Staff Picks

Inspired by the biography of her great-grandmother, Kelkar tells the story of a young girl whose mother honors Gandhi's request that every family in India enlist one family member in the fight for freedom. Written from a unique perspective, this middle grade reader examines the concepts of social justice and inequality in 1940's India.

 

Publisher's description:

In 1942, when Mahatma Gandhi asks Indians to give one family member to the freedom movement, ten-year-old Anjali is devastated to think of her father risking his life for the freedom struggle. But it turns out he isn't the one joining. Anjali's mother is. When Anjali's mother is jailed for doing so, Anjali must step out of her comfort zone to take over her mother's work, ensuring that her little part of the independence movement is completed.

 

This book was simultaneously joyful and sorrowful to read. Johnson's essays touch on many tough issues of sexuality, bullying, racism, and homophobia. He ultimately seeks joy and acceptance of both himself and the various communities he is part of. This is a great read for anyone who identifies with Johnson, or who seeks to better understand the important message he has to tell.

 

Publisher's description:

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

 

Find All Boys Aren't Blue in our online catalog.

 

Publisher's description:

Four famous siblings throw an epic end-of-summer party that goes dangerously out of control as secrets and loves that shaped this family’s generations come to light, changing their lives forever.

 

This was an engaging read, and the flowing writing made the story seem real and true. All of the characters were dynamic, and could each probably have an entire book written about them, but the central character Okonkwo, was essential in viewing the parallel between different cultures and customs, and even though his culture was so different from my own, I could truly imagine living in his life, which is something only well-crafted novels can do. Content warning: abuse.

- Natasha, eighth-grade teen volunteer

 

Publisher's description:

Things Fall Apart tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a "strong man" of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first of these stories traces Okonkwo's fall from grace with the tribal world in which he lives, and in its classical purity of line and economical beauty it provides us with a powerful fable about the immemorial conflict between the individual and society. The second story, which is as modern as the first is ancient...concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo's world through the arrival of aggressive, proselytizing European missionaries.

 

Find Things Fall Apart in our online catalog.
 

I found this to be an enjoyable read. Peter Heller, a local author, writes beautifully about natural places in the West, which adds to the enjoyment of this book. The book's namesake, Celine, was a formidable woman in her prime, and now at 68, she still offers up many surprises--even to her husband, Pete. As a private investigator unearthing missing persons, her past and abilities are the stuff of fantastical legends (think James Bond packaged in an older Nancy Drew). Celine is also a delight. The way she takes time for a cup of tea, faces off with a biker gang, or just the special rhythm she has with her husband make her a pleasure to follow. It feels like Peter Heller had fun with this one.

 

Publisher's description:
Working out of her jewel box of an apartment at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, Celine has made a career of tracking down missing persons, and she has a better record at it than the FBI. But when a young woman, Gabriela, asks for her help, a world of mystery and sorrow opens up. Gabriela's father was a photographer who went missing on the border of Montana and Wyoming. He was assumed to have died from a grizzly mauling, but his body was never found. Now, as Celine and her partner head to Yellowstone National Park, investigating a trail gone cold, it becomes clear that they are being followed.

 

Find Celine in our online catalog.

This book explores the lives of people who vanish in the wilderness and the struggle of those who look for them. The author tags along with a renowned surfer from Santa Cruz who upended his life to search for his son who disappeared in Olympic National Park in 2017, documenting the unique struggles and red tape that come with such a "cold vanish." Cases of people missing in Colorado are also explored, giving us a much better idea of how widespread the issue of missing persons are within our own communities. This book has it all: true crime, cryptozoology, cults, and often more questions than answers. So if you're a lover of the outdoors or mystery in general, this will be a compelling read!

 

Publisher's description: 

Jon Billman's fascinating, in-depth look at people who vanish in the wilderness without a trace and those eccentric, determined characters who try to find them.

 

My grandson aged 4 really loves the "How Do Dinosaurs" series, as I think he can relate to all the little upsets when learning "proper manners" as well as learning appropriate emotional responses when he is mad or doesn't like his meal. He asks to re-read the books often. A sure winner for your dinosaur loving child.

 

Publisher's description:

Describes how a dinosaur eats, with no rude noises and while sitting very still.

 

Want to read it en Español? ¿Cómo Comen los Dinosaurios?

 

The author gathered one-star National Park reviews and has responded to them with great graphics, background information, and gentle pokes at the authors of the original reviews. Who in the world could write "Super Unimpressed," and "Way Overrated" about our beloved Rocky Mountain National Park? My hometown Gateway Arch in St. Louis received a review of "No Real Point," which the author points out is technically true, but come on--do you know anything at all about U.S. history and Westward Expansion? The best non-review might be, "A HOLE, a very, very large hole," regarding the Grand Canyon. As the author states, "it boggles the mind."

 

Publisher's description:
Subpar Parks, both on the popular Instagram page and in this humorous, informative, and collectible book, combines two things that seem like they might not work together yet somehow harmonize perfectly: beautiful illustrations and informative, amusing text celebrating each national park paired with the one-star reviews disappointed tourists have left online. Millions of visitors each year enjoy Glacier National Park, but for one visitor, it was simply Too cold for me! Another saw the mind-boggling vistas of Bryce Canyon as Too spiky! Never mind the person who visited the thermal pools at Yellowstone National Park and left thinking, 'Save yourself some money, boil some water at home.' Featuring new material, the book will include more depth and insight into the most popular parks, such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Acadia National Parks; anecdotes and tips from rangers; and much more about author Amber Share's personal love and connection to the outdoors. Equal parts humor and love for the national parks and the great outdoors, it's the perfect gift for anyone who loves to spend time outside as well as have a good read (and laugh) once they come indoors.

 

Finally, a spooky haunted spaceship book that actually scared me! Claire's communications repair crew is on their last mission and starting to think about where they'll go once their job is done when they hear something they shouldn't: a distress call in deep, uninhabited space. When they discover the source, a cruise ship that mysteriously disappeared 20 years ago with 600 people on board, they agree that relics from the ship could set them up for life. But there's more left on the Aurora than just fancy faucets and jewels...something on the ship is changing the team--for the worse.

 

Publisher description: 

Titanic meets The Shining in S.A. Barnes' Dead Silence, a SF horror novel in which a woman and her crew board a decades-lost luxury cruiser and find the wreckage of a nightmare that hasn't yet ended. A GHOST SHIP. A SALVAGE CREW. UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS. Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed-made obsolete-when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate. What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn't right. Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate. 

 

Loved this book about a middle school girl whom is in the foster care system and gets placed in a new home with a eclectic family who runs a petting a zoo. Also, there's a sprinkling of magic in here too. For fans of Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. :)

 

Publisher's description:

Red's inexplicable power over the wind comes from her mother. Whenever Ruby "Red" Byrd is scared or angry, the wind picks up. And being placed in foster care, moving from family to family, tends to keep her skies stormy. Red knows she has to learn to control it, but can't figure out how. This time, the wind blows Red into the home of the Grooves, a quirky couple who run a petting zoo, complete with a dancing donkey and a giant tortoise. With their own curious gifts, Celine and Jackson Groove seem to fit like a puzzle piece into Red's heart. But just when Red starts to settle into her new life, a fresh storm rolls in, one she knows all too well : her mother. For so long, Red has longed to have her mom back in her life, and she's quickly swept up in the vortex of her mother's chaos. Now Red must discover the possible in the impossible if she wants to overcome her own tornadoes and find the family she needs.

 

Find All the Impossible Things in our catalog.