that threaten to ravish the lands of humans and fae alike. I loved the audiobook for this, since the narrator dons a Russian accent as chilly as the winter woods and lends each character a definitive voice.

 

Publisher description:

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father is not a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has left his family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem intercedes. Hardening her heart, she sets out to retrieve what is owed, and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. But when an ill-advised boast brings her to the attention of the cold creatures who haunt the wood, nothing will be the same again. For words have power, and the fate of a kingdom will be forever altered by the challenge she is issued

 

Life circumstances put Jess in a precarious situation, now she's got to make the best of it. Can she rely on herself? Is anyone going to save her? Will Bo, her father's dog, help her? This story has wonderful pacing, developed characters, and will take you on a wild ride from start to finish. Reminiscent of Hatchet, but in a great way.

 

Publisher description: 

Jess is alone. Her cabin has burned to the ground. She knows if she doesn't act fast, the cold will kill her before she has time to worry about food. But she is still alive--for now. Cheryl Strayed's Wild meets The Revenant in this heart-pounding story of survival and revenge in the unforgiving wilderness.

 

Years after attending a boarding school with a secret purpose, three friends find themselves reunited, digging up the past. A beautiful and thoughtful examination of a world not unlike our own, from the Nobel Prize-winning author.

 

Publisher description:

Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be. But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it. Within the grounds of Hailsham, Kathy grows from schoolgirl to young woman, but it's only when she and her friends Ruth and Tommy leave the safe grounds of the school (as they always knew they would) that they realize the full truth of what Hailsham is.

 

This is the type of book you can lose a lot of time reading. The setting for me was an instant hit, though I am a sucker for the "humanity coming back from the brink" trope. The main character, Spensa, is a sympathetic hero out of the gates, viewing everything under the lens of a heroic epic. The setup with the competitive cadets and the futuristic dog fights are like Top Gun in all the best ways. This is a really fun read!

- Oscar, 10th grade teen volunteer

 

Publisher's description:

When a long-term attack against her world by the alien Krell escalates, Spensa's dream of becoming a pilot may come true, despite her deceased father being labeled a deserter. 

 

Set in Bogota, Colombia during the reign of Pablo Escobar, violence is viewed through the eyes of a young girl and her teenage maid. Chula lives in a gated community with her family, living relatively safe from Escobar's reign of terror. Petrona, her maid, lives in the slums of Bogota, where she struggles to support her family and protect them from the constant onslaught of violence they all endure. Chula and Petrona's lives never cross paths until one day when their worlds intersect for one brief, horrifying, moment that neither of them will ever forget. Highly autobiographical, Rojas Conteras does an excellent job of weaving fiction with reality, making it a compelling read.

 

Publisher description:

Seven-year-old Chula and her older sister Cassandra enjoy carefree lives thanks to their gated community in Bogotá, but the threats of kidnappings, car bombs, and assassinations hover just outside the neighborhood walls.

 

This is the story of a bank robbery turned hostage crisis, but it isn't really about that. It is really a story about people trying to find their way in the world, the unseen connections between people and the kindness of strangers. In this novel, Fredrik Backman has created another heartwarming story like the one that I, and so many readers, adored in A Man Called Ove. This book is a perfect gem of a story, and it has easily surpassed Ove as my favorite of his books; it is one of those books that I just wanted to hug when I finished it.

 

Publisher description: 

Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix their own marriage. There's a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can't seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment's only bathroom, and you've got the worst group of hostages in the world. Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them--the bank robber included--desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next

 

 

Publisher description:

The Mayan God of Death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore. The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather's house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather's room. She opens it--and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea's demise, but success could make her dreams come true. In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City--and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.

 

This book is billed as a guide for writers AND as a master class in the classic Russian short story--and it's wonderful on both fronts. If masters like Chekhov, Tolstoy and their peers have baffled you, Saunders is an able guide to why they matter--and how learning what they do well can make your own writing better. I didn't want this book to end, and I want Saunders to be my writing teacher.

 

Publisher description:

George Saunders guides the reader through seven classic Russian short stories he's been teaching for twenty years as a professor in the prestigious Syracuse University graduate MFA creative writing program. Paired with stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, these essays are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it's more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. Saunders approaches each of these stories technically yet accessibly, and through them explains how narrative functions; why we stay immersed in a story and why we resist it; and the bedrock virtues a writer must foster. The process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is as much a craft as it is a quality of openness and a willingness to see the world through new eyes. Funny, frank, and rigorous, this book ultimately shows how great fiction can change a person's life and become a benchmark of one's moral and ethical beliefs.

 

A heart-warming middle grade novel by Caldecott Honor winner Peter Brown. Roz is a shipwrecked robot on a deserted island. Her adventures of survival on the island are action-packed and sweet. You will be charmed by Roz immediately and the family she creates around her. Peter Brown's illustrations add to this adventure story. I'm happy he is writing middle grade stories in addition to his timeless picture books.

 

Publisher description: 

When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is--but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants. As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home--until, one day the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her.